Galeria Copiola (96 BC – AD 9 or after) was an

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

dancer ''(emboliaria)'' and actress whom Pliny includes in a list of notable female nonagenarians and

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

s in his ''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

''. Because of Pliny's notice, Galeria is one of the few performing artists in

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

whose career milestones can be precisely dated.

Performance genre

The ''embolimon'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, literally an "insert") was a musical number performed between the acts of a play. In Roman theatre, the ''embolium'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, plural ''embolia'') in which Galeria specialized was an interlude, probably solo, performed by a dancing girl or ''mima''. The ''embolium'' is treated in modern scholarship as a form of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

requiring turns,

leaping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...

, versatility of movement, sudden "freezing," and a particular repertoire of hand gestures. The ''embolium'' interlude was part of the mixed musical-comedy genre called ''mimus''. Roman ''mimus'' was regularly performed without

masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

, in contrast to virtually every other form of ancient theatre for which female roles were performed by men. ''Mimus'' gave women opportunities to earn a living as professional entertainers, and Galeria's career is evidence of the long-lived acclaim and financial reward they might achieve. Galeria Copiola is one of only four performers of ''embolia'' whose names are preserved, the others being Sophê Theorobathylliana, Phoebe Vocontia, and an Oppius who is the only recorded male ''embolarius''.

Career

Galeria made her stage debut in 82 BC at the age of 13 or 14, during

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

, in a theatrical event produced by the plebeian aedile Marcus Pomponius. The occasion was either the Feast of Ceres in April or the Plebeian Games in November. A Roman girl came of age at around 12 to 14, and entertainers seem to have begun their career at this time. Galeria's renown was such that when the dedication ceremonies were held for the monumental

Theatre of Pompey The Theatre of Pompey (, ), also known by other names, was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great. Completed in 55 BC, it was the first permanent theatre to be built in Rome ...

in 55 BC, she was brought out of retirement as a "living legend." A number of former luminaries of the stage appeared, among them the aging actor Aesopus, whose performance fell short of the reputation he had earned in his prime.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, who attended, remarked, without naming Galeria specifically, that it might have been better for the older entertainers to have rested on their laurels. Galeria was about 40 at the time. Since she was still physically able to perform, and enjoyed good enough health to live to a remarkable old age, her retirement must have been by choice, enabled by significant earnings. Galeria's last public appearance was at the

votive A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

games ''(

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin:games; plural of "ludus") were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festiv ...

)'' celebrated in honor of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

in AD 9, when she was 104. Pliny says nothing about the performance itself, or whether she appeared only as a guest of honor.Starks, "Pantomime Actresses," p. 124. Pliny records that "Galeria Copiola the ''emboliara'' was brought back onstage at age 104 in AD 9 for the votive games honoring the recovery of the Divine Augustus" ''(Galeria Copiola emboliara reducta est in scaenam C. Poppaeo Q. Sulpicio cos. ludis pro salute Divi Augusti votivis annum CIIII agens)''.

References

{{Authority control 96 BC births 1st-century deaths 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Roman women 1st-century Romans Ancient actresses Ancient Roman actors Ancient Roman centenarians Ancient Roman theatre practitioners Copiola Ancient Roman dancers Women centenarians Year of death unknown

Performance genre

Career

See also

References