| Further weight is lent to the hypothesis that there are lacunae in the Cretan comedy Stathis. The substitution of Chrysippos by Pamphilos at the assignations with Fedra, which is not clearly articulated in the transmitted text, is a common motif in Italian Renaissance comedies, such as Ariosto’s I Suppositi. Although the main incidents in on-scene action by the Bravos (Ruffian) and the Teacher are omitted, traces of them are apparent. One further indication of a lacuna is the appearance of an enigmatic figure named Margarita at the work’s end. The excisions can be attributed to a redactor who adapted the work to the demands of a theatrical production, most probably staged in the Ionian Islands. This accounts for the three-act structure of Stathis and the weak linkage between scenes. |