Comedy and Tragedy (520 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.6 on 8 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Chronic (View user info) at 2006-09-06 22:32:51 EDT
The year was 214 BC, though I would assume that's not what they were calling it at the time. The young, articulate, and handsome playwright, Hephestion, paced quietly and worriedly in the dimly torch-lit passageways behind one of the finest amphitheaters in all of Athens, and surely all of Greece. This was not simply the big stage for such things. It was the stage to end all stages. Tonight would be the grandest of openings and would surely decide the future of this young man, who hadn't slept in days at the thought of such a situation as the one he now suddenly found himself the most integral part of.
To say the least, it was incredibly rare for the work of someone so young and unknown to be a major focus of the Athenian Festival, but Hephestion's uncle, had pulled some strings with an affluent old Academy friend and earned his nephew the incredible opportunity. In attendance were some of the most prominent and affluent figures in all of Athenian society, and even Greece at large.
Beads of sweat rolled steadily off Hephestion's brow as he paced, utterly stricken with anxiety, panic even, that these aristocrats would find little to laugh at in a boy's simple comedy. The rumble of conversation and anticipation in the theater reverberated through the roughly cut passageways as costumed actors scurried past him. Ironically, they were infinitely more composed than the man behind the words they would soon have to perform. If he had been wearing any makeup himself, he would likely be standing in a sloppy puddle of it at that moment. His heart raced in anticipation.
The sudden silence of the hallway abruptly caught his attention, realizing the curtain of a production he had poured his soul into, must have only just begun. He stood frozen in anticipation, praying to the gods for a laugh. He had long heard of the "Comedian's Tragedy," an old saying known by all writers of comedy in ancient Athens. It was the agonizing wait that a man must endure before his audience erupted into hysterics, or descended into berating cries. Finally it came, a single angry shriek, followed by the considerable rumble of something certainly not laughter and much more like disgruntled conversation.
Truly mortified beyond any consolation, Hephestion raced far deeper into the bowels of the amphitheatre, more than far enough to drown out even the slightest inkling of the crowd's displeased groans. He lay broken on the stone floor of a tiny room, sobbing uncontrollably, cursing himself and the gods who surely had the only laugh on that night. Exhausted and emotionally shattered, he scribbled a short note on a nearby piece of parchment.
"While I am surely a young man, and many would say I have much to look forward to in life, I know what lies in my writer's mind, and this production, which I have lived and breathed for, is surely the finest I have to offer. For it to be so quickly and uncompromisingly disregarded is a terminal blow to my eternal soul. I feel that I have no choice but to inflict the same on my beating mortal heart. I beg of you all to forget the name Hephestion."
With these final words, he drew the concealed dagger from beneath his cloak and clutched it tightly in his shaking hands. With a single certain thrust, the gleaming blade slid cleanly betwixt his ribs and drove smoothly through his heart. He almost instantly slumped to the floor, only to be found moments later in a growing crimson puddle of his own draining blood.
...
The following year, it was decreed that The Athenian Festival would be in commemoration of the anniversary of two sadly departed souls. The shocking assassination of beloved Senator Diotrophus and the tragic suicide of Hephestion were in the hearts and minds of all attendees. Hephestion's comedy drew nothing but genuine laughter. The post-performance reading of his final words drew nothing but genuine tears.
His name would surely be remembered.
User Reviews
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-09-08 14:41:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
A valid point, but this time, it was especially so.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-09-08 04:02:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-09-07 16:02:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
Oh man. I was so fucking high when I wrote/posted this.
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There's a surprise.
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-09-07 16:02:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Oh man. I was so fucking high when I wrote/posted this.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-09-07 10:16:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Antioxident (user info) at 2006-09-07 04:48:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by goferforhire (user info) at 2006-09-07 00:16:59 (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm Greek
Submitted by Flying_buttmonkey (user info) at 2006-09-07 03:13:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
A bit clumsy. Liked it though, and I can't negatively rate anyone who makes an effort.
Submitted by goferforhire (user info) at 2006-09-07 00:16:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm Greek
Submitted by d_prime (user info) at 2006-09-06 23:49:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
It lacked... conflict, suspense. Seemed too "cat on the mat."
But +1 on Ubersite standards; not bad.