African Coast in Ancient Times

The Rope starts off with some of the characters getting shipwrecked in "a wild part of the African coast near Cyrene"(Duckworth, pp849). From the text of the play it can be assumed that the place the wrecked at is not very large and is not the most beautiful city of the time. The play does however take place in an area that is right by the ocean. Since it is in Africa and right on the Mediterranean Sea, the weather was probably warmer, even after a storm.

Cyrene was not very far away from Alexandria. In fact, it was to the West a ways. Since the action of the play never leaves the coast we know that it is not quite in the city of Cyrene but is relatively close. In fact there are some stage directions in the script that say some characters in the play are coming from Cyrene. Hopefully this map will help show where exactly the play is set and give some background to help settle actors into the play.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Maps/Periods/Roman/Places/Africa/Cyrene/1.html

Sources:
"The Rope" The Complete Roman Drama: All the Extant Comedies of Plautus and Terence, and The Tragedies of Seneca, in a Variety of Translations, Vol 1. George E. Duckworth Associate Professor of Classics, Princeton University. Random House, 1967. 31 October 2010