Intro to Greek Drama 1
Introduction to Greek Drama
Drama had its roots in religion:
--developed from the choral lyric known as the dithyramb--performed at
religious ceremonies
The dithyramb: a hymn or narrative song honoring Dionysus--a vegetation and fertility
god--also the god of wine, and the chief god that presided over the Greek theatre
festivals. Before the 7th century B. C. it probably consisted of an improvised story sung
by a choral leader, to which was added a traditional refrain sung by the chorus.
From religious song to literature:
The poet Arion (c. 625-585 B. C.) is usually credited with transforming the dithyramb
into a literary composition. He was probably the first to write hymns on well-defined,
heroic subjects and to give them titles.
By about 534 B. C. lyric poetry, choral singing and dancing, and heroic subject matter
were already highly advanced. This may account for the rapid perfection of Tragedy.
Aristotle states that tragedy developed out of the improvisations of the leaders of the
dithyrambs.
The first actor and dialogue:
The final step to the creation of Tragedy is attributed to the Greek known as Thespis, in
the 6th century: Thespis is credited with creating an answerer or actor to respond to the
chorus leader--thus dialogue is possible, as the actor engages in dialogue with the chorus
leader. Thespis is also credited with introducing masks, allowing one actor to play many
parts.
Early in the 5th cent. Aeschylus added a second actor, then Sophocles added a third.
Plots: Greek tragedy almost always took its plots from stories from the heroic age, ie.
the age that gave us the stories in the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Of the estimated 1000 plays produced in the 5th cent., only 31 tragedies survive.
All of the Greek tragedies that survive are the work of three playwrights:
Aeschylus (525-456 B. C.)
Sophocles (c. 496-06)
Euripedes (c. 480-06)
Intro to Greek Drama 2
Aeschylus
The oldest surviving Greek plays are by Aeschylus, who began competing at the City
Dionysia--the greatest of the festivals, held in Athens--about 499 B. C.
80 titles are known, but only 7 plays have survived:
The Persians
Seven Against Thebes
The Suppliants
Prometheus Bound
and the great trilogy, the Oresteia, which consists of
Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides.
The Oresteia represents the development of a single idea: the evolution of the concept of
justice, moving from personal revenge (of which the motivational force is represented by
the Erynies, or Furies), to judgement by a jury of citizens (with the Furies being
transformed into the Eumenidies--the kindly ones). Think of the parallel with the Old
Testament's "an eye for an eye" and Jesus's message of love and redemption in the New
Testament. In Eumenides, civilization is redeemed from the justice of primitive blood
feuds to the civilizing process of trial by jury, where deliberation is supposed to be based
upon reason rather than emotion.
Because Aeschylus embodies cosmic conflicts in his agents, his characters are sometimes
said to be superhuman. His plays often call for spectacle on a monumental scale: double
choruses. chariots drawn by horses, picturesque and frightening mythological characters,
and lavish costumes. He is considered a philosophical and religious dramatist, as well as
a master of grandeur and spectacle.
Sophocles
Sophocles is thought to have written over 120 plays, but only 7 have sruvived:
Ajax
Antigone
Oedipus Rex
Electra
Trachiniae
Oedipus at Colonus
Philoctetes
Sophocles won 24 contests, is credited with introducing the 3rd actor, raising the number
of the chorus from 12 to 15, and with the first use of scene painting.
Sophocles emphasizes character development more than Aeschylus, and his characters
are complex and psychologically well-motivated. His protagonists are noble but flawed,
and are usually subjected to a terrible crisis leading to suffering and eventual selfrecognition, as well as to the perception of a higher law which lies behind human events.
Sophocles is considered by most critics to be the most skillful of the Greek dramatists,
and his Oedipus Rex is often called the greatest of Greek tragedies. The exposition of his
Intro to Greek Drama 3
plays is carefully motivated, suspense is carefully built in scenes to reach a climax, and
the action is clear and logical.
Euripedes
Euripedes wrote about 90 plays, of which 18 have survived. Some of his most popular are
Medea
The Trojan Women
Electra
Iphigenia in Aulis
Bacchae
Euripedes was little appreciated in his lifetime probably because he questioned traditional
values and myths--consequently he was accused of undermining the foundation of his
society. Also, his dramatic method was not always clear. The unifying element in most of
Euripedes plays is thought, and since his basic themes are not always easily grasped, the
significance of the dramatic action is sometimes obscure.
Background of the Agamemnon
Two brothers, Atreus and Thyestes
Atreus = Agamemnon's father; Thyestes = Aegisthus' father
Thyestean banquet: Atreus butchered Thyestes' sons (except Aegisthus), cooked them,
and served them to him at a banquet.
Brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus marry sisters Clytemnestra and Helen.
Paris abducts Helen.
The Greeks gather an expedition, under the leadership of Agamemnon, to attack Troy.
Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphegeneia to appease the goddess Artemis and to
procure favorable winds for the expedition's voyage to Troy.
The Trojan war.
The sack of Troy and the impious abduction of the princess Cassandra by Agamemnon
The foreground of the play:
--assassination of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus
--the rest of the trilogy will play out Orestes' vengeance on Clytemnestra and
Aegisthus, and the end of the blood feud and establishment of rule of law.