+ For Western civilization, the origins of theatre
were in Athens, Greece about 25 hundred
years ago
+ Theatre for the Greeks originated from
religious festivals
+ These festivals are in the form of musical
performances and dramatic recitations were
held every year to honour the god Dionysus
(the god of wine and revelry) with a chorus of
men chanting hymms
+ Early Greek theatres were vast outdoor arenas
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with seating for thousands
The chorus danced in the area called the
orchestra, which was almost completely
surrounded by the audience
The principal character, around whom the
action revolves, was called the protagonist of
the play
The one who opposes him is called the
antagonist
Since theatre was considered important for
all, anyone unable to pay was admitted free
These huge theatres required an exaggerated and presentational
kind of acting (actors faced audience rather than each other)
+ Masks with exaggerated features were used
and a device will be used to amplify the voice
+ An actor could change character easily by
changing his mask
+ Aristotle, a 4th century B.C. Greek philosopher
and theatre critic, described the ideal tragedy
as having the unity of time, place and action
+ In other words, the action of the play occurs
within 24 hours, uses only one location, and is
strict tragedy with no mingling of comic
episodes
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
+ Early Greek tragedy used stories from
mythology and featured a hero who lost face
because of a tragic flaw
+ Feeling fear and pity for the protagonist, the
audience was effected by the tragedy
+ Audience felt the catharsis (a release from
tension) when the performance was over
+ Later in 6th century B.C. featured public
competitions in drama
+ Apparent in the drama of this period are the
social customs of Athenian society
+ Only men had full citizenship; slaves had no
rights; and women had only certain privileges
defined by marriage
+ Women did not participate in the dramatic
competitions, either as playwrights or as
actors but they were allowed to watch
+ The play were written by men, and men also
performed female roles onstage
+ By the 5th century, the Greek theatre had
acquired its basic design, and ampitheatres
became the established features of Greek
communities
+ At its lowest level stood the round orchestra
(dancing place) and it contained the altar of
Dionysus
+ Behind the orchestra is the skene, decorated with
painted scenery or props. Used by actors to
change the mask or costume or as permanent
background for the play
+ Playwrights never put more than 2 actors on
stage. Only a few playwrights, such as Sophocles,
ever put 2 or 3 actors on the stage at once.
+ Violence was also never shown on stage. When
somebody was about to die, they would take that
person to the back to "kill" them and bring them
back "dead."
+ The other people near the stage were the chorus
which consisted of about 4-8 people who would
stand in the back wearing black.
+ He was one of the three great ancient Greek
tragedians, together with Aeschylus and Euripides.
+ According to the Suda (a massive 10th century
Byzantine Greek historical encyclopædia of the ancient
Mediterranean world) he wrote 123 plays
+ In the dramatic competitions of the Festival of
Dionysus (where each submission by one playwright
consisted of four plays; three tragedies and a satyr
play), he won more first prizes (around 20) than any
other playwright, and placed second in all others he
participated in (Lloyd-Jones 1994: 8)
+ Only seven of his tragedies have survived
complete in the medieval manuscript
tradition. The most famous are the three
tragedies concerning Oedipus and Antigone:
these are often known as the Theban plays or
The Oedipus Cycle
+ One of the great innovators of the theatre, he
was the first to add a third actor.
+ Many authorities also credit him with the
invention of scene-painting and periaktoi or
painted prisms.
+ Of Sophocles' more than 120 plays, only seven
have survived in their entirety. Of these,
Oedipus the King is generally considered his
greatest work.
+ A masterful work of plot and suspense,
Oedipus the King is often heralded as a
"perfectly structured" play.