Western Civilization
Greek
Theater
The Greek Theater
5th Century B. C.
Golden Age of Greek Drama
Dramatic festivals were popular
People witnessed tragic and
comic plays
The land
Overview of GreekTheTheatre
myths
The stage
The Land
Greece has thousands of inhabited islands
and dramatic mountain ranges
Greece has a rich culture and history
Democracy was founded in Greece
Patriarchal (male dominated) society
Philosophy, as a practice, began in Greece
(Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)
The Land
Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea
The Land
Overview of Greek Theatre
The land
The myths
The stage
The Stage
Three Main
Portions of Greek
Theatre:
Skene – Portion of
stage where actors
performed
(included 1-3 doors
in and out)
Orchestra –
“Dancing Place”
where chorus sang
to the audience
Theatron – Seating
for audience
The Stage
The Stage
The Stage
Greek plays were performed during religious
ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the
Greek god of wine and revelry (altars generally
on stage)
Banks would shut down for days, people would
travel from all around to see the drama
competitions—even prisoners were temporarily
released to see the plays
Tragedy means “goat song” (relates to
Dionysian rituals)
The Stage
Where and how were the dramas performed?
…In an amphitheatre
…With a chorus who
described most of the
action.
…With masks
…With all the fighting
and movement going
on off stage.
….With tragedy first,
then comedy later.
GREEK THEATRE
Greek theatres were constructed in hillsides using the
natural slope of the hill for seating the audience
ORCHESTRA: Large circular area located at the
foot of the hill; location from where the chorus
would chant their lines
Behind the ORCHESTRA was a raised platform
where the actors performed a small building called
the SKENE was at the back of the platform-it was
where the actors would change their masks- the
front of the SKENE was used to represent location;
modern day word SCENE comes from SKENE
GREEK THEATRE
Greek theatre used specialty machinery; most
noted was the platform on wheels and the DEUS
EX MACHINA (literally translated God by
Machine)-a device used to lower actors from the
top of the SKENE to the stage; used to show the
dissention of Gods from the Heavens to earth
Greek era considered to be the most important
time in theatre history
GREEK THEATRE
COMEDY: light humorous dramas with a happy
ending
TRAGEDY: the main character suffers a
disastrous end
SATYR (satire): made fun of Greek legends
All of these play types were written and performed
during this time period… although the
interpretation of these art forms has evolved they
are still the general dramatic forms still written
and performed at present
Masks of Greek
Theater
The masks were worn for many
reason including:
1. Visibility
2. Acoustic Assistance
3. Few Actors, Many Roles
4. Characterization
Some general categories of masks
1. OLD MEN
Smooth-Faced, White, Grizzled, Black-Haired, Flaxen and
More Flaxen
2. YOUNG MEN
Common, Curled, More Curled, Graceful, Horrid, Pale
and Less Pale
3. SLAVES
Leathern, Peaked-Beard, Flat Nose
4. WOMEN
Freed Old Woman, Old Domestic, Middle Aged, Leathern,
Pale-Disheveled, Pale Middle Aged, Whorish-Disheveled,
Virgin, Girl
5. SPECIALIST MASKS
Some made for specific characters, others for: Mourning,
Blindness, Deceit, Drunkenness...etc. (The comic masks,
those especially of old comedy, were as like as possible to
true persons they represented, or made to appear more
ridiculous)
Masks of Greek Theater
Masks
of Greek
Theater
Modern-day replicas
Hero-King
Comedy
(Servant or Herald )
Tragedy
(Weeping Chorus)
Theater at Epidaurus
Theater at Epidaurus
Major Greek Dramatists
Aeschylus
524 B.C.
Seven Against
Thebes
Sophocles
496 B.C.
Antigone
Oedipus
Euripides
480 B.C.
Medea
Dramatist
Born
Wrote
Sophocles’ Antigone
Set in Thebes (a city in ancient Greece)
Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and
Jocasta
Antigone’s brothers, Eteokles and
Polyneces, took opposite sides in a war
Eteokles and Polyneces killed each other
in battle
Antigone’s uncle, Kreon, became king of
Thebes
Sophocles
Greek Comedy and Aristophanes
Euripides’ Medea
Medea is a princess from Colchis
Medea marries Jason, who is in Colchis
on a quest for the Golden Fleece
Medea betrays her father and murders
her brother for her love of Jason
Medea has magical powers
Jason takes Medea back to his homeland,
Corinth, where they have children
Jason takes another wife, the king of
Corinth’s daughter
Jason’s Voyage on the Argo
Jason and
Medea meet
Corinth: Where Jason
and Medea settle down
Overview of Greek Theatre
The land
The stage
The myths
Myths played a key role
in Greek drama
The Myths – Why they were written
1. Explained the unexplainable
2. Justified religious practices
3. Gave credibility to leaders
4. Gave hope
5. Polytheistic (more than one god)
6. Centered around the twelve
Olympians (primary Greek gods)
Explained the Unexplainable
When Echo tried to get
Narcissus to love her, she was
denied.
Saddened, she shriveled to
nothing, her existence melting
into a rock.
Only her voice remained.
Hence, the echo!
To justify religious practices
Dionysian cults in ancient Greece
were founded to worship Dionysus,
god of grapes, vegetation, and wine.
Roots in Worship of
Dionysus
God of wine and revelry
Theater of Dionysus
Dionysia was an annual festival
in honor of the god Dionysus
Theater of Dionysus was an
open-air Theater with room
for fifteen thousand spectators
Theater of Dionysus
carved out of a stone hillside
looked like a semicircle with
steeply rising tiers of seats
Theater of Dionysus
Theater of Dionysus
At the bottom was the
rounded orchestra or
performance area where
the chorus sang and danced
Dionysus Theater in Athens
Theater of Dionysus
Behind the orchestra was an
open, almost bare, stage
where actors spoke their
lines from behind huge
masks
Dionysus Theater in Athens
Dionysus Theater in Athens
Theater of Dionysus
Male actors performed all the
roles
Actors switched masks to play a
number of roles – both female
and male
Dionysus and Satyrs
To give credibility to leaders
Used myths to create
family trees for their
leaders, enforcing the
made-up idea that the
emperors were
related to the gods
and were, then,
demigods.
To give hope
The ancient citizens of
Greece would sacrifice and
pray to an ORACLE.
An oracle was a priest or
priestess who would send a
message to the gods from
mortals who brought their
requests.
Where DID hope come from?
After unleashing suffering, famine, disease,
and many other evils, the last thing Pandora let
out was HOPE.
Oracle of Delphi
Oracle of Delphi
Delphi
Delphi
Mount Olympus…
…Where the
Olympians
lived.
Who are the Olympians?
The
Olympians
Are the 12
Main Gods
The Olympians
Zeus
King of gods
Heaven
Storms
Thunder
lightning
Poseidon
Zeus’s brother
King of the sea
Earthquakes
Horses
Hades
Brother to Zeus and
Poseidon
King of the Underworld
(Tartarus)
Husband of Persphone
Ares
God of war
Hephaestus
God of fire
Craftspeople
Metalworkers
Artisans
Apollo
God of the sun
Music
Poetry
Fine arts
Medicine
Hermes
Messenger to the gods
Trade
Commerce
Travelers
Thieves & scoundrels
Dionysus
God of Wine
Partying (Revelry)
Hera
Queen of gods
Women
Marriage
Childbirth
Demeter
Goddess of Harvest
Agriculture
Fertility
Fruitfulness
Mom to Persephone
Hestia
Goddess of Hearth
Home
Community
Athena
Goddess of wisdom
Practical arts
War
Aphrodite
Goddess of love and beauty
Artemis
Goddess of hunting
and the moon.
The
Storyline
Central
Character is
of the Elite
Class
Central
Character
suffers a
Downfall
Central
Character is
Neither
Wholly
good nor
wholly evil
Downfall is
the result of
a Fatal Flaw
Misfortunes
involve
characters
who are
related or
who are
friends
Tragic
actions take
place
offstage
Central
Character
has a
moment of
recognition
Audience
experiences
pity and
fear
Pity and
Fear leads to
a catharsis
The End