Greek Theater
Historical Context
The Greek Theater
• 5th Century B. C.
• Golden Age of Greek Drama
• Dramatic festivals were
popular
• People witnessed tragic and
comic plays
The role of “drama” in the ancient
Greek culture was a specific one: it
played a significant part in the
religious rites of the period.
GREEK THEATRE
• Religious festival in honor of the God
DIONYSUS; the God of Wine and
Fertility
• Held in Athens
• The festival was thought to have
lasted anywhere from 7 to 15 days
• Playwrights would enter plays into a
contest; the winner won money and a
ivy wreath as a symbol of victory
• 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 Myths – Why they were written
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Explained the unexplainable
Justified religious practices
Gave credibility to leaders
Gave hope
Polytheistic (more than one god)
Centered around the twelve Olympians
(primary Greek gods)
How do we know about the Greeks?
While the Greeks were great at
writing plays, they were not so great
at keeping them for future reading,
most of the early great works were
lost.
Lycurgus established a library in 330BC,
which was the only way in which we have
any record of any of these early Greek
works.
Literary Elements
GREEK THEATRE
• COMEDY: main character achieves his goals
• TRAGEDY: main character suffers and does not
achieve his goals
• 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
GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS
•
•
•
•
•
SOPHOCLES: wrote tragedies; Oedipus Rex
AESCHYLUS: wrote tragedies
EURIPIDES: wrote tragedies
ARISTOPHANES: wrote comedies
MENANDER: wrote comedies
Sophocles
The Ancient Greek Plays & Playwrights
Sophocles (496-406 BC)
•A performer
•Introduction of the third actor
•His works became more actor-lead rather than choruslead
•Wrote over 100 plays – 20 won him first prize
ONLY SEVEN TEXTS SURVIVED
Ajax, The Trachiniae, Philoctetes, Electra
THE THEBAN LEGEND: His only remaining trilogy consists
of “Oedipus Rex,” “Oedipus at Colonus,” and “Antigone.”
GREEK THEATRE
• Greek philosopher ARISTOTLE wrote the
work The Poetics about important topics of
theatre such as…
• PLOT (what happens)
• THEME (the ideas and messages)
• CHARACTER, MUSIC, DICTION (speech)
• SPECTACLE (what is seen) were
discussed… these topics are still the primary
focus of theatre actors and directors in
modern theatre
The
Storyline
Main Character is of
the Elite Class
Main Character
suffers a Downfall –
He loses everything
Main Character is
Neither all good
nor all bad
Downfall is the result of a
Fatal Flaw – a character flaw
(pride/ambition/greed, etc.)
Misfortunes involve
characters who are
related or who are friends
Tragic actions
take place
offstage
Main Character has a
moment of
recognition –
understanding what
he’s done wrong
Audience
experiences pity
and fear
Pity and Fear
leads to a
catharsis
Technical Elements
The Greek Stage
Dionysus Theater in Athens
The Ancient Greek Theatre Space
Orchestra: a circular area with an altar in the
center where the performances took place
Skene: A building behind everything in which the
actors changed costumes
Audience: Usually the theatre spaces were built
into hillsides and the seating was arranged in a
large semi-circle
Periaktos: Triangle
prisms which could be
pivoted to reveal three
different backgrounds
Deus ex Machina: (god from
the machine) a crane-like
machine that was used to
lower an actor, playing the
part of god, onto the stage in
order to fix the problems at
hand
DIAGRAM OF AN ANCIENT GREEK THEATER SPACE
You might wish to copy this down, this looks strikingly similar to the diagram
that you will be drawing and labeling on the test.
The Stage
Modern Theater designed to look like one in Ancient Greece
Masks
Masks
of Greek
Theater
Masks of Greek Theater
Modern-day replicas
Hero-King
Comedy
(Servant or Herald )
Tragedy
(Weeping Chorus)
The masks were worn for many reason including:
1. Visibility--The mask was designed to be oversized
in order to better convey the expressed emotion to an
audience in a large theater.
2. Sound -- Some masks were designed with a
megaphone-like mouth-piece in order to help the actor
“project” his voice.
3. Few Actors, Many Roles --Masks also allowed for
one actor to play many different parts in the course of
one play.
4. Characterization
Video
Some general categories of masks
1. OLD MEN --Smooth-Faced, White, Grizzled, BlackHaired, 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, WhorishDisheveled, 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)
Performance Elements
THE CHORUS
a group of actors onstage who often spoke in
unison to prepare the audience for what is
about to happen or what has just taken place
Greek Theatre and the Chorus
Origins
• Greek theatre
evolved from ritual
and dance with a
strong choral focus,
to greater emphasis
upon dramatic action.
Dionysus
• The choric
dithyrambs (choral
songs) were
originally about the
death and
resurrection of
Dionysus (the god of
wine and fertility).
Narration
• The first function of the chorus was as narrator (telling
stories, providing information).
• The purpose of the chorus was to bridge the gap
between the audience and the players and to intensify
the emotion.
Function
• The functions of the chorus:
· Maintain a sense of ceremony and ritual
· Establish a lyric mood through rhythmic
chanting and dance
· Reinforce the passions of the dramatic
action
· Connect the audience and the actors by
making responses and asking questions
· Unite music, dance, and speech and connect
dramatic episodes
Music and Song
• The chorus could
punctuate the action of a
play with bursts of song
and dance, which
enlarged the dramatic
action and relieved
tension.
• Instruments used to
accompany choric songs
and dances included
flutes, lyres, horns,
drums, and bells.
Chorus in-role
• When the first actor stepped out of the chorus and
assumed a role, the chorus was then able to assume a
role as well (i.e. If the actor was playing a god, the
chorus could become his worshippers).
Objective vs. Subjective
• The chorus could
work within the
limits of the action as
characters, or from
outside the action as
impartial
commentators.
Guide for the Audience
• The chorus was the ideal spectator. It provided
commentary and questions, gave opinions and
warnings, and clarified experiences and feelings of
characters in everyday terms. The chorus sympathized
with victims, reinforced facts, separated episodes, and
often served as spokespeople for the conservative
members of the community.
Rehearsal
• Choruses probably did not rehearse in the theatres in
which they later performed. Not wanting spectators to
see the play before the festivals, they probably
rehearsed in a closed rehearsal room.
• Early dramatists (Aeschylus and probably Sophocles
and Euripides) taught their own choruses.
Size of the Chorus
• As the number of actors
increased from one to
three, the size of the
chorus, which originally
numbered 50, was
reduced.
• The ‘Parados’ (chorus
entrance) marks the
beginning of the play,
and the exodus (its exit)
the ending.
Civic Responsibility
• Members of the chorus
were chosen from the
general population.
• Chorus members were
unpaid volunteers doing
their civic duty.
• The rehearsal period for
a chorus was likely four
months or more.
Supported by
Community
• The chorus was
trained and
costumed at state
expense through a
choregos (a wealthy
citizen) who chose
this job as his way of
paying taxes and
raising his standing
in the community.
GREEK THEATRE
• THESPIS is credited as the first actor;
stepped away from the chorus and delivered
lines independently from the chorus
(International Thespian Society is named in
his honor); actors are generally referred to as
thespians
Gender
• Male actors performed all the roles
• Actors switched masks to play a
number of roles – both female and
male
One last Video