The Theater of
Ancient Greece
An introduction to Oedipus Rex
Virtually everything we know
of today’s theater—script,
stage, acting techniques--traces its heritage to the
Golden Age of Greece
Drama is defined as…
the acting out of basic
human emotions and
conflicts by actors on a
stage before an audience.
Some
thoughts on
tragedy….
“We participate in tragedy.
At comedy, we only look.”
---Aldous Huxley
“Tragedy is more important than
love. Out of all human events, it is
tragedy alone that brings people out
of their petty desires and into
awareness of other humans’
suffering. Tragedy occurs in human
lives so that we will learn to reach
out and comfort others”
---C.S. Lewis
“If a single person dies in
front of you, it is a tragedy.
If a million people die on
the other side of the earth,
it is a statistic.”
---Josef Stalin
“What makes tragedy so
tragic is not that the noble
individual falls into ruin, but
that his fall causes so much
suffering in others.”
---Charmezel Dudt
What is critical to understanding the
play Oedipus Rex?

It is representative of Athenian tragedy of fifth century,
B.C.

It evolved from a ritualistic art form

Physical characteristics of the Greek theater itself
imposed restrictions

Many modern conventions of performance began with
Greek Theater

Oedipus Rex fits the Aristotelian definition of the perfect
tragedy
Origins in Religious Ritual
Greek drama is tied
directly to religious
rituals in which the
gods often
appeared as
characters in the
play, determining
the fate of
mankind and
reflecting religious
beliefs
Origins in Religious Ritual
These performances
were so significant
that the government
of Greece suspended
business and daily
activities for the week
long festivals in honor
of the Greek god
Dionysus
Convention of 5th Century
Athenian Theater
Celebrated
kings and
heroes often
became
protagonists
in the plays
Physical Characteristics of Greek
Theater Imposed Restrictions
The theater
accommodated at
least 15,000 people—
all the citizens—
creating poor
acoustics and vision
problems for those in
the back
Why they wore masks…
As a result , actors wore
masks with
“megaphones” to
project their voices.
The masks also were
exaggerated
expressions for those
seated far back.
Masks also allowed
actors to change roles
quickly and easily.
Here are some examples of Masks…
Modern symbol for drama
The masks represent
Tragedy and Comedy
The audience sat on benches in the
theatron, “the seeing place.”
The rectangular building with three doors,
called the skene (“scene”), served as the
general backdrop for the action as well as an
area for the actors to change costumes,
masks, and roles
Lighting Restrictions
All plays were
performed during the
day because lighting
was not available at
night. Performances
tended to last from
dawn ‘til dusk.
Other restrictions…
A lack of painted scenery and the passage of time
in the performance had to be indicated through
character lines or the chorus.
Parados (“parade”)
The chorus was made up of nearly fifty
citizens. The chorus would enter in the
beginning or parados chanting and relating
the theme or conflict of the play
The Function of the Chorus
Create psychological and
emotional background to
the action
 Introduce and question
new characters
 Point out significant
events as they occur
 Establish facts and affirm
the outlook of society

Modern Conventions from Ancient
Greece
Thespis, the first
actor, stepped
from among the
ranks of the
chorus to speak
lines as a god
rather than lines
about a god.
Beginning of dialogue
Thus, the concept
of dialogue began
with playwrights
generating
interactive lines
between actor
and chorus
Introduction of the second actor
Aeschylus, the earliest
of the three great
tragedians,
introduced the second
actor. This allowed
another direction for
dialogue.
Introduction of the third actor
Sophocles, the second
of the three great
tragedians,
introduced the third
actor, the most actors
ever to appear on the
stage together in
Greek drama.
Aeschylus, sophocles, euripedes…
the three greatest tragedians
Both Aeschylus
and Euripedes,
the third and
latest of the
great Athenian
tragedians, also
employed the
third actor.
Costuming
Costumes were
designed to make the
actors appear larger
than life to help an
audience see them
from a distance and
to elevate the status
of their roles
Costuming
Often the costumes
were oversized and
cumbersome,
preventing a lot of
movement. A
declamatory style
of acting helped
accommodate the
actor’s lack of
mobility
Rhetorical Technique
A rhetorical tradition
of the period was
seen in lengthy
monologues and
stichomythic
dialogue between
two characters
essentially in a
debate.
Structure of Greek Drama
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Prologue the opening scene where the
background of the story is established
Parodos chorus enters with chants relating to
the theme or an extreme situation
Episode plot is developed much like a modern
Act or scene
Stasiman at the end of each episode, the
chorus expresses views
Exodus final action
Dramatic Conventions of Greek Tragedy
Continuous presence of the chorus after the
prologue; no intermissions
2. No interior scenes
3. No lighting effects
4. No acts of violence before the audience
5. Mythical subjects
6. Male actors only (with masks)
7. Dialogue in stichomythia
8. Frequent use of a messenger
9. Uses of machine- deus ex machina
10. Dramatic unities sometimes
1.
Aristotle
Pupil of Plato
 Teacher to Alexander
the Great
 Photographic memory
 Scientific in thought
 Famous for his views
on TRAGEDY,
mathematics, and
deductive logic


The Poetics
Aristotle first proposed how tragedy works…
a.
Unity of Action: nothing happens that
does not in some way specifically
advance the action forward
b.
Unity of Setting: all of the action occurs
in one geographical location
c.
Unity of Time: all events occur within a
single day
Aristotelian Unities
Oedipus Rex is an example of what are now
referred to as Aristotelian Unities
Adherence to these tenets of unity makes
for the taut, spare austerity we have come
to associate with Greek tragedy.
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
1. Based
on an event that
already took place and
which the audience is
familiar
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
2. The protagonist is of
noble stature
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
3. The protagonist has a
weakness, and because of it,
becomes isolated and suffers
a downfall
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
4. The audience may pity the
protagonist because the
downfall is not entirely his
fault
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
5. The fallen protagonist
gains self knowledge
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
6. The audience
undergoes a catharsis,
a purging of emotions,
after experiencing
pity, fear, shock and
other strong emotions.
The people go away
feeling better
Characteristics of Sophoclean Tragedy
7. The drama usually unfolds
in one place and in one day
Themes in Oedipus Rex
Fate punishes the proud and insolent with
an ironic outcome that is terrible
 The bigger they are, the harder they fall

The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
1.
Emphasizes human suffering
The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
2. Ends with rigid finality
The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
3. Moves with solemnity and
foreboding
The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
4. Emotional
response of
pity and fear
that laments
man’s fate
The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
5. Identification
with the hero
The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
6. Criticizes hubris, self
delusion, and complacency
The Purpose and Effect of Tragedy
7. Offers some hope (man can learn),
but stresses the limitations of the
human condition
The Tragic Struggle
is serious and painful
The Tragic Struggle is
against the unchangeable and
dominated by fate
The Tragic Struggle is
a discovery of hero’s true nature
that leads to his isolation
The Tragic Struggle is
a force beyond man’s control
The Tragic Struggle is
a struggle between
man and destiny
The Tragic Struggle is
in which social norms and the
predictable are at odds with life
Struggle against predictable and inevitable
Tragic Methods
Tragedy depends
upon the validity
of universal
norms
 Coherence in the
episodes
 Plot moves from
freedom of choice
to inflexible
consequences


Causality dominates
pattern of (a) deed,
which leads to (b)
suffering, which
leads to (c)
recognition or
understanding