Ancient Greek Theatre
The theater of Dionysus, Athens (Saskia, Ltd.)
This page is designed to provide a brief introduction to Ancient Greek Theater, and to
provide tools for further research. Click on any of the following topics to explore
them further.
1. Timeline of Greek Drama
2. Origins of Greek Drama
3. Staging an ancient Greek play
4. Greek Theaters
5. Structure of the plays read in Humanities 110
6. English and Greek texts of the plays for word searching.
7. Bibliography and links to other on-line resources for Greek Tragedy
1. Timeline of Greek Drama
Although the origins of Greek Tragedy and Comedy are obscure and controversial,
our ancient sources allow us to construct a rough chronology of some of the steps in
their development. Some of the names and events on the timeline are linked to
passages in the next section on the Origins of Greek Drama which provide additional
context.
(Works in bold are on the Hum 110 syllabus)
7th Century BC
c. 625
Arion at Corinth produces named dithyrambic choruses.
6th Century BC
600-570
540-527
536-533
Cleisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, transfers "tragic choruses" to Dionysus
Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, founds the festival of the Greater Dionysia
Thespis puts on tragedy at festival of the Greater Dionysia in Athens
525
Aeschylus born
511-508
Phrynichus' first victory in tragedy
c. 500
Pratinus of Phlius introduces the satyr play to Athens
5th Century BC
499-496
c. 496
492
494)
485
484
472
467
468
463?
458
456
c. 450
447
c. 445
441
438
431-404
431
c. 429
428
423
415
406
405
404
401
Aeschylus' first dramatic competition
Sophocles born
Phrynicus' Capture of Miletus (Miletus was captured by the Persians in
Euripides born
Aeschylus' first dramatic victory
Aeschylus' Persians
Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes
Aeschylus defeated by Sophocles in dramatic competition
Aeschylus' Suppliant Women
Aeschylus' Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides)
Aeschylus dies
Aristophanes born
Parthenon begun in Athens
Sophocles' Ajax
Sophocles' Antigone
Euripides' Alcestis
Peloponnesian War (Athens and allies vs. Sparta and allies)
Euripides' Medea
Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Euripides' Hippolytus
Aristophanes' Clouds
Euripides' Trojan Women
Euripides dies; Sophocles dies
Euripides' Bacchae
Athens loses Peloponnesian War to Sparta
Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus
4th Century BC
399
c. 380's
c. 330's
Trial and death of Socrates
Plato's Republic includes critique of Greek tragedy and comedy
Aristotle's Poetics includes defense of Greek tragedy and comedy
2. Origins of Greek Drama
Ancient Greeks from the 5th century BC onwards were fascinated by the question of
the origins of tragedy and comedy. They were unsure of their exact origins, but
Aristotle and a number of other writers proposed theories of how tragedy and comedy
developed, and told stories about the people thought to be responsible for their
development. Here are some excerpts from Aristotle and other authors which show
what the ancient Greeks thought about the origins of tragedy and comedy.
Aristotle on the origins of Tragedy and Comedy
1. Indeed, some say that dramas are so called, because their authors represent the
characters as "doing" them (drôntes). And it is on this basis that the Dorians [= the
Spartans, etc.] lay claim to the invention of both tragedy and comedy. For comedy is
claimed by the Megarians here in Greece, who say it began among them at the time
when they became a democracy [c. 580 BC], and by the Megarians of Sicily on the
grounds that the poet Epicharmas came from there and was much earlier than
Chionides and Magnes; while tragedy is claimed by certain Dorians of the
Peloponnese. They offer the words as evidence, noting that outlying villages, called
dêmoi by the Athenians, are called kômai by them, and alleging that kômôdoi
(comedians) acquired their name, not from kômazein (to revel), but from the fact that,
being expelled in disgrace from the city, they wandered from village to village. The
Dorians further point out that their word for "to do" is drân, whereas the Athenians
use prattein. (Aristotle: Poetics Chapter 3)
2. And in accordance with their individual types of character, poetry split into two
kinds, for the graver spirits tended to imitate noble actions and noble persons
performing them, and the more frivolous poets the doings of baser persons, and as the
more serious poets began by composing hymns and encomia, so these began with
lampoons....Thus among the early poets, some became poets of heroic verse and
others again of iambic verse. Homer was not only the master poet of the serious vein,
unique in the general excellence of his imitations and especially in the dramatic
quality he imparts to them, but was also the first to give a glimpse of the idea of
comedy [in the Margites]...And once tragedy and comedy had made their appearance,
those who were drawn to one or the other of the branches of poetry, true to their
natural bias, became either comic poets instead of iambic poets, or tragic poets instead
of epic poets because the new types were more important-- i.e. got more favorable
attention, than the earlier ones. Whether tragedy has, then, fully realized its possible
forms or has not yet done so is a question the answer to which both in the abstract and
in relation to the audience [or the theater] may be left for another discussion. Its
beginnings, certainly, were in improvisation [autoschediastikês], as were also those
for comedy, tragedy originating in impromptus by the leaders of dithyrambic
choruses, and comedy in those of the leaders of the phallic performances which still
remain customary in many cities. Little by little tragedy grew greater as the poets
developed whatever they perceived of its emergent form, and after passing through
many changes, it came to a stop, being now in possession of its specific nature [tên
hautês phusin]. It was Aeschylus who first increased the number of the actors from
one to two and reduced the role of the chorus, giving first place to the dialogue.
Sophocles [added] the third actor and [introduced] painted scenery. Again, [there was
a change] in magnitude; from little plots and ludicrous language (since the change
was from the satyr play), tragedy came only late in its development to assume an air
of dignity, and its meter changes from the trochaic tetrameter to the iambic trimeter.
Indeed, the reason why they used the tetrameter at first was that their form of poetry
was satyric [i.e. for "satyrs"] and hence more oriented toward dancing; but as the
spoken parts developed, natural instinct discovered the appropriate meter, since of all
metrical forms the iambic trimeter is best adapted for speaking. (This is evident, since
in talking with one another we very often utter iambic trimeters, but seldom dactylic
hexameters, or if we do we depart from the tonality of normal speech. Again, [there
was a change] in the number of episodes -- but as for this and the way in which
reportedly each of the other improvements came about, let us take it all as said, since
to go through the several details would no doubt be a considerable task. (Aristotle:
Poetics Chapter 4)
Stories about the poet Arion
3. Periander was tyrant of Corinth. The Corinthians say (and the Lesbians agree) that
the greatest wonder in his life was the voyage of Arion of Methymna to Taenarum on
a dolphin. He was a kitharode second to none at that time and the first of men whom
we know to have composed the dithyramb and named it and produced it in Corinth.
(Herodotus I.23)
4. Arion, of Methymna...is said also to have invented the tragic mode (tragikoû
tropou) and first composed a stationary chorus and sung a dithyramb and named what
the chorus sang and introduced satyrs speaking verses. (The Suda lexicon)
5. Pindar says the dithyramb was discovered in Corinth. The inventor of the song
Aristotle calls Arion. He first led the circular chorus. (Proculus, Chrest. xii)
6. The first performance of tragedy was introduced by Arion of Methymna, as Solon
said in his Elegies. Charon of Lampsacus says that drama was first produced at
Athens by Thespis. (John the Deacon, Commentary on Hermogenes)
Stories about Cleisthenes, Sicyon, and Hero-drama
7. I must not omit to explain that [the tyrant] Cleisthenes picked on Melanippus as the
person to introduce into Sicyon, because he was a bitter enemy of Adrastus, having
killed both Mecistes, his brother, and Tydeus his son-in-law. After settling him in his
new shrine, he transferred to him the religious honors of sacrifice and festival which
had previously been paid to Adrastus. The people of Sicyon had always regarded
Adrastus with great reverence, because the country had once belonged to Polybus, his
maternal grandfather, who died without an heir and bequeathed the kingdom to him.
One of the most important of the tributes paid him was the tragic chorus, or
ceremonial dance and song, which the Sicyonians celebrated in his honor; normally,
the tragic chorus belongs to the worship of Dionysus; but in Sicyon it was not so -- it
was performed in honor of Adrastus, treating his life-story and sufferings.
Cleisthenes, however, changed this: he transferred the choruses to Dionysus, and the
rest of the ceremonial to Melanippus. (Herodotus V.67)
Stories trying to explain why, if tragedy originated from Dithyrambs sung in honor of
Dionysus, not all tragedies were about Dionysus ("Nothing to do with Dionysus":
(ouden pros ton Dionuson)
8. When Phrynichus and Aeschylus developed tragedy to include mythological plots
and disasters, it was said, "What has this to do with Dionysus?" (Plutarch, Symp.
Quaest.)
9. Nothing to do with Dionysus. When, the choruses being accustomed from the
beginning to sing the dithyramb to Dionysus, later poets abandoned this custom and
began to write "Ajaxes" and "Centaurs". Therefore the spectators said in joke,
"Nothing to do with Dionysus." For this reason they decided later to introduce satyrplays as a prelude, in order that they might not seem to be forgetting the god.
(Zenobius V.40)
10. Nothing to do with Dionysus. When Epigenes the Sicyonian made a tragedy in
honor of Dionysus, they made this comment; hence the proverb. A better explanation:
Originally when writing in honor of Dionysus they competed with pieces which were
called satyric. Later they changed to the writing of tragedy and gradually turned to
plots and stories in which they had no thought for Dionysus. Hence this comment.
Chamaeleon writes similarly in his book on Thespis. (The Suda lexicon)
Stories about Thespis the Athenian playwright
11. From when Thespis the poet first acted, who produced a play in the city and the
prize was a goat... (Marmor Parium, under the year about 534 BC).
12. This is Thespis, who first moulded tragic song, inventing new joys for his
villagers, when Bacchus led the wine-smeared (?) chorus, for which a goat was the
prize (?) and a basket of Attic figs was a prize too. The young change all this. Length
of time will discover many new things. But mine is mine. (Dioscorides, Anth. Pal.
VII. 410)
13. The unknown poetry of the tragic Muse Thespis is said to have discovered and to
have carried poems on wagons, which they sang and acted, their faces smeared with
wine-lees. (Horace, Ars Poetica 275-277)
14. As of old tragedy formerly the chorus by itself performed the whole drama and
later Thespis invented a single actor to give the chorus a rest and Aeschylus a second
and Sophocles a third, thereby completing tragedy... (Diogenes Laertius III. 56)
15. Thespis: Of the city of Ikarios in Attica, the sixteenth tragic poet after the first
tragic poet, Epigenes of Sicyon, but according to some second after Epigenes. Others
say he was the first tragic poet. In his first tragedies he anointed his face with white
lead, then he shaded his face with purslane in his performance, and after that
introduced the use of masks, making them in linen alone. He produced in the 61st
Olympiad (536/5-533/2 BC). Mention is made of the following plays: Games of
Pelias or Phorbas, Priests, Youths, Pentheus. (The Suda lexicon)
3. Staging an ancient Greek play
Attending a tragedy or comedy in 5th century BC Athens was in many ways a
different experience than attending a play in the United States in the 20th century. To
name a few differences, Greek plays were performed in an outdoor theater, used
masks, and were almost always performed by a chorus and three actors (no matter
how many speaking characters there were in the play, only three actors were used; the
actors would go back stage after playing one character, switch masks and costumes,
and reappear as another character). Greek plays were performed as part of religious
festivals in honor of the god Dionysus, and unless later revived, were performed only
once. Plays were funded by the polis, and always presented in competition with other
plays, and were voted either the first, second, or third (last) place. Tragedies almost
exclusively dealt with stories from the mythic past (there was no "contemporary"
tragedy), comedies almost exclusively with contemporary figures and problems.
In what follows, we will run through an imaginary (but as far a possible, accurate)
outline of the production of a Greek tragedy in 5th century BC Athens from beginning
to end. The outline will bring out some of the features of creating and watching a
Greek tragedy that made it a different process than it is today. Staging a play.
4. Greek Theatres
Greek tragedies and comedies were always performed in outdoor theatres. Early
Greek theatres were probably little more than open areas in city centres or next to
hillsides where the audience, standing or sitting, could watch and listen to the chorus
singing about the exploits of a god or hero. From the late 6th century BC to the 4th
and 3rd centuries BC there was a gradual evolution towards more elaborate theatre
structures, but the basic layout of the Greek theatre remained the same. The major
components of Greek theatre are labelled on the diagram above.
Orchestra: The orchestra (literally, "dancing space") was normally circular. It was a
level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the actors who were
on the stage near the skene. The earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth,
but in the Classical period some orchestras began to be paved with marble and other
materials. In the centre of the orchestra there was often a thymele, or altar. The
orchestra of the theatre of Dionysus in Athens was about 60 feet in diameter.
Theatron: The theatron (literally, "viewing-place") is where the spectators sat. The
theatron was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra, and often wrapped
around a large portion of the orchestra (see the diagram above). Spectators in the fifth
century BC probably sat on cushions or boards, but by the fourth century the theatron
of many Greek theatres had marble seats.
Skene: The skene (literally, "tent") was the building directly behind the stage. During
the 5th century, the stage of the theatre of Dionysus in Athens was probably raised
only two or three steps above the level of the orchestra, and was perhaps 25 feet wide
and 10 feet deep. The skene was directly in back of the stage, and was usually
decorated as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs of the play. It
had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and exits through them.
There was also access to the roof of the skene from behind, so that actors playing
gods and other characters (such as the Watchman at the beginning of Aeschylus'
Agamemnon) could appear on the roof, if needed.
Parodos: The parodoi (literally, "passageways") are the paths by which the chorus
and some actors (such as those representing messengers or people returning from
abroad) made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit
the theater before and after the performance.
Greek Theatres Click here to explore more about Greek theatres in Perseus, with
descriptions, plans, and images of eleven ancient theatres, including the Theatre of
Dionysus in Athens, and the theatre at Epidaurus.
5. Structure of the plays read in Humanities 110
The basic structure of a Greek tragedy is fairly simple. After a prologue spoken by
one or more characters, the chorus enters, singing and dancing. Scenes then alternate
between spoken sections (dialogue between characters, and between characters and
chorus) and sung sections (during which the chorus danced). Here are the basic parts
of a Greek Tragedy:
a. Prologue: Spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. The
prologue usually gives the mythological background necessary for understanding the
events of the play.
b. Parodos: This is the song sung by the chorus as it first enters the orchestra and
dances.
c. First Episode: This is the first of many "episodes", when the characters and chorus
talk.
d. First Stasimon: At the end of each episode, the other characters usually leave the
stage and the chorus dances and sings a stasimon, or choral ode. The ode usually
reflects on the things said and done in the episodes, and puts it into some kind of
larger mythological framework.
For the rest of the play, there is alternation between episodes and stasima, until the
final scene, called the...
e. Exodos: At the end of play, the chorus exits singing a processional song which
usually offers words of wisdom related to the actions and outcome of the play.
6. English and Greek texts of the plays for word searching.
This page allows you to find passages in the any of the plays in either Greek or
English. In sections H and I there are links which allow you to search for particular
English or Greek words in the text of any of the plays.
A. Agamemnon
English text
Greek text
B. Libation Bearers
English text
Greek text
C. Eumenides
English text
Greek text
D. Antigone
English text
Greek text
E. Oedipus the King
English text
Greek text
F. Bacchae
English text
Greek text
G. Clouds
English text
Greek text
H. Search for English word in any of the plays.
To search for the occurrence(s) an English word in one of the plays, click on the
above, and type in the English word in the box marked "Look for:"; then type in the
name of the author of the play (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, or Aristophanes) in
the box marked "Show results for". The search will turn up the occurrence of the word
you have requested in all of the plays of the author you have typed in.
I. Search for Greek word in any of the plays.
You do not have to know ancient Greek to use this helpful resource. The Greek word
search program allows you to type in an English word, and then gives you all of the
Greek words that have that English word as part of the definition. You can then search
for those Greek words in the Greek texts you are interested in. This is very helpful,
because it allows you to be less dependent on the English translation when you are
searching for a word or concept in the Greek text. For example, if you are exploring
the issue of "justice" in one of the plays, you can find out what the Greek words are
that have "justice" as part of their definition, and then search for those words directly
in the Greek text of the play.
7. Links to other on-line resources for Greek Theatre and a brief bibliography
A. Links to other Greek theatre sites
Skenotheke: Images of the Ancient Stage (Department of Classics University of
Saskatchewan)
Excellent site which includes images of ancient theaters, vase paintings, mosaics,
frescoes, and monuments related to the ancient theater.
Didaskalia: Ancient Theatre Today (University of Warwick)
On-line journal devoted to modern productions of ancient Greek plays. Includes a
brief illustrated history of ancient theater.
B. Bibliography for further reading
Books in the Reed Library that provide helpful approaches to Greek Tragedy include:
General Books
Goldhill, S. Reading Greek Tragedy (1986)
Heath, M. The Poetics of Greek Tragedy (1987)
Knox, B. Word and Action (1979)
Lesky, A. Greek Tragic Poetry (1983)
Rehm, R. Greek Tragic Theatre (1992)
Segal, C. Interpreting Greek Tragedy: Myth, Poetry, Text (1986)
Taplin, O. Greek Tragedy in Action (1978)
Vernant, J.P., and Vidal-Naquet, P. Tragedy and Myth in Ancient Greece (1981)
Vickers, B. Towards Greek Tragedy (1973)
Winkler, J. and Zeitlin, F. Nothing to Do with Dionysus? (1990)
Origins of Greek Drama
Burkert, W. "Greek Tragedy and Sacrificial Ritual." Greek, Roman, and Byzantine
Studies 7 (1966): 87-121.
Lesky, A. Greek Tragic Poetry (1983). Chapter 1: "Problems of Origin."
Pickard-Cambridge, A.W. Dithyramb, Tragedy, and Comedy (1927) ________,
second edition by Webster, T.B.L. (1962)
Winkler, J. "The Ephebes' Song: Tragoîdia and Polis." reprinted in Nothing to Do
with Dionysus? (1990)
Aeschylus
Goldhill, S. Language, Sexuality, Narrative: The Oresteia (1984)
Lebeck, A. The Oresteia: A Study of Language and Structure (1971)
Rosenmeyer, T. The Art of Aeschylus (1982)
Taplin, O. The Stagecraft of Aeschylus (1977)
Winnington-Ingram, R.P. Studies in Aeschylus (1983)
Sophocles
Blundell, M.W. Helping Friends and Harming Enemies: A Study in Sophocles and
Greek Ethics (1989)
Edmunds, L. Oedipus: The ancient Legend and its Later Analogues (1985)
Gardiner, C.P. The Sophoclean Chorus (1987)
Gellie, G. Sophocles: A Reading (1972)
Knox, B. The Heroic Temper (1964)
Knox, B. Oedipus at Thebes (1957)
Scodel, R. Sophocles (1984)
Segal, Charles Tragedy and Civilization: An Interpretation of Sophocles (1981)
Winnington-Ingram, R.P. Sophocles: An Interpretation (1980)
Euripides
Burian, P., ed. Directions in Euripidean Criticism (1985)
Collard C. Euripides (Greece and Rome Surveys in the Classics n. 14) (1981)
Foley, H. Ritual Irony: Poetry and Sacrifice in Euripides (1985)
Halleran, M. Stagecraft in Euripides (1985)
Michelini, A.N. Euripides and the Tragic Tradition (1987)
Segal, C. Dionysiac Poetics and Euripides' Bacchae (1982)
Segal, E., ed. Euripides
Velacott, P. Ironic Drama: A Study of Euripides (1975)
Winnington-Ingram, R. Euripides and Dionysus: An Interpretation of the Bacchae
(1948)
Aristophanes
Cartledge, P. Aristophanes and His Theatre of the Absurd (1990)
Dover, K.J. Aristophanic Comedy (1972)
Henderson, J. The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Atic Comedy. 2nd edition.
(1991)
Henderson, J. "The Demos and the Comic Competition", in J. Winkler and F. Zeitlin,
eds, Nothing to Do with Dionysus? (1990)
Konstan, D. Greek Comedy and Ideology (1995)
MacDowell, D. Aristophanes and Athens (1995)
McLeish, K. The Theatre of Aristophanes. London, 1980.
Nussbaum, M. "Aristophanes and Socrates on learning practical wisdom", Yale
Classical Studies 26 (1980) 43-97.
Redfield, J. "Drama and Community: Aristophanes and Some of His Rivals", in J.
Winkler and F. Zeitlin, eds, Nothing to Do with Dionysus? (1990)
Taplin, O. Comic Angels and Other Approaches to Greek Drama through VasePaintings. Oxford: 1993.
Ussher, R.G. Aristophanes (Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics, 13).
Oxford, 1979.
Whitman, C.H. Aristophanes and the Comic Hero. Cambridge, MA., 1964.