Greek Tragedy and Comedy
by
Filjor Broka
Outline
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Greek Life
Origins of Greek Theatre
Performance in Greek Theatre
Greek Tragedy
Greek Comedy
Greek Life - Politics
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Democratic form of government
Strongly supported public debate
and public speaking
Political life was a daily occurrence
Civic duty was a natural component
of their personality
Greek Life – Social Aspects
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Loved life
Loved to compete
Strove for excellence and beauty in
all things
Took pride in their freedom
Greek Life - Religion
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Polytheistic faith
Fate was the controlling factor
Worshipped their gods in diverse ways
Gods often appeared as mortals, may
have human attributes
Origins – Sources
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Extant plays and fragments
Records of dramas (scattered)
Commentaries (such as Aristotle)
Archeological remains of buildings
Visual art - primarily from vase painting
Therefore, the conclusions we make are
highly conjectural, but we can discuss the
standard accepted views of Greek theatre.
Dionysus
Dionysus was the God of:
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fertility (main duty)
wine
agriculture
sexuality
Dyonisian Festivals
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The Dionysian
ceremonies, simple at
the beginning, little by
little became noisy and
orgiastic.
The enthusiasts were
strolling holding the
phallus in front of them,
accompanied by flute,
drums and forminx,
eating the raw fleshes
of the animals sacrificed
to Dionysus.
Dyonisian Festivals
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Rural Dionysia in month
Neptune
(December - January)
Lenea in the month
Gameleon
(January - February)
Small Dionysia in month
Anthesterion
(February - March)
Great Dionysia (City
Dionysia) in month
Elaphevolion
(March - April)
Dithyramb
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Dithyramb is an hymn to god Dionysus, a choric song
accompanied by flute
As part of the choric poetry Dithyramb had a chorus.
The members of the chorus were disguised in animals (goats)
and they were called Satyrs. The Satyrs were daemons of the
woods and at first they had no relation to Dionysus.
According to Plutarch (Moralia, 257), dithyramb consisted of
songs, with lyrics drown from Dionysus life and his adventures.
Some of them were sad, symbolizing the suffering of God (sung
during Lenea, in January, when the nature mourns) and others
funny, symbolizing the joy of God (sung during the Great
Dionysia, in March, with the revival of the nature).
Dithyramb
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His followers, formed a parade : a satyr holding a urn
full of wine and some branches of wine tree was
leading, followed by a satyr carrying a goat, then by
a satyr carrying figs and at last by a satyr holding a
phallus. (All the above mentioned were symbols of
Dionysus.)
Behind them followed the people singing the
dithyramb. The parade ended in a circular threshing
floor (precedent of the orchestra), where the goat
was sacrificed (Even in the later centuries, in the
middle of the orchestra one could find an altar "thymeli").
Birth of Tragedy
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According to Greek tradition, the actor and playwright Thespis
invented the drama when he augmented the chorus of the
dithyramb with a single actor who wore masks to portray
several different characters.
With the possibility of dialogue between the actor and the
chorus, more complex themes and modes of storytelling could
be developed.
In 534 BC, at Athens' first dramatic festival, one of Thespis'
tragedies won the prize. (Derived from the Greek tragos,
meaning “goat,” the term tragedy may have referred to a goat
as the prize or as an animal sacrifice made at the festival.)
Thereafter, tragedies were performed annually as part of the
festival of Dionysus.
Actors in Greek Theatre
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At first in dithyramb, there were no actors.
Thespis was the poet who introduced the first hypocrite ,
Aeschylus the second and Sophocles the third one. The
hypocrits were always men
At the beginning the actors have been chosen by the poets
(they -sometimes- played the roles themselves).
Later, when theatre competition became tough, the need of
professional actors emerged. Some actors tended to attach
themselves to a poet.
Still in the 5th century, when the success of a production
depended on the actors as well, they were being chosen by the
State.
Playwrights originally acted, but by 449 B.C. with the contests
for tragic actors, they didn't.
Chorus
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Dominant in early tragedies (so main actors could change roles)
By Euripides, chorus only loosely related to the action
Size : from 50 to 12 to 15.
Generally believed to be 15 by the time of Sophocles and Euripides.
Entered with stately march, sometimes singing or in small groups.
Choral passages sung and danced in unison, sometimes divided into
two groups.
Sometimes exchanged dialog with the main characters, rarely individual
speaking
The leader of the chorus ("Coryphaios") was in the middle of the first
row. Coryphaios was a professional dancer and singer. The rest of the
chorus consisted of amatures chosen by the poet and payed by the
sponsor (choregos)
The chorus, was considered to be the mouthpiece of society (in its
humble form) and morality, and they were suffering along with the
heroes. Its role (very important at first) was fading during the time.
Chorus
Chorus- Functions
 an agent: gives advice, asks, takes part
 establishes ethical framework, sets up
standard by which action will be judged
 ideal spectator - reacts as playwright hopes
audience would
 sets mood and heightens dramatic effects
 adds movement, spectacle, song, and dance
 rhythmical function - pauses / paces the
action so that the audience can reflect
Costumes
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The costumes in the ancient Greek
theatre also have a symbolic significance
in the way the production is understood.
Since the hypocrits were all male, it was
necessary to make them look female for
female roles.
"In order to have a female appearance,
they were playing wearing the
‘prosterniad’ before the chest and the
‘progastrida’ before the belly.
In order to look taller and more
impressive they were wearing
‘cothornous’ (wooden shoes with tall
heels)"
The costumes allowed the audience to
know who the actor was trying to
portray.
The most essential part of their disguise
was the mask
Masks
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prevented the audience from
identifying the face of any
actor with one specific
character
allowed men to impersonate
women without confusion
helped the audience identify
the sex, age, and social rank
of the characters
were often changed by the
actors when they would exit
after an episode to assume a
new role
Stage
The theatre was constructed of three major parts:
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skene
-The skene was the place where the actors performed. It was
originally a hut, tent, or booth. It was the background for the play.
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orchestra -The orchestra was the main part of the stage where
the chorus was located at. It was the place where the chorus danced
and sang.
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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
Stage
Theatre of Dionysus
Theater of Epidauros
(built 330 B.C., near modern day Nauplion, Greece)
Theatre production
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Playwrights applied to the archon (religious leader)
for a chorus.
Expense borne by a choregai, wealthy citizen
chosen by the archon as part of civic / religious duty
Choregus paid for training, costuming, etc. (tho' term
choregus also refers to leader of the chorus.
The State responsible for theatre buildings, prizes,
payments to actors (and perhaps to playwrights).
Prizes were awarded jointly to playwrights and
choregus.
Dramatists themselves probably "directed" the tragic
plays, but probably not the comedies.
Aeschylus and others in his time acted, trained
chorus, wrote music, choreographed, etc.
Structure of the play
Prologos
Parodos
Episode I
Stasimon I
…
Exodus
Structure of the play
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Prologos-The first speech of an actor (hypokrites) or
actors, usually to set up the plot and explain what
has happened prior to the play’s beginning.
Parodos -The first speech of the chorus, usually to
explain their purpose in being there, or to explain the
overall purpose and meaning of the play.
Episodes -Actions between actors or between an
actor and the chorus. Their purpose is to present the
action or dialogue within the play.
Structure of the play
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Stasima- Songs of the chorus addressing an
abstract theme of the play, or focusing upon
the central theme of the play. The stasima
are not necessarily focused on the action of
the episodes, but may contain similar themes.
Exodus - The final resolution of the play,
and an explanation of the final actions in the
play by one or more of the hypokriteis.
Greek Tragedy
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Tragedies:
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Aeschylus - 525-456 B.C. - 80 plays, 7 extant
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Euripides - 480-406 B.C. - 90 plays, 18 or 19 extant
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Sophocles - 495-406 B.C.-100 plus plays, 7 extant
Greek Tragedy-Characteristics
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Late point of attack
Violence and death offstage (Sophocles's Ajax is an
exception)
Frequent use of messengers to relate information
Usually continuous time of action (except Aeschylus's
Eumenides)
Usually single place (except Ajax)
Stories based on myth or history, but varied
interpretations of events
Focus is on psychological and ethical attributes of
characters, rather than physical and sociological.
Catharsis
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The purification or purgation of the emotions
(especially pity and fear) primarily through art.
In criticism, catharsis is a metaphor used by
Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of true
tragedy on the spectator
The use is derived from the medical term katharsis
(Greek: “purgation” or “purification”).
Aristotle states that the purpose of tragedy is to
arouse “terror and pity” and thereby effect the
catharsis of these emotions.
Aeschylus
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He was born in Elefsina in 525 BC.
His family was noble and wealthy.
He participated in the battle of
Marathon (490 BC)and in the
battleship of Salamina (480 BC)against
the Persians, where he showed great
braveness and got seriously injured.
Aeschylus died in Gela of Sicely in 455
BC.
The tradition reports as a cause of his
death the fall of a turtle on his head.
He is still considered by many (as
Aristophanes writes about in The
Frogs) to be the greatest Greek
playwright.
He was awarded with 13 first prizes.
Only 7 of his 74 works are preserved
today.
Plays
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Persians (472)
Seven Against Thebes (468)
Suppliant Women (463)
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Oresteia Trilogy: (458)
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Agamemnon
Libation Bearers
Eumenides
Prometheus Bound (450-425)
Characteristics of Aeschylus's plays:
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characters have limited number of traits, but
clear and direct
emphasizes forces beyond human control
evolution of justice, impersonal
power of state eventually replacing personal
revenge
chain of private guilt and punishment - all
reconciled at end
Sophocles
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Sophocles was born in 497 BC in
Colonos, Athens.
Although according to some sources he
was the son of an aristocratic family,
according to others, he was the son of a
knife-maker.
He kept studying the plays of Aeschylus
and many times he defeated him in the
contests.
During his militairy service he attained
the rank of General.
He was teaching three separate
tragedies instead of one trilogy.
He increased the number of
hypocrits(actors) from two to three.
He also increased the members of the
chorus from 12 to 15.
His language was so harmonic and
beautiful that Aristoteles said that "honey
was dropping of his mouth"
He died in Athens in 405 BC, after having
written 123 dramas, of which only 7 are
saved.
Plays
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Ajax (450-430)
Antigone (c. 442)
Trachiniai (450-430)
Oedipus Tyrannos (429-425)
Electra (420-410)
Philoctetes (409)
Oedipus at Colonus (401)
Characteristics of Sophocles' plays:
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emphasis on individual characters
reduced role of chorus
complex characters, psychologically well-motivated
characters subjected to crisis leading to suffering and
self-recognition - including a higher law above man
exposition carefully motivated
scenes suspensefully climactic
action clear and logical
poetry clear and beautiful
few elaborate visual effects
theme emphasized: the choices of people
Euripides
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He was born in 480 BC in
Halandri, Athens on the day of
the battleship of Salamina.
His parents were very poor but
he had a fine education, being a
student of Anaxagoras and a
close friend to Socrates.
Very popular in later Greek
times, little appreciated during
his life sometimes known as
"the father of melodrama"
He wrote 72 works, 19 of which
are saved ( 18 tragedies and 1
satiric drama: "The Cyclops")
He died violently in 406 in Pella,
killed by wild dogs.
Euripides
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Euripides appears to cast tragedy's religious
foundations into question. Some later playwrights,
such as Aristophanes, portray him as arid in his
dialogue, and determined to make tragedy less
elevated by introducing common people. Others call
him a misogynist, an underminer of received morality,
and unorthodox in his religious views.
Yet, no other playwright from antiquity challenged
the status quo in such a controversial manner. He
brought about issues for the people and for the
philosophers, and not just for the literary figures.
Plays
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Alcestis (438)
Medea (431)
Children of Heracles (ca.
430)
Hippolytus (428)
Andromache (ca. 425)
Hecuba (ca. 424),
Suppliant Women (ca.
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Iphigenia among the
Taurians (ca. 414)
Ion (ca. 413)
Helen (412)
Phoenician Women (ca.
410)
423)
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Orestes (408)
Bacchae (after 406)
Iphigenia in Aulis (after
Electra (ca. 420)
Heracles (ca. 416)
Trojan Women (415)
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Cyclops (possibly ca.
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406)
410)
Characteristics of Euripides' plays:
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dealt with subjects usually considered unsuited to the stage
which questioned traditional values (Medea loving her
stepson, Medea murdering her children)
dramatic method often unclear -not always clearly causally
related episodes, with many reversals, deus ex machina
endings
many practices were to become popular: using minor myths
or severely altered major ones
less poetic language, realistic characterizations and dialog
tragedy was abandoned in favor of melodramatic treatment.
theme emphasized: sometimes chance rules world, people
are more concerned with morals than gods are.
Greek Comedy
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Comedy (from Greek komos, meaning “revel”) was presented competitively in
Athens from 486 BC at the Lenaea winter festival.
It fused much earlier traditions of popular entertainment, mime, phallic rites,
and revelry in honour of Dionysus.
Old Comedy, of which Aristophanes was the chief exponent, was highly satirical.
It was characterized by wildly imaginative material (in which the chorus might
represent birds, frogs, wasps, or clouds) that was blended with a grotesque,
vulgar, and witty tone, which could still accommodate poetry of great lyrical
beauty.
Commentary on contemporary society, politics, literature, and Peloponnesian
War.
Based on a "happy idea" - a private peace with a warring power or a sex strike
to stop war
The bawdiness of the plays was emphasized by the actors' costumes, which
featured jerkins with padded stomachs and large phalli.
As in tragedy, masks were worn, though exaggerated for comic effect.
Greek Comedy
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With the decline of tragedy after Euripides' death in 406 BC and
the defeat of Athens in 404 BC, comedy increased in popularity.
It began to evolve through the transitional Middle Comedy to
the style known as New Comedy, established about 320 BC
during the time of Alexander the Great.
Only fragments by one writer, Menander, survive from this
period, but they indicate a swing away from mythological
subjects toward a comedy of manners, concentrating as they do
on the erotic adventures of young Athenians and centring on
urban family life.
The new, gentler style was reflected in the use of more realistic
costumes and masks and in the increasing use of scenery.
Aristophanes
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He was born in Athens in
452 BC.
He had been writing since he
was an adolescent but he
was not allowed to
participate in the contests
because of his age.
Therefore he participated
with the alias "Detalis" and
he won the first prize with
"The Acharnians".
He died in Aegina in 385 BC.
Plays
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Acharnians (425 B.C.)
Knights (424 B.C.)
Clouds (423 B.C.)
Wasps (422 B.C.)
Peace (421 B.C.)
Birds (414 B.C.)
Lysistrata (411 B.C.)
Women at the Thesmophoria (411 B.C.)
Frogs (405 B.C.)
Ecclesiazusae (c. 391 B.C.)
Plutus (388 B.C.)
Menander 342-291 B.C
Very little has survived from this
playwright from Greece’s Late Comedy era,
other than what later comedy writers such
as Plautus and Terence adapted from
Menander. He is said to have written more
than 100 plays, but only one survives,
Dyscolus, which wasn’t printed as a
modern text until 1958.
Produced his first play: 321 B.C.
Menander’s first win (Dyscolus): 316 B.C.
Number of victories by Menander: 6
Bibliography
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“Ancient Greek Theatre”, Elias Karayannakos.
Accessed at http://www.greektheatre.gr/ on January 27, 2007
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Arnott, Peter D. “An introduction to the Greek theatre”. London: Macmillan, 1959
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Baldock, Marion. “Greek Tragedy : An introduction”. Bristol : Bristol Classical Press, 1989.
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“Greek Theatre”, Walter Englert, Reed College.
Accessed at http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/Theater.html on January28, 2007

“Greek Theatre Index”, Theater History
Accessed at http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/greek.html on January 27, 2007

“Introduction to Theatre : Ancient Greek Theatre”, Northern Virginia Community College.

“Theatre, Western." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Whiting, Frank. “An introduction to theatre” New York :Harper & Row, Publishers 1978
Accessed at http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/ancientgreek.htm on January 27, 2007
Accessed at http://search.eb.com/eb/article-59881 on January 27, 2007.
Thank you !
Questions ?