Greek Theatre
Background
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Originated in Athens ~534 BC.
Thespis is the earliest playwright recorded.
The term ‘Thespian performer’ came from Thespis.
Satyr play is the earliest type of play. It was a
mythological tragedy portrayed in a comedic fashion.
• Tragedies and Comedies are totally different genres.
• No one knows where tragedies and comedies
originated from. Aristotle and other philosophers
proposed theories.
Background
• Males who played female roles wore a
prosternada, a wooden structure for the chest
and a progastreda the stomach.
• Actors who had tragic roles wore boots
Corthurnus.
• Comedic roles wore thin soled shoes called
socks.
• Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides are the
three great playwrights.
Playwrights
• The first playwright and the first actor and the
earliest recorded playwright.
• From a village named Icaria.
• Aeschylus 525-456 BC, Sophocles 496-406 BC,
and Euripides 484-406 BC.
• Aeschylus composed ~80 plays.
• Sophocles wrote ~120 plays. Seven of them are
still alive.
• Eurpides wrote ~98 plays.
Playwrights
• Aeschylus introduced a new format for a play.
• Instead of one character and the chorus, he
brought in two characters along with the chorus.
• Sophocles invented the skenographia.
• A painted backdrop for his play, he was the first
playwright to put a background in a play.
• Euripides invented the mechanical accessories in
the play to make the gods and goddesses appear
and disappear faster.
Parts Theatre
• Orchestra, dancing place.
• Theatron, seating place.
• Skene, backdrop, set of play. Usually a two
story building.
• Parados, arch ways where actors and chorus
enter and exit
Order of Play
• Prologue, background of play spoken by 1-2
characters.
• Parados, song sung by chorus while orchestra and
dances enter.
• (First) Episode, parts of play where chorus and
characters talk.
• (First) Stasimon, ‘summary’ of each episode
where the moral is reviewed.
• Exodes, While chorus exits they sing some words
of wisdom to the audience.
Scene Elements
• Machina, Crane that makes characters fly.
• Ekkykelema, Wheeled wagon to bring ‘dead’ characters
closer to the crowd.
• Trap doors, openings in ground to let characters in and
out,
• Pinakes, pictures hung to show the setting of scene
“episode”.
• Thyromata, more detailed pictures placed on the
second-third floor of skene.
• Phallic, props used in a Satyr plays to portray fertility in
honor of Dionysus.
• http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JCz6CI3S9BE/SPa1
uKqzX8I/AAAAAAAAACM/fU-onqI9RY/s320/theaterdiagram.gif
• http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/arts/ar
chitec/ancientarchitectural/greekarchitecture/
greekbuilding/theater.htm
• http://greece.mrdonn.org/theatre.html
Festival of Dionysus
Dionysus
• Greek god of fertility and wine
• A very important god and one of the two who
understand human suffering
• In Orphic legend, he was Dionysus Zagreus, the son of
Zeus and Persephone
• In other legends he was the son of Zeus and Semele
• The only god born from a mortal parent
• He was reared by nymphs on Mt. Nysa, where he
invented the art of wine making
• He wandered through many lands, teaching men the
culture of wine and the mysteries of his cult
Dionysus
• He was followed by an entourage of satyrs, sileni,
maenads, and nymphs
• He was worshiped and had his own festival created by
man
• Later, his worship became more formalized and calm
• It was believed that he could liberate and inspire man
through wine and ecstatic frenzy
• He could also endow man with divine creativity
• Thus he was considered a patron of the arts
• He was represented as a full-grown bearded man, as a
beast, and as a delicate, effeminate youth
Festival of Dionysus
• There were many festivals of Dionysus
• In each one he was worshipped and
celebrated
• His characteristic worship was ecstatic and
women were prominently involved
• Votaries were people who made vows of
dedication to religious service
• They were giving service through music and
plays
Festival of Dionysus
• They celebrated by singing songs, dancing, and
drinking
• They also sacrificed animals and ate their flesh and
blood
• This is how they also attempted to merge their
identities with nature
• From the music, singing, and dancing they created
dithyramb and ultimately Greek drama
• Dithyramb was a song created for the worship of
Dionysus at the festivals
• The idea of Thanksgiving came from these festivals
The Different Festivals
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There were four different festivals
The Lesser or Rural Dionysia (in late December)
The Greater or City Dionysia (in late Spring)
The Anthesteria (in early Spring)
The Lenaea (in winter)
Each one not only had the normal festival celebrations, but
also had plays
• There were tragedies and comedies for the worship of
Dionysus
• There was a competition for the winning play
• Each festival would hold three tragedies and one satyr for
the audience to leave on a happy note
Tragedies
• In 534 B.C., Athens introduced an annual
tragedy contest at the City Dionysia
• Every year an official would chose three plays
that each contained three tragedies and one
satyr play
• They assigned a wealthy citizen to pay for all
production costs not covered by the state
• There was a panel of ordinary citizens, chosen
by lottery, to judge the plays and award prizes
Tragedies
• The most important innovators were the three
tragedians whose work still survives
• Aeschylus (523-456 B.C) created the Oresteia Trilogy
which he used to explore political concepts like justice
• Sophocles (496-406 B.C) made plays of the famous
Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone
• Euripides showed the most civil discourse in plays like
Medea, Electra, and The Trojan Women
• Around 488, the City Dionysia added a comedy
competition
Citations
• "Dionysus." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,
6Th Edition (2013): 1. MasterFILE Premier.
Web. 25 Aug. 2013.
• Stainburn, Samantha. "A Revolution On The
Stage." Mysteries Of History: The Ancient
World (2004): 56. MasterFILE Premier. Web.
25 Aug. 2013.