Greek Theatre
Greek Theatre
 Athenian – 5th – 4th century BC
 Result of a contest; each playwright submitted a
trilogy of tragedy and one satyr play
 Much pageantry and a winner at the end of each
week
 Combination of myth, philosophy, music and
dance
 Explored the violence of living
The First Theatre?
 The famous Dionysan theatre was built into the
mountain that housed the famed Acropolis.
The Academy Awards
 The Dionysia was a spring celebration of
the fertility god Dionysus – known as the
Festival of Dionysus
 The last 3 days of the festival was dedicated
to 3 writers and their tragedies.
 The winner received a lily wreath.
 Famous competitors: Aeschylus, Sophocles
and Euripedes.
Order of Festival Days
 Day 1 – proagon – plays announced
 Day 2 – processions, parades, sacrifices
 Day 3 – performance of the first five
comedies
 Day 4-6 – performance of tragedies
 Day 7 – judging and awards
The Dionysia: Athens
The Three Tragedians
 Aeschylus – used two men as actors; one talking
to the other
 Sophocles – used three actors; each played several
parts
 Euripedes – used even more actors; angered the
Greeks because he showed the Greeks and gods in
a sometimes negative light as they really were;
portrayed strong female character; killed by wild
dogs
The Legend of Thespis
 The "inventor of tragedy" was born in Attica
 The first prize winner at the Great Dionysia in 534
BC.
 He was an important innovator for the theatre,
introduced: the independent actor
masks
make up
costumes
More About Thespis
 Thespis walked around Athens pulling a handcart,
setting up a kind of one man play, where he
showed the bad behavior of man.
 The word for actor " thespian" comes from his
name.
 His contemporary Solon resented him, with the
claim that what Thespis showed on stage would
soon be acted out in reality as well.
Actors
 Men only -- one actor played several parts
 wore high-heeled boots to add stature
 masks often fitted with megaphones
Parts of the Greek Stage
 theatron – the theatre
 skene – changing room
 altar – middle of stage
 chitons – brightly colored robes
 onkoi – wigs
 kothurnoi – shoes on small stilts
 masks – had built in megaphones for
amplification; masks for comedies were always
def
Parts of a Greek Theatre
Dodoni Ancient Greek Theatre
 Theatres were built into sides of hills so that they
could harness the natural acoustics.
Theatre at Delphi
Theatre at Argos
Theater of Epidaurus
 Restored during the 1950’s. Can accommodate an
audience of 14,000
 Used for modern performances of ancient drama.
Example Theatre Stage
Masks
 Masked actors performed outdoors in daylight
before audiences of 10,000 or more at festivals.
Masks
 Masks were used to show facial expression.
Masks
 The use of masks enabled 1 actor to play several
parts in one play.
Masks
 Victorian excavations of Pompeii revealed
what might be considered ancient
wallpaper.
Masks
 Roman Actors with their masks
Greek Modesty
 No censorship of events.
 However, Greeks very polite on stage.
 all spectacular action (death, murder,
adultery) happens off stage -- only
described.
Functions of the Chorus
 represents the feelings or morals of the
characters or audience
 gives important background information
 summarizes events
 comments on action or gives advice to the
characters
Structure of Greek Tragedy
 Prologue: a preface or  Episode: the main
an introduction
action of the play; in
Greek drama it refers to
 Parados: marks the
entrance of the Chorus that part of a tragedy
presented between two
when they first enter
stasimons
 Stasimon: songs the
Chorus sings in Greek  Exodus: conclusion of
the play
tragedy between
episodes
 Exeunt: another word
for “Exit”
Greek Drama Unities
 Time – real time
 Place – all in one place
 Action – continuous action in one place
 no violence is seen on stage
Roman Empire:
4th and 5th Centuries B.C.E.
 Romans adopt Greek fascination with
theatre
 Want more SPECTACLE
 renovate Greek theatres (destroyed in war)
 add a story to tiring houses (more costumes,
props, and set construction)
 save slaves to perform live out death scenes.
Sets
Greeks
Romans
 mostly just one set
 more elaborate sets
 actors with huge
 still use masks
masks
 few props
 many props
 action on stage