Introduction to Greek Theatre
Why start with the Greeks?
• Greek theatre is considered to be the
birthplace of modern drama.
– “Western understanding of drama originated
in fifth century (500-400) BC classical Athens,
where the theater played a central role in
politics, religion, and society. The Athenian
stage invented forms of tragedy and comedy
that persist to the present day.“ (W.B. Worthen in The
Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama, 2nd edition, p. 13)
Modern literary analysis and dramatic
critique has developed from
Aristotle‘s Poetics
• Definitions of tragedy and comedy
• Description of tragic hero
• Idea of universal truth—the notion that a
belief, emotion, experience can be applied
to a wide variety of cultures, social
classes, and time periods
• Dramatic form—plot, character, language,
theme, music, spectacle
The Beginning
• The earliest forms of drama grew out of religious
rituals.
– Humans were primitive—did not understand forces of
nature (rain, snow, sun, earthquakes, floods, plants
growing, the changing of the seasons, etc.). We need
concepts of basic science to understand things such
as days and seasons. We have a need to explain our
lives.
– Developed concept of magical or supernational forces
and rituals intended to “win the favor” of those
powers.
– Created stories/myths to explain the nature of the
magical forces, the rituals, and man’s relationship to
the forces (the gods).
– Eventually began to act out these stories (not
as part of religious ceremonies)—this was the
beginning of drama.
– Performances were done by a chorus which
sang and danced the stories. (No individual
characterization)
Anthropologists have theories about early societies—before the
Greeks—and their development of the religious ceremonies
which lead to the innovations of the Greeks.
Thespis
• The first actor—was the first to assume a
character
• Invented dialog (character had a
conversation with the chorus)
• This is why actors are called “thespians”
– 2nd actor introduced by Aeschylus (5th century BC)
– 3rd actor introduced by Sophocles (468 BC)—could not have 3
person scenes
Play Contests
• Were the main part of the religious festivals to honor the
god Dionysus.
– Dionysus was the god of fertility, wine, and revelry (partying)
• Early worship of him involved intoxication, sexual orgies, and the
“rending and devouring of sacrificial victims“ (frequently human).
• Gradually the worship became less extreme—still involved lots of
partying.
• Series of contests (not just plays) between citizens and
the Athenian “’tribes‘ that formed the city‘s basic political
and military units“ (Worthen 13).
• Festivals included parades through the city, religious
observances and sacrifices in the theater.
So, it was important because...
• Without the innovations of the ancient
Greeks, we would not have plays, movies,
or TV today.
• Each competing playwright produced a trilogy of
tragedies dealing with a single theme or series
of events. (Although sometimes they did 3
unrelated dramas.)
• All 3 plays were performed on one day.
• The playwrights we are familiar with came from
the 5th century BC: Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Euripedes, and Aristophanes (who was the
author of almost all the Greek comedies we
have)
Satyr Plays
• Each playwright also produced a “rugged
farce“ (Worthen 14) which was performed
after the trilogy.
• Satyr plays parodied a god‘s activities
• Characters were half-beast/half-human
companions of Dionysus.
• Included vigorous dancing and indecent
language and gestures.
• Scene from a satyr play
Comedy
• Comedy was introduced in 487 BC
• It is believed that all the comedies were
performed on the last day of the festival.
Prizes
• Both comedy and tragedy were judged by
a panel of judges (like a beauty contest)
• Winner of tragedy got a bull
• Winner of comedy got a goat
What were the plays about?
• Topics were more or less the same as modern
plays, TV, and films:
– contemporary society (what was going on in the
society at that time)
– politics
– literature
– war
– mythology (acting out the stories)
– history
– man‘s relationship to the gods (religious issues)
Characteristics of Greek Drama
• Violence happened off stage (characters/chorus reported
on it).
• Showed the effects of the violence on stage (brought out
the dead/mutilated bodies).
• Scenes had only 2-3 actors (all were men).
• Actors wore masks.
• Chorus commented on the action occurring in the
scenes through odes in between the episodes (scenes).
• Sometimes had to bring in a god to resolve the problems
(Deus ex machina).
• Actors could perform different characters (go off stage
and put on a different mask) so play could have more
than 3 characters.
Actors and Chorus members wore
masks
The Theaters
• Amphitheater Design
– Greek—built on the hillside
– Roman—free-standing (like the Coliseum)
• We still use the terminology
– orchestra (orchestra pit—where the band sits)
– skene (scenery)
– proscenium (the “picture frame“ around the
front of the stage from the audience‘s point of
view)
The Theater at Delphi
Theater of Dionysus
Special Effects
While the Greek special effects were primitive by
our standards, they were effective
–Ekkyclema—rolling
platform. Interior scenes
could be played on these
or they were used to
display bodies of dead
characters.
–Machina—basket
on a pole,
suspended from a
crane. Characters
that were supposed
to be flying could be
hoisted over the
skene by the
machina.
– Stage blood—sheep
or goat‘s blood
Images from:
• Parts of a Greek theater—
http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/Theater.html#Theaters
• Photo of Theater of Dionysus—
http://www.superstock.com/stock-photography/Dionysus
• Photo of Theater at Delphi—
http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/tragedy_theater.html
• Scene from a satyr play—
www.nd.edu/~agutting/aristotle.html
• Greek masks (title page)
humanitieslab.stanford.edu/.../397
• Stage blood—
http://www.pathguy.com/oedipus_photo.jpg
• Masks—
www.stratfordfestival.ca/.../SF_1955_oedipus.jpg
• Ekkyclema—
www.didaskalia.net/images/gstage11.gif
• Mechane—
www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/InventionsC.htm