Greek Tragedy
Everything you wanted to know
about Greek tragedy but were
afraid to ask
What are we going to talk about?
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The Origins of Tragedy
Which Cities Performed Tragedy
When Tragedy was Performed
The Parts of a Greek Theater
The Theaters Themselves
The Major Playwrights
The Way a Greek Tragedy Was Staged
- number of actors
- the costumes
- the masks
- the audience
The Origins of Tragedy
Originated from the dithyramb: a choral
song in honor of Dionysos
 Arion of Methymna (7th century) was
the first to write a choral song, practice it
with a chorus, and perform it
 Lasus of Hermione was the first to do it
at Athens
 Connected with the worship of Dionysos in
Athens
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The Origins of Tragedy
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Thespis of Corinth
The first travelling
actor
 Active c. 538-28 BCE
 Added prologue and
speech to choral
performance
 Said to have invented
the mask
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Who Performed Tragedy?
Corinth: c. 600 (Arion)
 Sicyon: c. 550
- Cleisthenes (not the Athenian)
- Epigenes
 Athens: c. 510
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- only Athenian dramas left
- “school of Hellas”
When Was Tragedy Performed?
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City Dionysia @ Athens
- aka “Greater Dionysia”
- end of March
Rural Dionysia
- different demes had performances
- “off-Broadway”
- various dates in December
The Lenaea
- less prestigious
- sometime in late January/early February
Where Was Tragedy Performed?
almost every Greek
city had a theater
 Theaters could be
very small or huge
 Each theater had
specific parts
 Usually in the center
of the city
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The Parts of a Theater
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The Orchestra
 The acting area
 semi-circular
 Had a small altar to
Dionysos in the
center
 Where the Chorus
danced and the
actors spoke
The Parts of a Theater
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The Skene
 The
large backdrop
 Could be decorated with scenery
 Where the action actually took place (hidden)
 Roof was accessible
 Originally one door in the center, but
eventually had three doors
The Skene
The Parts of a Theater
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The Ekkyklēma
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A wheeled platform
Used to display set
pieces
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Agamemnon
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The Mēchanē
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a large crane
Used for the entrance
of gods
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Deus ex machina
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The Theaters
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Theater of Dionysos
Athens
 Main theater for
tragedy
 4th century remains
 c. 20,000 seats
 Located on side of
Acropolis
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Theater of Dionysos
Theater of Dionysos
The Theaters
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Theater of Epidauros
The best-preserved
 Largest surviving
theater
 Located near Argos
in the Peloponnesus
 Sanctuary of
Aesclepius
 Still in use today
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Theater of Epidauros
Theater of Epidauros
The Theaters
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Theater of Pergamon
In Asia Minor (Turkey)
 Extremely steep
seating
 Fit to the terrain
 Pergamon one of the
most wealthy Asian
cities
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Theater of Pergamon
The Playwrights
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Three major tragedians
 Aeschylus
 Sophocles
 Euripides
All active in the 5th century
 All won first place in multiple competitions
 Only Athenian plays survive
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Aeschylus
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b. 525 d. 456 (Sicily)
Fought at Marathon
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“Aeschylus, Euphorion's
son of Athens, lies under
this stone dead in Gela
among the white
wheatlands; a man at need
good in fight -- witness the
hallowed field of Marathon,
witness the long-haired
Mede.”
First tragedy 499
First first prize 484 (13
overall)
Aeschylus
Introduced the second actor
 Wrote over 70 plays (seven survive)
 Always revered
 Main interest is in situation and event rather
than character
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Oresteia, Seven Against Thebes
Pericles directed the chorus for Persians
 Both sons were very successful playwrights
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Sophocles
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b. 496 d. 406
Served as a general
with Pericles (441)
Very active in city
politics (413)
First tragedy 468
First first prize 468
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Won 18 first prizes
Never finished third
Sophocles
Introduced the third actor
 Wrote over 120 plays (seven survive)
 The most successful of the Big Three
 Challenged conventional mores
 Introduced more dialogue between
characters (less Chorus)
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Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus at Colonus,
Antigone, Electra
Euripides
b. 485 d. 406 (in
Macedonia)
 Not active militarily or
politically
 First tragedy 455
 First first prize 441
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Won only four first
prizes
The least successful of
the Big Three
Euripides
No innovations on the stage
 Wrote ninety plays (19 survive)
 Sophocles: “I present men as they ought
to be, Euripides presents men as they
are.”
 More realistic than the other two
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Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, Bacchae,
Orestes
The Staging of Tragedy
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“Classical theater resembled today’s rock concerts: the
audience knew every number by heart, performers wore
high heels, loud costumes and heavy make-up, and they
relied on background singers, known as the Chorus.”
-Howard Tomb
The Staging of Tragedy
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“The audience knew every number by
heart…”
 Most
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“Performers wore high heels, loud
costumes and heavy make-up…”
 They
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tragedies dealt with mythological themes
wore elaborate clothes, tall boots, and masks
“They relied on background singers,
known as the Chorus.”
 Especially
after the introduction of the third actor
The Staging of Tragedy - Actors
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Maximum of three actors
 Aeschylus
second
 Sophocles third
All roles played by men
 Same group of actors for each set of plays
for each author
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The Staging of Tragedy - Actors
Playwrights did not act in their own plays
after Sophocles
 Chorus publicly funded
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A
choregos would pay for and train the chorus
 Viewed
as a civic duty
 Could be prosecuted for failing to do it
wealthy enough
 Choregos got a monument if his chorus won
The Staging of Tragedy - Costumes
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Actor wore:
 Mask
 Robes
 Platform boots
(kothornoi)
 Chorus could be in
costume (comedy)
The Staging of Tragedy - Masks
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The most salient feature
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All parts by men, so mask
depicted gender
Acted as a megaphone
Voice inflection paramount
Multiple Masks = Multiple
Characters
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Only three actors
More than three speaking
roles, need for costume
and mask change
Oedipus and his eyes
The Audience
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Any male could attend
 Women
most likely able to attend
 Aeschylus’ Furies
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State funded attendance
 Cost
was the average daily wage of a laborer
 Theoric Fund
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Never suspended, even when Athens in dire straights
Supplied public tickets
 “Must-see
TV”
The Audience
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Catharsis
 “learning through suffering”
 Moderation is to be sought in all things,
even good things
 The mighty fall so far that we admire them
for being so high
 A spiritual cleansing of the audience
 Performances emotional