Jan 26, 2012
 “Worry
is an old man with
bended head carrying a
load of feathers which he
thinks are lead.”
Anonymous
Pass up the following:
Signed syllabus
Decorated writing
folder
10 SAT word maps
“
The History of Ancient
Greek Drama
The Greek Theater
Greek Actors
The Mask
Greek Religion
5 Learning Stations
Each learning station will inform you of
the following components of Greek
Drama:
 The History of Greek Drama
 The Greek Theater
 Greek Actors
 The Mask
 Greek Religion
 Video Segment
LEARNING STATION
INSTRUCTIONS
For each station, you must do the
following:
Read the instructions on the folder!
Read the handout for that particular
station to answer the questions.
After the ten minutes is up, move to the
next learning station in a clockwise
system.
DO NOT WRITE ON THE HANDOUTS
THAT ARE DESIGNATED FOR THAT
LEARNING STATION!!!
Learning Station Topics
 LEARNING STATION 1: Origin of
Greek Drama and Actors
 LEARNING STATION 2: Greek Masks
and Greek Theater
 LEARNING STATION 3: Greek
Religion
 LEARNING STATION 4: “Oedipus”
Video Segment
 LEARNING STATION 5: Pre-reading
Questions & Anticipation Guide
The Origins of Greek Drama
1. Where can the origins of drama be found?
Athens, Greece
2. What is a “Dionysia” and why is this a
significant event?
It was an annual festival of dances and songs performed
in honor of the god Dionysus (the god of wine and
procreation).
3. What did the song-like storytelling evolve
into?
An enactment of Dionysian legends in Greek history.
4. How were the first plays performed?
With just one actor and a chorus of people who
helped him to tell the story.
5. How did “acting” eventually come about?
In a competition, a man named Thespis astounded
audiences by leaping on to the back of a wooden
cart and reciting poetry as if he was the characters
whose lines he was reading. In doing so he became
the world's first actor
6. Why was drama important to the Greeks?
It was their way investigating the world they lived in,
and what it meant to be human.
Greek Actors
1. What was considered a citizen’s public duty?
Participating in Greek drama by performing in the
chorus
2. How did one become an actor?
One must train in the art of public speaking
3. What were the privileges of an actor?
They were respected and often exempt from military
duty.
4. Why were women prohibited from acting?
Greek society was male-dominated
5. How did actors dress to ensure that
they were seen?
They e wore long, flowing robe with a great deal of
padding and high, plat-formed shoes.
6. How did their attire limit them on
stage?
They were not able to move around much.
7. How did the actors remedy this
limitation?
Limited mobility forced the actors to develop broad,
sweeping gestures to signify emotions such as the beating
the breast and tearing their clothes to indicate mourning and
grief.
The Greek Mask
1. Give the four functions
of the Greek masks:
a. Allowed them take on the role of a specific
character
b. Served as a megaphone
c. Identified age, sex, mood, and rank
d.Allowed actors to change roles easily
Masks Worn by Actors
Structure of Greek Theatre

Skene: A building used as
an area into which actors
could exit the scene to
change costumes and
masks.

Proscenium: Acting area,
or stage.

Orchestra: Where the
chorus performed.

Parados: Passage on the
left or right through
which the chorus entered
the orchestra.
Theatron: Seating area
built into a hillside in the
shape of a horseshoe.
Video Segment of Greek
Drama Performance
How is Greek theater different
from modern dramatic forms
such as movies and modern
theater?
Let’s Discuss the
“Anticipation Reaction
Guide!
Pre-Reading Discussion
Questions
1. If you defied your parents and did something wrong,
what’s the worst punishment they could dole out to
make sure you wouldn’t do such a thing again?
2. Should a person be judged guilty of a crime if he or
she is unaware that any crime was being committed?
3. Is being self-assured ever a bad thing?
4. Have you ever wanted to see a movie after having
read the book? Why would you want to spend the
money if you already know the story?
Read the
Myth…
 Quick Question: Why did spectators in
ancient Greece want to see a play in which
they were already familiar?
 Answer: The entertainment came from the
suspense of watching the characters learn the
truth. Also, their prior knowledge supplied
the play’s dramatic irony.
Today’s Central Question
Why read a 2400 year old Greek
Tragedy about a man who committed
incest???
 The myth of Oedipus attempts to show the consequences of
human pride and rashness, of trying to outwit the gods.
Oedipus’s fate—killing his father and marrying his
mother—involves a taboo that operates regardless of time
or place (incest) as the worst possible consequence that
could befall a human attempting to place himself above the
gods.
 Sophocles is not endorsing incest; he’s depicting it as the
worst thing that anyone could ever do.
Traits of Tragedy
 Late point of attack
 Violence and death occurred
offstage
 Frequently used messengers to
relate information
 Stories based on myth or history,
but varied interpretations of events
 Focus was on psychological and
ethical attributes of characters,
rather than physical and
sociological.
structure of a tragedy
 Prologue, which describes the situation
and sets the scene
 Parados, an ode sung by the chorus as it
made its entrance
 Five dramatic scenes, or episodes--the
last of which is called the Epilogue
 Each episode is followed by a stasimon, a
choral ode, an exchange of laments by
the chorus and the protagonist. (This
ode is sometimes called a komos.)
 Exodus, the climax and conclusion