Download History of Greek Drama

History of Greek Drama
AKA the coolest church service EVER!
How did they start?
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Religious festival celebrating Dionysius
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Public rituals/festivals were how people worshipped
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Temples were houses for the gods
Subjects almost exclusively the myths, legends and
heroes from the Bronze  Iron Age transition
Often events surrounding the Trojan War
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550 BCE
Remember – these WERE religions stories to Greeks
Usually featured humans dominated by hubris
How did they start?
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At start- only chorus parts
Chorus leader would deliver key lines
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This key character started representing a hero
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Called a hypocrite
Became the Greek word for actor
Tradition says, first dude to do this was named
Thespis, 530 BCE
Evolved into actors/drama
Height of the form
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534-404 BCE
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Ended with defeat of Athens by Sparta
Drama competitions!
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Playwrights submitted plays for consideration
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Three tragedies and a satyr play (comic relief sketch)
At first, tragedies had to be a cycle – later this was
dropped
Three sets were selected for performance
Winner crowned with laurels
Legacy of the Greeks
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From, structure and practice are basis of
Western drama today!
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Eastern drama has different history and style
Very few plays survive
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Thousands were written
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Exceptions: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
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Hand written on papyrus, few copies made, performed once
Considered the best authors, plays performed throughout Greece
Multiple copies made, then recopied
Hundreds of their plays survived into the Middle Ages
Christianity eliminated those remaining
Byzantine empire saved many – classical Greek revival movement
The survivors
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7 of Aeschylus, 7 from Sophocles, 19 from Euripides survive
Lots of quotes from ancient writers
Manuscript fragments from ancient Egyptian sites
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Egypt loved Greek culture
Staging the Play
Who’s onstage?
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Very serious pastime for Athenians
Wealthy patrons sponsored plays as a duty to
state
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Called Choragos, leader of the chorus
Sometimes actually played this role
Three professional actors paid by state
Costumes
Robe Skene
and traditional
Sets, props
Absolutely minimal
Dialogue was used to
Orchestra
masks“tent”
establish time and
Building
Thus only
threefor actors, costumes and props “dancing place”
setting
First
actors for all
thea tent, then became a decorated
“Here I stand
on
where chorus
performed
building
roles
the steps of the
Parados
altar
of Dionysius in
We get our word “scene” from this
palace”
*Roof of the skene middle
had a crane (mechane)
walkway where chorus
used for hoisting the actors playing gods
entered andProscenium
exited
*Gods frequently resolved
wooden platform in front whereproblems/conflicts
actors stood
by dropping down
Today: proscenium is the frame
from sky
around
and fixing
the things
stage
*“Deus ex machina” (god out of the
machine) refers to a plot device
resolving a conflict that comes from
outside and has no logical basis.
Theater of Epidauros
Theater of Dionysius, in Athens