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History of Drama
Greek Drama
Origins of Greek Drama
 Began in the 6th Century B.C. as part of the worship
of the Greek god, Dionysus.
Origins of Greek Drama
 A group of dancers, called a chorus, danced around an altar
and commemorated the god’s death by sacrificing a goat.
 Therefore, this chorus was called
goat-singers and their ritualistic song
was called the goat-song or tragos.
 Our word tragedy comes from tragos.
Origins of Greek Drama
 These ceremonies in honor of
Dionysus evolved into dramatic
contests.
 A playwright named Thespis
won the first competition,
which was to write the best
tragedy.
 Thespis is, however, more well-
known for being the first ever
actor.
Origins of Greek Drama
 During a production, Thespis stepped out from the chorus and
engaged in dialogue with the other actors.
 Until this point, “actors” did not portray other people—they only
spoke as themselves.
 Thespis also introduced masks to Greek theatre, which were used
to help distinguish multiple characters played by the same actor.
 The term thespian is derived from his name.
Origins of Greek Drama
 The dramatic contests became part of a
festival that lasted for five or six days.
 On each of the last three days of the
festival, a different playwright would produce
four plays.
Origins of Greek Drama
 The first three were tragedies
that formed a trilogy.
 The last play was often an
irreverent, bawdy burlesque
called a satyr play.
 Playwrights competed to win the laurel wreath, which was
the ancient Greek equivalent of a trophy.
Ancient Greek Production
 At first, performances were held in the open hillsides
surrounding a circular area called the orchestra, where the
chorus danced.
 Wooden, and later stone, seats were added to form the
theatre.
 Some of these theatres
could seat over 17,000
patrons.
Ancient Greek Production
 At the rear of the acting area was a small hut called the
skene, where the actors changed masks and costumes.
 Later, this building was enlarged into a stone building, a
second story was added, and scenery was painted on the
front.
 The roof was known as the god walk, because the actors
portraying gods would stand on it when delivering
monologues.
Ancient Greek Production
 Another device used in Greek plays was the machina, a
crank like hoist that permitted actors to appear above the
stage as if they were flying.
 This mechanism was sturdy enough
to carry a chariot and horses or
several people.
Ancient Greek Production
 Usually, the character lowered onto
the stage represented a god from
Olympus who came to settle the
affairs of human beings.
 Oftentimes playwrights could not resolve the conflict of the
plays on their own, so they had the gods come and fix
everything.
 It is from this contrivance that we get the term deus ex
machina or god from the machine
Ancient Greek Production
 This term deus ex machina is still used today to indicate an
artificial plot device an author introduces late in the play or
story to resolve difficulties.
 Common examples include an unknown relative who leaves
a legacy, a long-lost sister, or the discovery of a character
assumed to be dead.
 Usually such a plot resolution greatly weakens the plot of
the play.
Ancient Greek Production
 The chorus was an
integral part of early
Greek plays.
 They served to explain the
situation, bring the audience
up-to-date, make commentary
on the action of the play, and
engage in dialogue with the
actors.
Ancient Greek Production
 Over time the chorus diminished as the characters of the
play expanded.
 We still see
varieties of the
Greek Chorus
in the stage
manager from
Our Town and
El Gallo in
The Fantasticks.
Ancient Greek Tragedies
 Involve conflicts that evolve from the clash between the will
of the gods and the ambitions and desires of humanity.
 The plays illustrated how useless human efforts are in the
face of fate.
 The greatest writers of Greek tragedy were Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides, who all wrote in the 4th and 5th
Centuries B.C.
Ancient Greek Tragedy

Aeschylus is known as the father
of tragedy.

His most famous work, The
Oresteia, tells the story of the
murder of Agamemnon, the
revenge taken by his children,
and the punishment and
acquittal of his son.
Ancient Greek Tragedy
 Of Aeschylus’ ninety plays,
only 7 have been preserved.
 He is known for reducing the
size of the chorus and
expanding the number of actors.
Ancient Greek Tragedy
 Sophocles is ranked with Shakespeare as one of the
greatest playwrights of all time.
 He is most known for allowing his characters to
question both fate and the gods.
Ancient Greek Tragedy
 Sophocles wrote over 100 plays, and only 7 have
survived.
 His most famous work, Oedipus
Rex, is known as the ideal
tragedy and one of the most
powerful examples of dramatic
irony.
Ancient Greek Tragedy
 Euripides became more
interested in people’s lives
than in the religious views
of his day.
 Of his 92 plays written, 18
still exist in their entirety.
Ancient Greek Tragedy
 Euripides’ most famous play, Medea, is the tragedy of a
woman who seeks revenge upon her husband.
 She goes so far as to kill her own children just to hurt him.
 Along with Antigone, the protagonist of Sophocles’ sequel
to Oedipus Rex, Medea is ranked as one of the most poignant
portrayals of women in dramatic literature.
Ancient Greek Comedy
 Although tragedy was the true art of Ancient Greek
theatre, some playwrights, such as Aristophanes and
Menander found success in writing comedy.
Ancient Greek Comedy
 Aristophanes considered
nothing sacred and was a
skilled satirist and a keen
observer of humanity.
 He often mocked the
leaders of Athens and the
gods themselves.
Ancient Greek Comedy
 Aristophanes’ most famous plays include The Frogs,
which shows a writers’ contest between Aristophanes
and Aeschylus in Hades and Lysistrata, which is a
scathing attack on war.
 Of his 40 plays,
only 11 have been
preserved.
Ancient Greek Comedy
 Menander wrote more gentle comedies than Aristophanes.
 He wrote 100 years after Aristophanes.
 Of his 100+ scripts, only
Dyskolos, a play about how
the mischievous god Pan
makes a married man fall in
love with another woman,
survives.