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Syllabus
History of Theatre - Greece and Rome - 28104
Last update 07-10-2015
HU Credits: 2
Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department: classical studies
Academic year: 0
Semester: 1st Semester
Teaching Languages: Hebrew
Campus: Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator: Prof. Deborah Gera
Coordinator Email: [email protected]
Coordinator Office Hours: Sunday, 15:30-16:30
Teaching Staff:
Prof Deborah Gera
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Course/Module description:
An introductory course on Greek and Roman theatre, Classical Greek tragedy and
comedy, Hellenistic comedy and Latin comedy of the republican age
Course/Module aims:
The course aim:
• to introduce the characteristics of Greek and Roman theatre as a cultural
institution, and its place in the social life of its time
• to introduce the physical structure of ancient theatres and the conventions of
production
• to introduce structural, stylistic, dramatic, and thematic characteristics of
Classical tragedy and comedy in different ages and by different authors
• to suggest possible ways to explain diachronic change in Classical theatre and
drama by artistic, social, ideological and political means
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be
able to:
On successful completion of this course, students should be able:
• to demonstrate knowledge of the world of Greek and Roman theatre and drama,
its genres and central authors, as well as of a selection of plays that will be
discussed in the course
• to reconstruct the performance of Classical plays in accordance with the physical
conditions and theatrical conventions of their time
• to discuss, analyze and compare plays from the point of view of structure, plot,
characters and ideas
• to characterize diachronic changes in the world of classical theatre and drama and
discuss possible explanations of the change
Attendance requirements(%):
85
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Frontal lecture utilizing texts the
students are required to read before each lesson
Course/Module Content:
• The theatre in 5th century BCE Athens, its organization, institutions, and place in
the social life of the polis
• Attic tragedy: characteristics of its production, and its structural, musical and
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verbal components
• Aeschylus: his work; theatrical and dramatic characteristics; themes and ideas
• Sophocles: his work; theatrical and dramatic characteristics; themes and ideas
• Euripides: his work; theatrical and dramatic characteristics; themes and ideas
• Aristophanes and “Old Comedy”: characteristics of production, structure, plot,
themes; humour and criticism
• “Middle Comedy” and “New Comedy”: developments in the physical structures
and theatrical production; political and social change; the influence of tragedy and
linguistic, rhetorical and poetic theories
• Menander and “New Comedy”
• The theatre in Rome: organization and production; Greek drama in Rome; Plautus
and Terence; translation, adaptation, and intercultural mediation; dramatic genres
in the Roman world
Required Reading:
• Aeschylus, Agamemnon
• Aeschylus, Choephoroe (Eng. Libation Bearers)
• Sophocles, Aias
• Sophocles, Antigone
• Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus
• Euripides, Medea
• Euripides, Bacchae
• Aristophanes, Acharnians
• Aristophanes, Frogs
• Menander, Dyskolos (Eng. The Bad-Tempered)
• Plautus, Aularia
• Terence, Andria
Additional required reading:
• C. Baldry, The Greek Tragic Theatre (New York, 1971), pp. 14–73 or: R. Rehm,
Greek Tragic Theatre (London, 1992), pp. 3–42
• F.H. Sandbach, The Comic Theatre of Greece and Rome (London, 1977), pp.
103–117
• A selection of additional sources will be circulated in class
Additional Reading Material:
Suggestions of further readings will be circulated in class
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 100 %
Presentation 0 %
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Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
N/A
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