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Greek Theatre
Overview
Sophocles
Antigone
Greek Gods
Greece
• has thousands of inhabited islands and
dramatic mountain ranges
• a rich culture and history
• Democracy was founded in Greece
• Patriarchal (male dominated) society
• Philosophy, as a practice, began in
Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)
Location
Greece is located in
Europe on the
Aegean Sea
The Land
Overview of Greek Theatre
• The land
• The stage
• The myths
The Stage
Greek
theaters were
built on
hillisdes with
a slight
inward slope
Seats were
built in rows
of earth and
stone or of
wood
The Stage
Three Main
Portions of Greek
Theatre:
Skene – Painted
wall where actors
entered and exited
Orchestra –
“Dancing Place”
Place where chorus
chanted and
danced and where
actors performed
Theatron – Seating
for audience
The Stage
The Plays
• Greek plays were performed during religious
ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the
Greek god of wine and revelry (altars
generally on stage)
• Banks would shut down for days, people would
travel from all around to see the drama
competitions—even prisoners were temporarily
released to see the plays
• Tragedy means “goat song” (relates to
Dionysian rituals)
The Stage
Where and how were the dramas
performed?
…In amphitheaters
…chorus consisted
of 15 men who
commented on the
action of the play
and interpreted its
meaning in chanted
poems or odes
…Choragus, the
leader or
spokesman of the
chorus
Actors wore
 Oversized masks with exaggerated features to
amplify the sound
 Oversized costumes and tall shoes with raised soles
to aid audience’s viewing
…Violent acts were never
performed on stage but were
communicated through the
dialogue of the characters.
Major Greek Dramatists
Dramatist
Born
Wrote
Aeschylus
524 B.C.
Seven Against
Thebes
Sophoclesfamous
playwrightwrote 120
tragedies
496 B.C.
Antigone
Oedipus
Euripides
480 B.C.
Medea
Sophocles
• First competed for the prize in
tragedy when he was 27. He won,
defeating Aeschylus, then the most
famous playwright in Athens.
• Had a fortunate life
• Born at Colonus to wealthy family
• Given traditional education in music,
dancing and gymnastics
• Only 7 of his plays remain today, but are
among the greatest plays ever written.
• At his death, he was given the honors of a
hero
• Credited with having an understanding of
human grief and suffering
• When Greeks defeated the Persians in
480 B.C., he led the chorus in singing and
dancing at the victory celebration.
• Active in public life
• Served as priest of the god Asclepius
• At 83 was appointed to a commission
studying a revision of Athens’ constitution
Sophocles’ Antigone
• Set in Thebes (a city in ancient Greece)-ill
fated royal house of Thebes
• Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and
Jocasta
• Antigone’s brothers, Eteokles and
Polyneices, took opposite sides in a war
• Eteokles and Polyneices kill each other in
battle
• Creon, Antigone’s uncle becomes king of
Thebes
Overview of Greek Theatre
• The land
• The stage
• The myths
The Myths – Why they were
written
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Explained the unexplainable
Justified religious practices
Gave credibility to leaders
Gave hope
Polytheistic (more than one god)
Centered around the twelve Olympians
(primary Greek gods)
Myths played a key role
in Greek drama
Explained the Unexplainable
• When Echo tried to get
Narcissus to love her, she
was denied.
• Saddened, she shriveled to
nothing, her existence
melting into a rock.
• Only her voice remained.
• Hence, the echo!
To justify religious practices
• Dionysian cults in ancient Greece were founded
to worship Dionysus, god of grapes, vegetation,
and wine.
To give credibility to leaders
The Romans used
myths to create family
trees for their leaders,
enforcing the madeup idea that the
emperors were
related to the gods
and were, then,
demigods.
To give hope
• The ancient citizens of
Greece would sacrifice
and pray to an ORACLE.
• An oracle was a priest or
priestess who would send
a message to the gods
from mortals who brought
their requests.
Where DID hope come from?
After unleashing suffering, famine, disease,
and many other evils, the last thing Pandora let
out was HOPE.
The Oracle at Delphi
Most famous oracle in Greek mythology.
Mount Olympus…
…Where the
Olympians
lived.
Who are the Olympians?
The Olympians Are the 12 Main
Gods
Temperaments of the
Olympians
Zeus
• King of gods –
• Supreme power and
ruler
• Lord of the sky
• Storms
• Thunder
• lightning
Poseidon
• Zeus’s brother
• Carries 3 pronged
spear
• King of the sea
• Earthquakes
• Gave man the horse
Hades
• Brother to Zeus and
Poseidon
• God of the
Underworld
• King of the Dead
• Husband of
Persphone
Ares
• God of war
• Son of Zeus and Hera
• Was not liked
anywhere in heaven
or earth
Hephaestus
•
•
•
•
God of fire
Craftspeople
Metalworkers
Lame, ugly god was
loved everywhere
because he was kind
and peace loving
Apollo
•
•
•
•
•
God of the sun
Music
Poetry
Fine arts
Medicine
Hermes
• Messenger to the
gods
• Trade
• Commerce
• Travelers
• Thieves & scoundrels
Dionysus
• Honored by the
Greek’s plays
• God of Wine
• Partying (Revelry)
Hera
• Queen of gods
• Zeus’ wife and sister
• Protected marriage
and married women
Demeter
•
•
•
•
•
Goddess of Harvest
Agriculture
Fertility
Fruitfulness
Mom to Persephone
Hestia
• Goddess of Hearth
and Home
• Zeus’ sister
• Had no distinct
personality and
played no major part
in myths
• A candle burned in
every Greek city to
honor her
Athena
• Goddess of wisdom
• She had no mother
and was born from
Zeus head; invented
the bridle and first to
tame the horse;
• Her city was Athens
• Goddess of
civilization, agriculture
and handicrafts
Aphrodite
• Goddess of love and
beauty
Artemis
• Goddess of hunting
and the moon.
• Lover of the woods
and wild things;
• Goddess most mixed
with both good and
evil
• Goddess of the Wild
Let’s Summarize...
•Cornell notes•
Key points on left
•
Notes on right
•
Summarize on bottom
•Greek Drama•
Drama of early Greeks began as religious celebrations
•
Performed with a chorus
•
Leader of the chorus-choragus
•
Two types of plays, comedy and tragedy
•
Actors wore masks, costumes, tall shoes
•
Antigone is a tragedy
•
Identify Sophocles-famous playwright
•
Describe a typical amphitheater-
•
Sloping, outside, semicircle, arena
•What played a key role in Greek drama? Myths
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Adventures in Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1985. 486. Print.
http://lsc.cornell.edu/LSC_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf
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