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Greek Theatre
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
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Identify the origins of theatre and drama in Greece.
Compare and contrast Greek tragic playwrights.
Identify the role of the chorus in Greek plays.
Apply Aristotle’s six elements of drama to the analysis of a play.
Compare and contrast old and new comedy.
Sketch a ground plan of Greek theatre, identifying major elements.
Describe changes to theatrical production and architecture in the Hellenistic Age.
Lecture Topics
What was the relationship between theatre and religion in classical Greece?
What did Greek theatres look like in classical Greece? How did this change in the
Hellenistic period?
What was the role of the actor in the Hellenistic period?
Discussion Topics
How does Oedipus Rex exemplify climactic drama?
Did actors perform on a raised stage in classical Greece? Why is this difficult to
determine?
What stage machinery was used in classical Greece?
What was the function of masks in Greek theatre?
What did costumes look like in the Greek theatre? How do scholars know this?
What was the social position of actors in the Hellenistic period?
Multiple-Choice
Please choose the answer that best completes each question.
1. At the foot of the seating area of the theatre of Dionysus was a flat circular area where
the actors performed. This was called the:
A. orchestra
*B. skene
C. mecchane
D. ekkyklema
2. Poetics, written by _________________________________, describes the six
elements of drama.
A. Sophocles
B. Socrates
C. Aristophanes
*D. Aristotle
3. The function of the chorus in Ancient Greek theatre was to:
A. serve as an ideal spectator
B. provide background information
C. entertain with song and movement
*D. All of the above
4. The dithyramb was:
A. a crane used to lift actors
B. a platform rolled in to reveal off-stage events
*C. a chorus of men singing in honor of Dionysus
D. a trilogy of plays
5. In ancient Greece, the archon appointed a choregus, who is the modern-day equivalent
of the:
A. actor
*B. producer
C. designer
D. playwright
6. The Greek dramatist best known for his superb plot construction (structure) was:
A. Thespis
B. Euripides
C. Aeschylus
*D. Sophocles
7. Which of the following genres contains a chorus of mythological creatures who were
half-goat and half-man:
A. Old Comedy
*B. Satyr play
C. New Comedy
D. Tragedy
8. A ____________________ is a story or legend handed down from generation to
generation.
*A. myth
B. pastoral
C. prologue
D. satyr
9. _________________________ is said to be the first actor and playwright.
A. Arion
*B. Thespis
C. Sophocles
D. Aristotle
10. Which of the following is true of the Greek Chorus?
*A. Its importance in tragedy decreased during the fifth century.
B. Its importance in tragedy increased during the fifth century.
C. It was made up of both male and female actors.
D. It was always made up of realistic characters.
11. The first of the extant Greek playwrights, his characters embody cosmic conflicts.
A. Aristotle
*B. Aeschylus
C. Sophocles
D. Euripides
12. The ______________________________ was a device which flew in the gods in
Greek drama. The term is now used for any surprise ending.
*A. deus ex machine
B. periaktoi
C. ekkyklema
D. deus ex crane
13. ____________________________________ wrote tragedies; it is unlikely that his
plays were performed in Roman public theatres.
A. Plautus
*B. Seneca
C. Terence
D. Socrates
14. ________________________ makes fun of society, politics, or culture.
*A. Old Comedy
B. Middle Comedy
C. New Comedy
D. Situational Comedy
15. In the center of the Greek orchestra was found a _______________________; this is
a reminder that Greek drama was rooted in religious rituals.
*A. thymele
B. skene
C. parados
D. parasrenia
16. One scene-changing device believed to have been used in Ancient Greece was the
____________________, which had three painted flats hinged together.
A. pinake
*B. periaktoi
C. mechane
D. ekkyklema
17. The ________________________, a platform on wheels, was used to reveal climactic
offstage events.
A. pinake
B. periaktoi
C. mechane
*D. ekkyklema
18. The ________________________ theory argues that theater originated with large
choral odes which were sung by a chorus of fifty men as part of religious festivals.
A. linguistic
B. myth-ritual
*C. dithyrambic
D. epic rhapsode
19. While the characters in the plays of _____________________________ embodied
cosmic conflicts (i.e. were superhuman), _______________________ placed emphasis
on individual characters who were complex and psychologically motivated.
*A. Aeschylus, Sophocles
B. Euripides, Sophocles
C. Sophocles, Aristophanes
D. Euripides, Aeschylus
20. The only extant Greek comedies from the fifth century B.C. were written by:
A. Aristophanes
*B. Menander
C. Aristotle
D. Plautus
21. The _______________________ was a Greek festival held in honor of Dionysus and
featuring the performance of plays.
A. Rural Dionysia
*B. City Dionysia
C. Lanea
D. Anthesteria
22. According to your text, the first critic to attempt to pinpoint the characteristics of
Greek tragedy was:
*A. Aristotle
B. Horace
C. Cervantes
D. Plato
23. What was the "viewing place" of the early Greek theatres called?
*A. theatron
B. auditorium
C. skene
D. orchestra
24. _____________________________ uses domestic situations of middle class citizens
and is generally concerned with love and financial considerations.
A. Old Comedy
B. Middle Comedy
*C. New Comedy
D. Satire
25. _______________________________ gave actors professional security in the
Hellenistic period.
*A. The Artists of Dionysus
B. The Academy
C. Pericles
D. Kothornoi
26. In the Hellenistic period, actors wore large headdresses known as the:
*A. onkos
B. kothornoi
C. parados
D. ekkyklema
27. In the Hellenistic period, the __________________________acted as the producer of
plays.
A. archon
*B. agonthetes
C. actor
D. choregus
True/False
Please choose whether the statement is true or false.
28. Greek theatre is intimately bound up with Greek religion.
*True
False
29. Business came to a standstill during dramatic festivals.
*True
False
30. Play festivals were not competitive, so that each actor and playwright could be
honored equally.
True
*False
31. Myths provided the subject matter of most of the plays written for the festivals.
*True
False
32. The chorus never interacted with other characters in Greek plays.
True
*False
33. Sophocles wrote Poetics, a treatise on plot construction.
True
*False
34. Oedipus Rex is an example of climactic drama.
*True
False
35. Classical Greek plays were performed indoors at small, intimate theaters.
True
*False
36. Stage machinery was used in Greek theatres to reveal climactic offstage deaths.
*True
False
37. Hellenistic theatres had stone seats rather than the wooden ones, which were used in
the classical period.
*True
False
38. Performers became less important during the Hellenistic period, as the playwright
emerged as the leading artist.
True
*False
Essays/Activities
39. Discuss Aristotle’s six elements of drama as they apply to Oedipus Rex.
40. Sketch a ground plan of a Greek theatre; identify the skene, orchestra, audience, and
parados.