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All You Ever Wanted to Know about Greek Theatre (maybe more than you wanted to
know!)
Greek Theatre flourished between ca. 550 - ca. 220 B.C. Scholars have been able to determine much about the
tradition through a variety of sources:
 Extant __________ and fragments
 Records of dramas (scattered)
 Commentaries (such as Aristotle)
 ___________________ remains of buildings
 Visual art - primarily from __________ painting
There are 4 characteristics/qualities of Greek Drama:
1. Performed for special occasions (________________)
 Athens had four festivals worshipping ____________________-- (Bacchus in Latin, Roman) god of wine, fertility,
rebirth
 The son of Zeus [a god] and Semele [a mortal], reared by satyrs, killed, dismembered, and resurrected (was
actually reborn)
2. __________________ -- prizes awarded
 Actors and playwrights competed --________________________ apparently didn't win
 (was 2nd) -- 430 B.C.
3. Choral -- singing seems to have been an important part
 a chorus of men (varied in size from 3 to ______) -- many think the choral song -- dithyramb-- was the
beginnings of Greek drama (but origins are unclear)
 Some believe the chorus sang, moved, danced
 Most believe the chorus underscored the ideas of the play, provided _____________________, and
focused on issues of the play and implications of the action, established the play's ethical system, and
participated in the action
4. Closely associated with ___________________ - stories based on myth or history
Structure of Greek Tragedy

Late point of attack

Violence and __________________ offstage (Sophocles's Ajax is an exception)

Frequent use of messengers to relate information

Usually continuous time of action (except Aeschylus's Eumenides)

Usually single place (except Ajax)

Stories based on ______________ or history, but varied interpretations of events

Focus is on psychological and ethical attributes of characters, rather than physical and sociological.
Playwrights - Aeschylus

his are the oldest surviving plays - began competing 449 B.C. at Dionysus Theatre. Most of his plays were
part of trilogies; the only extant Greek trilogy is The Orestia.

He is believed to have introduced the _______________________ (Thespis was one, the 2nd added; after 468
B.C. Sophocles is believed to have introduced the 3rd actor, which Aeschylus then used.
Characteristics of Aeschylus's plays:

characters have limited number of traits, but are clear and direct

emphasizes forces beyond human control

evolution of justice, impersonal

power of state eventually replacing personal revenge

chain of private guilt and punishment - all reconciled at end
Sophocles

496-406 B.C.

won 24 contests, never lower than _________

believed to have introduced the 3rd actor

fixed the chorus at ______ (had been 50)
Characteristics of Sophocles’ plays

emphasis on _______________ characters

reduced role of chorus

complex characters, psychologically well-motivated

characters subjected to crisis leading to ________________ and self-recognition - including a higher law
above man

scenes climactic

action clear and logical

_________________ clear and beautiful

few elaborate visual effects

theme emphasized: the _____________ of people
Euripides

480-406 B.C.

very popular in later Greek times (little appreciated during his life)

sometimes known as "the father of __________________________"
Characteristics of Euripides' plays

dealt with subjects usually considered unsuited to the stage which questioned traditional values (Medea
loving her stepson, Medea murdering her children)

dramatic method often unclear - not always clearly causally related episodes, with many reversals, deus ex
machina endings

many practices were to become popular: using minor myths or severely altered major ones

less poetic language, realistic characterizations and dialog

Tragedy was abandoned in favor of melodramatic treatment.

Theme emphasized: sometimes _____________ rules world, people are more concerned with morals than
__________ are.
Greek Comedy

not admitted to Dionysus festival till 487-486 B.C. – late unknown origins or influences

or from ______________ - satirical treatment of domestic situations or burlesqued myths

Called "Old Comedy" (Menander's plays are considered to be Greek "New Comedy")

commentary on contemporary society, __________________, literature, and Peloponnesian War.

Based on a "happy idea" - a private peace with a warring power or a sex strike to stop war

exaggerated, farcical, sensual pleasures
Structure of the Comedy
Part One:

prolog - chorus gives _________________ or "agon" over merits of the ides

parabasis - a choral ode addressing the audience, in which a social or political problem is discussed
Part Two:

scenes show the result of the happy idea final scene: (komos) - all reconcile and exit to feast or revelry
in 404 B.C., Athens was defeated in the Peloponnesian War; social and political satire declines.
Production/Finance

Playwrights applied to the archon (_________________ leader) for a chorus.

Expense borne by a choregai, wealthy citizen, chosen by the archon as part of ____________ / religious duty

Choregus paid for training, ______________, etc. (the term choregus also refers to leader of the chorus).

The state was responsible for theatre buildings, prizes, payments to actors (and perhaps to playwrights).
Prizes were awarded jointly to playwrights and choregus.

Dramatists themselves probably "directed" the tragic plays, but probably not the comedies.

Aeschylus and others in his time acted, trained chorus, wrote music, choreographed, etc.

Playwrights called didaskalas (teacher) -- [didactic = teaching]
Actors and Acting

performed in an outdoor theater

used ________________

were almost always performed by a chorus and three actors (no matter how many speaking characters
there were in the play, only three actors were used; the actors would go back stage after playing one
character, switch masks and costumes, and reappear as another character).

unless later revived, plays were performed _____________________.
Functions of the chorus

an agent: gives ____________, asks, takes part

establishes ethical framework, sets up standard by which action will be judged

ideal spectator - reacts as playwright hopes audience would

sets mood and heightens dramatic effects

adds movement, spectacle, ____________, and dance

rhythmical function - pauses / paces the action so that the audience can reflect.
Music

probably a single _______________, sometimes a lute

no one knows who composed the music nor what it sounded like

probably resembled oriental quarter tones

different modes of music associated with comedy or tragedy
Masks

used to show the _________________ of the characters in a play

allowed actors to switch between roles and play characters of a different _______________
Parts of a Greek Theatre

Early Greek theaters were probably little more than open areas in city centers or next to __________________
where the audience, standing or sitting, could watch and listen to the chorus singing about the exploits of
a god or hero.

From the late 6th century BC to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC there was a gradual evolution towards more
elaborate theater structures, but the basic layout of the Greek theater remained the same.
Orchestra

normally __________________.

a level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the actors who were on the stage near
the skene.

earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth
Theatron

where the spectators sat.

usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra, and often wrapped around a large portion of the
orchestra

spectators in the fifth century BC probably sat on cushions or __________________
Skene

usually decorated as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs of the play.

had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and exits through them.

was also access to the ___________ of the skene from behind, so that actors playing gods and other
characters could appear on the roof, if needed.
Parados

are the ______________ by which the chorus and some actors (such as those representing messengers or
people returning from abroad) made their entrances and exits.

audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance