Download 4th Century BC

Greek
Theater
Roots in Worship
of Dionysus
God of wine and revelry
Origins
Celebration of Dionysus- God of Wine
Performed in circular dancing place
(orchestra)
A chorus of men dressed in goat skins
Trageoia= goat song
A story about Dionysus by leader of the
chorus
PRODUCTION
 Orchestra
 Chorus (from 12-15 people)
 Actors- always men, masked and in costumes
 Early plays of Aeschylus- only two actors; by
about 450 B.C., a third had been added
 The poet composed the music and the dance as
well as the text, directed the production, and
trained the chorus; some dramatists also played
the leading roles.
Typical Greek Theatre
Theatron- where the audience sits
Open air
Hillside
Seating capacity of the Theatron of
Dionysus of Athens?
About 17,000
Parts of a Theater
Orchestra-dancing place of the chorus
Skene- dressing room for actors
Proscenium- the façade of the skene where
scenery was
Parados = entrance
No curtains
Dues et Machina- technical device- crane atop the
skene with a dummy hung representing gods.
Theater at Epidaurus
Theater at Epidaurus
The Greek Outdoor Amphitheatre
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Masks of Greek Theater
Functions of Chorus
The beauty of poetry and dancing
Relieves tension
Interprets events for audience
Often converses with the actors; gives
advice
Gives background of events
There used to be 50 members, but it
switched to approximately 15
Chorus
Chorus
Tragedy
A drama of a character, usually one in
high position, where a conflict usually
develops between the protagonist/hero
and a “superior force (such as destiny,
circumstance, or society)” and the story
ends in some sort of disaster or great fall
of the protagonist.
Hubris and Hamartia
n Hamartia: “A tragic flaw or error that in
ancient Greek tragedies leads to the hero’s
reversal of fortune.”
n Hubris: Excessive pride or arrogance.
Often leads to the downfall of the major
character in Greek tragedy.
Thespis of Athens
Ca. 535 B.C.E.
Father of Drama
Created the first actor
Hypokrites
Moving on…
New myths are used, not just Dionysus
Aeschylus: introduced second actor
Dialogue
Sophocles: introduced third actor
GREAT GREEK TRAGEDIANS
AESCHYLUS (ca.525-456
B.C.) (father of tragedy)
SOPHOCLES (ca.495-406 B.C.)
EURIPIDES (c 480-406 B.C.)
Sophocles
EURIPIDES (c 480-406 B.C.)
 Wrote prolifically- some 90 plays, of which
19 survived
 ONLY 31 TRAGEDIES ARE EXTANT
 He won the prize for the best play only four
times
EURIPIDES Cont.
 One device he uses (and it is often seen as a
weakness in his plays) is the deus ex
machina, a god, not involved earlier in the
action, who descends in a stage machine to
straighten out the mess humans have got
themselves into.
Deus ex Machina“God From the Machine”
The Machina- a crane that
was used to represent
characters who were flying
or lifted off of the earth.
Tunnel
from behind the Skene to the center of the
stage.
Scenic wagons
revealed through doors on the Skene.
Pinakes
painted panels that could be attached to the
skene.
Differences… Drama, Then and Now
Greek drama(GD) is a religious
GD get their subjects from mythology
GD outlines the plot in advance, little
suspence
GD main intrest is relgioun and ethical
instruction
All Short plays 17,000 longest to 900
shortest
Rated G
No violent action
Scenes of horror happen off stage
Reported to the audience
Unity
Unity of action- no subplots
Unity of place-no change of scenery
Unity of time- max of one day
No intermissions
Twice a year in the day
Staging an ancient Greek play
 Plays were funded by the polis
 Plays presented in competition with other plays
 Tragedies almost exclusively dealt with stories
from the mythic past
 Comedies almost exclusively dealt with
contemporary figures and problems.
 The great tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and
Euripides were performed annually at the spring
festival of Dionysus, god of wine, and inspiration.
Aristotle’s
Poetics
Central
Character is of
the Elite Class
Central
Character
suffers a
Downfall
Central
Character is
Neither Wholly
good nor
wholly evil
Downfall is the
result of a
Fatal Flaw
Misfortunes
involve
characters
who are
related or who
are friends
Tragic actions
take place
offstage
Central
Character has
a moment of
recognition
Audience
experiences pity
and fear
Pity and Fear
leads to a
catharsis
Oedipus and Sphinx
Oedipus and Sphinx
Oedipus and Sphinx
Masks of Greek Theater
Maenads and Satyrs
Audience at Theater
of Delphi
Dionysus and Satyrs
TIMELINE OF GREEK DRAMA
7th Century BC
 c. 625
Arion at Corinth produces named
dithyrambic choruses
6th Century BC
 600-570
Cleisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, transfers "tragic
choruses" to Dionysus

540-527
Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, founds the
festival of the Greater Dionysia
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 536-533
Thespis puts on tragedy at festival of the
Greater Dionysia in Athens
 525
Aeschylus was born
 511-508
 c. 500
Phrynichus' first victory in tragedy
Pratinus of Phlius introduces the
satyr play to Athens
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
5th Century BC
 499-496 Aeschylus' first dramatic competition
 c. 496
Sophocles was born
 492
Phrynicus' Capture of Miletus (Miletus was
captured by the Persians in 494)
 485
Euripides was born
 484
Aeschylus' first dramatic victory
 472
Aeschylus' Persians
 467
Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes
 468
Aeschylus defeated by Sophocles in dramatic
competition
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 463?
 458







Aeschylus' Suppliant Women
Aeschylus' Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation
Bearers, Eumenides)
456
Aeschylus dies
c. 450
Aristophanes was born
447
Parthenon begun in Athens
c. 445
Sophocles' Ajax
441
Sophocles' Antigone
438
Euripides' Alcestis
431-404
Peloponnesian War (Athens and allies vs.
Sparta and allies)
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 431
 c. 429
 428
 423
 415
 406
 405
 404
Sparta
Euripides' Medea
Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Euripides' Hippolytus
Aristophanes' Clouds
Euripides' Trojan Women
Euripides dies; Sophocles dies
Euripides' Bacchae
Athens loses Peloponnesian War to
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 401
Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus
4th Century BC
 399
Trial and death of Socrates
 c. 380's
Plato's Republic includes
critique of Greek tragedy and comedy
 c. 330's
Aristotle's Poetics includes
defense of Greek tragedy and comedy
Delphi
“ Indeed, some say that dramas are so called, because their
authors represent the characters as "doing" them (drôntes). And it
is on this basis that the Dorians [= the Spartans, etc.] lay claim to
the invention of both tragedy and comedy. For comedy is
claimed by the Megarians here in Greece, who say it began
among them at the time when they became a democracy [c. 580
BC], and by the Megarians of Sicily on the grounds that the poet
Epicharmas came from there and was much earlier than
Chionides and Magnes; while tragedy is claimed by certain
Dorians of the Peloponnese. They offer the words as evidence,
noting that outlying villages, called dêmoi by the Athenians, are
called kômai by them, and alleging that kômôdoi (comedians)
acquired their name, not from kômazein (to revel), but from the
fact that, being expelled in disgrace from the city, they wandered
from village to village. The Dorians further point out that their
word for "to do" is drân, whereas the Athenians use prattein.
”(Aristotle: Poetics Chapter 3)