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The Golden Age of
Ancient Greek
Theatre
the origins of drama
The Origins Of Drama
 Created to celebrate
Dionysus, the ancient Greek
god of the grape
harvest, winemaking and wine,
and ritual madness and ecstasy.
 He was also known
as Bacchus, the name adopted
by the Romans
drama
 The term comes
from a Greek
word dran
meaning
"action," which
is derived from
“to do.”
Thespian
 From the name
Thespis, the first
person ever to
appear on stage as
an actor playing a
character in a play
the chorus
15 men
Sang lyric poetry
Performing was regarded as a civic duty
Wore robes and masks
Functions of the chorus
 an agent: gives advice, 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, song, and dance
 rhythmical function - pauses / paces the
action so that the audience can reflect.
The
Theatre
of
Dionysus
 The first plays were performed in the Theatre of
Dionysus, built in the shadow of the Acropolis in
Athens at the beginning of the 5th century
 These theatres proved to be so popular they soon
spread all over Greece.
Amphitheatres
 Plays were performed out-of-doors.
 The side of the mountain was scooped out
into a bowl shape, something like our
amphitheatres today, and tiers of stone
seats in concentric semi-circles were built
on the hill.
 These theatres often seated as many as
20,000 spectators, with a special first row
being reserved for dignitaries.
Theatron
 The theatron (literally, "viewing-place")
is where the spectators sat. The theatron
was usually part of hillside overlooking
the orchestra and often wrapped around a
large portion of the orchestra.
Orchestra
 The orchestra (literally, "dancing space") was
normally
circular. It was
a level space
where the chorus
would dance, sing,
and interact with
the actors who were on the stage (called the
Proskenion - proh-SKAY-nee-on) in front of
the skene. In the center of the orchestra there
was often an altar.
Skene
The skene - SKAY-nay
(literally, “tent") was the building
directly behind the stage in
which costumes were stored, and was
usually
decorated as a palace or building, depending
on the needs of the play. It had at least one
set of doors, and actors could make
entrances and exits through them.
Origination of the word “scene.”
The Actors
 All of the actors were men. No
girls allowed.
 The actors played multiple
roles, so a wooden, cork, or
linen mask was used to show
the change in character or
mood.
The masks were worn for many
reasons :
1. Visibility
2. Acoustic Assistance
3. Few Actors, Many Roles
4. Characterization
Modern-day replicas
Hero-King
Comedy
(Servant or Herald )
Tragedy
(Weeping Chorus)
Working in the Space
 Because of the distance between
actors and the audience, the actors
used broad gestures and histrionic
speech.
 The actor made himself taller by
wearing thick-soled shoes and a
high head piece.
 The masks assisted in projecting the
actor’s voice through a type of
inside megaphone.
The deus-ex-machina DAY-uhs eks ma-kuh--nuh (god from the
machine) was a crane-like device occasionally used for
lowering in a god to assist the protagonist
in neatly solving his problems.
The City Dionysia Festival
 In the sixth century BC, the Athenian ruler,
Pisistratus, established the 'City Dionysia,' a
festival of entertainment held in honor of the
god Dionysus.
 This festival featured competitions in music,
singing, dance, and poetry.
 Playwrights presented a series of three
tragedies (a trilogy).
 Interspersed among the three plays in the
trilogy were satyr plays.
The City Dionysia Festival
 The entire city would be in attendance.
 All other businesses not directly
involved with the 6-day festival would
shut down so that everyone could
attend.
 The government even offered financial
assistance to those who could not afford
to attend.
Types of Greek Drama
 Comedy
 Satyr (SATIRE)
 Tragedy
 Comedy and tragedy were the most
popular types of plays in ancient Greece.
Hence, the modern popularity of the
comedy and tragedy masks to symbolize
theatre.
Tragedy
 The word tragedy
came to be
derived from the
Greek tragos
(goat) and ode
(poem). Tragedy
literally means
goat song or goat
poem.
Why read Tragedy?
 Strength of
character
 Perseverance
 Courage
 Inspiration
 The dignity of
the human spirit
Aristotle’s
“Poetics,” An
essay about
drama in
which he
discusses
tragedy and
the tragic
hero
Traits of the central character of a
tragedy – tragic hero
• of the Elite Class / mighty figure
• suffers a Downfall / reversal of fortune
• Neither Wholly good
nor wholly evil
• Downfall is the
result of a
Fatal Flaw
• Endures uncommon
suffering
• Recognizes the consequences of his
actions
Traits of the a tragedy
• Misfortunes involve characters who are related or who are
friends
• Tragic actions take place offstage
• Central Character has a moment
of recognition – “Oh, now I get it!”
• Audience experiences pity and fear
• Pity and Fear leads to a catharsis
• Frequently used messengers to
relate information
•
Stories based on myth or history, but varied interpretations
of
events
•
Focus was on psychological and ethical attributes of
characters,
rather than physical and sociological
Sophocles
The Greatest of the
Greek playwrights
Sophocles (496-406 bc)
 His plays are more character-driven
rather than choric
 He is credited with adding a third
character
 His works include: Oedipus Rex,
Antigone, and Electra
 Sophocles’ surviving plays (written
after 440 B.C.) are deeply troubling
 These plays depict characters caught
up in unsolvable dilemmas that test
their faith in divine and human justice
Oedipus the King
OEDIPUS REX
 one of the world’s
greatest tragedies
 Said by Aristotle to be
the perfect tragedy
 The audience was
familiar with the myth
of Oedipus, so there
would be dramatic irony
when watching the play
OEDIPUS REX - Background
 Sophocles opens his play
with a situation very
familiar to the people of
Athens:
a plague
with no
end in
sight!
Themes & symbols








Sight vs. Blindness
Fate vs. Free Will
Action vs. Reflection
The Quest for Identity or Self
The Nature of Innocence and Guilt
The Abuse of Power
Sins of the Father
Even the Mightiest Can Fall
The Final Curtain
 By the time of Sophocles’s death in 406 BC,
the golden era of Greek drama was ending.
 Athens was overrun in 404 BC by the
Spartans and was later torn apart by
constant warring with other city states,
eventually falling under the dominion of
Alexander the Great and his Macedonian
armies.
 Theatre went on but did not return to the
same creative heights until Elizabethan
England two millennia later.