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Greek
Theater
Sophocles
495 BCE – 405 BCE (approx.)
Became a prominent resident of
Athens, Greece
Dionysia was a large religious
festival in honor of Dionysus,
the god of agriculture, theatre, wine, & ecstasy
In 468 BCE, he took first prize at Dionysia,
defeating the reigning champion, Aeschylus
Wrote over 120 plays, only 7 of which have
withstood the test of time
Sophocles wrote:
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus at Colonus
Antigone
Roots in Worship
of Dionysus
God of wine and revelry
Legend has it…
 At a competition in the city of
Dionysia, the most remarkable
winner was a man by the name
of Thespis.
 Legend has it that in 534 or
535 B.C., Thespis astounded
audiences by leaping onto the
back of a wooden cart and
reciting poetry as if he were
the characters whose lines he
was reading. In doing so, he
became the world’s first actor.
It is from him that we get the
word thespian.
Greek Theatre
 large, open areas
 took advantage of hillsides
to create stadium style
seating

could usually seat
thousands of people
(Dionysia could seat
approx. 17,000)
 performance space was
called the “orchestra”

this is where the chorus
sang and danced
Theater at Epidaurus
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Changed Theatre Forever
Introduced a third actor
Gave dialogue a fuller
sense of development
Lessened the role of
the chorus
Developed “skēnē”
where the background
was painted and arranged
in order to create a
spectacular effect
Chorus
Chorus
Masks of Greek Theater
Masks of Greek Theater
Masks of Greek Theater
Theatrical Terms
Tragedy
Developed out of ancient Greece
A drama or literary work in which the main
character, or protagonist, is brought to ruin or
suffers extreme sadness, especially as a
consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness,
or inability to cope with unfavorable
circumstances.
Deals with affairs of the state (wars,
government, etc.)
More Terms
Tragic Hero
the main character in a tragedy who
makes an error in their actions that leads
to their own downfall
Characteristics of a
Tragic Hero
The hero is faced
with a serious
decision.
Central
Character
suffers a
Downfall
He Is often
a king or
leader so
that his
people
experience
his fall
with him.
HIS
downfall
arouses pity
and fear
THE HERO
LEARNS
SOMETHING
FROM
HIS/HER
MISTAKE.
Central
Character is
Neither Wholly
good nor
wholly evil
Downfall is the
result of a
Fatal Flaw
Misfortunes
affect
characters
who are
related or who
are friends
Tragic actions
take place
offstage
Central
Character has
a moment of
recognition
He is physically
or spiritually
wounded by his
experiences,
often resulting
in His death.
More Terms
Chorus
a group of 12-15 men that provided background
information and commentary to help the audience
understand the performance
They modeled how the audience “should” react
They expressed what the main characters (of
which there were only 2 before Sophocles) could
not say… their thoughts, feelings, etc.
Usually sang, but would also speak in unison
(very overdramatically to enhance volume)
Theatrical Terms
Four Types of Irony
Dramatic- audience knows something the characters
don’t
Situational- when the last thing you expect to happen
happens
Verbal- what is said vs. what is meant (sarcasm)
Cosmic- what the characters aspire to vs. what the
cosmic forces allow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm-1xvWibt0
Delphi
Delphi
Oracle of
Delphi
Oedipus and Sphinx
Oedipus and Sphinx
Riddle of the Sphinx
"Which animal has one voice, but two,
three or four feet being slowest on
three?"