Theatre HistoryLecture Notes Ancient Greek TheatreUnitObjectives:

• Students willexpand theirvocabulary ofancient Greektheatre.

• Students willunderstand theimpact ofancient Greektheatre onmodern societythrough analysisof historicaltrends from theperiod.

• Students willacquire theappropriateskills toaccurately andconsistentlyperform ancientGreek theatrewithin thespecifichistorical andcultural contextof the era.

CA TheatreContentStandards:

Artistic Perception• 1.1

Historical/CulturalContext• 3.1• 3.2• 3.3

Aesthetic Valuing• 4.1

Lecture compiled by Justin Eick - Theatrical Education Group

The theatre of ancient Greece, or ancientGreek drama, is a theatrical culture thatflourished in ancient Greece between c.550 and c. 220 BCE.

The city-state of Athens, which became asignificant cultural, political, and militarypower during this period, was its center,where it was institutionalized as part of afestival called the Dionysia, whichhonored the god Dionysus.

Tragedy, comedy, and the satyr playwere the three dramatic genres toemerge there. Athens exported the

Overview – Theatre of Ancient Greece

OriginsGreek tragedy was created in Athensbefore 532 BCE, when Thespis was theearliest recorded playwright. Being awinner of the first theatrical contest heldat Athens, he was the leader of thedithyrambs performed in and aroundAttica, especially at the rural Dionysia.

Thespis aided in the final transition fromdithyramb to tragedy by addingcharacters who speak (rather than sing)with their own voice (rather than a singlenarrative chorus). Because of these,Thespis is often called the "Father ofTragedy"; however, his importance isdisputed, and Thespis is sometimeslisted as late as 16th in the chronologicalorder of Greek tragedians.

Thus, Thespis's true contribution todrama is unclear at best, but his namehas been immortalized as a commonterm for performer--a "thespian."The dramatic performances were

festival to its numerous colonies andallies in order to promote a commoncultural identity. Western theatreoriginates in Athens and its drama hashad a significant and sustained impacton Western culture as a whole.

The word tragoidia, from which theEnglish word "tragedy" is derived, is aportmanteau of two Greek words: tragosor "goat" and ode meaning "song", fromaeideion, "to sing". This etymologyindicates a link with the practices of theancient Dionysian cults.

important to the Athenians - this is madeclear by the creation of a tragedycompetition and festival in the city ofDionysia. The festival was createdroughly around 508 B.C.

While no drama texts exist from the sixthcentury BCE, we do know the names ofthree competitors besides Thespis:Choerilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus.Each is credited with differentinnovations in the field.

More is known about Phrynichus. Hewon his first competition between 511BCE and 508 BCE. He was the first poetwe know of to use a historical subject -his Fall of Miletus chronicled the fate ofthe town of Miletus after it wasconquered by the Persians. He is alsothought to be the first to use femalecharacters (though not femaleperformers).

Ancient Greek Theatre

Aristotle states

that Aeschylus

added the

second actor,

and that

Sophocles

added the third

actor – in any

event, the Greek

playwrights

never put more

than three actors

on stage at once.

Origins – The Golden Age

The power of Athens declined followingits defeat in the Peloponnesian Waragainst the Spartans. From that time on,the theatre started performing oldtragedies again.

Although its theatrical traditions seem tohave lost their vitality, Greek theatrecontinued into the Hellenistic period (theperiod following Alexander the Great'sconquests in the fourth century BCE).

Origins – The Hellenistic Period

Because the Greek outdoor theatre wasso large, actors could not depend onfacial expressions or vocal inflections toconvey their characters. Instead, theyhad to rely on large, simple physicalgestures, costumes, and even masks.

Comedy and tragedy masks have theirorigin in the theatre of ancient Greece.Masks were used to help show emotionsand also helped just three actors to playall the roles in a play, including femalecharacters – there were no actresses.

In addition to the leading actors, therewas a chorus of up to fifteen actors whoperformed the plays in verseaccompanied by music, beginning in themorning and lasting until the evening.

Performers

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After the Great Destruction of Athens bythe Persian Empire in 480 BCE, the townwas rebuilt, and theatre becameformalized and an even more major partof Athenian culture and civic pride.

This century is normally regarded as theGolden Age of Greek drama. The center-piece of the annual Dionysia, which took

However, the primary Hellenistictheatrical form was not tragedy but 'NewComedy', comic episodes about the livesof ordinary citizens. The only extantplaywright from the period is Menander.

One of New Comedy's most importantcontributions was its influence on Romancomedy, an influence that can be seen inthe surviving works of Plautus andTerence.

The chorus represented townspeople orother groups, and remained in theorchestra where they sang, danced, andcommented on the action.

The choragos was the head chorusmember who could enter the story as acharacter able to interact with thecharacters of a play.

Costumes also played a significant rolein helping convey characters from afar.For instance, the actors in these playsthat had tragic roles wore boots calledcothurnuses that elevated them abovethe other actors. The actors with comedicroles only wore a thin soled shoe called asock.

place once in winter and once in spring,was a competition between three tragicplaywrights at the Theatre of Dionysus.

Each submitted three tragedies, plus asatyr play (a comic, burlesque version ofa mythological subject). Beginning in afirst competition in 486 BCE, eachplaywright also submitted a comedy.

The stage of the Souththeatre in Jerash Jordan,

the structure at the back isthe skene

Tragic Comic Masks

Ancient Greek TheatrePage 3 of 4

The performance space was asimple semi-circular space, theorchestra, where the chorusdanced and sang.

The orchestra, which had anaverage diameter of 78 feet, wassituated on a flattened terrace atthe foot of a hill, the slope of whichproduced a natural theatron,literally "watching place". Later, theterm "theatre" came to be applied tothe whole area of theatron,orchestra, and skené.

The theatres were originally built ona very large scale to accommodatethe large number of people onstage, as well as the large numberof people in the audience, up tofourteen thousand.

Mathematics played a large role inthe construction of these theatres,as their designers had to able tocreate acoustics in them such thatthe actors' voices could be heardthroughout the theatre, includingthe very top row of seats.

In 465 BCE, the playwrights beganusing a backdrop or scenic wall,which hung or stood behind theorchestra, which also served as anarea where actors could changetheir costumes. It was known as theskené, or scene.

The death of a character wasalways heard behind the skené, forit was considered inappropriate toshow a killing in view of theaudience.

In 425 BCE a stone scene wall,called a paraskenia, became acommon supplement to skenes inthe theatres. A paraskenia was along wall with projecting sides,which may have had doorways forentrances and exits.

Stage Characteristics

A blueprint of an Ancient Theatre.Terms are in Greek language and Latin letters.

Just behind the paraskenia was theproskenion. The proskenion ("infront of the scene") was columned,and was similar to the modern dayproscenium.

Today's proscenium is whatseparates the audience from thestage. It is the frame around thestage that makes it look like theaction is taking place in a pictureframe.

Greek theatres also had entrancesfor the actors and chorus memberscalled parodoi. The parodoi (pluralof parodos) were tall arches thatopened onto the orchestra, throughwhich the performers entered..By the end of the 5th century BCE,around the time of thePeloponnesian War, the skene, thewas two stories high. The upperstory was called the episkenion.

Some theatres also had a raisedspeaking place on the orchestracalled the logeion.

There were several scenic elementscommonly used in Greek theatre:

• Machina - a crane that gave theimpression of a flying actor (thus, deus ex machina).

• Ekkyklema - a wheeled wagonused to bring dead characters intoview for the audience trap doors, orsimilar openings in the ground to liftpeople onto the stage.

• Pinakes - pictures hung into thescene to show a scene's scenery

• Thyromata - more complexpictures built into the second-levelscene (3rd level from ground)

Significant Artists/Works

Chorus – a group of performers whofunctioned as a commentary on andas an accompaniment to the actionof the play

Choragos – the head chorus memberwho could enter the story as acharacter able to interact with thecharacters of a play

Comedy – one of two principaldramatic forms of theatre in ancientGreece – divided into three periods:Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, andNew Comedy

Comedy and tragedy masks – usedto show the emotions, switchbetween roles, and play charactersof a different gender

Dithyramb – an emotional chorichymn or speech sung by a group ofmen to honor Dionysus

Dionysia – a festival in ancientAthens in honor of the godDionysus where a theatricalcompetition between 3 playwrightswas the main event

Vocabulary/Key Terms

Timeline7th Century BCE625 (c) Arion produces

dithyrambicchoruses

6th Century BCE600-570 Cleisthenes

transfers "tragicchoruses" toDionysus

540-527 Pisistratus foundsthe festival of theDionysia

536-533 Thespis puts on atragedy at festivalof the Dionysia

525 Aeschylus born511-508 Phrynichus' first

victory in tragedy500 (c) Pratinus

introduces thesatyr play toAthens

5th Century BCE499-496 Aeschylus' first

dramaticcompetition

496 (c) Sophocles born485 Euripides born484 Aeschylus' first

dramatic victory456 Aeschylus dies450 (c) Aristophanes

born447 Parthenon begun

in Athens431-404 Peloponnesian

War406 Euripides dies;

Sophocles dies404 Athens loses

PeloponnesianWar to Sparta

4th Century BCE399 Trial and death of

Socrates380 (c) Plato's Republic

includes critiqueof Greek tragedyand comedy

330 (c) Aristotle's Poeticsincludes defenseof Greek tragedyand comedy

Tragedies:

Aeschylus (c. 525–456 BCE):The Persians (472 BCE)Seven Against Thebes (467 BCE)The Suppliants (463 BCE)The Oresteia (458 BCE, a trilogy

comprising Agamemnon,The Libation Bearers andThe Eumenides.)

Phrynichus (~511 BCE):The Fall of Miletus (late 500 BCE)

Sophocles (c. 495-406 BCE):Antigone (c. 442 BCE)Oedipus the King (c. 429 BCE)Oedipus at Colonus (401 BCE)The Trachiniae (unknown)Electra (unknown)Philoctetes (409 BCE)

Euripides (c. 480–406 BCE):Alcestis (438 BCE)Medea (431 BCE)Hippolytus (428 BCE)Electra (420 BCE)Sisyphos (415 BCE)The Bacchae (405 BCE)

Comedies:

Aristophanes (c. 446-388 BCE):The Acharnians (425 BCE)The Knights (424 BCE)The Clouds (423 BCE)The Wasps (422 BCE)Peace (421 BCE)The Birds (414 BCE)Lysistrata (411 BCE)

Menander (c. 342-291 BCE):Dyskolos (317 BCE)

Dionysus – the god of wine, fertility,and revelry

Orchestra – “dancing place” – flatterrace where the chorus performed

Satyr Play – a genre that deals withthe mythological subject matter ofthe tragedies, but in a purelycomedic manner

Skené – changing hut (the source forthe word “scene”) which eventuallybecame the backdrop/setting

Theatron – slope – “watching place” –from which the word “theatre” wasderived

Thespis – credited as the first writerof tragedy (won the first playwrightcontest at Dionysia) as well as thefirst actor (stepped out of the chorusand impersonated a character)

Thespian – a common term for“performer,” derived from “Thespis”

Tragedy – (literally "goat-song") is aform of art based on humansuffering that offers its audiencepleasure

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