Introduction to Ancient Greek Theatre

Origins

“Ancient Greek Theatre” generally refers to theatre performed in Athens during the 5th century B.C.

Is considered the traditional origin of modern theatre

Grew out of religious ceremonies and festivals

Dionysus

Theatre began as part of a religious ceremony honoring the god Dionysus God of wine, fertility, grapes,

ecstasy, madness, pleasure, festivity, etc.

One of the 12 Olympians Responsible for human impulses Devine mission: to eradicate all

care and worry

Dionysus

He was raised by satyrs, killed, dismembered, and reborn

Other gods had temples, the cult of Dionysus met in the woods

It was believed he could liberate and inspire men

Could endow man with divine creativity

Patron of the arts - theatre

Origins

The original ceremony involved a week of public wine drinking, a ritualistic dance, and chanting

Ceremony took place every March

Eventually, the chants were written down in verse form and later evolved into plays

From Ceremony to Plays

Original ceremony became formalized in the following ways Took place in a large, bowl shaped

space Involved several specifically

dressed performers who sang and danced predetermined pieces, usually with one leader

Involved huge crowds of spectators The center of the round

performance area had an altar A goat was ritualistically killed and

offered as a sacrifice at that altar Fun fact: The word tragedy comes

from the Ancient Greek word for “goat song.”

From Ceremony to Plays

Eventually, Thespis (the reason why actors are called thespians) came up with the clever idea of dialogue Before him, no one presented what could be

considered “conversation” on stage It took even longer for someone else to come

up with innovative idea of putting more than 2 characters on stage at the same time.

Topics eventually broadened from just the story of Dionysus to include the many myths and legends of Ancient Greek religion

Structure of Ancient Greek Tragedy

Tragedies must include Chorus: group (usually 15ish) who speak in

unison and act as the “voice of the people”▪ The chorus usually speaks poetically about the overall

theme of the play between each scene Tragic Hero: main character, usually noble, who

falls from high position because of a basic, tragic flaw▪ Hubris, ruthless ambition, obsessive jealousy

Examination of the psychological make-up of the characters

No more than 3 actors speaking in a scene

Structure of Ancient Greek Tragedy

Prologue: A simple speech that introduces the basic story/theme of the play

Entrance of the Chorus: Umm…like when the chorus and enters…and stuff

Major Episodes: What we would consider scenes or acts during which dialogue takes place and the plot is advanced

Strophe: Poetry about the main theme/action of the play read between the Major Episodes of the play

Ancient Greek Theatre

Ancient Greek Theatres

Theatron: Where the audience sits; typically built into a hillside

Orchestra: Main acting space for the chorus or lower characters; usually included an altar in the middle

Ancient Greek Theatres

Parodos: Side aisles that allowed actors to make their entrances

Skene: Main acting area for major characters; provided the background for the play usually had 3 entrances▪ could be simple booth or

a permanent structure▪ could include machines

like a crane

Look Familiar?

Presentation

Trilogy: Each tragedy was presented as a cycle of three plays

Three Levels: The picture shows the hero/god at the highest, human/minor characters on the second level, chorus on the lowest level

Ancient Greek Actors

Masks: Large, colorful, detailed, expressive, helped to amplify the actor’s voice. Female masks had larger mouths and eyes

Corthornous: Platform shoes worn by heroes and gods/goddesses to show how high, mighty, and important they were

Ancient Greek Actors

Long Robes: Worn to show age, gender, occupation, socioeconomic status, to hide big shoes

All actors were male, so those playing female roles needed really good costumes

Derp

Piktocharts

Origins of Greek Theatre Masks and Special Effects Overview of Theatre and Genres Theatre of Dionysus

The Role of FateFate was a central concept to Ancient Greek religion and culture

Basic concept, in ancient Greek eyes Your life, and everything you do during

it, is predetermined before you are born You can’t escape fate no matter what

you do Oracles, particularly the ones at

Delphi, can reveal your fate to you, but they usually don’t give you all the pertinent information

Whenever anything bad, or good, happens to you, it can be attributed by fate?

Greek Law vs. Modern LawTwo big ideas to keep in mind

Motive meant nothing. There was no such thing as degrees of murder or manslaughter or self defense. THE ACT WAS THE ONLY THING taken into consideration when determining guilt. It didn’t matter why you did something, only that you did it. That being said…

Murder wasn’t necessarily a crime. All Greek citizens were charged with the duty of harming their enemies and helping their friends. Occasionally, that included committing a murder or two.

The Importance of Family

Family was everything in Ancient Greek culture Any good Greek citizen knew the exact name

and origin of each of his/her ancestors Any good Greek citizen defended his/her

relatives, no matter what they did, to the death Ancient Greek families were not unlike the mob

families presented in The Godfather series Committing a crime, ESPECIALLY MURDER,

against anyone in your family, ESPECIALLY YOUR PARENTS, was the worst thing you could do