Ancient Greek Theatre

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Ancient Greek Theatre
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Religion and Stories

• Greeks were polytheistic (many gods)
• Greeks thought of their gods in human terms
• example gods could get angry, fight
• Greeks based their stories on gods, myths
• and legends
• Greek citizens knew these stories but came
• to see them acted out.

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Theatre Space
Theatron seeing place
Orchestra
Altar of Dionysus
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Other technical elements

• Periaktoi 3 sided panel used for scenery
• Proskenion platform in front of the skene
• Deus Ex Machina literally means "god from the
  machine" a crane used to lift actors
• ekyklema a device for revealing a tableau
  usually to show dead bodies

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Words we use today

• Theater from the Greek word THEATRON
• Orchestra closest seating to the stage
• Scene from the Greek word SKENE
• proscenium type of theater configuration where
  the audience sits in front of the stage and views
  the show through an arch. Comes from the Greek
  work PROSKENION.
• Thespian - named after the actor/playwright
  THESPIS

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City Dionysia

• Athens financially supported theatre as of 534
  B.C. when they began the CITY DIONYSIA, a
  festival in honor of the god Dionysus.

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Who and What?

• 3 playwrights competed
• each submitted 3 tragedies and a satyr play
• big honor to win
• judged by selected citizens and priests of
  Dionysus

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Greek Tragedies

• Tragedy - literally translates to "goat song
  Dramatic presentation where the main character
  suffers extreme sorrow.
• dithyramb song sung to honor Dionysus the
  foundation of Greek Drama
• tragic hero protagonist of a tragedy
• tragic flaw a weakness of a tragic hero
• catharsis an emotional purging
• Greek tragedies based on known stories

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Greek Tragedies

• Best example is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

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Greek Comedy

• Comedy a dramatic work that is light and often
  humorous or satirical in tone and that usually
  contains a happy ending.
• Comes from the Greek words kommos drunken
  revelersoides song
• Comedies made fun of gods and heroes as well as
  everyday people

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Greek Playwrights

• Thespis - introduced the first actor. No
  surviving plays
• Aeschylus - introduced the 2nd actor. Orestia
  trilogy
• Sophocles - introduced a 3rd actor. Oedipus
  Trilogy
• Euripides - Added some realism. Medea, The
  Trojan Women
• Aristophanes - most famous comic playwright.
  Lysistrata