Gr∑∑k Drama

You will need to take notes!

Started as Ancient Rituals for Dionysus.

Started in the country of Greece

There were 3 actors in any

given Classical play.

The God of Wine and Fertility. Also known as “Bacchus “in Roman mythology.

The CHOIR

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•spoke in unison and wore masks and robes

Commented on the plays action.

The leader was the CHORAGUS.

Worn by actors and

chorus.

mouth pieces to amplify voices.

Big facial features

seen from far away

Allowed different

characters.

Men could play

women.

Greek Masks

Comedy Mask

The Anatomy of the Greek Mask

Tragedy Mask

A tragedy

• A play about a dignified (usually royal) character.

Tragic Hero

• The protagonist of the play

Tragic Flaw

• Something that the tragic hero possesses that brings about his or her downfall.

The major event that leads to their downfall is called a CATASTROPHE!

Important Vocabulary for greek drama

There will be a test on this next

week!

What does A.D./B.C. mean?

B.C. = “Before Christ”A.D. = Anno Domini, Latin for “the year of our Lord.”

B.C.E.= Before current (or Common) Era

C.E. = Current (or Common) Era

PlaywrightOne who makes a play. A wright is a person

who makes, as in the name Cartwright, a cart maker; the word wrought means made, or worked, as in wrought iron.

Classical Age of GreeceThe Age of Pericles, the 5th century B.C.

(400s).He was a persuasive speaker. Honors

DionysusThe Greek God of wine. Theater was his

worship.

ApolloThe Greek God of reason, music, order.

PolytheismThe belief in many gods, as opposed to

monotheism, the belief in one god (such as Judaism, Christianity, or Islam), or atheism, the belief that there is no god (poly = many, mono= one, a= without, theos= god).

FateThe Greeks believed that every person had a

fate or destiny that was determined before birth by the Fates, three women who spun, measured, and cut off the thread of life. Atropos, the one who cut the thread, provides the origin of the word atrophy, to wither or cut off.

VIDEO

HubrisOften translated as pride, it means more. The

Greek concept of hubris implied that the person had stepped beyond the accepted bounds of the place in life that the gods had allotted. He or she overreaches his or her authority and takes on responsibility or power that is not properly his or hers.

ThespisThe first actor. In about 534 B.C. Thespis had

one man stand apart from the chorus and speak the lines of the gods, thereby inventing the first actor.

THESPIAN: an actor.

AeschylusGreek Playwright (525-456 B.C.E.) who

added a second actor.

SophoclesGreek playwright (495- 406 B.C.E.) who

added a third actor and first used scenery. He wrote Oedipus, Antigone, and Philoctetes.

VicariousSecond hand, in the sense that a vicarious

experience is one that we see someone else having (such as a character, in a play, book or film) but we don’t have ourselves.

CatastropheA terrible thing that happens to the tragic

hero. The catastrophe could be his or her death or mutilation or the loss of a loved one.

Eucatastrophe(Eu – means good). A happy, positive

occurrance or ending.

Deus ex machinaA Latin phrase meaning “god out of the

machine.” THEN: Originally it involved the lowering of

an actor portraying a god onto the Greek stage.

TODAY: It means inserting a god-figure into the story to get people out of a jam.

VIDEO

CatharsisLiterally, a purge, especially an emotional

purge. Specifically in Greek tragedy the audience is to feel pity for the tragic hero and terror (fear and awe) at the power of fate as determined by the gods.

TragedyA serious work about a person of significance

(royal, noble) who, as a result of fate or a character flaw, experiences a catastrophe. The play evokes a catharsis (feelings of pity and terror) from the audience.

ChorusA group of 8-10 men, originally priests, who

comment on the action of the tragedy, usually from the point of view of the audience or from the point of view the playwright would like to take. VIDEO

OdeA set piece, a poem, which the chorus speaks

in unison. A Greek tragedy alternated the episodes with choral odes which commented on the action.

EpisodeEpi – means around. The episodes are

literally the pieces between the odes, the action of the play.

ReversalThis is literally a reversal of fortune or luck of

the tragic hero. It usually occurs in the 4th or 5th episode when he or she realizes his/ her mistake or fate.

Dramatic ironyThis occurs when the audience knows

something that one or more characters on stage does not know.

VIDEO

“From Ritual to Entertainment”Take notes on the following video: link

Greek Theater