Greek Theatre

Overview of TheaterGreek Gods

Antigone—by Sophoclesand

(Medea—by Euripides)

Overview of Greek Theatre• The land

• The myths

• The stage

The Land

• Greece has thousands of inhabited islands and dramatic mountain ranges

• Greece has a rich culture and history

• Democracy was founded in Greece

• Patriarchal (male dominated) society

• Philosophy, as a practice, began in Greece (Socrates (Socratic discussions!), Plato, Aristotle)

The Land

Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea

The Land

Overview of Greek Theatre• The land

• The myths

• The stage

The Stage

The StageThree Main Portions of Greek Theatre:

Skene – Portion of stage where actors performed (included 1-3 doors in and out)

Orchestra – “Dancing Place” where chorus sang to the audience

Theatron – “seeing place” Seating for audience

Other parts of the theater:

• Parados=“Passageway” (plural is paradoi)• Eisodos=long ramps• Skene=“Tent”/“booth” in English—3 doors for

entrances• Paraskenium/Proscenium--stage in front of

curtain, with projecting sides• Altar (Thymele)—place for offering to Dionysus• Logeion-a platform above the proskeneum• Thelogeion—roof above logeion wher the gods

and the mechane (deus ex. Machina) sat.

Further parts…

• The mechane (machina) was a crane mounted on the roof of the skene to lower the gods into the action of the play.

• “Deus ex machina”—god out of the machine.—surprise or god-like entrance.

Seating capacity

• 78 rows of the Theatre of Dionysus would seat between 15,000 and 16,000 people, approximately 1/3 of the population of Athens.

• In contrast, a large Broadway theatre, designed primarily for musicals, seats about 1,200.

The Stage

The Stage• First Greek plays were performed during

religious ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry (altars generally on stage)

• Banks would shut down for days, people would travel from all around to see the drama competitions—even prisoners were temporarily released to see the plays

• Tragedy translated means “goat song” (relates to Dionysian rituals)

The Stage

Where and how were the dramas performed?

…In an amphitheatre, open-air.

…With a chorus who described most of the action.

…With masks, all male casts…With all the fighting and movement going on off stage.

….With tragedy first, then comedy later.

Three Major Greek Dramatists

Aeschylus 524 B.C. Seven Against Thebes

Sophocles 496 B.C. Antigone

Oedipus

Euripides 480 B.C. Medea

Dramatist Born Wrote

What is Sophocles’ contribution to the art of playwriting?

• He added the third actor to the stage—allowing for more complex stories.

Sophocles’ Antigone

• Set in Thebes (a city in ancient Greece)• Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta• Antigone’s father, Oedipus, murders his father

and marries his mother…(as seen in Oedipus Rex)

• Antigone’s brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, took opposite sides in a war

• Eteocles and Polyneices killed each other in battle

• Antigone’s uncle, Creon, became king of Thebes

Copy Only The Boxed Portion!

Perfect Tragedies…

• Unity of Time: The play takes place in a 24 hr. time period.

• Unity of Place: The play has a simple, one setting

• Unity of Action: The play has one plot and no mix of tragedy and comedy.

TRAGEDY and Tragic HERO• Morally instructive and entertaining• Stories of the nature of humans in conflict with

themselves, with society, and with the Gods.• Develop the tragic hero=a high born person who displays

hubris (too much pride/arrogance in the face of the gods) shown through hamartia (tragic flaw, or an error in judgment) that leads to their downfall/suffering.

• Once realized, character enters the stage of anagnorisis (recognition) and will undergo a peripeteia (reversal of fortune or fall from high to low).

• Eventually, this leads the audience to a catharsis, or feeling of emotional cleansing, pity, fear, or relief that we do not face the same outcome.

Tragedy:

• Reaffirms that life is worth living, regardless of suffering or the pain of human existence

• Tragedies are about spiritual conflicts, never about everyday events.

• Tragic protagonist goes from high to low—and have a noble soul. The audience must care about the protagonist.

• The protagonist is good, not perfect.

TRAGIC ACTIONARETE, ARISTEIA: excellence

HUBRIS: arrogance

HAMARTIA: fatal mistake

PERIPETEIA: reversal of fortune

ANAGNORISIS: understanding

CATHARSIS

5 sections of Greek Tragedy:

• The Prologue—opening portion of the play, sets the scene and contains the exposition.

• The Parados—The entrance song of the chorus. Named after the broad aisles on either side of the theatron, along which the chorus entered/exited.

Continued…

• The Episodes (Scenes): Scene in the action of the drama. Episodes, performed by actors, are distinguished from the Stasimons, performed by the Chorus. The episodes alternate with the Stasimons.

• The Stasimons (Odes)—a choral passage alternating with the episodes of the plot of the drama. A type of lyric poem, using exalted, dignified diction. The chorus sang and danced the tragic odes accompanied by musical instruments.

SECTIONS CONTINUED:

• The tragic ode consists of both Strophes and Antistrophes—essentially stanzas of the poems.

• Exodos: The concluding section, contains the resolution, tragedy, and outcome.

Overview of Greek Theatre• The land

• The myths

• The stage

Myths played a key rolein Greek drama

The Myths – Why they were written

1. Explained the unexplainable

2. Justified religious practices

3. Gave credibility to leaders

4. Gave hope

5. Polytheistic (more than one god)

6. Centered around the twelve Olympians (primary Greek gods)

Explained the Unexplainable

• When Echo tried to get Narcissus to love her, she was denied.

• Saddened, she shriveled to nothing, her existence melting into a rock.

• Only her voice remained.

• Hence, the echo!

To justify religious practices

• Dionysian cults in ancient Greece were founded to worship Dionysus, god of grapes, vegetation, and wine.

To give credibility to leaders

The Romans used myths to create family trees for their leaders,

enforcing the made-up idea that the emperors were

related to the gods and were, then,

demigods.

To give hope• The ancient citizens of

Greece would sacrifice and pray to an ORACLE.

• An oracle was a priest or priestess who would send a message to the gods from mortals who brought their requests.

Where DID hope come from?

After unleashing suffering, famine, disease, and many other evils, the last thing Pandora let

out was HOPE.

The Oracle at Delphi

Most famous oracle in Greek mythology.

Mount Olympus…

…Where the

Olympians lived.

Who are the Olympians?

The Olympians Are the 12 Main Gods

Zeus

• King of gods• Heaven• Storms• Thunder• lightning

Poseidon

• Zeus’s brother• King of the sea• Earthquakes• Horses

Hades

• Brother to Zeus and Poseidon

• King of the Underworld (Tartarus)

• Husband of Persphone

Ares

• God of war

Hephaestus

• God of fire• Craftspeople• Metalworkers• Artisans

Apollo

• God of the sun• Music• Poetry• Fine arts• Medicine

Hermes

• Messenger to the gods

• Trade• Commerce• Travelers• Thieves & scoundrels

Dionysus

• God of Wine• Partying (Revelry)

Hera

• Queen of gods• Women• Marriage• Childbirth

Demeter

• Goddess of Harvest• Agriculture• Fertility• Fruitfulness• Mom to Persephone

Hestia

• Goddess of Hearth• Home• Community

Athena

• Goddess of wisdom• Practical arts• War

Aphrodite

• Goddess of love and beauty

Artemis

• Goddess of hunting and the moon.

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The EndThe End

Jason’s Voyage on the Argo

Jason and Medea meet

Corinth: Where Jason and Medea settle down

Euripides’ Medea• Medea is a princess from Colchis• Medea marries Jason, who is in Colchis

on a quest for the Golden Fleece• Medea betrays her father and murders her

brother for her love of Jason• Medea has magical powers• Jason takes Medea back to his homeland,

Corinth, where they have children• Jason takes another wife, the king of

Corinth’s daughter