Introduction to Greek Theatreby B. McDaniel

John F. Kennedy School Berlin, Germany

Why start with the Greeks?

• Greek theatre is considered to be the birthplace of modern drama.– “Western understanding of drama originated

in fifth century (500-400) BC classical Athens, where the theater played a central role in politics, religion, and society. The Athenian stage invented forms of tragedy and comedy that persist to the present day.“ (W.B. Worthen in The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama, 2nd edition, p. 13)

Modern literary analysis and dramatic critique has developed from

Aristotle‘s Poetics

• Definitions of tragedy and comedy

• Description of tragic hero

• Idea of universal truth—the notion that a belief, emotion, experience can be applied to a wide variety of cultures, social classes, and time periods

• Dramatic form—plot, character, language, theme, music, spectacle

So, it was important because...

• Without the innovations of the ancient Greeks, we would not have plays, movies, or TV today.

The Beginning

• The earliest forms of drama grew out of religious rituals.– Humans were primitive—did not understand forces of

nature (rain, snow, sun, earthquakes, floods, plants growing, the changing of the seasons, etc.). We need concepts of basic science to understand things such as days and seasons. We have a need to explain our lives.

– Developed concept of magical or supernational forces and rituals intended to “win the favor” of those powers.

– Created stories/myths to explain the nature of the magical forces, the rituals, and man’s relationship to the forces (the gods).

– Eventually began to act out these stories (not as part of religious ceremonies)—this was the beginning of drama.

– Performances were done by a chorus which sang and danced the stories. (No individual characterization)

Anthropologists have theories about early societies—before the Greeks—and their development of the religious ceremonies which lead to the innovations of the Greeks.

Thespis

• The first actor—was the first to assume a character

• Invented dialog (character had a conversation with the chorus)

• This is why actors are called “thespians”– 2nd actor introduced by Aeschylus (5th century BC)– 3rd actor introduced by Sophocles (468 BC)—could not have 3

person scenes

Play Contests

• Were the main part of the religious festivals to honor the god Dionysus.– Dionysus was the god of fertility, wine, and revelry (partying)

• Early worship of him involved intoxication, sexual orgies, and the “rending and devouring of sacrificial victims“ (frequently human).

• Gradually the worship became less extreme—still involved lots of partying.

• Series of contests (not just plays) between citizens and the Athenian “’tribes‘ that formed the city‘s basic political and military units“ (Worthen 13).

• Festivals included parades through the city, religious observances and sacrifices in the theater.

• Each competing playwright produced a trilogy of tragedies dealing with a single theme or series of events. (Although sometimes they did 3 unrelated dramas.)

• All 3 plays were performed on one day.• The playwrights we are familiar with came from

the 5th century BC: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, and Aristophanes (who was the author of almost all the Greek comedies we have)

Satyr Plays

• Each playwright also produced a “rugged farce“ (Worthen 14) which was performed after the trilogy.

• Satyr plays parodied a god‘s activities

• Characters were half-beast/half-human companions of Dionysus.

• Included vigorous dancing and indecent language and gestures.

• Scene from a satyr play

Comedy

• Comedy was introduced in 487 BC

• It is believed that all the comedies were performed on the last day of the festival.

Prizes

• Both comedy and tragedy were judged by a panel of judges (like a beauty contest)

• Winner of tragedy got a bull

• Winner of comedy got a goat

What were the plays about?

• Topics were more or less the same as modern plays, TV, and films:– contemporary society (what was going on in the

society at that time)– politics– literature– war– mythology (acting out the stories)– history– man‘s relationship to the gods (religious issues)

Characteristics of Greek Drama

• Violence happened off stage (characters/chorus reported on it).

• Showed the effects of the violence on stage (brought out the dead/mutilated bodies).

• Scenes had only 2-3 actors (all were men).• Actors wore masks.• Chorus commented on the action occurring in the

scenes through odes in between the episodes (scenes).• Sometimes had to bring in a god to resolve the problems

(Deus ex machina).• Actors could perform different characters (go off stage

and put on a different mask) so play could have more than 3 characters.

Actors and Chorus members wore masks

The Theaters

• Amphitheater Design– Greek—built on the hillside– Roman—free-standing (like the Coliseum)

• We still use the terminology– orchestra (orchestra pit—where the band sits)– skene (scenery)– proscenium (the “picture frame“ around the

front of the stage from the audience‘s point of view)

The Theater at Delphi

Theater of Dionysus

Special Effects While the Greek special effects were primitive by

our standards, they were effective

–Ekkyclema—rolling platform. Interior scenes could be played on these or they were used to display bodies of dead characters.

–Machina—basket on a pole, suspended from a crane. Characters that were supposed to be flying could be hoisted over the skene by the machina.

– Stage blood—sheep or goat‘s blood

Images from:• Parts of a Greek theater—http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/Theater.html#Theaters• Photo of Theater of Dionysus—http://www.superstock.com/stock-photography/Dionysus• Photo of Theater at Delphi—http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/tragedy_theater.html• Scene from a satyr play—www.nd.edu/~agutting/aristotle.html • Greek masks (title page)humanitieslab.stanford.edu/.../397 • Stage blood—http://www.pathguy.com/oedipus_photo.jpg• Masks—www.stratfordfestival.ca/.../SF_1955_oedipus.jpg • Ekkyclema—www.didaskalia.net/images/gstage11.gif • Mechane—www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/InventionsC.htm