Transcript Masks of Greek Theater

Greek
Theater
Roots in Worship
of Dionysus
God of wine and revelry
Origins
Celebration of Dionysus- God of Wine
Performed in circular dancing place
(orchestra)
A chorus of men dressed in goat skins
Trageoia= goat song
A story about Dionysus by leader of the
chorus
PRODUCTION
 Orchestra
 Chorus (from 12-15 people)
 Actors- always men, masked and in costumes
 Early plays of Aeschylus- only two actors; by
about 450 B.C., a third had been added
 The poet composed the music and the dance
as well as the text, directed the production, and
trained the chorus; some dramatists also
played the leading roles.
Masks of
Greek
Theater
Masks of Greek Theater
Masks of Greek Theater
The Greek Chorus
The chorus was dominant because there was usually one actor and that
actor had to leave the stage several times during a show to change
characters.
The chorus was to be a representation of society, they often served as
the “ideal spectator” by providing advice, opinions, questions to the
audience and actors.
The main actor(s) stood apart in the performance space because they
typically played heroic figure that would realistically be separated from
normal mortal beings.
Their costumes and masks added spectacle and their movement and
dance heightened the dramatic effect.
Great actors were characterized by their voice quality and the ability to
adopt their manner of speaking to the character.
Functions of Chorus
The beauty of poetry and dancing
Relieves tension
Interprets events for audience
Often converses with the actors; gives
advice
Gives background of events
Chorus
Tragedy
A drama of a character, usually one in
high position, where a conflict usually
develops between the protagonist/hero
and a “superior force (such as destiny,
circumstance, or society)” and the story
ends in some sort of disaster or great fall
of the protagonist.
Tragedy
n A drama of a character, usually one in a
high position, where a conflict usually
develops between the protagonist/hero
and a “superior force (such as destiny,
circumstance, or society)” and the story
ends in some sort of disaster or great fall
of the protagonist.
Hubris and Hamartia
On Hamartia: “A tragic flaw or error that
in
ancient Greek tragedies leads to the hero’s
reversal of fortune.”
On Hubris: Excessive pride or arrogance.
Often leads to the downfall of the major
character in Greek tragedy.
Thespis of Athens
Ca. 535 B.C.E.
Father of Drama
Created the first actor
Hypokrites
Moving on…
New myths are used, not just Dionysus
Aeschylus: introduced second actor
Dialogue
Sophocles: introduced third actor
Dramatic action
GREAT GREEK TRAGEDIANS
AESCHYLUS (ca.525-456
B.C.)
SOPHOCLES (ca.495-406 B.C.)
EURIPIDES (c 480-406 B.C.)
AESCHYLUS (ca.525-456 B.C.)
 The "Father of Tragedy"
 Addition of a second actor
 Made much use of imagery
 His tragedy deals Fates and the justice of the
gods
His plays reflect the contemporary belief that the
gods, jealous and resentful of human greatness,
typically inflict great persons with a character
flaw that brings their ruin
Sophocles
SOPHOCLES (ca.495-406 B.C.)
 Won the competition at the Great Dionysia
more often than any other of the great
dramatists
 He increased the potential for dramatic conflict
by adding a third actor
 wrote dramas which were complete in
themselves, rather than always part of a trilogy
 Sophoclean drama deals primarily with strong
characters
EURIPIDES (c 480-406 B.C.)
 Wrote prolifically- some 90 plays, of
which 19 survived
 He won the prize for the best play only
four times (but then the Academy
Awards usually get it wrong too).
 He wrote of less heroic, more realistic
characters
EURIPIDES Cont.
 One device he uses (and it is often seen as
a weakness in his plays) is the deus ex
machina, a god, not involved earlier in
the action, who descends in a stage
machine to straighten out the mess
humans have got themselves into.
Structure of Tragedy
Prologue-First Act
Parados- Entrance of the Chorus
Episodes- Acts
Stasima-Choral Odes
Exedus- Action after last stasimon
Typical Greek Theatre
Theatron- where the audience sits
Open air
Hillside
Seating capacity of the Theatron of
Dionysus of Athens?
About 17,000
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Orchestra-dancing place of the chorus
Skene- dressing room for actors
Proscenium- the façade of the skene
where scenery wasNo curtains
Dues et Machina- technical device- crane
atop the skene with a dummy hung
representing gods.
The Greek Outdoor Amphitheatre
Deus ex Machina“God From the Machine”
The Machina- a crane that
was used to represent
characters who were flying
or lifted off of the earth.
Tunnel
from behind the Skene to the center of the
stage.
Scenic wagons
revealed through doors on the Skene.
Pinakes
painted panels that could be attached to the
skene.
Differences: Drama, Then and Now
Greek drama(GD) is a religious
GD get its subjects from mythology
GD outlines the plot in advance, little
suspence
GD main intrest is relgioun and ethical
instruction
All Short plays 17,000 longest to 900
shortest
Rated G
No violent action
Scenes of horror happen off stage
Reported to the audience
Unity
Unity of action- no subplots
Unity of place-no change of scenery
Unity of time- max of one day
No intermissions
Twice a year in the day
Staging an ancient Greek play
 Plays were funded by the polis
 Plays presented in competition with other plays
 Tragedies almost exclusively dealt with stories
from the mythic past
 Comedies almost exclusively dealt with
contemporary figures and problems.
 The great tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles,
and Euripides were performed annually at the
spring festival of Dionysus, god of wine, and
inspiration.
Theater at Epidaurus
Theater at Epidaurus
Dionysus Theater in
Athens
Chorus
Aristotle’s
Poetics
1. Central
Character is of
the Elite Class –
Usually noble or
Royal
2. Central
Character
suffers a
Downfall
3. Central
Character is
Neither Wholly
good nor
wholly evil
4. Downfall is
the result of a
Fatal Flaw or
error
(Hamartia)
5. Misfortunes
involve
characters
who are
related or who
are friends –
closely
connected
6. Tragic
actions take
place offstage
7. Central
Character has
a moment of
recognition
8. Audience
experiences pity
and fear
Pity and Fear leads
to a catharsis
According to
Aristotle, this is one
of the most
important purposes
of Drama
Oedipus and Sphinx
Oedipus and Sphinx
Oedipus and Sphinx
Audience at Theater
of Delphi
TIMELINE OF GREEK DRAMA
7th Century BC
 c. 625
Arion at Corinth produces named
dithyrambic choruses
6th Century BC
 600-570
Cleisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, transfers
"tragic choruses" to Dionysus

540-527
Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, founds the
festival of the Greater Dionysia
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 536-533
Thespis puts on tragedy at festival of the
Greater Dionysia in Athens
 525
Aeschylus was born
 511-508
 c. 500
Phrynichus' first victory in tragedy
Pratinus of Phlius introduces the
satyr play to Athens
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
5th Century BC
 499-496 Aeschylus' first dramatic competition
 c. 496
Sophocles was born
 492
Phrynicus' Capture of Miletus (Miletus was
captured by the Persians in 494)
 485
Euripides was born
 484
Aeschylus' first dramatic victory
 472
Aeschylus' Persians
 467
Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes
 468
Aeschylus defeated by Sophocles in dramatic
competition
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 463?
 458
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





Aeschylus' Suppliant Women
Aeschylus' Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation
Bearers, Eumenides)
456
Aeschylus dies
c. 450
Aristophanes was born
447
Parthenon begun in Athens
c. 445
Sophocles' Ajax
441
Sophocles' Antigone
438
Euripides' Alcestis
431-404
Peloponnesian War (Athens and allies vs.
Sparta and allies)
TIMELINE OF GREEK
DRAMA
 431
 c. 429
 428
 423
 415
 406
 405
 404
Sparta
Euripides' Medea
Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Euripides' Hippolytus
Aristophanes' Clouds
Euripides' Trojan Women
Euripides dies; Sophocles dies
Euripides' Bacchae
Athens loses Peloponnesian War to
TIMELINE OF GREEK DRAMA
 401: Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus
4th Century BC
 399
Trial and death of Socrates
 c. 380's
Plato's Republic includes
critique of Greek tragedy and comedy
 c. 330's
Aristotle's Poetics includes
defense of Greek tragedy and comedy
Delphi
“Indeed, some say that dramas are so called, because their
authors represent the characters as "doing" them (drôntes).
And it is on this basis that the Dorians [= the Spartans, etc.]
lay claim to the invention of both tragedy and comedy. For
comedy is claimed by the Megarians here in Greece, who say
it began among them at the time when they became a
democracy [c. 580 BC], and by the Megarians of Sicily on
the grounds that the poet Epicharmas came from there and
was much earlier than Chionides and Magnes; while tragedy
is claimed by certain Dorians of the Peloponnese. They offer
the words as evidence, noting that outlying villages, called
dêmoi by the Athenians, are called kômai by them, and
alleging that kômôdoi (comedians) acquired their name, not
from kômazein (to revel), but from the fact that, being
expelled in disgrace from the city, they wandered from
village to village. The Dorians further point out that their
word for "to do" is drân, whereas the Athenians use prattein.
”(Aristotle: Poetics Chapter 3)