1 Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece (Tragedy in the 5th Century) Our knowledge of Greek tragedy is based almost entirely on works from three playwrights: Aeschylus Sophocles Euripides It is important to remember that only 31 plays from three authors survive, out of more than a thousand written by many different playwrights between 534 and 400 B.C.E. By the time the surviving plays were written, each dramatist submitted a trilogy (three plays) and a satyr (farce) play to the City Dionysia festival competition. Only one trilogy has survived intact: the Oresteia, by Aeschylus. Though we have limited examples, Greek tragedy plays have several common structural features. The Herodion Atticus, an ancient Greek theatre, is still in use to this day. The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides may have been seen here. Image: http://one-europe.info/the-magic-of-the-odeon-of-herodes-atticus 1

2 Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece (Historical Background) Most tragedies begin with a prologue which provides information about events that have occurred prior to the start of the play. Next is the parados, or entrance of the chorus. If there is no prologue, the parados starts the play. The parados introduces the chorus, gives exposition, and establishes the proper mood. After that are a series of episodes, varying in number from 3 to 6 and separated by choral dance songs, which develop the main action. The exodos, or concluding scene, includes the departure of all of the characters and the chorus. The chorus entered during the parados. Image: https://sites.google.com/site/alavyous93/home 2

3 Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece (Historical Background) Most of the tragedies place scenes of death and physical violence offstage. This often requires the use of messengers to relay what happened to the characters, chorus, & audience. In most plays, the time of the action is continuous and occurs in a single location. Most plays were based on myth, and writers were free to alter the stories as they saw fit. Writers paid little attention to they physical and sociological aspects of characterization. Their focus was on psychological and ethical attributes. Plays were generally set in only one location, and the action was continuous. Image: http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/jwiemelt/classes/engl230/chorus.htm/ 3

4 Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece (The Origin of Tragedy) The oldest surviving Greek plays were written by Aeschylus. He is credited with 13 victories in the City Dionysia. He wrote the oldest surviving play, The Persians, which is also the only history play of the remaining texts today. Aeschylus’ major innovation is the introduction of the second actor. He also wrote the only surviving trilogy, the Oresteia. He uses all three plays to tell one story, which is usually interpreted as showing the evolution of the concept of justice. A statue of Aeschylus. Image:http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Aeschylus.html 4

5 Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece (The Origin of Tragedy) Sophocles is thought to have written move than 120 plays, but only seven have survived (including Antigone). He is said to have won 24 contests. The first was in 468 when he beat Aeschylus! In any contest he never placed lower than second. He is credited with the introduction of the third actor and limiting the chorus to only 15 members. He placed an increased emphasis on individual characters and reduced the role of the chorus. He is considered the most skillful of Greek dramatists in mastery of dramatic structure. Oedipus Rex is often called the most perfect Greek tragedy (though it only won 2nd place when it was performed). Sophocles. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophocles 5