Greek Theater
History An Athenian phenomenon Golden age – 5th Century BCE Generally three names: Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles Performed for Dionysus- God of wine and grapes Performed at three annual festivals Partly religious, partly didactic, partly entertaining A citizen’s duty to attend Public money available for those who could not pay Sponsored by a choregus, a wealthy citizen appointed by the government to perform this liturgy, or public service
Plot/ terms During contests, each tragedian would put on three tragedies and one satyr- play- the tetralogy Stories were derived from mythology, the Greek equivalent of the Bible Focused on governmental, social, political, and religious themes Revolve around a tragic figure of ambiguous morality (the most interesting literary figure) Harmatia- the hero’s error or frailty Peripetia- irony- where the opposite of what the protagonist hopes for occurs Anagnorisis- the point where the protagonist realizes his folly, but too late Catharisis- the release of emotion- Aristotle’s concept of release for the audience
Plot/terms continued Ate- a rash temper that leads to complete ruin Hubris- overreaching pride
Theater terms/ layout Theatron- where the audience sat Orchestra- where the chorus stood, danced, and acted Parados- entrance passages from right and left Skene- a wooden structure that served as dressing room and scenery Proscenium- area in front of skene where most action took place All male actors Masks worn that depict character’s prime trait Three actors in Sophocles’ time
Theater layout http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/graphics/theaterdiagram.jpg
http://upload. wikimedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Delphi_Composite.jpg/720px-Delphi_Composite.jpg
The chorus Originally the “nucleus from which tragedy evolved and it continued to have a central place in the drama throughout classical times”(Milch 10). Acted as the ideal “‘spectator’”(10) Clarifies plot and reveals inner thoughts of characters Creates setting, and emotional background to the events Covers the passage of time between episodes Serves as a narrator- we still see this today
Structure of the plays Prologue- the opening- the background of the story is established, typically with a single actor or a dialogue between two Parados- the entrance of the chorus, chanting, and this usually underscores the theme of the play Episode- like a scene, featuring dialogue and action Stasimon- a choral ode- serves of a choral common on the episode Exodus- the final action after the ultimate stasimon, which ends with the actors and chorus exiting
Aristotle on Tragedy Western thought, including science, highly relies on Aristotle Studies the “Golden Age” of tragedy 200 years later Six main elements: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and song On the hero: “‘a man who is highly renowned and prosperous, but one who is not pre- eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error of judgment or frailty’”(Milch 14).
Sophocles Born 459 CE outside of Athens to a wealthy armorer Received classical education in music, poetry, dancing, and gymnastics First tragic tetralogy performed in 468 BCE Wrote more than 120 plays Won first prize 18 times Only seven complete tragedies still survive The Oedipus trilogy is out of order Antigone: 440 BCE, Oedipus Rex: 430 BCE, Oedipus at Colonus: 401 BCE So honored, the Spartans paused siege of Athens for his funeral(Milch 16-17).
Antigone_________________ Ismene___________________ Creon____________________ Leader___________________