Greek Tragedy

What are we going to talk about? The Origins of Tragedy The Parts of a Greek Theater The Theaters Themselves The Major Playwrights The Way a Greek Tragedy Was Staged

The Origins of Tragedy Thespis of Corinth The first travelling actor Active 538-28 BCE Added prologue and speech to choral performance Invented the mask

Where Was Tragedy Performed? Almost every Greek city had a theater Usually in the center of the city

The Parts of a Theater The Orchestra The acting area semi-circular Had a small altar in honor of Dionysus in the center Where the Chorus danced and the actors spoke

The Parts of a Theater The Skene The large backdrop Could be decorated with scenery Where the action actually took place (hidden) Roof was accessible Originally one door in the center, but eventually had three doors

The Skene

The Parts of a Theater The Ekkyklēma The Mēchanē A wheeled platform Used to display set pieces The Mēchanē a large crane Used for the entrance of gods

The Theaters Theater of Dionysus Athens Main theater for tragedy 4th century remains 20,000 seats Located on side of Acropolis

Theater of Dionysos

Theater of Dionysos

The Theaters Theater of Epidauros The best-preserved Largest surviving theater Still in use today

Theater of Epidauros

Theater of Epidauros

The Theaters Theater of Pergamon In Asia Minor (Turkey) Extremely steep seating Pergamon was one of the most wealthy Asian cities

Theater of Pergamon

The Playwrights Three major tragedians Aeschylus Sophocles Euripides All active in the 5th century All won first place in multiple competitions

Aeschylus b. 525 d. 456 (Sicily) Wrote first tragedy in 499 Won first first prize in 484 (13 overall)

Aeschylus Introduced the second actor Wrote over 70 plays (seven survive) Both sons were very successful playwrights Prometheus Bound & The Persians

Sophocles b. 496 d. 406 Very active in city politics Wrote first tragedy in 468 Won first prize 468 Won 18 first prizes

Sophocles Introduced the third actor Wrote over 120 plays (seven survive) The most successful of the Big Three Introduced more dialogue between characters (less Chorus) Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra

Euripides b. 485 d. 406 (in Macedonia) Not active militarily or politically First tragedy 455 First first prize 441 Won only four first prizes The least successful of the Big Three

Euripides Wrote ninety plays (19 survive) Sophocles: “I present men as they ought to be, Euripides presents men as they are.” More realistic than the other two Medea,, Bacchae, Orestes

The Staging of Tragedy Performers wore high heels, loud costumes and heavy make-up… They wore elaborate clothes, tall boots, and masks They relied on background singers, known as the Chorus. Especially after the introduction of the third actor

The Staging of Tragedy - Actors Maximum of three actors Aeschylus second Sophocles third All roles played by men Same group of actors for each set of plays for each author

The Staging of Tragedy - Actors Playwrights did not act in their own plays after Sophocles Chorus publicly funded A choregos would pay for and train the chorus Viewed as a civic duty Choregos got a monument if his chorus won

The Staging of Tragedy - Costumes Actors wore: Masks Robes Platform boots Chorus could be in costume (comedy)

The Staging of Tragedy - Masks The most salient feature All parts by men, so mask depicted gender Acted as a megaphone Multiple Masks = Multiple Characters Only three actors More than three speaking roles, need for costume and mask change

The Audience Any male could attend Women most likely able to attend State funded attendance Cost was the average daily wage of a laborer Catharsis “learning through suffering” Performances emotional