1. Greek Literature Terms Prepared by Eileen T. Hildenbrand Revised 2008

3. Ancient Greek Theater...has been fascinating millions of people. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes and others, have been the teachers of morality, nobleness, courage, and patriotism across the centuries. The stories of Oedipus, Medea, Antigone, etc, seem to despise the passage of time.

4. Dionysus One of the twelve major Athenian deities The Theater of Dionysus, built into the natural hollow of the south slope of the Acropolis, was the world's first theater built of stone and the birthplace of Greek tragedy.

6. Theater of Dionysus

7. Parts of a Greek Theater

8. Three Genres of Drama The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used drama as a way of investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human. The three genres of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most important of all, tragedy.

9. Terms Tragedy is a drama in which a major character undergoes a loss but also achieves illumination or a new perspective.(“goat song”) Dithyramb: an ode or song that is sung or chanted and also danced by large choruses at the festivals. Hubris: arrogant pride, insolence

10. Writers Aeschylus: added the second actor; the father of Greek tragedy Sophocles: added the third actor, created scene design, and enlarged the chorus from twelve to fifteen (Oedipus, Antigone) Euripides: tragedy writer who like to use deus ex machina; most tragic of writers Thespis: first actor

11. The Three Best Known Writers Left: Sophocles Upper Right: Aeschylus Lower Right: Euripides

12. Comedy The leading comic author of Athens was Aristophanes. Double bust of Sophocles and Aristophanes.

13. Terms Catharsis: purgation Hamartia: tragic flaw Thymele: altar to Dionysus

14. Three Major Elements of tragic plot Reversal of the situation: peripeteia Change of ignorance to knowledge: recognition (anagnorisis) Scene of suffering: pathos

15. Anagnorisis Anagnorisis Startling discovery; moment of epiphany; time of revelation when a character discovers his true identity. Anagnorisis occurs in Oedipux Rex when Oedipus realizes who he is.

16. Catharsis Catharsis: In literature and art, a purification of emotions. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) used the term to describe the effect on the audience of a tragedy acted out on a theater stage. This effect consists in cleansing the audience of disturbing emotions, such as fear and pity, thereby releasing tension.

17. Catharsis This purgation occurs as a result of either of the following reactions: (1) Audience members resolve to avoid conflicts of the main character–for example, Oedipus in Oedipus Rex and Creon in Antigone–that arouse fear or pity or (2) audience members transfer their own pity and fear to the main character, thereby emptying themselves of these disquieting emotions.

18. Catharsis In either case, the audience members leave the theater as better persons intellectually, morally, or socially. They have either been cleansed of fear of pity or have vowed to avoid situations that arouse fear and pity. In modern usage, catharsis may refer to any experience, real or imagined, that purges a person of negative emotions.

19. Harmartia Hamartia Character flaw or judgment error of the protagonist of a Greek tragedy. Hamartia is derived the Greek word hamartanein, meaning to err or to make a mistake. The first writer to use the term was Aristotle, in The Poetics.

20. Hamartia Hamartia is a concept used by Aristotle to describe tragedy. Hamartia is the fall of a noble man caused by some excess or mistake in behavior, not because of a willful violation of the gods' laws. Hamartia is related to hubris. Also known as: tragic flaw

21. Hubris Hubris: Great pride. Hubris often is the character flaw (hamartia) of a protagonist in Greek drama. Pride was considered a grave sin because it placed too much emphasis on individual will, thereby downplaying the will of the state and endangering the community as a whole. Because pride makes people unwilling to accept wise counsel, they act rashly and make bad decisions.

22. Chorus A group of 12-15 men who sing and dance during the plays. They often represent the collective community, but not necessarily the poet's thoughts.

23. Deus ex machina Machine Armlike device in an ancient Greek theater that could lower a "god" onto the stage from the "heavens." The Greek word for machine, mechane, later gave rise to a pejorative Latin term, deus ex machina (god from a machine), to describe a contrived event in a literary work or film.

24. Deus ex machina

25. Thespian Thespian: Noun meaning actor or actress; adjective referring to any person or thing pertaining to Greek drama or drama in general. The word is derived from Thespis, the name of a Greek of the 6th Century B.C. who was said to have been the first actor on the Greek stage.

26. Structure of Greek Tragedy 1. Late point of attack 2. Violence and death offstage 3. Frequent use of messengers to relate information 4. Usually continuous time of action 5. Usually single place 6. Stories based on myth or history, but varied interpretations of events 7. Focus is on psychological and ethical attributes of characters, rather than physical and sociological.

28. Terms for Greek Theater Orchestra: dancing place skene: a building for actors, costumes, and props deus ex machina: “god out of the machine”; artificial action or device introduced at the end of the play to bring an impossible conflicts to a satisfactory end

29. Terms for Greek Theater cont. Parados: “way in,” the chorus’ entry Theatron: place for seeing buskins: boots thymele: Altar in the center of the orchestra used to make sacrifices to Dionysus.

30. Greek Tragedies There were only three actors with speaking parts. Only men would be actors, no women. Masks were worn by the actors. When an actor went off stage, he would come back on in another role wearing a different mask. There could only be three actors at a time delivering lines, plus the chorus (which often functioned as an additional character).

31. Aristotle: The Three Unities Unity of place Unity of action Unity of time

32. Masks Mask of Dionysus The Ancient Greeks loved going to the the outdoor theater. They built large theaters that could hold several thousand people. The viewers who sat in the back had trouble seeing the actor's expressions. This is why masks showing many different expressions were worn. These masks had very exaggerated features.

33. Tragic Face

34. Comic Face

35. Actors with Masks