1. Origins of Greek Theatre

2. Save the Drama for Your Mama…
The Start of Greek Theatre
Began as religious rituals honoring Dionysus
Thespis, Aeschylus, Sophocles
DRAMA = CONFLICT

3. Dionysus Greek god of wine and fertility
Also known as the Roman god Bacchus
Blessed his followers but wrought “madness and destruction” to those who did not follow him
Was believed to “die” each winter and be born again in the spring

4. Dionysian Festival Evolved into Greek Drama
Festival held for 5 days in the spring
Each playwright would present 3 tragedies and 1 satyr (comedy).
Fifteen thousand (15,000) people would watch the plays and vote for their favorites using stone tablets.
The winner would receive a laurel wreath.

6. The Theatre Built into natural hillsides All male actors
Wore elaborate masks
Acoustics!

7. Theatre of Dionysus, Athens

8. Chorus 1. To offer a sense of rich spectacle to the drama
2. To provide time for scene changes and give the actors a break
3. To offer important background and summary information to help the audience
4. To offer commentary about and underline main themes in the action
5. To model an ideal audiences response to the unfolding drama

12. Tragedy vs. Comedy

13. Comedy Divided into three periods: Old, Middle, and New
Often satirizes politicians and public figures
Plot consists of “wild and extravagant solutions” to common problems of the day
Modern example of Old Greek Comedy: Monty Python

14. Tragedy
“Tragedy is meant to reaffirm the fact that life is worth living, regardless of the suffering or pain that is part of human existence.”
Spiritual conflicts, not “everyday events”

15. Tragic Protagonist MAGNITUDE Fall from grace (noble)
Good person, but not perfect
Suffers with his hubris (pride)
Evoke fear and pity in the audience
Fate

16. Aristotle’s Tragic Hero
1. A member of nobility
2. Tragic flaw
3. Falls from high to low
4. Has a downfall
5. Recognizes his mistakes

17. Greek Unities Aristotle believed the perfect tragedy had:
Unity of Time
Unity of Place
Unity of Action

18. The Basic Structure of a Greek Tragedy
Prologue
Parodos
First Episode
First Stasimon
Exodos

19. Aristotle Born in Greece in 384 B.C. Student under Plato
Outlines Six Elements of Drama in his work The Poetics, based on the belief that tragedy is the highest form of drama
William Shakespeare utilizes these…

20. Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama
1. Plot
2. Character
3. Thought/Theme
4. Music
5. Spectacle
6. Diction/Language

21. Sophocles
Born in 495 B.C.
Son of a wealthy merchant, enjoyed the finer parts of Greek life
Studied all arts
Received First Place at his first competition at the Festival of Dionysus, defeating Aeschylus
Wrote 120 more plays, winning 18 times and never achieving less than Second Place

22. Sophocles, cont…
Of these 120 plays, only seven remain in their entirety: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Ajax, Electra, Philoctetes, and The Trachiniae

23. Sources