1. GREEK THEATER & THE CONCEPT OF TRAGEDY

2. In ancient Greece, the theater was an open-air auditorium that relied on natural lighting so all plays had to be performed during the day.

4. The SKENE (literally, "tent") was the building directly behind the stage, usually decorated as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs of the play. It had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and exits through them. There was also access to the roof of the skene from behind, so that actors playing gods and other characters could appear on the roof, if needed.

5. The Orchestra
The Orchestra (literally, "dancing space") was normally circular. It was a level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the actors who were on the stage near the skene. In the center of the orchestra there was often a thymele, or altar. The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was about 60 feet in diameter.

6. The Parados
The parodoi (literally, "passageways") are the paths by which the chorus and some actors (such as those representing messengers or people returning from abroad) made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance.

7. The Theatron
The theatron (literally, "viewing-place") is where the spectators sat. The theatron was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra, and often wrapped around a large portion of the orchestra (see the diagram above). Spectators in the fifth century BC probably sat on cushions or boards, but by the fourth century the theatron of many Greek theaters had marble seats.

8. The Chorus

9. The Chorus
In ancient Greek theater, the chorus was a company of actors who commented (by speaking or singing in unison) on the action in a classical Greek play.
The chorus would help the audience understand what was going on in the play.

10. The word "tragedy" refers primarily to tragic drama: a literary composition written to be performed by actors in which a central character called a tragic protagonist or hero suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected with the hero's actions.
Tragedy stresses the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is brought on by a combination of human and divine actions, but is generally undeserved with regard to its harshness. This genre, however, is not totally pessimistic in its outlook. Some tragedies end fairly well.

11. Most often, the protagonist's main fault is hubris, a Greek (and modern English) word meaning arrogance. It could be the arrogance of not accepting the hand that life deals (i.e., fate), the arrogance of assuming the right to kill, or the arrogance of assuming the right to seek vengeance. Whatever the root, the protagonist's ultimate collision with fate, reality or society is inevitable and irrevocable.