1. An Introduction to Greek Theatre

2.  Wrote tragedies, but lived a long, comfortable, happy life  123 plays; only 7 survive  Early life: lived in the time of great thinkers and writers such as Aeschylus, Pericles, Herodotus, Thucydides and Socrates  Later life: Athens entered the long and costly Peloponnesian war, which drained resources and greatly burdened the people so they understood tragedy personally

3.  Tragedy: a serious drama featuring a main character, often of noble birth, who strives to achieve something and is ultimately defeated  Tragic flaw (hamartia): the main character’s downfall is often due to an inborn character flaw or weakness  In spite of defeat and even death, the tragic hero is ennobled by newly gained self-knowledge and wisdom

4. Orchestra: where the chorus performs Proskenium: “in front of the scene” (main stage) Skene (scene): backdrop, behind which characters were often killed Theatron: came to mean the whole theatre, often built into a hillside with stone seating that has lasted centuries

5.  All actors were male, as was the audience (women were mostly banned from the theatre)  Actors wore masks to symbolize different characters  Plays could often last all day  Chorus: 12-15 actors who provided commentary, explanations, and in Sophocles’ plays, interacted with the main character http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRq7l LawQB4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjVRF 7wmSg0

6.  Prologue: opening scene  Parados: first of the Chorus’s lyric songs, or choral odes  Dialogue and choral odes: regular alternations throughout the play  Exodos: concluding scene

7.  Oracle: a person, often spiritually connected to the gods, who delivers wise, authoritative, and highly regarded pronouncements (Greeks often traveled far to visit an oracle; the oracle of Apollo at Delphi)  Seer: a prophet who predicts future events; a wise person or sage  Prophecy: prediction, often considered to be from the gods, about future events  Irony: a technique of indicating, through character or plot development, an intention or attitude that is opposite of what is actually stated; an outcome of events that is opposite of what was expected  Dramatic irony: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play