1. Greek Theater

2. Sophocles 495 BCE – 405 BCE (approx.) Became a prominent resident of Athens, Greece Dionysia was a large religious festival in honor of Dionysus, the god of agriculture, theatre, wine, & ecstasy In 468 BCE, he took first prize at Dionysia, defeating the reigning champion, Aeschylus Wrote over 120 plays, only 7 of which have withstood the test of time

3. Sophocles wrote: Oedipus Rex Oedipus at Colonus Antigone

5. Roots in Worship of Dionysus God of wine and revelry

6. Legend has it…  At a competition in the city of Dionysia, the most remarkable winner was a man by the name of Thespis.  Legend has it that in 534 or 535 B.C., Thespis astounded audiences by leaping onto the back of a wooden cart and reciting poetry as if he were the characters whose lines he was reading. In doing so, he became the world’s first actor. It is from him that we get the word thespian.

7. Greek Theatre  large, open areas  took advantage of hillsides to create stadium style seating  could usually seat thousands of people (Dionysia could seat approx. 17,000)  performance space was called the “orchestra”  this is where the chorus sang and danced

8. Theater at Epidaurus

9. Dionysus Theater in Athens

10. Changed Theatre Forever   Introduced a third actor   Gave dialogue a fuller sense of development   Lessened the role of the chorus   Developed “skēnē” where the background was painted and arranged in order to create a spectacular effect

11. Chorus

13. Masks of Greek Theater

16. Theatrical Terms Tragedy Developed out of ancient Greece A drama or literary work in which the main character, or protagonist, is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sadness, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. Deals with affairs of the state (wars, government, etc.)

17. More Terms Tragic Hero the main character in a tragedy who makes an error in their actions that leads to their own downfall

18. Characteristics of a Tragic Hero The hero is faced with a serious decision.

19. Central Character suffers a Downfall

20. He Is often a king or leader so that his people experience his fall with him.

21. HIS downfall arouses pity and fear

22. THE HERO LEARNS SOMETHING FROM HIS/HER MISTAKE.

23. Central Character is Neither Wholly good nor wholly evil

24. Downfall is the result of a Fatal Flaw

25. Misfortunes affect characters who are related or who are friends

26. Tragic actions take place offstage

27. Central Character has a moment of recognition

28. He is physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in His death.

29. More Terms Chorus a group of 12-15 men that provided background information and commentary to help the audience understand the performance They modeled how the audience “should” react They expressed what the main characters (of which there were only 2 before Sophocles) could not say… their thoughts, feelings, etc. Usually sang, but would also speak in unison (very overdramatically to enhance volume)

30. Theatrical Terms Four Types of Irony Dramatic- audience knows something the characters don’t Situational- when the last thing you expect to happen happens Verbal- what is said vs. what is meant (sarcasm) Cosmic- what the characters aspire to vs. what the cosmic forces allow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm-1xvWibt0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm-1xvWibt0

31. Delphi

33. Oracle of Delphi

34. Oedipus and Sphinx

36. Riddle of the Sphinx "Which animal has one voice, but two, three or four feet being slowest on three?"