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Greek Theatre
Reasons for the theatre:
Entertainment
Show religion
Advance and show loyalty to politics
Honor local heroes
Major social event
Competition
Discussion of philosophical issues
Origins of Greek Drama
One of the oldest forms of theatre
Came from religion and myths
Gained popularity in 6th century BC
Performance Origins:
Dionysus: God of wine; people danced and sang to
Dionysus at festivals
Thespis: Lyric Poet; introduced us to a single actor
*Today actors are called thespians!
Aeschylus: Added a second actor
Sophocles: Adding a third
Greek Theatre Vocabulary
Chorus: A group of actors that voiced attitudes of
the community
Thespians: Actors
Drama: Greek word for “doing”
In what ways are Greek dramas different from Homer’s
epics?
At the Theater
Athens
15,000 people
The actors had to exaggerate their movements or they
couldn’t be seen by the whole audience
Only men performed
Masks were worn
Made of
Linen
Wood
Wool
Plaster
At the Theater
Actors wore robes which seemed to evolve into
costumes
Chorus members dressed in the roles they were
playing
Examples: soldiers, priests, animals, etc.
Open-air: Used natural light and heat
Few props
Only used as symbols to identify roles
Example: A soldier would carry a sword and shield
At the Theater
A messenger would usually deliver bad news in
detail
For Example: Violence occurred off stage
Murder
Suicide
Battles
Greek Festival
Festival of Dionysus
In Athens
Drama competition
Four greatest Greek dramatists
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
Topics of Plays
Comedies
Made fun of society, politics, gods
Tragedies
Fall of a great man or woman
The Tragic hero is neither very good or very bad
The hero’s downfall is brought on my a flaw within their character
The tragic flaw encourages people to look at their own lives to define
their beliefs
Familiar Themes
Myths
History
Politicians
Humankind’s struggle to find meaning and self-understanding
Sophocles: Page 250
5th century BC during the Golden Age of Greece
Political and cultural achievement
Born into a wealthy family
Handsome
Athletic
Skilled in music
Studied tragedy, music composition, and
choreography
Sophocles: Writing
Wrote 120 plays
24 won first prize at the festival
Only 7 survived intact
Oedipus the King is the one of the best!
Innovation:
Introduced a third actor to the stage
Invented scenery
Invented special effects
Example: Lowing an actor from the sky
Oedipus Preview
Is it always better to know the truth?
Would you rather have someone lie to you if it will
save your feelings?
Give examples.
Oedipus Preview
According to Legend . . .
Oedipus arrived at Thebes
A sphinx (wings, lion’s body, woman’s head) was
killing people
In order to save them, someone had to answer this
riddle:
What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon,
and three in the evening?
Your Answer ____________________________________
Oedipus Preview
Oedipus answered correctly: Man
Man crawls as a baby, walks on two legs as a man,
and uses a stick in old age
When the sphinx heard this, she killed herself
Oedipus became king
Oedipus married the widowed queen Jocasta
Vocabulary
Chorus: Danced and chanted between scenes,
commented on action; express social and religious
views
Dignity: The quality of being worthy of honor
Vengeance: Revenge; The return of a harmful deed
for a harmful deed
Denounce: To inform against, accuse publicly
Dire: Terrible; bad enough to arouse dread
Lit Terms
Denotation: Dictionary meaning
Connotation: Emotional meaning it evokes
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