Terms from the Greeks

Theatre: seeing place, viewing place Drama: a doing, an action Tragedy: goat-song (????) Comedy: song of the revelers Scene: tent Orchestra: dancing place Lyric: of the lyre Epic: word, story Music: of the Muses Chorus: band of dancers/singers Character: engraved mark, symbol of the soul Mime: actor, one who imitates Dialogue: double speech Deus ex Machina: god out of the machine

Basic Timeline
540-520 BCE: Peisistratos, tyrant/king of Athens, establishes City Dionysia 534 BCE: Thespis wins first prize (?) 510-508 BCE: His son, Hippias, is overthrown; Cleisthenes establishes Athenian democracy demos = the people democracy= rule by the people

City Dionysia becomes part of the civic management of Athens

Festival is planned by a civic magistrate Festival is funded out of the citys taxes Prizes for playwrights and (later) actors are paid by the city Wealthy citizens (choregoi) pay for the training and costumes of the chorus [in return, they get to be part of the parade; also fame and recognition]

Programme: City Dionysia

Day 1 Pompe (parade): Archon, choregoi, & citizens march through the city to the Theatre of Dionysos, carrying the statue of the god (also phalloi. And wine.) Dithyramb competitions: 10 choruses of 50 men, 10 choruses of 50 boys compete Bulls are sacrificed to Dionysos, consecrating the theatre Huge feast, much beef, lots of wine Komos (second procession): probably much more drunk fun than the Pompe

Programme: City Dionysia

Day 2 Playwrights announce this years plays Proagon (before the contest): judges are selected by lottery Important announcements, tribute, honours

Programme: City Dionysia

Days 3-5 Each playwright presents 3 tragedies, plus 1 satyr-play Plays are attended by the majority of citizens, as well as visitors and dignitaries Theatre of Dionysos holds between 10,000 and 14,000 spectators On the final day, judges vote and prizes are awarded, then one last procession

Development of Tragedy (?)

Dithyramb: choral chant celebrating Dionysos Detachment of one chorus member (sort-ofactor), turns the chorus into a call-andresponse Earliest tragedies consist of one actor (probably playing multiple parts) and chorus Aeschylus adds second actor (?) Sophocles adds third actor (?)

Greek Theatre: Key Elements

Outdoor theatre: plays during the day, lit by sunlight Large public space: audience visible/audible to performers and each other No privileged sightlines (mostly) Audience composed primarily of citizens, may have been male-only (contested issue)

Greek Theatre: Key Elements

Chorus: interlocutors between audience and play (participate and comment) Choral sections are sung, danced, accompanied by lavishly-dressed musician (playing an aulos) (All Greek tragedies are musicals!) Actors & chorus wear full-head masks Actors wear kothornoi (elevated shoes) Costumes are expensive, decorated, semi-realistic Male performers only

Greek Theatre: Key Elements

Multiple casting: some actors perform various characters Chorus remains in orchestra (dancing place) Actors use the skene, may descend into orchestra Exits and entrances through door(s) in the skene, and through parodoi Stylized speech and gesture Metric text (iambics)

Greek Tragedy: Key Elements

Stories from myth and legend (mostly) Stories would be familiar to the audience focus on how things happen, rather than what happens Characters tend to be rulers, heroes, and/or gods Characters tend to end up worse than they began (but not always)

Greek Tragedy: Playwrights

Aeschylus: c 525 BCE 455 BCE The Persians, The Oresteia, Prometheus Bound (7 surviving plays) Sophocles: c 497 BCE 406 BCE Oedipus the King, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus (7 surviving plays) Euripides: c 480 BCE 406 BCE The Bacchae, Hippolytus, Alcestis, Medea (19 surviving plays)

The Poetics
Tragedy as a form of poetry Remember that, for the Greeks, poetry was a performance art Aristotle opposes Platos rejection of drama & imitative art (in The Republic)

Aristotle says that Tragedy:

Is imitative (mimesis, mimetic) Imitates of a complete, serious action Is performed rather than narrated (?) Is composed of several forms of embellished language Deals with characters of a higher type Includes Recognition (anagnorisis) and Reversal (peripeteia) Arouses pity and fear in order to achieve catharsis

Aristotles elements of tragedy:

Plot choice and arrangement of incidents Character good, appropriate, consistent Thought quality of ideas, observations Diction word choice, poetry Song melody, music, chorus Spectacle visuals, special effects