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GREEK THEATRE
Influences on Greek culture
Polytheism Agriculture Many wars Fate
HOW THEATRE BEGAN
6th Century BC to 2nd Century AD
Rituals honoring Dionysus
Drama Competitions
THEATRES Amphitheatres Carved into
hillsides for acoustics and sight lines
Seated up to 15,000 people
The audience
Parts of a Greek theater
Theater at Delphi
Epidauros
Theater of Dionysus
The Skene The skene provided
the scenery. Actors made
entrances and exits. Actors could change
costumes and masks behind the skene.
Greek Origins of Theatre Terms
Choros Tragos Orkestra Thespis Skene Theatron
Protagonist Antagonist Hypocrite Deus ex
machina
The Actors All roles played
by men The role of the
chorus Thespis What they wore
The Chorus The chorus would
stand to the side of the dramatic action and chant their lines together. QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.
Function of the Chorus To explain the
current situation To bring the
audience up to date To comment on the
action To engage in
dialogue with the actors and offer them advice.
MASKS Illustrated a character’s
emotion Allowed for quick
character changes Distinguished female
characters Made the actors appear
larger Amplified the actors’
voices
Greek Theatre Masks
Plays and Playwrights Aeschylus: The Oresteia
(only surviving trilogy) Sophocles: Oedipus Rex
(emphasis on individual, complex characters)
Euripides: Medea (themes considered “unsuitable”)
Aristophanes: Lysistrata, The Frogs (broad comedies)
The Plays Religious myths Stories of mortals interacting with gods
and goddesses Kings and Queens Battles Family relationships of important
historical characters
Roman Theatre
Rome conquered Greece 146 BC Seneca wrote tragedies copying plots and structure
of Greek plays Comedies by Terrence and Plautus The Colosseum used for circuses and gladiator
spectacles