Greek Drama

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Western Civilization
Greek Theater
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The Greek Theater

• 5th Century B. C.
• Golden Age of Greek Drama
• Dramatic festivals were popular
• People witnessed tragic and comic plays

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Overview of Greek Theatre

• The land

• The myths

• The stage

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The Land

• Greece has thousands of inhabited islands and
  dramatic mountain ranges
• Greece has a rich culture and history
• Democracy was founded in Greece
• Patriarchal (male dominated) society
• Philosophy, as a practice, began in Greece
  (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)

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The Land

• Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea

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The Land
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Overview of Greek Theatre

• The land

• The myths

• The stage

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The Stage
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The Stage
Three Main Portions of Greek Theatre Skene
Portion of stage where actors performed (included
1-3 doors in and out) Orchestra Dancing Place
where chorus sang to the audience Theatron
Seating for audience
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The Stage
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The Stage

• Greek plays were performed during religious
  ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the Greek
  god of wine and revelry (altars generally on
  stage)
• Banks would shut down for days, people would
  travel from all around to see the drama
  competitionseven prisoners were temporarily
  released to see the plays
• Tragedy means goat song (relates to Dionysian
  rituals)

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The Stage
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Where and how were the dramas performed?
In an amphitheatre With a chorus who described
most of the action. With masks With all the
fighting and movement going on off stage..With
tragedy first, then comedy later.
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Masks of Greek Theater
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The masks were worn for many reason including 1.
Visibility 2. Acoustic Assistance 3. Few Actors,
Many Roles 4. Characterization
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Some general categories of masks 1. OLD MEN
Smooth-Faced, White, Grizzled, Black-Haired,
Flaxen and More Flaxen 2. YOUNG MEN Common,
Curled, More Curled, Graceful, Horrid, Pale and
Less Pale 3. SLAVES Leathern, Peaked-Beard, Flat
Nose 4. WOMEN Freed Old Woman, Old Domestic,
Middle Aged, Leathern, Pale-Disheveled, Pale
Middle Aged, Whorish-Disheveled, Virgin, Girl 5.
SPECIALIST MASKS Some made for specific
characters, others for Mourning, Blindness,
Deceit, Drunkenness...etc. (The comic masks,
those especially of old comedy, were as like as
possible to true persons they represented, or
made to appear more ridiculous)
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Masks of Greek Theater
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Masks of Greek Theater
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Modern-day replicas
Hero-King
Comedy (Servant or Herald )
Tragedy (Weeping Chorus)
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Theater at Epidaurus
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Theater at Epidaurus
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Major Greek Dramatists
Aeschylus 524 B.C. Seven Against Thebes
Sophocles 496 B.C. Antigone Oedipus
Euripides 480 B.C. Medea
Dramatist Born Wrote
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Sophocles Antigone

• Set in Thebes (a city in ancient Greece)
• Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta
• Antigones brothers, Eteokles and Polyneces, took
  opposite sides in a war
• Eteokles and Polyneces killed each other in
  battle
• Antigones uncle, Kreon, became king of Thebes

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Sophocles
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Greek Comedy and Aristophanes
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Euripides Medea

• Medea is a princess from Colchis
• Medea marries Jason, who is in Colchis on a quest
  for the Golden Fleece
• Medea betrays her father and murders her brother
  for her love of Jason
• Medea has magical powers
• Jason takes Medea back to his homeland, Corinth,
  where they have children
• Jason takes another wife, the king of Corinths
  daughter

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Jasons Voyage on the Argo
Jason and Medea meet
Corinth Where Jason and Medea settle down
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Overview of Greek Theatre

• The land

• The myths

• The stage

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Myths played a key rolein Greek drama
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The Myths Why they were written

1. Explained the unexplainable
2. Justified religious practices
3. Gave credibility to leaders
4. Gave hope
5. Polytheistic (more than one god)
6. Centered around the twelve Olympians (primary
   Greek gods)

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Explained the Unexplainable

• When Echo tried to get Narcissus to love her, she
  was denied.
• Saddened, she shriveled to nothing, her existence
  melting into a rock.
• Only her voice remained.
• Hence, the echo!

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To justify religious practices

• Dionysian cults in ancient Greece were founded to
  worship Dionysus, god of grapes, vegetation, and
  wine.

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Roots in Worship of Dionysus
God of wine and revelry
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Theater of Dionysus

• Dionysia was an annual festival in honor of the
  god Dionysus
• Theater of Dionysus was an open-air Theater with
  room for fifteen thousand spectators

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Theater of Dionysus

• carved out of a stone hillside
• looked like a semicircle with steeply rising
  tiers of seats

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Theater of Dionysus
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Theater of Dionysus

• At the bottom was the rounded orchestra or
  performance area where the chorus sang and danced

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Dionysus Theater in Athens
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Theater of Dionysus

• Behind the orchestra was an open, almost bare,
  stage where actors spoke their lines from behind
  huge masks

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Dionysus Theater in Athens
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Dionysus Theater in Athens
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Theater of Dionysus

• Male actors performed all the roles
• Actors switched masks to play a number of roles
  both female and male

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Dionysus and Satyrs
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To give credibility to leaders

• Used myths to create family trees for their
  leaders, enforcing the made-up idea that the
  emperors were related to the gods and were, then,
  demigods.

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To give hope

• The ancient citizens of Greece would sacrifice
  and pray to an ORACLE.
• An oracle was a priest or priestess who would
  send a message to the gods from mortals who
  brought their requests.

Where DID hope come from? After unleashing
suffering, famine, disease, and many other evils,
the last thing Pandora let out was HOPE.
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Oracle of Delphi
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Oracle of Delphi
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Delphi
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Delphi
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Mount Olympus
Where the Olympians lived. Who are
the Olympians?
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The Olympians Are the 12 Main Gods
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The Olympians
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Zeus

• Zeus was the most powerful god on Mount Olympus.
  He was able to change the seasons, make the rain
  and cause a storm with one shake of his shield.
• His weapon was a thunderbolt which he threw at
  those who angered him.
• Zeus was known to punish those that lied or broke
  promises. But he laughed easily and fell in love
  often.

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Poseidon

• Poseidon was Zeuss brother and god of the sea.
  He was the second most powerful god on Mount
  Olympus.
• He spent his time between Mount Olympus and a
  beautiful palace under the sea. Always restless,
  he caused earthquakes and tidal waves when he was
  angry.
• His weapon is a trident, which can shake the
  earth, and shatter any object.

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Hades

• Hades was the brother of Zeus and ruler of the
  Underworld, the world of the dead. The Underworld
  was a gloomy kingdom of wailing ghosts,
  screeching bats, and lost and evil souls.
• Hades only occasionally visited Mount Olympus
  or the land of the living. But when he did, no
  one saw him. He wore a magic helmet that made him
  invisible.
• Hades owned everything precious that lay in the
  ground - every piece of gold and silver, every
  precious stone.

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Ares

• Ares was the god of war and thrived on violence
  and battles.
• He was the son of Zeus and Hera, but neither of
  his parents liked him.
• He was considered both cruel and a coward, and
  was unpopular with both gods and humans.

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Hephaestus

• Hephaestus was the god of fire and the forge (a
  furnace in which metal is heated). His forge was
  under any erupting volcano.
• He was the son of Zeus and Hera and married
  Aphrodite. Although he made armor and weapons for
  the gods, he was kind and peace loving.
• Of all the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus,
  Hephaestus was the least good looking. In fact,
  his own mother hated him for his lack of looks.

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Apollo

• Apollo was the god of music and healing. He was
  also a master archer, and hunted with a silver
  bow.
• He was the first winning athlete in the Olympic
  Games. Apollo was the son of Zeus and the Titan
  Leto, and the twin of Artemis.
• Apollo was perhaps the most loved of all the
  gods on Mount Olympus. He was handsome, talented,
  charming and honest. He shot arrows into every
  monster that threatened anyone he loved.

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Hermes

• Hermes was the messenger of the gods, graceful,
  clever and quick. He wore winged sandals, a
  winged golden helmet hat, and carried a magic
  wand.
• His golden winged sandals gave him speed and his
  magic golden wand, a gift from Apollo, guided him
  on his journeys.
• One of his jobs was to lead the dead to the
  underworld. Another was to watch over tradesmen
  and travelers.

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Dionysus

• Dionysos is one of the gods most frequently found
  on Greek pottery. This is because he is the god
  of wine, and many of the pots painted with
  pictures of him are for drinking wine.
• He has a black beard and a long robe.
• Dionysos was the son of Zeus and a woman Semele.
  The fact that Semele was mortal caused quite an
  uproar with the gods. Hestia, to keep the peace
  surrendered her seat in order to allow Dionysos
  to join them.

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Hera

• Hera was the goddess of marriage and took special
  care of married women. She was the wife (and
  sister) of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians.
• Although Zeus relied on Hera for advice and help
  in ruling the other Gods, Hera had little luck in
  managing him. She spent much of her time angry
  and jealous of him, planning either to destroy
  Zeus or to punish his lady friends.
• Hera was worshipped throughout Greece.

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Demeter

• Demeter was the goddess of farming.
• When seen in art, Demeter is often shown carrying
  a sheaf of grain.
• Her daughter, Persephone, was forced to live with
  Hades, King of the Dead each winter at this time
  Demeter let no crops grow.
• Persephone was allowed to leave the Underworld
  for one half of every year, the spring and summer
  seasons.

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Hestia

• Hestia was Zeus sister and the goddess of the
  hearth (a fireplace at the centre of the home).
• The hearth was an important part of the house.
  When the fire dimmed, the coals were kept alive
  and glowing to honor her. Usually, ancient Greeks
  carried live coals from an old city to a newly
  built city in her name.
• Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia,
  where the fire was never allowed to go out. She
  was the sweetest and most generous of the gods.

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Athena

• Athena was the goddess of wisdom and the daughter
  of Zeus. She has no mother she sprang full grown
  in armour from the forehead of Zeus.
• She was also fierce and brave in battle, and
  helped heroes such as Odysseus and Hercules.
• Athena was Zeus' favorite child and was allowed
  to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. She
  also carried a magic shield that turned her
  enemies to stone. The city of Athens was named
  after her.

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Aphrodite

• Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, and
  the protector of sailors.
• There are two stories about her birth. One says
  that she may have been the daughter of Zeus and
  the Titan Dione. The other says that she arose
  from the sea on a giant scallop shell and walked
  to shore in Cyprus.

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Artemis

• Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and animals,
  as well as of childbirth.
• She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and her
  twin brother is Apollo. Like Apollo she hunts
  with silver arrows.
• Artemis is also the protector of the young
  looking after animals and young children
• She is connected to the moon as a symbol of
  purity.

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The Storyline
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Central Character is of the Elite Class
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Central Character suffers a Downfall
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Central Character is Neither Wholly good nor
wholly evil
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Downfall is the result of a Fatal Flaw
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Misfortunes involve characters who are related or
who are friends
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Tragic actions take place offstage
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Central Character has a moment of recognition
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Audience experiences pity and fear
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Pity and Fear leads to a catharsis
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The End