Greek Theatre

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Greek Theatre

• Ms. Tully
• University High School
• Western Civilizations

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Ancient Greek Theatre

• Flourished from 550-220 BCE, mostly in the city
  of Athens.
• Was part of the festival for Dionysus.
• Significant and sustained impact on Western
  culture.

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Tragedy

• Usually had a leading actor rise in arrogance and
  fall in despair
• His insulting behavior merits a punishment
• Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
• Typically, a playwright submitted 3 tragedies and
  1 satire for competition

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Comedy

• From comoi which means entertainment, amusing
• Was supposed to be a mockery of people and
  situations and a criticism of corruption
• The goal was to return to tradition and to the
  values of ancestors
• Typically had vulgar language, body humor
• Aristophanes wrote 11 comedies

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Satire

• Was similar to a tragedy but it was shorter in
  length and lighter in heavy content
• Usually mocked heroes in order to give the
  audience to relax after attending a tragedy
• Only saved satiric dramas are The Cyclops by
  Euripides and The Scouts by Sophocles

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Greek Theatre

• The Actors
• Were men
• Wore masks and long robes to disguise themselves,
  as part of the religion
• Were highly respected
• Made grand gestures and had to speak loudly and
  clearly
• The Chorus
• 12 or 15 members
• Could speak to give information to the audience
  or could react to show the emotions the audience
  should have

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Greek Theatre

• Theatron- where people sat and watched
• Orchestra- where they performed
• Parados- where the chorus enters
• Skene- where actors could change costumes and
  masks

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Greek Theatre