Theatre of ancient Greece

Panoramic view of the Hellenic theatre at Epidaurus.

The theatre of ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in a ncient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BCE. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was institutionalised as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 6th century BCE), comedy (486 BCE), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres to emerge there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies and allies in order to promote a common cultural identity. Western theatre originates in Athens and its drama has had a significant and sustained impact on Western culture as a whole.

Contents

Etymology

The word τραγῳδία (tragoidia), from which the English word "tragedy" is derived, is a portmanteau of two Greek words: τράγος (tragos) or "goat" and ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song", from ἀείδειν (aeideion), "to sing".[1] This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancient Dionysian cults. It is impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility rituals became the basis for tragedy and comedy.[2] Until the Hellenistic period, all tragedies were unique pieces written in honor of Dionysus, so that today we only have the pieces that were still remembered well enough to have been repeated when repetition of old tragedies became fashion. It was considered a decline of the original, one-time-played tragedy.

Origins

Greek tragedy as we know it was created in Athens some years before 534 BCE, when Thespis was the earliest recorded playwright. Being a winner of the first theatrical contest held at Athens, he was the exarchon, or leader, of the dithyrambs performed in and around Attica, especially at the rural Dionysia. By Thespis' time the dithyramb had evolved far away from its cult roots. Under the influence of heroic epic, Doric choral lyric and the innovations of the poet Arion, it had become a narrative, ballad-like genre. Thespis probably aided in the final transition from dithyramb to tragedy by adding characters who speak (rather than sing) with their own voice (rather than a single narrative chorus). Because of these, Thespis is often called the "Father of Tragedy"; however, his importance is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as late as 16th in the chronological order of Greek tragedians; the statesman Solon, for example, is credited with creating poems in which characters speak with their own voice, and spoken recitations, known as rhapsodes, of Homer's epics were popular in festivals prior to 534 B.C.[3] Thus, Thespis's true contribution to drama is unclear at best, but his name has been immortalized as a common term for performer--a "thespian."

The dramatic performances were important to the Athenians - this is made clear by the creation of a tragedy competition and festival in the city of Dionysia. This was organized possibly to foster loyalty among the tribes of Attica (recently created by Cleisthenes). The festival was created roughly around 508 B.C. While no drama texts exist from the sixth century BC, we do know the names of three competitors besides Thespis: Choerilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus. Each is credited with different innovations in the field.

More is known about Phrynichus. He won his first competition between 511 BC and 508 BC. He produced tragedies on themes and subjects later exploited in the golden age such as the Danaids, Phoenician Women and Alcestis. He was the first poet we know of to use a historical subject - his Fall of Miletus, produced in 493-2, chronicled the fate of the town of Miletus after it was conquered by the Persians. Herodotus reports that "the Athenians made clear their deep grief for the taking of Miletus in many ways, but especially in this: when Phrynichus wrote a play entitled “The Fall of Miletus” and produced it, the whole theatre fell to weeping; they fined Phrynichus a thousand drachmas for bringing to mind a calamity that affected them so personally, and forbade the performance of that play forever."[4] He is also thought to be the first to use female characters (though not female performers).[5]

New inventions during the Golden age

After the Great Destruction of Athens by the Persian Empire in 480 BCE, the town and acropolis were rebuilt, and theatre became formalized and an even more major part of Athenian culture and civic pride. This century is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The centre-piece of the annual Dionysia, which took place once in winter and once in spring, was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus. Each submitted three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythological subject). Beginning in a first competition in 486 BCE, each playwright also submitted a comedy.

Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added the second actor, and that Sophocles added the third actor. Apparently the Greek playwrights never put more than three actors basis of what is known about Greek theatre.

Hellenistic period

The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against the Spartans. From that time on, the theatre started performing old tragedies again. Although its theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into the Hellenistic period (the period following Alexander the Great's conquests in the fourth century BC). However, the primary Hellenistic theatrical form was not tragedy but 'New Comedy', comic episodes about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only extant playwright from the period is Menander. One of New Comedy's most important contributions was its influence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautus and Terence.

Characteristics of the buildings

The plays had a chorus of up to fifty[6] people, who performed the plays in verse accompanied by music, beginning in the morning and lasting until the evening. The performance space was a simple semi-circular space, the orchestra, where the chorus danced and sang. The orchestra, which had an average diameter of 78 feet, was situated on a flattened terrace at the foot of a hill, the slope of which produced a natural theatron, literally "watching place". Later, the term "theatre" came to be applied to the whole area of theatron, orchestra, and skené. The choragos was the head chorus member who could enter the story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play.

A blueprint of an Ancient Theatre. Terms are in Greek language and Latin letters.

The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand. Mathematics played a large role in the construction of these theatres, as their designers had to able to create acoustics in them such that the actors' voices could be heard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats. The Greeks' understanding of acoustics compares very favourably with the current state of the art, as even with the invention of microphones, there are very few modern large theatres that have truly good acoustics. The first seats in Greek theatres (other than just sitting on the ground) were wooden, but around 499 BC the practice of inlaying stone blocks into the side of the hill to create permanent, stable seating became more common. They were called the "prohedria" and reserved for priests and a few most respected citizens.

In 465 BC, the playwrights began using a backdrop or scenic wall, which hung or stood behind the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. It was known as the skené, or scene. The death of a character was always heard, “ob skene”, or behind the skene, for it was considered inappropriate to show a killing in view of the audience. The English word 'obscene' is a derivative of 'ob skene.' In 425 BCE a stone scene wall, called a paraskenia, became a common supplement to skenes in the theatres. A paraskenia was a long wall with projecting sides, which may have had doorways for entrances and exits. Just behind the paraskenia was the proskenion. The proskenion ("in front of the scene") was columned, and was similar to the modern day proscenium. Today's proscenium is what separates the audience from the stage. It is the frame around the stage that makes it look like the action is taking place in a picture frame.

Greek theatres also had entrances for the actors and chorus members called parodoi. The parodoi (plural of parodos) were tall arches that opened onto the orchestra, through which the performers entered. In between the parodoi and the orchestra lay the eisodoi, through which actors entered and exited. By the end of the 5th century BCE, around the time of the Peloponnesian War, the skene, the back wall, was two stories high. The upper story was called the episkenion. Some theatres also had a raised speaking place on the orchestra called the logeion.

Scenic elements

There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre:

Masks

Tragic Comic Masks Hadrians Villa mosaic.

Masks and ritual

The Greek term for mask is proposa and was a significant element in the worship of Dionysus at Athens, likely used in ceremonial rites and celebrations. Most of the evidence comes from only a few vase paintings of the 5th century BCE, such as one showing a mask of the god suspended from a tree with decorated robe hanging below it and worshipers dancing and the Pronomos vase [5] , which depicts actors preparing for a Satyr play. [7] No physical evidence remains available to us, as the masks were made of organic materials and not considered permanent objects, ultimately being dedicated to the altar of Dionysus after performances. Nevertheless, the mask is known to have been used since the time of Aeschylus and considered to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre. [8]

Mask details

Illustrations of theatrical masks from 5th century display helmet-like mask, covering the entire face and head, with holes for the eyes and a small aperture for the mouth, as well as an integrated wig. It is interesting to note that these paintings never show actual masks on the actors in performance; they are most often shown being handled by the actors before or after a performance, that liminal space between the audience and the stage, between myth and reality. [9] This demonstrates the way in which the mask was to ‘melt’ into the face and allow the actor to vanish into the role. [10] Effectively, the mask transformed the actor as much as memorization of the text. Therefore, performance in ancient Greece did not distinguish the masked actor from the theatrical character.

The mask-makers were called skeuopoios or “maker of the properties,” thus suggesting that their role encompassed multiple duties and tasks. The masks were most likely made out of light weight, organic materials like stiffened linen, leather, wood, or cork, with the wig consisting of human or animal hair. [11] Due to the visual restrictions imposed by these masks, it was imperative that the actors hear in order to orientate and balance themselves. Thus, it is believed that the ears were covered by substantial amounts of hair and not the helmet-mask itself. The mouth opening was relatively small, preventing the mouth to be seen during performances. Vervain and Wiles posit that this small size discourages the idea that the mask functioned as a megaphone, as originally presented in the 1960s.[12] Greek mask-maker, Thanos Vovolis, suggests that the mask serves as a resonator for the head, thus enhancing vocal acoustics and altering its quality. This leads to increased energy and presence, allowing for the more complete metamorphosis of the actor into his character. [13]

Mask functions

In a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, the classical masks were able to bring the characters' face closer to the audience, especially since they had intensely over-exaggerated facial features and expressions.[14] They enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, thus preventing the audience from identifying the actor to one specific character. Their variations help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character’s appearance, ie. Oedipus after blinding himself [15] Unique masks were also created for specific characters and events in a play, such as The Furies in Aeschylus’ Eumenides and Pentheus and Cadmus in Euripides’ The Bacchae. Worn by the chorus, the masks created a sense of unity and uniformity, while representing a multi-voiced persona or single organism and simultaneously encouraged interdependency and a heightened sensitivity between each individual of the group.

Other costume details

The actors in these plays that had tragic roles wore boots called cothurnuses that elevated them above the other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock. For this reason, dramatic art is sometimes alluded to as “Sock and Buskin.”

In order to play female roles, actors wore a “prosterneda” (a wooden structure in front of the chest, to imitate female breasts) and “progastreda” in front of the belly.

Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing cothurnus. Thalia is the muse of comedy and is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and comic’s socks.

Influential playwrights (listed chronologically with important/surviving works)

Tragedies

Comedies

See also

  • History of theatre
  • Agôn
  • Ancient Greek comedy
  • Archon
  • Aulos
  • Buskin
  • Chorêgos
  • Chorus
  • Chorus of the elderly in classical Greek drama
  • Comedy
  • Coryphaeus
  • Deus ex machina
  • Deuteragonist
  • Didaskalos
  • Didaskaliai
  • Dionysia festivals
  • Dithyramb
  • Eisodos
  • Ekkyklêma
  • Episode
  • Epode
  • Kommós
  • Mêchanê
  • Melpomene
  • Monody
  • Ode
  • Onomastì komodèin
  • Orchêstra
  • Parabasis
  • Párados
  • Phlyax play
  • Proagôn
  • Protagonist
  • Rhapsode
  • Satyr play
  • Skênê
  • Sparagmos
  • Stásimon
  • Stichomythia
  • Strophê
  • Thalia
  • Theatre of ancient Rome
  • Theatre of Dionysos
  • Theologeion
  • Theoric fund
  • Tragedy
  • Triagonist
  • List of films based on Greek drama

Notes

  1. ↑ Merriam-Webster definition of tragedy
  2. ↑ William Ridgeway, Origin of Tragedy with Special Reference to the Greek Tragedians, p.83
  3. ↑ Brockett, Oscar G. "History of the Theatre". Allyn and Bacon, 1999. Pp. 16–17
  4. ↑ Herodotus, Histories, 6/21. [1]
  5. ↑ Brockett, Oscar G. "History of the Theatre". Allyn and Bacon, 1999. USA. p.17
  6. ↑ Paper on the Athens Theatre
  7. ↑ Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, “The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance.” New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004. p.255
  8. ↑ Varakis, Angie. “Research on the Ancient Mask,” Didaskalia, Vol. 6.1 Spring 2004, [2]
  9. ↑ Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, “The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance.” New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004. p.255
  10. ↑ Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, “The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance.” New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004. p.256]
  11. ↑ Brooke, Iris. “Costume in Greek Classical Drama.” Methuen, London: 1962. p.76
  12. ↑ Vervain, Chris and David Wiles, “The Masks of Greek Tragedy as Point of Departure for Modern Performance.” New Theatre Quarterly 67, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2004. p.255
  13. ↑ Vovolis, Thanos and Giorgos Zamboulakis. “The Acoustical Mask of Greak Tragedy.” Didaskalia Vol. 7.1 [3]
  14. ↑ Vovolis, Thanos and Giorgos Zamboulakis. “The Acoustical Mask of Greak Tragedy.” Didaskalia Vol. 7.1 [4]
  15. ↑ Brockett, Oscar G. and Robert Ball. “The Essential Theatre.” 7th Ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando: 2000. p.70].

References

Vovolis, Thanos and Giorgos Zamboulakis. The Acoustical Mask of Greak Tragedy. Didaskalia Vol. 7.1 [10].

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