Ancient Greek Theatre: Origins, Structure, and Influence, Lecture notes of Greek Literature

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Ancient Greek Theatre

Origins Out of Music

• (^) Ancient Greek theatre, the first in western civilization, arose from song performances celebrating the gods. These songs or chants were referred to as dithrambs.
• (^) Rituals centered around the sacrifice of goats, the playing of music, dancing, and drinking.

Song

The actual songs or odes in Ancient theatre derived from Pindar’s poetry. The ode was written to celebrate great achievements such as military victories, triumphs at the Olympic Games, chariot races etc.

Song

The structure of Pindar’s odes were adapted by the chorus- strophe-anti strophe or turn counter turn (the chorus sang stage right then danced across the stage and sang the anti strophe stage left). The Petrarchan sonnet also adopted this movement countermovement structure (octave volta sestet).

Song

• (^) The rhythm of an ode also alternated between iambic trimter and iambic dimeter. Strophe This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC Antistrophe Epode

The Chorus

• (^) They faced the audience and wore masks.
• (^) The masks are primarily used to help the audience recognize characters who performed far away from the actual audience in an outdoor theater.
• (^) The leader of the chorus was called a coryphaeus. He probably evolved from the role of a priest in cult worship.

The Theatre

• (^) As the cults and singing moved into Athens from rural areas the formal theater was established.
• (^) The outdoor theatre was built into the side of mountains or hillsides where seats could be tiered much like a modern Broadway theatre. However, the audience was many times larger than a modern audience with around 15, spectators.

Ancient Greek Theater

• (^) Theatre was performed every spring (ritual connection) at the Festival of Dionysia.
• (^) Playwrights submitted 3 tragedies and one satyr play (a lustful parody performed by satyrs) in a competition.

• (^) Once admitted (by the archon or high official)to the contest, the plays were performed over 3 days and judged by a panel.
• (^) The winner was a awarded a large trophy as well as earning much prestige.
• (^) Prizes were also given to the best leading actors (protagonistes).
• (^) The plays ran from dawn to dusk.

Satyr Plays

• (^) On stage the actor would have a tail, a wooden phallus, ugly mask, and animal skins.

Three Great Tragic Playwrights of Ancient Greece

• (^) Aeschylus (525-456 BCE), Oresteia , added second actor, started the tradition of writing trilogies or sequential plays common in today’s movie production process.
• (^) Sophocles (496-406 BCE) Oedipus Rex , Antigone , Ajax ; added third actor and painted scenery.
• (^) Euripides (484-407 BCE) The Bacchae , Hippolytus; movement toward realistic drama.

Purpose of the Chorus

1. Commentary on the action of the play (narrator).
2. Direct address to the audience.
3. Express a character’s inner thoughts (like a Shakespearean soliloquy).
4. Allow the actors a break and time to change costume.

• (^) The chorus generally represented the common citizens of the time.
• (^) In The Bacchae the chorus represented the followers of Dionysus or the Bacchantes (maenads).