y Born in Athens 6th Century B.C. y Was always poetic. y Poetic means had a specific rhythm.

y Rhythmically complex divided into spoken and sung

parts y Spoken -> actors y Sung -> chorus (very important: no play without chorus) ( were normal Athenian citizen)

y Tragedy y Comedy y Satiric drama

Important FACT: y It was NOT possible for a writer to write a tragedy and a comedy at the same time!!!!! y The writers were directors and stage managers at the same time (at the early ages of theater actors as well)

y A piece with serious content y Themes obtained from Myths (characters act in a

mythical world) BUT: They have concerns and thoughts that are linked to the reality which they in some way criticize. y The characters often stand against an ethical dilemma, have to choose a specific way and are often crushed at the end.

y Worship of Dionysus ( people had to overcome themselves, try to

y y

pretend being Dionysus and as a result feel his divine power). (they did that wearing improvised masks and clothing) The rituals included a part called Dithiramvos. People dancing around while singing stories of Dionysus s life. (there was one person who sung first (improvising) and everyone else repeated after him) Arion : Important changes: People had a specific dress code and sung specific lyrics (no longer improvised) Thespis: Thespis took one person from the singing mass and assigned him to start a dialogue with the others by following a specific script and the mass of people that was now called chorus answered. Aishilos added later another actor and Sofocles another one.

, , , , , .

y Characteristics: 1) imitation 2) perfect human 3) has one

specific topic 4) script has specific structure and length 5) It is played it is not supposed to be read 6)eleos and fovos: the writer of the tragedy has to create a script which cause the fear and sympathy of the audience. 7) That is caused mainly by the problems and suffer of the characters. 8) The writer has the duty to relief the audience at the end (katharsis).

y Spoken-epic part:

prologue, epeisodeia (scenes) , exodus. y Lyrical part: parodos (part that the chorus sings while entering the stage), stasima ( parts sung between the scenes) y Some times the characters sing as well either alone or with the chorus.

y Tragic hero: A tragic hero is the

main character in a tragedy. (it has to be mentioned that the tragic hero, as a human being is able to make his own decisions etc. it is up to him what he is going to do.) But he has to face his faith, the gods and generally owers that are stronger than him. (but also himself and his ethics ). First Atis (blindness of soul and body -> his destruction), he causes hybris that causes the nemesis (the anger of the gods) and tisis (the punishment). But a tragic hero is not only crushed because of his actions. Some tragic heroes are crushed because of their ancestors actions. Peripeteia: conversion of the situation (from happiness to sadness etc.)

SATYRIC DRAMA
Satyric: Chorus constitutes of satyrs. The satyrs undertake difficult challenges but they never succeed . The topics are taken from the mythology but they highlight its waggish side. From this aspect the satyric drama is closer to the tragedy but generally the whole mood that it emits is closer to the comedy with the biggest difference that comedy has more political topics.

COMEDY
Comedy : Comos + odi (the song of the comos ) Comos: fellowship of drunk men that sing and have fun. Divided into ancient, middle age and new comedy Ancient most important: Aristophanes! Criticized current matters in Athens ( political etc.). The heroes of his play that manage to overcome the depressive reality are normal Athenian citizens. Characteristics : 1 loose connection between scenes 2 chorus plays vital role 3 masks and costumes very important 4 use of swear words 5 sometimes the actor spoke to the audience.

THEATRE
Most important: theatre of Dionysus in Athens under the Acropolis. Orchestra: chorus Kolion: Audience Stage: Actors ( triple function) Two parodoi led to the orchestra. On the stage the audience could see three doors ( tragedy- palace, comedy- house) was mostly wooden.

NO independent performances. Plays only at contests. y 2 major contests: Megala Dionysia, Lynaia. ( they had also religious, cultural and to some extend political importance) y Megala Dionysia : (at the end of March) 3 tragedy writers (with 4 plays (3 tragedies and one satyric drama each)) and 5 comedy writers with one play each took part. First day- comedy. Last 3 and most important days tragedy y Lynaia: 3 tragedy writers with 2 plays each and 5 com. with one.
y

Arxon: before the performances the arxon had to allow the writers to carry out their play ( they did that by providing them chorus or not ) ( remember no play without chorus) y Xorigos: was the rich Athenian that provided money for the performance. He had the privilege to choose the chorus and his name was mentioned at the end of the performance. y Critics: 10 people who decided, which writer would be the winner of a contest. They were chosen in 2 stages. First some were chosen from the people of every tribe ( 10 Athenian tribes) and then one of them was chosen by change to be a critic. The critics were influenced to a great extend by the reactions of the audience.
y

y Actors: 1) only men 2) played either tragedy or comedy

not both 3) they played more than one character in a performance 4) Apart from actors there were also characters that did not speak 5) they had to have a great voice 6) the price of the best actor was given only to one of the main characters. 7) after a while they become more important than the writers. y Chorus: 12 at the beginning then 15 people. For comedy 24 y Aulitis: 1) played the double lumen during the lyrical parts of the play 2) went into the orchestra with the chorus and was festively dressed 3) didn t wear a mask 4) had a special rim to regulate the sound 5) lumen is the connection to the God Dionysos.

y Actors wore masks y Dif. Masks for tragedy and for

comedy y Tragedy: at the beginning the mask simple with calm characteristics. Gradually the mouth become bigger and the general characteristics stronger ( frozen horror ) y Comedy: the opposite masks become more and more natural. y Masks came from religion but the served theatrical purposes and that s why they were used in plays. (e.g. Man had to play women) But the most important thing: The masks were designed in such a way that they represented not a specific person but an idealistic human being.

y Tragedy: 1) long coat with sleeves that reached the

ankle. The sleeves highlighted the movement of the arms and the length of the coat added a sense of majesty to the character. y Comedy: 1)Skinny rigid cloth. 2)At the area of the belly and rear they stuffed fillings. 3)women long coat 4) men short ( had the appropriate length so that the fallos could be seen, which was mandatory)