Greek Theater

A Mini-Introduction
 The Birth of Western Theater
• From hit Broadway plays to popular television
series, contemporary drama owes much to the
ancient Greek dramatists. The Greek
playwrights gave European culture its first
dramatic characters- men and women
confronting crises and the consequences of their
own decisions. In their tragedies, the Greeks
raised questions of fate, responsibility, and
suffering that dramatists explore to this day.
 From Ritual to Art
• Theater in ancient Greece began as a
celebration held in honor of Dionysos, the god
of wine. At his festivals, a chorus would chant
songs in honor of the god. According to Greek
legend, drama began when Thespis added to
the chorus an actor who would take on the
role of different characters and hold dialogues
with the chorus.
 Dramatic Structure
• The playwrights of ancient Greece followed a
consistent format. Plays opened with a prologue, or
exposition, that presented background on the
conflict. The entering chorus then sang a parodos,
or opening song. This was followed by the first
scene. Additional songs by the chorus, called odes,
divided scenes, as a curtain falling does in modern
theater. At the conclusion of a tragedy, the chorus
presented a paean of thanksgiving to Dionyses. The
tragedy concluded with an exodus, or final scene.
 Dramatic Structure
• The Chorus was central to the production. During the odes, the
leader of the chorus, called the choragos, might exchange thoughts
with the group in a dialogue. During the recital the group would
rotate from right to left, singing the strophe or verse. Then, the
chorus would move in the opposite direction during the
antistrophe, a verse answering the strophe. An epode, or stanza
that follows the strophe and antistrophe, was included in some
odes.
• The chorus is probably a survivor from the ritual in which tragedy
originated. In the fully developed plays of the fifth century B.C., the
chorus plays a number of roles, from a city crowd to a poetic
commentator on events. Reacting to the story as it unfolds, the
chorus helps to direct the audience’s responses.
 Antigone
• Antigone is part of a trilogy of plays by Sophocles. Like all
Greek tragedies, the plays are based on a myth well known to
the original audience. In the myth, Oedipus, raised by adoptive
parents, is king of Thebes. A plague strikes his city, and
Oedipus discovers that the gods have sent the plague in
punishment for his own crimes. A stranger whom he struck
down in an argument was, he learns, his real father, Laios. His
wife, Locaste, is his mother. Ravaged by this knowledge,
Oedipus blinds himself. After his death, his sons, Polyneices
and Eteocles, battle for the throne, and both die. In Antigone,
Oedipus’ daughter Antigone struggles with the new king, her
uncle Creon, as she strives to do right by her dead brothers.