GREEK DRAMA
600-200 B.C.
I.
Origins of Greek Drama
A. Between 600 and 200 B.C. (2,500-2,000 years
before Shakespeare)
B. One of greatest periods in literature (with
Elizabethan England and the 20th century)
C. Began as religious rites/ cults of Dionysus (god
of wine and human/ agricultural fertility)
a. Date back to at least 1200 BC
b. Primitive cult of Dionysus originated in Thrace in
Northern Greece
Origins of Greek Drama
D.
Cult of Dionysus (cont’d)
a.
b.
c.
Celebrations involved uninhibited dancing which resulted in a
state of euphoria (or ecstases from which we have ecstasy).
The emotional release of the dance because important later on
to Greek drama
Later: The dithyramb (ode to Dionysus).
Origins of Greek Drama
d. Later: The dithyramb (ode to
Dionysus)
a) performed by a “chorus” of men
dressed as satyrs
1. Satyrs: mythological half-human,
half-goat servants of Dionysus.
b) Played drums, lyres and flutes and
chanted the dithyramb as they danced
around a statue of Dionysus
c) Dithyramb later evolved into stories,
drama and the play
e. Cult spread through tribes of Greece
over next 6 centuries
Lyre
Origins of Greek Drama
f. Ritual eventually became civilized.
By 600 B.C., the rituals were
practiced every spring throughout
much of Greece.
II.
The Golden Age of Greek Drama
A. 600 B.C.: Greece divided into city-
states (separate nations)
a. Most important city-state was Athens
a) Population of Athens: 150,000
b) In Athens, Rites of Dionysus evolved i nto
theater
II.
The Golden Age of Greek Drama
B. 600 B.C.: Arion of Mehtymna wrote
down formal lyrics of dithyramb.
C. By 525 B.C.: Thespis of Attica
added an actor who interacted with
the chorus. Actor called the
protagonist
a. Thespis is the root of thespian,
meaning “actor” in modern language
b. Thespis also invented the acting troupe
II.
The Golden Age of Greek Drama
B. Athenian Drama Competions began
534 B.C.
a. Pisistratus, ruler of Athens, changed
Dionysian Festical to drama
competition
a) Thespis won the first competition in 534
B.C.
b) Competitions became popular with the
public
c) Government authority called archon chose
competitors
d) Wealthy patrons, called choregos, financed
the productions. In return, member sof
choregos would pay no taxes that year.
II.
The Golden Age of Greek Drama
C. Drama Productions
a. Plays were performed in amphitheaters
a) Theatre of Dionysus in Athens could seat
as many as 17,000
Theatre of Dionysus in Athens
Where the Action Took Place
Theatre Remains- Where the Choregos
Sat
III. Aspects of the Theatre
• Orchestra: The platform between the raised stage and the
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audience on which the chorus was situated.
Thymeli: In the early years, an altar to Dionysus situated in
the center of the orchestra. Later, it was a place where the
koryphaios, the leader of the chorus, would stand.
Scene/ Skene (Skay-nay): The front of the building, facing
the audience, that served as scenery. It usually was built in
the form of a temple or palace.
Proscenio: The acting area in front of the scene/ skene
(pro+scene= “in front of the scene”).
The Koilon: The auditorium of the Greek theater. Its shape
was semi-circular.
The Diazoma: The levels in the seating area of the koilon.
Separated into upper (common people) and lower (for the
powerful people because it was closest to the stage).
III. Aspects of the Theatre
• Paradoi (pl.): The entrance to the orchestra, used by the chorus,
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that was situated between the scene and the seats. There was
one parados (singular) on the left and one on the right.
Logeion: The narrow, raised platform (stage) in front of the stage.
It was reserved for the actors. The chorus remained in the
orchestra.
Theologion: The flat roof of the scene.
Proedria: The front seats, in the lower diazoma, that were
reserved for the most important audience members.
Deus ex Machina: The crane-like machine that was used to “fly”
the “gods” onto the stage. It was stored within the scene.
Ekleclema: The wheeled platform on which the bodies of those
characters who are killed or who commit suicide are presented to
the audience. These acts never were depicted on stage.
Upper Diazoma
Koilon
Lower Diazoma
Proedria
Orchestra
Thymeli
Parados
Parados
Logeion
Area= Proscenio
Theolgion (roof)
Scene/ Skene
III. Aspects of Greek Drama
• There were no female actors. Young men usually
played female parts.
• Violence was never portrayed on stage. It would
take place somewhere off stage. The audience
would be told of it by a character.
• Plays were performed in outdoor amphitheaters,
so there was no lighting.
• Rather than make-up actors wore masks with
exaggerated facial expressions. Often, they had
built-in megaphones for amplifying voices.
III. Aspects of Greek Drama
• There were no real costumes. Actors wore robes and
“cothornos,” or leather boots that laced up to the knees.
• There was little or no scenery. Most action took place in
the orchestra. Later on, as the importance shifted from
the chorus to the characters, the action moved to the
stage.
IV. The Tragedy
• Between 600 and 500 B.C., the dithyramb
evolved into the tragedy.
• Tragedy derived from the Greek words tragos
(goat) and ode (song).
• Tragedies told stories that were intended to teach
religious lessons. They were meant to show the
right and wrong paths in life.
• Most important lesson: Avoid pride or arrogance
(which they called hubris) that led one to ignore
the will of the gods and follow their own wishes.
IV. The Tragedy
• Tragedies reinforced the Greek belief that human
lives are ruled by fate; humans have no real
control over what happens to them.
• Tragedies were designed to make the audience
feel pathos (strong emotion, like sadness)
• Characters in tragedies refuse to follow fate and
attempt to exercise control over their own lives.
Often, they break the laws of man while doing so.
• The protagonist in a tragedy, called the tragic
hero, is one who refuses to give in to fate or life’s
rules.
IV. The Tragedy
• Tragedies reinforced the Greek belief that human
lives are ruled by fate; humans have no real
control over what happens to them.
• Tragedies were designed to make the audience
feel pathos (strong emotion, like sadness)
• Characters in tragedies refuse to follow fate and
attempt to exercise control over their own lives.
Often, they break the laws of man while doing so.
• The protagonist in a tragedy, called the tragic
hero, is one who refuses to give in to fate or life’s
rules.
IV. The Tragedy
• Hubris, the great pride that would cause men to defy the
will of the gods and follow their own course, was the worst
sin a mortal could commit.
• Once the sin of hubris is committed, the mortal must be
punished and experience the tragic consequences of their
arrogance.
IV. The Tragedy
• Greek tragedies were a result of what was
happening in the time in Athens:
• On one hand, Greek religion had dictated how people
should behave and think for centuries.
• On the other hand, there was a birth of free thought,
and people began to question things. This gave rise to
democracy, philosophy, mathematics, science and art.
• The conflict of new ideas was explored by the
playwrights and resulted in the tragic stories told
in their plays.
IV. The Tragedy
• Some of the major questions that the tragic playwrights
explored were: What does it mean to be a human being?
What should man’s relationship be with the gods? What
is man’s role in the grand scheme of things? How should
one accept the injustices in life? Why must there be
injustices in life?
IV. The Tragedy
• Parts of the tragedy:
• Prologue: Described the situation and set the scene
• Parados: An ode sung by the chorus as it made its
entrance
• Five dramatic scenes, each followed by a komos ( an
exchange of laments—or complaints—by the chorus
and the protagonist, or tragic hero)
• Exodus: The climax and conclusion
Essential Terminology of
Greek Drama
Chorus
Choragos
• “the elders of the city
• Leader of the chorus
Thebes” whose age
and opinion would
have been respected
• Part of cast who chant
parados, odes and
paean.
• Often times interacts
with characters one on
one
The Organization of The Greek Drama
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Prologue (story)
Parados (song)
Episode One (story)
Ode One (song)
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Episode Two (story)
Ode Two (song)
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Strophe
Antistrophe
Strophe
Antistrophe
Episode Three (story)
• Ode Three (song)
• Strophe
• Antistrophe
• Episode Four (story)
• Ode Four (song)
• Strophe
• Antistrophe
• Episode Five (story)
• Paean (song)
• Strophe
• Antistrophe
• Exodus (story)
Prologue
Parados
• Going to be set around
• Song sung by the chorus
central moral issue and set
up basic conflict
• Sets forth the subject and
provides the mythological
background necessary for
understanding the events
of the play.
• Our prologue stars our
protagonist Antigone and
her sister Ismene
as it first enters. Named for
the corridors at the front of
the stage of a Greek
theater
• Written in “ode” fashion.
• A choral song chanted by
the chorus
• After the prologue
Episodes
• A narrative section of the
play, when the main events
take place
• Divided from the next episode
by a odes, or stasimons.
Ode (Stasimon)
• a choral section of the play.
• The language of these sections is elevated, more “poetic”;
often supplementary information or the mood of the play’s
internal audience is revealed
• A choral ode that often reflects on the dialogue and
events of the preceding episode.
Parts of the Ode:
Strophe:
• Part of ode that the
chorus chants as it
moves from right to left
across stage
Antistrophe:
• Part of ode that chorus
chants as it moves
back across stage
from left to right
Paean
Exodus
• Hymn in praise of god
• The final, or exit,
– in this case
Dionysus, in whose
honor the Greeks
performed the plays
scene
IV. The Tragedy
• Some other important ingredients of the tragedy:
• Catharsis: Purging of fear and emotion following the fall of the
protagonist/ tragic hero
• Pathos: Which has come to meant he quality in something that
arouses sympathy and sadness. Used today to describe
something sad but not necessarily tragic.
IV. Qualities of The Tragic Hero: Noble
Stature
• Since tragedy involves the "fall" of a tragic hero, one
theory is that one must have a lofty position to fall
from, or else there is no tragedy (just pathos, or
emotion).
• Another explanation of this characteristic is that
tragedies involving people of stature affect the lives
of others. In the case of a king, the tragedy would not
only involve the individual and his family, it would
also involve the whole society.
IV. Qualities of The Tragic Hero: Tragic
Flaw (Hamartia)
• The tragic hero must "fall" due to some flaw in his
own personality. The most common tragic flaw is
hubris (excessive pride). One who tries to attain too
much possesses hubris.
IV. Qualities of The Tragic Hero: Free
Choice
• While there is often a discussion of the role of fate in
the downfall of a tragic hero, there must be an
element of choice in order for there to be a true
tragedy. The tragic hero falls because he chooses one
course of action over another.
IV. Qualities of The Tragic Hero:
Punishment
• The Punishment Exceeds the Crime: the audience
must not be left feeling that the tragic hero got what
he deserved. Part of what makes the action "tragic" is
to witness the injustice of what has occurred to the
tragic hero.
IV. Qualities of The Tragic Hero:
Recognition
• Hero has a moment of recognition of his sins, which
results in increased awareness: it is crucial that the
tragic hero come to some sort of an understanding of
what went wrong or of what was really going on
before he comes to his end.
IV. Qualities of The Tragic Hero:
Catharsis
• Produces Catharsis in Audience: catharsis is a feeling
of "emotional purgation" that an audience feels after
witnessing the plight of a tragic hero: we feel
emotionally drained, but exultant.
Literary Terms to Look For
• Foil – a character who serves as a contrast to another
character
• Allusion – Reference to a statement, person, place, event
or thing that is known from something else
More Literary Terms
• Metaphor –a comparison between two unlike things
without a connecting word such as like, as, than or
resembles
• Simile – a comparison between two unlike things WITH a
connecting word such as like, as, than or resembles
More Literary Terms
• Verbal Irony – when a
speaker says one thing,
but means the opposite
• Dramatic Irony – when
the reader or the
audience knows
something important that
a character does not
know.
More Literary Terms
• Alliteration – repetition of the same or similar
consonant sounds in words that are close
together
• Example: “Sally sold seashells down by the sea
shore"
• Theme – the central idea
of a work
ANTIGONE
The Story Behind the Story
THE MYTH OF OEDIPUS
• Laius (King of Thebes) and Jocasta
(Queen) conceive a child.
• Laius consults the Oracle at Delphi for a
prediction of the future
• The Oracle predicts that a son born to Laius
and Jocasta will kill his father and marry his
mother.
 If you were the parent of this soon-to-be-born child, what would you do?
THE MYTH OF OEDIPUS
• When the son is born, Laius and Jocasta
attempt to avert their fates:
o
o
They drive a rivet into the child’s ankles
They give the child to a servant and instruct him
to abandon the baby on Mt. Cithaeron.
 What do you think of these parents’ attempt to avert fate?
A GUILTY CONSCIENCE
INTERVENES
• The servant cannot abandon the child to die, so he
gives the child to a shepherd who carries it to
Corinth.
• The child is raised by the King and Queen of
Corinth, who name the baby Oedipus (means
“swollen foot”).
• When Oedipus is a young man, he begins to think
“I need a life…”
• He consults the Oracle.
 What did the Oracle predict for him?
FATE AVERTED AGAIN (OR NOT)
• Oedipus leaves Corinth to avoid his awful
fate.
• On the journey, he meets a man who rudely
forces him from the road.
• In retaliation, Oedipus pulls the man from
his chariot and kills him.
 What do you think of Oedipus’ action here?
OEDIPUS TRAVELS TO THEBES…
• Thebes is under seige by the Sphinx.
• Oedipus saves the day.
• Oedipus receives the throne of Thebes (the Queen is the
bonus).
• All goes well for 20 years, until the truth of Oedipus's past is
revealed.
• The bulk of Oedipus the King tells how this truth "comes to
light."
• Oedipus reacts by blinding himself, and Jocasta kills herself.
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What do you think of their reactions?
WHERE ANTIGONE COMES IN…
• Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and
Jocasta
• She has three siblings:
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o
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Ismene, sister
Polyneices, brother
Eteocles, brother
• Antigone, Ismene live with their uncle,
Creon, King of Thebes
 As Princess of Thebes, what kind of life does Antigone enjoy? Think about
everything!
PRIOR TO THE STORY OF
ANTIGONE (BEFORE THE PLAY OPENS)
• In a fight for control of the throne of Thebes,
Eteocles and Polyneices kill each other on
the field of battle.
• Because Polyneices raised an army against
Thebes, Creon brands him a traitor.
• He accords Eteocles full burial honors; but
not Polyneices…
THE CHARACTERS OF THE DRAMA
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Antigone (daughter of Oedipus)
Ismene (her sister)
Creon (their uncle, the brother of Jocasta)
Eurydice (your-id-i-see) wife of Creon
Haimon (son of Creon & Eurydice)
Teiresias (Tie-ree-see-as) a blind prophet
Essential Questions in Antigone
• When, if at all, is it our responsibility to protest or
break an unjust law?
• When man’s law contradicts the gods’ law, what
should man do?
• What price should someone be willing to pay if s/he
breaks an unjust law?
• What is good leadership? Can a good leader show
uncertainty and maintain leadership?
• How much power do we have over our fates?