Ancient Greek Drama and Theater

Erasmus+ BC21, Athens - Greece.

1. ANCIENT GREEKDRAMA
AND THEATRE
BC21, LTTA Athens, 18-22/3/2019

2. TheancientGreekdramawasatheatricalculturethat
flourishedinancientGreecefrom700BC.Thecity-state
ofAthens,whichbecameasignificantcultural,political,
andmilitarypowerduringthisperiod,wasitscenter,
whereitwasinstitutionalizedaspartofafestivalcalled
the‘Dionysia’,whichhonoredthegodDionysus.

3. TheclassicalGreeksvaluedthepowerofthespokenword,anditwastheirmain
methodofcommunicationandstorytelling."ToGreeksthespokenwordwasaliving
thingandinfinitelypreferabletothedeadsymbolsofawrittenlanguage."Socrates
himselfbelievedthatoncesomethinghadbeenwrittendown,itlostitsabilityfor
changeandgrowth.Forthesereasons,amongmanyothers,oralstorytelling
flourishedinGreece.

4. Greektragedyas
weknowit,was
createdinAthens
aroundthetimeof
532BC
Theater of
Dionysus, Athens

5. Theplayshadachorusfrom12to15people,whoperformedtheplaysinverse
accompaniedbymusic,beginninginthemorningandlastinguntiltheevening.The
performancespacewasasimplecircularspace,theorchestra,wherethechorus
dancedandsang.Theorchestra,whichhadanaveragediameterof78feet,was
situatedonaflattenedterraceatthefootofahill,theslopeofwhichproduceda
natural‘theatron’,literally"seeingplace”.

6. BronzestatueofaGreekactor.Thehalf-
maskovertheeyesandnoseidentifies
thefigureasanactor.Hewearsaman's
conicalcapbutfemalegarments,
followingtheGreekcustomofmenplaying
therolesofwomen

7. Thetheatreswereoriginallybuiltonaverylargescaletoaccommodatethelarge
numberofpeopleonstage,aswellasthelargenumberofpeopleintheaudience,
uptofourteenthousand.Mathematicsplayedalargeroleintheconstructionof
thesetheatres,astheirdesignershadtobeabletocreateacousticsinthemsothat
theactors'voicescouldbeheardthroughoutthetheatre,includingtheverytoprow
ofseats.

9. Greek and Roman theatres

10. The Ancient Theatre of Delphi.

11. Delos

12. Epidauros

13. The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is considered to be the most perfect
ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics.

14. Dodoni

15. Thorikos

16. Messini

17. TheOdeonofHerodesAtticus,cutintothesouthernslopeoftheAthenianAcropolis,
wasbuiltin161ADbyHerodesAtticusinmemoryofhiswife.Thestructurewas
usedasatheatreinancientAthensforvariousplaysandmusicconcerts.It
originallyhadawoodenroofandcouldseatupto5,000people.

18. TheAncientGreektermforamaskis‘prosopon’(lit.,"face"),andwasasignificant
elementintheworshipofDionysusatAthens.Mostoftheevidencecomesfrom
onlyafewvasepaintingsofthe5thcenturyBC.Maskswerealsomadefor
membersofthechorus,whoplaysomepartintheactionandprovidea
commentaryontheeventsinwhichtheyarecaughtup.Althoughtherearetwelveor
fifteenmembersofthetragicchorus,theyallwearthesamemaskbecausetheyare
consideredtoberepresentingonecharacter.

20. Tragedydealtwiththebigthemesoflove,
loss,pride,theabuseofpowerandthe
fraughtrelationshipsbetweenmenandgods.
Typicallythemainprotagonistofatragedy
commitssometerriblecrimewithoutrealizing
howfoolishandarroganthehasbeen.Then,
asheslowlyrealizeshiserror,theworld
crumblesaroundhim.Thethreegreat
playwrightsoftragedywereAeschylus,
Sophocles,andEuripides.
Tragedy

21. Comedy: The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for their
vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was the playwright Aristophanes.

22. Taormina was a Greek colony on the east coast of the island of Sicily. The theater of
Taormina was built by the Greeks in the 2nd century BC and restructured and
widened by the Romans.
Ancient Theatres of Greek Roman Antiquity outside Greece

23. Syracusa

24. ThelargetheatreofEphesus,whichwascapableofholding25,000spectators,
wasusedinitiallyfordrama,butduringlaterRomantimesitwasalsousedfor
gladiatorfights.

25. JerashisapopulararchaeologicalsiteinJordan.Jerashcontainsnotonebut
twoRomantheatres.Thenorththeatre,withacapacityof1600,wasbuiltin
165ADandwasmainlyusedasthecitycouncilchamber.Thelargersouth
theatrewasbuiltbetween90-92ADandcouldseatmorethan3000
spectators.

26. PergamumwasanancientcityfoundedbyGreekcolonistsontheAegean
coastofAnatolia.ThePergamontheaterwasbuiltinthe3rdcenturyand
couldseat10,000spectators.Itisoneofthesteepestancienttheatersinthe
world.

27. The Roman Theatre of Merida in present-day Spain was built in 16 BC by order of
Agrippa, a general and friend of the emperor Augustus. The ancient theatre could
house up to 6,000 spectators.

28. TheRomantheatreofLisbonwasbuiltinthefirstcenturyBCbytheEmperor
Augustus,thenrenovatedinthetimeofEmperorNero,57AD,suchasto
accommodatesome5,000spectators.

29. TheRomanTheatreofOrange,France(Théâtreantiqued'Orange)builtearlyinthe
1stcenturyAD,isthemostwellpreservedRomantheatreinallEurope.