Greek Theater

Cristina O’Farrill
Dramatic Literature
Dr. Moe
Parts of the Presentation

• Part 1: History of Greek Theater

• Part 2: Essential Parts of Greek Drama
• Part 3: The Theater
 Part 1: History of Greek Theater

Greek theater arose from the

worship of the God Dyonisus
(the God of Wine). Hooray for
Dyonisus. We
worship you!

Worship Picture retrieved from: http://celinabethany.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/praise.jpg

Dyonisus picture retrieved from:

http://www.greek-mythology-pantheon.com/wp-content/uploads/Greek_Gods_and_Goddesses/Dionysus_Bacchus_Greek_God/Dionysus_Bacchus_Greek_God_Statue_01.jpg
Cont.
• The ancient Greek loved theater. An audience of up to 18,000 spectators
gathered every year to see familiar stories during the “City Dionysia”, a
festival of entertainment held in March and April. They did it during
these months because this was the sailing season when people from all
over Greece would come to visit and gather around the theater. It was
like the Olympics nowadays.

Picture retrived from:

http://s184.photobucket.com/user/kach22i/media/MISC/Greek-American-1JPG.jpg.html

We arrived to
the festival
Cont.

• At first, the theater was used for music, songs and dances that
told stories of Greek Gods. As time went by, the Greeks started
acting out the stories. These acts were written by Greek writers.
They later on competed against each other. Whatever play the
audience loved most won first place. The prize was a goat. But the
best prize was having their name and their play inscribed on the
wall of the theater to be remembered forever. Play writers were
sponsored by rich men who paid for the productions. A selected
jury would decide which was the best play. The most remarkable
play writer was said to be Sophocles.
Cont.

• The ancient Greeks loved to paint theatrical scenes on vases. They

would sell the vases so people could take them home after seeing
the play.

Picture retrieved from:

http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/zorkon/pics/dogs.gif
Part 2: Essential Pieces of Greek Drama

1. the actors
2. the chorus
3. the play
The Actors

All of the actors and play writers were men. Woman were not
allowed to participate. Since actors were faraway from the
audience they had to use exaggerated
costumes with bright colors and masks to
become visible. The shape of
the mask helped the actors amplified their
voice. They had to exaggerate their gestures to
be seen and understood. Many actors played different roles and all
they did was change their mask. Thespis was said to be a greatest
actor. This is why actors today are called thespians.
Mask picture retrieved from: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/0f/fd/350ffdda314a876596603d9e1fa6daa3.jpg
The Chorus

• The chorus was made up of men also. They sang and told the story
out loud.

Picture retrieved from:

http://slideplayer.com/slide/4155692/13/images/34/GREEK+CHORUS.jpg
 The Plays
Ancient Greek Theater enjoyed making fun of religion, legends, politics, and famous people.

Popular plays in Greek theater or 3 types of drama:

1. comedy- actors wore funny masks and conceived a happy ending.

2. satyr- actors wore costumes that looked like mythical beasts half man
half goat. Satyr was a very rude comedy play that dealt with failure and errors
of a hero.

3. tragedy- actors wore beautiful masks. Tragedy dealt with love, loss and
the conflict between men and the world.

Picture retrieved from: http://greece.mrdonn.org/theatre.html

Part 3: The Theater

• Picture retrieved from: http://images.greece.com/info/greek_theater.jpg

Cont.

The Greek architects built the theater in open air beside a hill with
circular arena with open sides. The theater was designed
in a way to enhance the sound of the human voice. They
created a resonance to perfect the sound. That is why it is said the theater
creates perfect acoustics.
The orchestra was placed on a level terrace to produce
a natural theathron.
The Parodos are the tall arches that opened onto the orchestra, in
which the performers entered.
Today’s theaters have the same architect (example IMAX)
it still remains one of the finest theaters.
Fun Fact

Today’s theaters have the same architect (example IMAX). Greek

theaters still remains one of the finest theaters.
Reference

• All information was obtained by the videos on Blackboard.