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The Origins and Development of Classical Greek Theatre

The Origins and Development of Classical Greek Theatre. (The 6 th and 5 th centuries BCE) Robert Cohen, Theatre , Mayfield Pub. Co., 1996 Don Nardo (ed.), The Complete History of Ancient Greece , Greenhaven : San Diego; 2001. How we know about Greek theatre. 43 intact plays

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The Origins and Development of Classical Greek Theatre

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  1. The Origins and Development of Classical Greek Theatre (The 6th and 5th centuries BCE) Robert Cohen, Theatre, Mayfield Pub. Co., 1996 Don Nardo (ed.), The Complete History of Ancient Greece, Greenhaven: San Diego; 2001

  2. How we know about Greek theatre • 43 intact plays • Fragments of other plays (transmitted to us through long and tortuous journeys of scribing and translation) • 1 piece of criticism: Aristotle’s Poetics (written in 335 BCE, 200 years after the birth of theatre) • Archaeological remains of several theatres

  3. Theatre of Dionysus (Athens) Remains of the stone version of the theatre, built in 325 BCE

  4. Theatre of Dionysus (Athens) Remains of the stone version of the theatre, built in 325 BCE

  5. Greek religion is polytheistic

  6. Greek Gods are Anthropomorphic

  7. Dionysus

  8. The Choric Dithyramb • 50 priests clad in goatskins danced around a huge phallus erected in a circle of leveled earth (probably a threshing circle) • Audience of spectators surrounding them • Drunkeness an integral part of the ritual (possible magic mushrooms too) • Bulls, goats sacrificed • Shaman > conduit between the divine and the human

  9. The Birth of Theatre • Theatre developed out of the dithyramb • 534 BCE – Thespis moves out of the chorus and assumes the role of hypokrites (answerer) who engages in exchange with the chorus • Thespis also invents the mask, enabling him to adopt the role of a number of characters • Story could now be revealed through action and dialogue

  10. Thespis

  11. Tragedy Tragedy: "play or other serious literary work with an unhappy ending," from O.Fr. tragedie (14c.), from L. tragedia "a tragedy," from Gk. tragodia "a dramatic poem or play in formal language and having an unhappy resolution," apparently lit. "goat song," from tragos "goat" + oide "song." The connection may be via satyric drama, from which tragedy later developed, in which actors or singers were dressed in goatskins to represent satyrs.

  12. The Evolution of Theatre in the 5th Century • The playwright, Aeschylus, increased the number of actors to two, allowing for dialogue between them. • By Aeschylus’ time, the chorus had been reduced to twelve • Sophocles introduced a third actor, allowing for overheard dialogue

  13. Dramatic Forms • Plays presented in a competition as part of the City Dionysia • On the third day, five comedies presented • A tetralogy presented on fourth, fifth and sixth day • Three playwrights would present tetralogies (three related tragedies and a satyr play) • Tetralogies selected in advance by archons and produced by wealthy sponsors

  14. Questions on Robert Cohen (1996), Theatre 1) Explain, in your own words, the choric dithyramb. 2) Evaluate the importance of Thespis in the origins of theatre. 3) How did the increase in the number of actors allow increased complexity in the drama? 4) Explain the tetralogy and its elements.

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