Greek Background and Drama

1. Greek Background and Drama Oedipus Rex and Antigone

2. Religion • Polytheistic • Belief in many gods/goddesses • Well known Gods • Zeus: god of sky and over all other gods • Apollo: God of war • Athena: Goddess of War especially strategy

3. Social Values • Heroic Age: 1700-700 BCE • Age of Warrior kings and princes • Virtues: Bravery, physical strength and quickness. • Wealth: Spoils of War and raiding. The more victories, the more loot. Means more common foot soldiers.

4. Social Values • Gold Age: 5th century BCE—Athens • Virtues: Education and physical fitness, social community, duty, justice, and equality for citizens. • Wealth: Crafts, artwork, varied goods for a strong trading state; ships and seafaring skills. • Writing: An alphabet around 750 BCE.

5. Homer • Lived and worked around 650 BCE • Supposedly blind • Combined oral stories passed down over a 500 year period. • These stories became the Iliad and The Odyssey.

6. Golden Age of Athens • Athens and Sparta defeat the Persians. • Together they were the greatest powers in Greece. • Athens: A democracy • Sparta: A dictatorship • 431 BCE War breaks out between Athens and Sparta: Peloponnesian War.

7. Literature of the Golden Age • 6th Century: Thepis invents drama from the “goat dance” ritual in honor of Dionyseus. • 5th Century: Drama: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides; Aristophanes. • Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

8. Greek Drama • Began as a form of worship in honor of Dionyseus, the Greek god of wine, festivals, and growing things. • Plays were produced only in the spring during the three day festival of Dionyseus. Each day three tragedies (all by the same dramatist) and two comedies were presented. Prizes were rewarded.

9. Greek Drama • At its height in the 5th century BCE • Minimum amount of scenery; dramatist had to provide clues to the setting and action within the play itself. • Greeks already knew the ancient legends upon which the plots were based. • Myths and legends were an integral part of the Greek historical, moral, and religious culture.

10. Drama • Theater attracted all classes of people. Those unable to pay were given free tickets. • Events were held in an amphitheater. The ground level contained a building resembling a temple and doors for actors entrances and exits.

11. Drama • Seating capacity at the theater at Epidaurus: 15,000-20,000. • Acoustics were reputedly perfect, but megaphones were sometimes inserted into the actors masks. • Chorus size: 12-15 people • 1-3 Actors on stage at a time • Masks were worn to identify the character

12. Drama • Movement was slow, speaking was stately and formal; speaking was directed to the audience even though it was in the form of dialogue. • Choral Odes: Accompanied by dancing and flute music. Asked questions, gave advice, made comments, explored issues, reflected emotions and predicted the future.

13. Drama • Dramatic Irony: The hallmark of Greek Drama. The audience is always in the position of knowing more than the characters in the play.