Ancient Athenian Drama Flashcards
The Norton editor suggests that the “original performance contexts of Greek drama” is most likely compared to today’s Broadway _________
Musical
The festivals of the Dionysia and the Lernaea were held in honor of the god _________
Dionysus
Dionysus was originally an Olympian god? True or False?
False
What does the Greek word komos, from which the word comedy is derived mean?
Drunken procession
What does the word tragedy mean?
Goat song
Who is it that is said to have invented tragedy in the year 534 when he “stepped out of the chorus” creating a part for a single actor who could talk back to the chorus?
Thespis
At the Greek Dionysia how many plays were preformed and what was the one that was not a tragedy called?
Three tragedies and a satyr play. 4
About how many people could be seated at the theater of Dionysus in Athens?
Between 13,000 and 17,000 people
In the open-air theater the central space was called the __________
orchestra
What was the skene?
A wooden platform with a wooden building on it, used to represent an interior space
What was the ekkulema?
A wooden platform on wheels, which could be trundled from the centeral doors of the skene.
What was the mechane?
A pulley device that allowed for the appearance and disappearance of actors in the air above the skene.
All the actors were ___ and wore ______
men, masks
Initially, the chorus was composed of how many people?
12
Why is the messenger speech one of the most important conventions of Athenian Drama?
They allow the audience to visualize events the dramatist cannot or will not bring on stage
