Ancient Reading: Greek Pt. 2 Flashcards
The writers of all surviving Greek tragedies were
Athenian
The dramatic festivals for which they composed, from 475-400 took place in the theater dedicated to Dionysos on the southern slope of the ________________
Acropolis
Greek drama included
tragedies, and satyr plays or comedies
Main players
Aeschylus (ca. 525-456) wrote 80 plays, 7 survive
Sophocles (ca. 496-406) wrote about 200 plays, 7 survive
Euripides (ca. 485-406) about 90 play, 19 survive
Aristophanes (ca. 450-385) about 40 comedies, 11 survive
Menander (ca. 342-290)
Two festivals of Dionysos City
Dionysia or Great Dionysia (March/April) and Lenaea (January)
officially responsible for the organization of the city Dionysia and is chosen annually by lot.
Archon
the wealthy private citizens, took up most of the expense of organization.
Choregoi or producers
was the official term for playwright.
Didaskalos ‘teacher’ or ‘trainer
The title originally refers to the function of training the chorus, dancers and singers, as well as theatrical direction, and the production of the script and music.
Didaskalos ‘teacher’ or ‘trainer
were significant elements of the worship of Dionysos at Athens before the advent of drama
masks and costumes
Aeschylus’ masterpiece is the ____________, the only preserved trilogy from Greek drama. The three plays are __________________________________________
Oresteia; Agamemnon, The Choephori, and The Eumenides.
was the first European dramatist whose plays were preserved
Aeschylus
He was also the earliest of the great Greek tragedians (writers of serious drama involving disastrous events), and was concerned with the common connection between man and the gods more than any of the other tragedians.
Aeschylus
father of Aeschylus
Euphorion
dealt with the big themes of love, loss, pride, the abuse of power and the fraught relationships between men and gods
Tragedy
who pays for the actors
the state
who pays for training and costume
choregois
the chorus ranged from
50 in the time of Thespis to 15 in the classical Greek drama
the chorus consisted of _____________ citizens
Athenian
suggests that it was the rhythmic dance and chants of the chorus, positioned always to mediate the physical space separating audience and actor, that evoked the visionary experience that was the very essence of tragedy.
Nietzsche
Nietzsche suggests that it was the ___________________ of the chorus, positioned always to mediate the ___________________ separating audience and actor, that evoked the _____________________ that was the very essence of ____________.
rhythmic dance and chants ; physical space ; visionary experience; tragedy
The _________________ were significant elements of the worship of Dionysos at Athens before the advent of drama
masks and costumes
Aeschylus’ themes sought to show how _______________________________________; they also revolve around _____________. Of his ninety plays only ____________ are still preserved
a nation could suffer due to its pride; justice; seven
In the drama, ________________ returns to his home after the Trojan War (490–480 B.C.E.; a war in which the Greeks fought against the Trojans and which ended with the destruction of Troy) only to be murdered by his scheming wife, ________________, and her lover. The king’s children seek revenge that ultimately leads to their trial by the gods. The theme of ________________ is powerfully written.
King Agamemnon; Clytemnestra; evil compounding evil
Aeschylus’s education included the writings of ___________
Homer
____________ is named as one of the three great playwrights of tragedy along with _________________________
Aeschylus; Sophocles, and Euripides
Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging us of our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that there can be nobility in suffering. He called this experience ‘______________’.
catharsis
In The Iliad, ________________ was the commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War.
Agamemnon
Agamemnon was the king of
Mycenae
whos it the brother of Agamemnon
Menelaus, King of Sparta
Agamemnon and his brother were married to the daughters of King Tyndareus of Sparta, _________________________
Clytemnestra and Helen.
the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus
Atreus
Atreus, the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, killed the children of his twin brother, _____________, in retaliation for his brother having an affair with his wife
Thyestes
Thyestes had also fathered a child, _____________, with his daughter.
Aegisthus
When King Tyndareus died, Menelaus became the king of Sparta and helped his brother Agamemnon to force Aegisthus and Thyestes out of power and take the throne of Mycenae. All seemed to be going well for the brothers until Menelaus’ wife Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, ran away with _________, a prince of Troy
Paris
