Greek Theater

Question 1

Kômos

Answer 1

Comedy

Question 2

Tragoidia

Answer 2

Tragedy

Question 3

Who first wrote about the history of drama and when?

Answer 3

Aristotle, 4th Century BC (335 BC)

Question 4

Festivals where drama originated?

Answer 4

Dionysian festivals (celebrated in archaic Greece since 2500 BC)

Question 5

Hypokrites

Answer 5

The first actor - “interpreter”

Question 6

Chorus

Answer 6

Group of performers engaging in dialogue with the actor

Question 7

In what year did tyranny end in Athens?

Answer 7

508-507

Question 8

Two major wars that threatened Athenian democracy and left a trace on the culture/inspired theater?

Answer 8

The Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars

Question 9

Location/time for plays in Athens?

Answer 9

Theater of Dionysus in spring (late March/early April), near the other establishments of democratic life (Acropolis, Agora, Areopagus, Temple of Zeus/Temple of Hephaestus)

Question 10

Polis

Answer 10

The city, the public, the State

Question 11

Oikos

Answer 11

The domestic, the private, the family

Question 12

Didaskalos

Answer 12

Dramatist/teacher - writer of the plays

Question 13

What did the dramatists have to present to the magistrate?

Answer 13

Three tragedies (trilogy) and one farcical satyr play. In total, a tetralogy

Question 14

Orchestra

Answer 14

Where the acting/singing/dancing was performed

Question 15

Parodos (place)

Answer 15

Where the chorus entered the stage (2 corridors)

Question 16

Skene

Answer 16

Backstage - where change of mask/attire happened. Represented symbolically the House or Royal Palace in the play

Question 17

Theatron

Answer 17

Where the audience sat

Question 18

Peripeteia

Answer 18

Reversal/shift in fortune from high to low

Question 19

Anagnorosis

Answer 19

Recognition (ignorance to knowledge)

Question 20

Hamartia

Answer 20

Error of judgement (not character flaw)

Question 20

Pathos

Answer 20

Suffering

Question 21

Characters

Answer 21

Not ordinary or saintly; must be consistent and with a moral purpose

Question 22

Prologue

Answer 22

Spoken by 1 or 2 characters before chorus appears

Question 23

Parados (play part)

Answer 23

Song sung by chorus as they first enter and dance

Question 24

Episodes

Answer 24

Action of the play

Question 25

Stasimon

Answer 25

Choral ode sung by chorus at end of each episode

Question 26

Exodus

Answer 26

Exit of chorus and processional song

Question 27

Who introduced the second actor, and what were some elements of his plays?

Answer 27

Aeschylus. Anxieties about rule of tyrants (he was democratic), element of ritualization, theme of justice

Question 28

Who introduced the third actor, and what were some elements of his plays?

Answer 28

Sophocles. Reduces importance of the chorus, focuses on clash between individual’s desire and subjectivity and the demands/moral values of society

Question 29

Whose plays focused on women, and what were some elements of his plays?

Answer 29

Euripides. Subjects often seen as undignified for tragedy genre, introduces realistic elements in his plays

Question 30

Only surviving trilogy?

Answer 30

Oresteia

Question 31

How many tragedies remain from the 1000 performed in 5th century Athens?

Answer 31

33!

Question 32

Mythos

Answer 32

The story

Question 33

Catharsis

Answer 33

Cleansing (but not in the context of negative emotions! For the Greeks, emotions are never negative)

Question 34

Sophists

Answer 34

Provided the training for eloquence and public speaking

Question 35

Mimesis

Answer 35

Representation

Question 36

What kinds of debates were being held in 5th century Athens?

Answer 36

Debates about traditional values. Do we trust seers? Prophecies real? Gods hold authority on human life?

Question 37

In what century did Greek theater flourish?

Answer 37

5th century BC