Greek Theatre Flashcards
Sophocles lifespan
490s-406BC
Euripides lifespan
480s - 406BC
Aeschylus lifespan
520s - 456BC
Who introduced a second actor to tragedy?
Aeschylus
Who introduced a 3rd actor to tragedy?
Sophocles
Who introduced the use of deus ex machina, more emotions and realism to tragedy?
Euripides
Which tragedian leaves their events unexplained - therefore reflecting the human condition?
Sophocles
Messenger Speech
Since violence was not shown on stage, instead a messenger would describe violent events which had happened offstage
What is peripeteia?
a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances
What is agnorisis?
recognition or discovery on the part of the hero; change from ignorance to knowledge
What marks the peripeteia in Oedipus the King?
Jocasta’s exit during episode 4
What are the two main conflicts in Oedipus the King?
Oedipus vs. himself
Oedipus vs. fate
What does Sophocles’ exclusion of the gods do for Oedipus the King?
- makes the gods more mysterious
- focus on the human tragedy and horror - makes a more lasting impact without a god at the end of the play
- creates an unbridgeable gap between mortal and immortal - men are unable to understand the gods and this is key
When was the Bacchae first performed?
405BC
When was Frogs first performed?
405BC, for the Lenaea
When was Oedipus the King first performed?
it is undated but probably around 430/429BC due to the plague at Athens at that time (mimicking the plague in Thebes)
When was Aristophanes born?
447BC
When was the Lenaea held and where?
What genre was more important at the Lenaea?
Late January in Athens
Comedy was more important
When was the rural dionysia held?
Where was the rural dionysia celebrated
What was performed at the rural dionysia?
Mid-Winter
In the demes
Revivals of plays from the 2 main city festivals would be shown
When was the city dionysia held?
Late March
Who chose the playwrights for the City Dionysia in the summer before the event?
And selected a Choregos for each?
The Eponymous archon
How many tragedians and comics were chosen for the city Dionysia?
3 tragedians (to write a trilogy + satyr play each)
5 comics
What kicked off the city Dionysia - a few days before the official first day of the festival?
The proagon
Length of the City Dionysia festival?
5 days (possibly shortened to 4 during the Peloponnesian war)
What events took place on day 1 of the City Dionysia?
pompe - religious procession
dithyrambic contests - each tribe entered an adult and child chorus
komos - organised revel
When were comedies performed at the City Dionysia?
On the second day in the afternoon after the opening ceremony
What did the opening ceremony of the City Dionysia entail?
sacrifices,
pouring of libations,
parade of tribute, (on its way to the treasury)
proclamation of honours
and parade of orphans
What happened on the 3rd, 4th and 5th days of the City Dionysia?
Each tragedian would show their trilogy of plays followed by a satyr play.
How many judges were chosen by lot for the City Dionysia?
10
How many judges’ tablets were used to make the final decision of winners at the city Dionysia?
5
What was the role of a choregos? (3)
- selecting chorus members
- providing a rehearsal space, food and sometimes accommodation for the chorus
- provide a professional trainer if the playwright wasn’t qualified
What civic duty was the choregos performing?
A liturgy. Funding the navy was another option
About how much did it cost a choregos to fund a tragedy in 410BC?
3000 talents
What took place a few days after the city Dionysia?
The Assembly would review the festival and either reward or fine the eponymous archon
How much per day did it cost to enter the city Dionysia?
2 obols
What system allowed the poor to attend the City Dionysia established in the late 5th century?
The Theoric fund
How many seats were reserved at the front for councillors, foreign and allied dignitaries, generals, important magistrates and the priest of Dionysus?
500
What was the front row of seats at the theatre called?
the prohedria
What would be a modern comparison to an ancient comic audience?
pantomime
What were the name of the theatre police?
‘Rod-bearers’
At the time of the prescribed plays, what were theatres made of?
wood (therefore we have no solid evidence of the theatrical layout at this time)
What was the capacity of the theatre of Dionysus?
17,000
When was the theatre of Dionysus in use from?
the 2nd half of the 6th century BC
When was the theatre of Dionysus first built in stone?
320s BC
What street leads from the theatre of Dionysus to the Agora?
the Street of Tripods - used to display prizes and evidence of the prestige of drama in Athenian life
Theatron
‘watching area’
- semi-circular
- made up of 13 wedges - probably 10 for tribes 3 for visitors/ slaves/ women etc.
- front row reserved (prohedria) with central seat given to the priest of Dionysus
Orchestra
‘dancing area’
- 20m diameter
- used for the chorus
- parados (eisodos) corridors lead off from the orchestra
- many scholars believe it was rectangular
Skéné
- wooden hut
- used as a backdrop (portable panels probably)
- used for actors to change
- roof often held gods
Where is the theatre of Thorikos?
In Thorikos a coastal deme of Attica
Capacity of the theatre of Thorikos?
3000
When was the theatre of Thorikos used from?
late 6th/ early 5th century BC
3 points about the theatre of Thorikos?
- different layout to theatre of Dionysus
- no permanent building/ skene remains
- temple and altar at opposite ends of the performance area - reminding of religious nature of the theatre
Ekkyklema
literally ‘something wheeled out’ this was a wooden wheeled platform often used to show a dead body or something happening indoors
Mechané
literally ‘machine’ this was a crane/hoist used to hoist an actor into the air above the skene
- used for deus ex machina (‘a god from the machine’)
- located behind the skene
- direct reference to the crane made in Aristophanes ‘peace’
- first used in 431BC in Euripides’ Medea
– shown on Medea mixing bowl
When is the earliest surviving text of tragedy from?
472BC - Aeschylus’ Persians
When do the ancient sources say the birth of drama in Athens took place?
the second half of the 6th century BC
When was the city Dionysia introduced? (by who)
Under the Pisistratid tyranny
What is a dithyramb?
a choral dance central to Dionysian worship
Who did the ancient Greeks believe to be the first actor
Thespis (in the 2nd half of the 6th century he was thought to have removed himself from the chorus of a dithyramb to play different characters and have dialogue)
(bear in mind the Greeks liked to have a singular ‘inventor’ for everything)
When were satyr plays introduced to the city Dionysia?
501BC
What is a satyr play?
What is the suspected purpose?
How many survive?
a satyr play was a sort of parodied tragedy
- thought to have been relief for the audience after sitting through 3 tragedies
- satyr plays were more closely related to Dionysus than most tragedies
- only one survives
Which of the 3 great tragedians utilised the chorus the most?
Aeschylus
(min. 30% of lines compared to 15% in Euripides)
How many surviving plays does Sophocles have?
7
How many surviving plays does Euripides have?
18
Number of actors and chorus members in tragedy?
3 actors
15 chorus members
What was one skill requirement for an actor in tragedy?
Should be a good singer - in order to perform monody (solo) and kommos (between actor and chorus) songs
How many roles would an actor sometimes need to take in a play?
4 or 5
3 actors needed to play 8-10 parts between them
What are some roles of the chorus in tragedy?
To act,
set the scene,
commentate,
give context,
set a background mood
and to provide a scene break
Including the dithyrambic contests how many men would compete in a chorus during the city Dionysia festival?
Around 1000
What source helps demonstrate the costume and dance of a tragic chorus c.500-490BC?
The Basel Dancers Vase
What was the job of a chorus leader?
To speak individual lines of dialogue with actors
Who accompanied the Chorus of tragedy?
an auletes (aulos player)
What were 3 purposes of the use of masks in tragedy?
- to distinguish characters
- to allow actors to play multiple roles or for multiple actors to play one role
- mouth holes possibly helped amplify sound
An example of a mask adding to the action in a tragedy?
- Oedipus returns on stage with a mask with bloody eye holes
- Agave holds Pentheus’ mask to represent his head
What source shows that masks weren’t heavily stylised around c.410BC
the Promonos Vase
3 main Greek clothing items used in tragic costumes?
Chiton - full length robe
Himation - knee length cloak
Kothornoi - laced leather boots
What differentiated tragic costumes with real clothing?
Costumes were more closely fitted with tight sleeves
Costumes were more ornate and colourful and would reflect the grand or heroic characters
Tragic costume conventions included:?
- mourners wore black
- barbarians wore trousers
- paupers wore plain clothes
What limited the use of lots of props in tragedy?
the distance of the audience from the stage. Larger props were still used though
What were 4 common relationships examined by tragedy?
- between sexes
- between family
- between gods + mortals
- between the individual and the polis
What are 2 common themes of tragedy?
- the nature of suffering
- the nature of heroism
Why was tragedy set in myth?
It was an easier way to project a contemporary concern into the play without causing anxiety. In 493 Phrynicus had introduced a play based on the Persian sacking of Miletus which apparently upset the audience greatly
What was the relationship between cultural context and tragedy?
Playwrights might present modern issues or concerns.
eg. Oedipus the King performed in time of plague at Athens
eg. Aeschylus’ Euminides looks at the origins of the Athenian legal system
When does Aristotle’s Poetics date to?
c. 330 BC (meaning Aristotle was writing about what happened 2 centuries previously - diminishing accuracy)
Meaning of harmatia
mistake
What sort of person does Aristotle say a tragic hero should be?
‘not outstanding in either virtue or just behaviour, who falls into bad fortune through not vice or wickedness, but through some mistake (harmatia)’
What is catharsis?
raising the emotions of fear and pity then ‘cleansing’ them
What are Aristotle’s ideas for what makes a tragedy? (4)
- serious and complete set of events
- embellished language
- story told through performance not narration
- story represented through ‘fear and pity’ then ‘achieving the catharsis of such emotions’
Aristotle’s 3 key plot features for a tragedy?
- suffering
- recognition
- reversal
Point of peripetia in Oedipus the King?
When Oedipus hears of the death of Polybus thinking it means the prophecy wasn’t fulfilled - then the knowledge that he was adopted reverses this good news
Origins of comedy?
Comes from the komos - a sort of revel involving dancing, drinking and singing in Dionysus’ honour (komoidia means ‘song of the komos’ and is where the word comedy comes from)
Key symbol of the komos mirrored in comedy costumes?
phallus - representing fertility
First recorded entry of a comedy at the city dionysia?
486BC
Aristophanes lifespan?
c.450 - 386BC
2 other comic playwrights?
Cratinus and Eupolis
How many plays of Aristophanes survive?
11
How many actors and chorus members in a comedy?
Likely 4 actors
24 chorus members (sometimes split into 2 groups)
Costume in a comedy?
- Short tunic
- padding to make actor look fatter and rounder
- leather phallus (possibly attached w string to tunic)
- tights
- colourful/ ridiculous/ animal costumes for chorus
Masks in a comedy?
- exaggerated features (mouths)
- if satire, would look like the person eg. Cleon or Socrates
What two sources show costumes etc. for comedy?
Krater Choregos (comic angels) vase
Black-figure Chous showing bird chorus
Types of humour + comic techniques?
- loose plot
- vulgar language
- conflict
- some historians place importance on a ‘riotous final scene’
What did Storey and Allan say about the plots of Old Comedy?
plots relied ‘on the working out of a great idea’
Common themes of comedy?
- set in daily life of polis
- satirises current events
- parody of poets eg Homer and tragedians
- depicting gods as cowardly or ridiculous
Examples of cultural context of Aristophanes plays? (5 plays)
Knights - Cleon
Acharnians - private peace w Sparta
Lysistrata - women go on sex strike
Wasps - mocks jurors / jury service
Clouds - mocks sophists and Socrates
How does Cartledge describe Aristophanic comedy?
‘inimitable cocktail’
Base plot structure?
- prologue
- parados
- alternating episodes and choral odes
- exodos
Two reasons for Messenger speech?
- religious reasons, often the messenger will give a moral too
- special effects were bad easier to just say it
When are messenger speeches used in Bacchae and Oedipus the King (3 total)?
- Bacchae describing the bacchants
- Bacchae recounting Pentheus’ death
- Oedipus describing Jocasta’s death and Oedipus’ blinding
What is the Agon?
A formal debate
- one side outlines their view then the speakers alternate lines (stychomythia)
Examples of Agones in prescribed tragedies?
- Oedipus vs. Teiresias
- Oedipus vs. Cleon
- Pentheus vs. Teiresias
Differences with Agones in comedy - and example from Frogs
Agones in comedy might drive the action - eg. in Frogs the debate between Aeschylus and Euripides takes up most of the play.
Aristophanes used the agon to caricature the styles of the different playwrights
Parabasis meaning?
Means ‘stepping aside’ the parabasis was used in comedy for the chorus to speak to the audience usually about current affairs
Parabasis in Frogs?
2 sung sections alternated with speeches
- contains specific political advice
Language and literary techniques in tragedy?
- imagery
- grand and poetic
- stylised
- mix of iambus (iambic trimeter) and lyric
- dramatic irony
What did playwrights use dramatic irony for?
To make the audience pity the characters and create tension in the play
Examples of dramatic irony in Oedipus the King? (2)
- Oedipus’ quest for the truth (audience know end result)
- Oedipus’ affection for Jocasta is disgusting to audience but not to them
Examples of dramatic irony in Bacchae (3)
- audience knows Dionysus’ identity
- awareness of Agave’s murder before she is
- audience knows Dionysus only submits to Pentheus’ punishment as a trick (Pentheus thinks he has bested him)
Difference in language and literary techniques in comedy? (4)
- more everyday language, still written in poetic metre though
- obscene language
- playing with sounds (frog chorus)
- choral sections use high-flown language to create contrast
Characterisation in tragedy? (4)
- use of stock figures
- concept of ‘character’ doesn’t really exist since characters were embodying specific character-types
- Aristotle says ethos is second most important to plot in a tragedy
- little use of pyscho-analysis in original context or understanding of the reasoning of a character’s behaviour (modern invention)
Characterisation in comedy? (2)
- characters existed to either solidify or overturn stereotypes - eg slave stereotypes and Xanthias, god stereotypes and Dionysus
- characters are less consistent than in tragedy - they might do something just to be funny with no other context or explanation
Key points about choral odes?
- pre-dated the theatre
- tailored to the play
- used to shape understanding of wider context
Similarity between the choruses of Oedipus the King and Bacchae?
both have strong views of the action on stage (loyal to Oedipus, hostile to Pentheus)
Role of gods in tragedy?
- personally motivated and concerned for their own honour (failure to honour gods is often hero’s downfall)
- disproportionately violent
What is double determination?
the concept that every action can simultaneously have 2 explanations
- one on human level
- one on divine level
Fate and free will in Oedipus the King? (3)
- Oedipus tries to stop oracle coming true but fails
- Oedipus tends to lose his temper, and his intelligence causes him to become King of Thebes (personal responsibilities)
- divine influence doesn’t lessen humans own responsibility
What does the character of Tiresias explore?
The trustworthiness of prophets - in both plays he is accused of being bribed or profiting from his work.
This represented a societal fear of the abuse of power of religious authorities
- this is also shown when Jocasta questions the oracles since they didn’t come from the gods themselves and the general Greek belief was that humans could misinterpret the messages of the gods
Oracles in Oedipus the King
1st Oracle - given to his parents out of the blue
2nd Oracle - given to Oedipus instead of the response to the question he asked
– unclear if these oracles are warnings or predictions
Maenad ritual?
- Maenad means ‘frenzied one’ and is another name for bacchants
What was most important in Greek religion? How does this relate to Bacchae?
Action above belief
Pentheus doesn’t just dishonour Dionysus but he tries to actually prevent his worship
Concept of pollution in Greek religion and Oedipus the King?
- the idea was that certain actions would pollute you and need cleansing
- Oedipus’ pollution affects the whole of Thebes not just himself
What threat do the Maenad’s represent to the polis? (4)
- go against norms for women eg. hair worn loose
- leave their children at home and steal children
- destroy livestock and harm community
- represent either the dangers of repressing women too much or not enough
Importance of the polis to the Greeks?
‘man is a political animal’ (Aristotle)
- what separates man from animal was the ability to live in a community
Men and Women in tragedy? (4)
- most happy marriage is Oedipus and Jocasta which obviously ends terribly and makes Oedipus’ fall from grace more painful
- In Odyssey Odysseus says there is nothing better than likeminded people keeping a house as husband and wife
- all but 1 of 32 surviving tragedies have female characters
- exploring tensions w oppressed women in society is used in Bacchae
