Greek Theatre Flashcards
Who is the god of theatre?
Dionysus (also god of wine)
What is the Great Dionysia?
- the celebration of Dionysus
- yearly competition for tragedy playwrights
When did the Great Dionysia occur?
In the month of March
How is a winner chosen in the Great Dionysia?
- one judge from each of the 10 tribes in Athens was chosen to decide the winners
- the winner was crowned with a wreath of ivy
What is the definition of tragedy in Greek theatre?
A drama of a character, usually one in high position, where a conflict usually develops between the protagonist and a “superior force (such as destiny, circumstance, or society)” and the story ends in some sort of disaster or great fall of the protagonist
What is hamartia?
A tragic flaw or error that in ancient Greek tragedies leads to the hero’s reversal of fortune
What is hubris?
Excessive pride or arrogance. Often leads to the downfall of the major character in Greek tragedy.
What is the structure of a Greek tragedy?
1) Prologue:First act
2) Parados: entrance of chorus
3) Episodes: acts
4) Stasima: choral odes
5) Exedus: action after last stasimon
About how many people did the chorus contain?
12-15 people
What did the chorus always wear? Why?
The chorus men wore masks and costumes on to disguise themselves.
What did the chorus represent? What did they provide?
The chorus is a representation of society; they often served as the “ideal spectator” by providing advice, opinions, and questions to the audience and actors.
From what did the masks come from?
The cult rituals of Dionysus
What were the masks for?
- to amplify voices
- enabled an actor to play multiple roles(men played women, etc.)
Because of the masks, how many actors needed to be hired?
only 2-3
What is the theatron?
Where the audience sat. It looked down on the action of the play.
