Classic Greek Theater

Ricardo CastilloShannon Buckley Sarah RubenfeldJarret Brown

Ancient Greek Theater

Outside Theater: theaters are made out of stone; front row is called the Proedria, which is where the Priest sits; greek tribes would sit together.

Indoor Theater: used for musical and tragedy performances

Parts of Greek Theater

Skene: directly behind the stage; the background that can be decorated as a palace, temple, or other buildings.

Orchestra: circular area; where the chorus danced and sang on; where the thymeli is located; and a place where the chorus leader stands.

Parts of Greek Theater

Koilon: the auditorium; a semi-circle built around the orchestra; was divided into upper and lower parts, which is called a diazoma.

Major Themes In Greek Theater

Two major themes in theater Tragedies and comedies

Worshipped the god Dionysus God of fertility, wine, agriculture and

sexuality Most Greek tragedies are based on

mythology or history and deal with characters' search for the meaning of life and the nature of the gods .

Major Themes In Greek Theater cont.

Comedy was developed from the same religious rituals as tragedy.

Most Greek tragedies were based on mythology.

They dealt with characters search for meaning of life and the nature of gods.

Comedies were more of a relief. They were filled with obscenity, abuse

and insult

Structure of an Ancient Greek play

Prologue: spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears; usually gives the mythological background necessary for understanding the events of the play.

Parodos: song and dance by the chorus as it first enters; characters are introduced, exposition is given, and mood is established.

Structure of an Ancient Greek play

First Episode: first of many episodes; spoken piece in which characters and chorus talk.

First Stasimon: follows each episode; characters leave the stage and chorus dances and sings a choral ode; reflects on things said or done in the episode; puts it into larger mythological context.

Structure of an Ancient Greek play

Rest of the play alternates between episodes and stasima, until the final scene:

Exodus: chorus exits singing a processional song; usually offers words of wisdom regarding the actions and outcome of the play.

Comprehension Quiz!

An Ancient Greek play is mainly composed of what two alternating parts?

What were the three parts of the Greek Theater?

Who was the major God in the Greek themes?

Bibliography

Phillips, K. "ACTORS IN ANCIENT GREEK THEATRE." 29 Mar. 2000. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/theatre/stage.html>.

Walter, Englert. "Greek Theater." Humanities 110. Reed College. Web. <http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/theater.html>.

Phillips, K. “Ancient Greek Stage.” Richeast. 2000. Web. Retrieved 29 March, 2000. from http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/theater/stage.html.