Myths played a key role in Greek drama

The Myths – Why they were written 1.  Explained the unexplainable 2.  Justified religious practices 3.  Gave credibility to leaders 4.  Gave hope 5.  Polytheistic (more than one god) 6.  Centered around the twelve

Olympians (primary Greek gods)

Explained the Unexplainable !   When Echo tried to get

Narcissus to love her, she was denied.

!   Saddened, she shriveled to nothing, her existence melting into a rock.

!   Only her voice remained. !   Hence, the echo!

To justify religious practices

!  Dionysian cults in ancient Greece were founded to worship Dionysus, god of grapes, vegetation, and wine.

Roots in Worship of Dionysus

God of wine and revelry

Theater of Dionysus

!  Dionysia was an annual festival in honor of the god Dionysus

!  Theater of Dionysus was an open-air Theater with room for fifteen thousand spectators

Theater of Dionysus

!  carved out of a stone hillside !   looked like a semicircle with

steeply rising tiers of seats

Theater of Dionysus

Theater of Dionysus

!  At the bottom was the rounded orchestra or performance area where the chorus sang and danced

Dionysus Theater in Athens

Theater of Dionysus

!  Behind the orchestra was an open, almost bare, stage where actors spoke their lines from behind huge masks

Dionysus Theater in Athens

Theater of Dionysus

!  Male actors performed all the roles

!  Actors switched masks to play a number of roles – both female and male

Dionysus and Satyrs

To give hope

!   The ancient citizens of Greece would sacrifice and pray to an ORACLE.

!   An oracle was a priest or priestess who would send a message to the gods from mortals who brought their requests.

Where DID hope come from?

After unleashing suffering, famine, disease, and many other evils, the last thing Pandora let

out was HOPE.

Oracle of Delphi

Oracle of Delphi

Delphi

Delphi

Mount Olympus… …Where the

Olympians

lived.

Who are the Olympians?

The Olympians Are the 12 Main Gods