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Beginning of Greek Drama

▪ Greek drama began in ancient Athens as a form of religious worship to the Greek god Dionysus.

▪ The festival of Dionysus took place in the spring and took five days.

▪ Audiences would vote for their favorite plays by casting stone ballots.

Greek Theatre Components

▪ Theatron – The “watching place”

▪ Orchestra – literally the “dancing place.”

▪ Skene- “scene” or backdrop

• Based on the theater shown in the picture, list the various challenges faced by those who performed in Greek amphitheaters:

▪ Based on your knowledge of Greek society, who was allowed to participate in theater events? Who was not allowed?

The Greek Actors

▪ Most plays typically include three actors, all men performing various roles.

▪ To compensate for the vast layout of the amphitheaters, Greek actors wore masks and acted with elaborate gestures.

The Greek Chorus

▪ The chorus consisted of 12 to 15 men.

▪ The actions of the chorus include singing, dancing, and narrating.

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Structure of Greek Plays

The structure of Greek plays includes the following components:

1. Prologue - an introduction spoken by a single member of the chorus or one of the main characters. Gives background to plot and describes hero.

2. Dialogue - the exchanges between characters that are central to most scenes. These lines work to advance the plot.

3. Choral Odes - the segments in between major scenes in which the chorus sings, chant, and dances. In these segments, the chorus offers commentary on the action of the play.

Odes are divided into two parts: Strophe and Antistrophe.

Greek Drama

Greek drama is classified according to three different genres: comedy, drama, and satyr plays. Greek dramas often end in tragedy.

Elements of Tragedy

Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322BC) defined the essential elements of a tragedy:

1. Tragic Hero – a dignified main character, often a member of royalty, who strives to achieve something and is ultimately defeated.

2. Hamartia (tragic flaw) – Often, the hero’s demise is a result of a character flaw or weakness that the hero does not realize.

3. Hubris – a hero’s extremely exaggerated pride or self-confidence, the most common type of hamartia (tragic flaw).

4. Catharsis – refers to the “purging of emotion” that an audience can experience after watching a tragedy. Aristotle believed that a good tragic ending should encourage an emotional release for the audience.

Aristotle’s Theory of Unities

Aristotle also believed that a perfect tragedy must be unified in three specific ways:

▪ Unity of Time – requires that the play’s action take place in twenty-four hours or less.

▪ Unity of Place – Requires the play’s action take place in a single locale.

▪ Unity of Action – Requires that the play revolve around one central plot line. The plot is based on a chain of cause-effect events that lead up to a climax and descend to a resolution. (The basis for the plot diagram.)

Introduction to Oedipus Rex

Based on his theories, Aristotle regarded Oedipus Rex to be the perfect Greek tragedy.

Oedipus Rex was written by Sophocles around 429 BC in ancient Greece (100 years before Aristotle and his theories).

The original title of the play was Oedipus Tyrannus - which refers to a king who did not inherit the throne by birth. Rex means “king” in ancient Greek.

The main character, Oedipus, leaves home to escape his fate and discover the truth about his life.

The play is set in Athens during the time of a great plague. Similarly, when the play was first performed at the Dionysian

Festival Athens had just suffered a plague.

Oedipus Rex is first in a series of plays about the same family.

It is followed by Antigone a sequel about Oedipus’s daughter.

* Review page ____ in your literature book for more background on the play!

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