Polytheistic Religion = Belief in many gods and goddesses who ruled the natural elements ( sky, sun, moon, love, war, etc.)
DIONYSUS = the Greek god of fertility, wine, and agriculture, who was the god worshipped at the Greek Theatre.
Dithyramb = a choric rite sung in an open circle, singing praises or laments to the god Dionysus. The dithyrambs occurred every spring at the Vernal Equinox (now March 21). This was a drunken ceremony, where wine was drunk (sacrificed) and animals, including bulls, were sacrificed. The lamentful songs developed into tragedy theatre, the drunken, phallic songs developed into comedy theatre.
THESPIS = the hypokrite ("answerer" in Greek) who was the first actor . . . he pretended to be what he was not . . . and stood out away from the choric circle and answered - the first dialog.
THEATRON = "seeing place" in Greek. It developed from the dithyramb into permanent seating built into a hillside with the dramatic events occurring on the stage (open area) below (audience looked down).
ORCHESTRA = means "dancing place" in Greek, where the chorus danced, sang, and the musicians (a lute, a flute, and a drum) played.
SKENE = the wooden changing rooms on either side of the backstage where the actors (generally 3 per drama) changed their chitons, masks, and wigs . . .
CHITON = Greek tunic. Very Colorful.
MASKS = of carved wood or linen, always painted, with large openings for eyes and mouth ( amplified sound)
ONKOI = elaborate wigs
DEMOCRACY = rule by the people. The system of government.
TETRALOGY = four plays performed in sequence. Three are serious plays, dramas, about one character or one subject matter. One (the final play) is a phallic play also called a satyr play.
SATYR PLAY = a grotesque travesty containing phallic elements or references to scatological events, where the actors dress in goatskins to appear as satyrs (half-man, half-goat, with unquenchable appetites).
THE GRAND FESTIVAL OF DIONYSUS:
500-100 B.C.E., Athens, Greece . . .
Occurred every spring at the Vernal Equinox. A week-long festival where 3 tetralogies (by 3 playwrights) were performed and presented to a crowd of 17,000 Greek citizens. A Producer was chosen to provide for food, wine, and amenities for the actors. All businesses stopped while everyone attended.
Day 1 . . . the 3 playwrights, their themes and casts are introduced.
Day 2 . . . Processions, sacrifices of animals, and 10 dithyrambs are performed. Wine pours freely.
Day 3 . . . 5 comedies, satyr plays, from previous years, are presented.
Day 4 . . . the first tetralogy by the first playwright is presented.
Day 5 . . . the second tetralogy by the second playwright is presented.
Day 6 . . . the third tetralogy by the third playwright is presented.
Day 7 . . . the judging is done and the awards are given.
The winning playwright lives free off the government for one year.
Notes pp. 65-83 Chapter 3, Greek Theatre (cont.)
THE CLASSICAL AGE OF GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS
AESCHYLUS (525-456 B.C.E.) wrote "Prometheus Bound", and "Oresteia".
SOPHOCLES (496-406 B.C.E.) wrote "Antigone", and "Oedupus Tyrannous".
EURIPEDES (488-406 B.C.E.) wrote "Medea", and "The Trojan Woman".
ARISTOPHANES (450-380 B.C.E.) wrote "The Frogs", and "Lysistrata".
"PROMETHEUS BOUND" - by Aeschylus, written in 456 B.C.E. . . called the oldest surviving tragedy . . . about the gods . . . Zues, the father of the gods and also the god of sky/heaven . . . and Prometheus, the Titan giant who gave fire (knowledge) to mankind against Zues’ wishes.
STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS :
Plot: Two gods Olympian Zues and Titan Prometheus argue because Prometheus had stolen fire (knowledge) from Hephaestus (the blacksmith of the gods) and given it to mankind. Zues condemns Prometheus to be bound to rocks for an eternity of punishment. Many gods and goddesses try to persuade Prometheus to change his mind, but he remains steadfast to his will (and to his punishment).
Characters: Might, Hephaestus, Prometheus, Oceanus, Hermes, violence, Io, and Chorus . . .
Theme : Show freedom of thought. Do what you believe is right. Show defiance in the face of force. But, with Freedom comes responsibility.
Diction : Only Prometheus speaks in verse (poetry, language of the gods)
Music : a lute, a flute, and a drum . . . with songs sung by a chorus.
Spectacle: Prometheus chained to rocks, center stage . . . dancers.
Convention: ONLY Prometheus speaks in verse. The Three main actors wear masks for each new character.
STRUCTURAL ORDER :
Gathering of the Audience: Greece, spring, 465 B.C.E., the Grand Festival of Dionysus.
Transition : Chorus, Might and Hephaestus speak to the audience.
Exposition: Prometheus speaks.
Conflicts: Zues/gods VS. Prometheus.
Climax : Hermes arrives to free Prometheus, but Prometheus refuses and says, "Man will have Knowledge".
Denouement: Prometheus says no one, neither god nor mortals, can persuade him to change his mind.
Curtain Call : Actors (3) bow.
Critique: Everyone gives their opinion, judging is done.
Notes pp. 83-93 (Chapt. 3 continued)
"OEDIPUS TYRANNOUS" - written by Sophocles in 425 B.C.E. (also called “Oedipus Rex" . . . which means"“Oedipus the King" in Latin)
-called the greatest tragedy ever written, and is based on
-the Oedipus Myth . . . (oedi + pus = swollen foot)
- the Oedipus Complex . . . from Sigmund Freud’s 1880’s theory of psychoanalysis.
Terms:
EXPOSITION = knowledge of the past.
PROPHECY = knowledge of the future (Oracle at Delphi)
PROTAGONIST = the character who moves the action forward.
ANTAGONIST = the character who impedes the action.
DRAMATIC IRONY = the audience knows the situation better than the characters on stage.
CATHARSIS = purging of emotions (laughing/crying).
TRAGIC FLAW = the main character in every tragedy has one trait that is his doom (example: pride, greed, lust, etc.)
This play is about a man, not the gods! The Greeks now doubted the existence of the gods and goddesses.
Plot: Oedipus, King of Thebes, tries to find out who killed Laius, the former king, and he pursues many people until he finds out the truth. When he finds out it is he, himself, who has done the deed, he plucks his own eyes out to show his blindness to the truth.
Characters: Oedipus Tyrannous, Jocasta (his wife), Teirsias (a blind soothsayer), a messenger, a shepherd, . . . others.
Theme: KNOW THYSELF! One always searches for self-knowledge, however, the truth can be devastating. Self-introspection is purging and eventually will free one from repeating past mistakes. Old English adage: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make ye free."
The Greeks are now asking: What is fate? . . . What is destiny? . . . Do the gods control our lives?
Humans today ask: Where did I come from? Who am I? Where am I going?
"THE TROJAN WOMEN" - written by Euripedes in 415 B.C.E. Called the most powerful anti-war play ever written.
History: After the Trojan War (1200 B.C.E.) where the Athenians had defeated the Trojans, the Trojan women lament their fate. The war had lasted ten years. It was fought because Paris had stolen Helen of Troy from her husband, Menelaus, the King of Athens, and taken her back to Troy.
This play is about women! Not men, or gods.
Plot: Hecuba, Queen of Troy, and the Trojan women lament the agony of their city’s defeat and the effect of the loss on their lives. All the males will now be killed by the Athenians (the victors)and all the Trojan women will be taken as slaves and concubines (courtesans) for the Athenians. Talthybius, an Athenian who must kill Astynax (Andromache and Hector’s son) is ashamed of his duty to kill all the surviving males. As the broken body of Astynax is brought out on Hector’s shield, the Trojan women are led off to slavery as their city is set on fire. Menelaus is ignorant of the fact that Helen controls him and wanted to escape with Paris. Marital infidelity caused the war.
Characters: Hecuba, Athene, Poseidon, Cassandra (Hecuba’s daughter who must now marry Agamemnon), Talthybius, Andromache, Menelaus.
Theme : The gods are liars! War is evil. War accomplishes nothing. Heroes are egotists. It is women who suffer for men’s vanity in war.
"THE FROGS" - written by Aristophanes in 405 B.C.E. - a comedy that asks "How can Athens be saved?" . . . by past playwrights’ ideas of course.
-past playwrights discuss Athens’ future.
-he also wrote "Lysistrata", another anti-war play where women withhold sex from men who wage war.
In 100 B.C.E. the Romans conquer Greece and destroy most of the Greek culture, including most of the plays.
ROMAN THEATRE - 100 B.C.E.- 476 C.E.
Terms:
Naumachia = A Roman arena that could be flooded for aquatic ship battles to occur before a seated audience.
Auditorium = a "hearing place"
Republic = rule by a consul of men (the Senate)
The Romans stole much from the Greeks. They changed the names of the Greek gods and goddesses to Roman names . . . Dionysus becomes Bacchus, Athena becomes Minerva, Zues becomes Jupiter, etc. The goal of the Romans was world domination.
Roman Playwrights:
Titus Maccius Plautus wrote raucous comedy (farce).
Publius Terentius Afer (Terence) wrote comedy.
Lucius Seneca wrote tragedy.
In 476 C.E. the Roman Civilization fell to barbarian hordes (Goths, Visigoths, Huns, Teutons, Saxons, etc.) and the Dark Ages began (400-1200 C.E.). During the Dark Ages there are no plays, no playwrights, no theatre . . .
The Romans left:
1. the Latin language . . . A,B,C,D . . .
2. an elaborate road system
3. an elaborate aquaduct (water) system
and by 1200 the Middle Ages begin . . .
End of Chapter 3