Greek theatre background

Costumes, Staging, City Dionysia, key people and vocab, Aristotle's tragedy

Eponymous Archon

Responsible for running the City Dionysia, a leading politician

City Dionysia

Held in late march

Lenea

Held in January - comedy more important. Only open to Athenians

Rural Dionysia

local festival celebrated in rural demes of Attica

Choregos

Financial backer, important input (director ish)

Proagon

Took place a few days before the City Dionysia, where the plays were announced

Eve of the City Dionysia

There was the torchlight procession: a statue of Dionysus was brought into the Theatre Dionysia, and sacrifices were made to it.

Day one of the City Dionysia

pompe took place (religious procession) and a choral dance (dithyramb) was held in honour of Dionysus. A Komos would take place later in the day - i.e. a ‘revel’ where there was singing and dancing in the streets.

Day 2 of the City Dionysia

Opening ceremony: piglet was sacrificed. Parade of the tribute. Proclamation of honour - those who had done outstanding service to the city. Parade of orphans (those whose fathers - boys and youths - had died in war/ fighting. The state paid for their education) All show civic nature.

5 comedies were shown

Day 3-4 of the City Dionysia

3 Tragedies and 1 Satyr play

Day 5 of the City Dionysia

3 Tragedies and 1 Satyr play

Judging took place - randomised to avoid bribery. Playwright with most votes won.

A few days after the City Dionysia

A review took place: complaints could be made about how it was run. If the complaint was upheld, the eponymous archon could be fined. If all went well, they were awarded a crown for their service to the city.

Orchestra

‘dancing area’ where the chorus performed

Skene

wooden hut used as a backdrop where the actors could change

Wheel Platform and crane

Crane was used to life actors (usually playing Gods) into the air. Wheel platform showed scenes that happened offstage.

Ekkyklema

Another term for ‘wheel platform’

Actors

When it came to speaking parts, only 3 actors were allowed, playing the lead roles between them. Sometimes, there were as many as 8 or 10 parts, meaning actors were sometimes playing 4 or 5 parts at any one time.

Chorus

15 people - often ordinary citiziens - were in the chorus (originally 12 in the early days of tragedy)

Auletes

Aulos players, who accompanied every chorus

Monody

‘mono’ - one. A song sung by a single actor, often performed at moments of great distress

kommos

a formal dialogue sung by the actor and the chorus

Aristotle’s key elements of tragedy, in order of importance

Plot - should be unified, with a clear beginning, middle and end. Also should contain peripeteia and anagnorisis

Character - ‘agents of action’

Thought - themes, arguments and meanings, each expressed through actions and words of actor

Diction - meaning and choice of words

Melody - musical element

Spectacle - mise-en-scene (visual element)

Chiton

worn by tragic actors, a full length robe, with a shorter cloak over the top

Himation

Worn by tragic actors, reached down to their knees, worn with the chiton

Costume for specific characters

Soldiers wore armour, mourners wore black, paupers wore robes etc.

Korthornoi

Think jazz shoes - soft leather, reached up to the thigh, allowing for free movement

Tragic masks

Painted using solemn expressions, made using wood, linen or cork, showed different characters. Different mask for Oedipus once his eyes had been gouged out. Had slightly exaggerated facial expressions.

Comical chorus

contained 24 members, as opposed to 15. Sometimes acknowledged the audience (parabasis) and were also sometimes divided into two sets of 12

Comic costumes

Short tunics, with a cloak that reached just below the waist and tights on underneath. The whole thing was very thickly padded. They also had wooden or leather phalluses. Much of this type of comedy contained physical comedy: they would roll around, and wiggle the phallus about with a piece of string.

Comic masks

Massively over-exaggerated, sometimes satirising political/ prominent figures. Mouths were ridiculously large.

Aristotle’s definition of tragedy

Tragedy is an imitation (mimesis) of real life actions, often of severe magnitude or seriousness, presented as drama.

Main focus is to instill feelings of pity and fear, only to purge them in the Catharsis.

Key features of Aristotle’s tragedy

Peripeteia - reversal of fortune

Anagnorisis - revealing of the truth/ a moment of recognition

Pathos - actions that evoke pity and fear, often ones that are painful, such as death, or include suffering (Oedipus gouging his eyes out)

Aristotle on the tragic hero

Should be of noble birth, yet flawed by a specific weakness which ultimately leads to their downfall (Pentheus’ pride in the Bacchae)

The audience should feel as if they can relate to them, feeling as if the misfortune could happen to themselves.