History Of Greek Drama

 

HISTORY OF GREEK DRAMA

Theater of Ancient Greek

How it started?

Ancient Greek drama was a dramatic culture that flourished in Ancient Greece. In 700 BC the city of Athens, which became an important cultural, political and military power during this period, was its center, where it was institutionalized as part of a festival called Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 500 BC), comedy (490 BC), and satire drama were the three dramatic genres to appear there. Athens exported the festival to many of its colonies and allies.

The history of ancient Greek theater covers a period of about a thousand years. Already nature was constitutional in nature and consisted of choral songs (dithyrambic) and dances, which became increasingly intertwined with action elements. In particular, the Dionysian cult was essential to the development of the hero. The theater of Greek antiquity reached its zenith in the 5th century with fragments from the Three Great Tragedies Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and pieces from the Old Comedy, most notably pieces by Cretinos and Aristophanes. While the cultural purpose increasingly took a back seat, the theater played an important role in the development of Attic democracy: it stood for self-assurance, representation and demonstration of the power of polis society. Ancient Greek theater was a theater of free citizens of both sexes: the attendance of performances was at the same time a democratic right and a religious moral duty. As the number of visitors dwindled, the Athenian kingdom took the lead in the 4th century BC. A replacement payment for loss of earnings during a performance visit.

After the demise of Attic democracy, the Roman state integrated forms of Greek theater into its feast, and converted theater into a mass form of entertainment and representation of political power.

The development of the entire Western theater culture goes back to the theater of Greek antiquity and is determined by traditional plays as well as by theater aesthetic elements (such as the use of choir and masks) and above all by a reflection of the social role of the theatre.

Oral v/s Written form

The Classical Greeks valued the power of the spoken word, and it was their main method of communication and storytelling. For the Greeks the spoken word was a living thing and infinitely superior to the dead symbols of the written language. Socrates believed that once something was written, it lost its capacity for change and development. For these reasons, oral storytelling grew in Greece among many others.

Thespis First Actor

The Greek tragedy as we know it was made in Athens around 532 BC, when Thespis was the first recorded actor. Being the winner of the first theatrical competition held in Athens, he was the leader of diatrambs performed in and around Attica, especially in rural Dionysia. From the time of Thespis, Dathyaram had evolved far beyond its cult roots. Under the influence of the heroic epic, Doric choral song and the innovations of the poet Arian, it became a narrative, ballad-like genre. Because of these, Thespis is often referred to as the "father of tragedy"; however, their importance is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as 16th in the chronological order of the Greek tragedies. The statesman Solon, for example, is credited with creating poems in which characters speak with their own voices, and speaking performances of Homer's epic were popular at festivals before 534 BC. Thus, Thespis's true contribution to drama is not the best, but in English, his name has long lived as a common term for the performer that is, "thespian". Theatrical performances were important to the Athenians this is made clear by the creation of a tragedy competition and festival in the city of Dionysia. It was probably organized to promote loyalty among the tribes of Attica (recently created by Cleisthenes). The festival was created around 508 BC. While no drama texts exist from the sixth century BCE, we do know the names of three contestants other than Thespis: Choerilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus. Each is credited with different innovations in the field.

Phrynichus

More is known about Phrynichus. He won his first competition between 511 BC and 508 BC. He produced tragedies on themes and themes, exploited in the later Golden Ages such as Danaides, Phoenician Women, and Ancestors. He was the first poet we know of to use the historical theme ‘The Fall of Miletus’, composed in 493-2, chronicling the fate of the city of Miletus after it was conquered by the Persians. Herodotus reports that the Athenians made clear their deep sorrow for taking Miletus in many ways, but notably in this. When Phrynichus wrote a play called "The Fall of Miletus" and performed it, the whole theater wept. Felt, he fined Phrynichus a thousand enemies to inflict a disaster that affected him personally and forbade the performance of that game forever. He is also considered the first to use female characters (though not female actors).

Until the Hellenistic period, all tragedies were unique pieces written in honor of Dionysus and played only once, so that today we mainly have pieces that can be remembered well enough after repetitions of old tragedies became fashionable. (The subjective tastes of Hellenistic librarians later in Greek history, along with surviving accidents, also played a part in their survival from this period).

New Inventions During the Classical Period

After the great destruction of Athens by the Persian Empire in 480 BC, the city and the acropolis were rebuilt, and the theater became ceremonial and became a large part of Athenian culture and civic pride. This century is generally referred to as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The centerpiece of the annual Dionysia, which took place once in the winter and once in the spring, was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theater of Dionysius. Each presented three tragedies, plus a satirical play (a comical, burlesque version of a mythological theme). Beginning in the first competition in 486 BC each playwright presented a comedy. Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added a second actor (deuterogonist), and Sophocles introduced a third (trigonist). Apparently, Greek playwrights never used more than three actors, based on what is known about Greek theatre.

Tragedy and comedy were seen as completely different genres, and the two never merged into any drama. Stair dealt with the mythological subject matter of tragedies, but in a completely comical way.

Hellenistic period

Athens' power dwindled after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against the Spartans. From that time on, the theater began to retell the old tragedies. Although its theatrical traditions have lost their vitality, Greek theater continues into the Hellenistic period (the period following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC). However, the primary Hellenistic theatrical form was not tragedy, but the 'New Comedy', comic episodes about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only current playwright from this period is Menander. One of the most important contributions of the New Comedy was its influence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautus and Terence. Features of buildings

The plays had a chorus of 12 to 15 people, who performed the plays in verse accompanied by music, beginning in the morning and lasting until the evening. The performance space was a simple circular space, the orchestra, where the chorus danced and sang. The orchestra, which had an average diameter of 78 feet, was situated on a flat terrace at the foot of a hill, whose slope produced natural theatre, literally "watching the place". Later, the term "theatre" was applied to the theatron, the orchestra, and the whole area of ​​the scene. Coryphaeus was the main chorus member who could enter the story as a character able to interact with the characters in the story.

Theaters were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as a large number of people in an audience of up to fourteen thousand. Mathematics played a large role in the construction of these theaters, as their designers had to be able to create acoustics so that the voices of the actors could be heard throughout the theatre, including the top row of seats. Greek's understanding of acoustics compares very favorably with the current state of the art. The first seats in Greek theaters (other than the bus sitting on the ground) were wooden, but around 499 BC the practice of joining stone blocks to the side of the hill for permanent, stationary seating became more common. They were called "prohedria" and were reserved for priests and some of the most respected citizens.

In 465 BC, playwrights began to use a background or graceful wall, which hung or stood behind the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. This was known as skene (from which the word "visual" is derived). The death of a character was always narrated behind the skene, as it was considered inappropriate for the audience to show the murder. [citation needed] In contrast, scholars argue that death in Greek tragedy was primarily portrayed from the stage because of dramatic views, and not the audience's sensibility or sensibility. In 425 BC, a stone visible wall, called a Paraskenia, became a common complement to the skene in theatres. A Paraskenia was a long wall with projecting sides, which may have had gates for entrance and exit. Behind Paraskenia was just possibility. Chance ("in front of the scene") was beautiful, and akin to the modern day proscenium.

Greek theaters also had long-standing entrances called parodoi or isodoi, through which actors and members of the chorus entered and exited the orchestra. By the end of the 5th century BC, at the time of the Peloponnesian War, the Skene, the back wall, was two stories high. The upper story was called the episkenion. Some theaters also had a raised place on the orchestra called a regency.

Produce

Dionysia and the most important part of today's theatre, the Tragedy, were already subject to a state-religiously important festival under Pesistratos, but Dionysian festivals were included in the Attica by Cleisthenes' Phileneforme. Initially, there was only one actor, one of whom was the choir, who may not have sung, but sometimes responded to the actor. A skene evolved to the theatron after destruction by the Persians, and soon further joints were invented. Satire Play, a cheerful, liberating sequel, followed three Tragedies.

The classical flowering of Greek theater ended with the collapse of the classical poles of Athens and the foundation of the Hellenistic empires.

The essential features of Greek stage art have been preserved mainly due to the poems of Aristotle (384 to 322 BC). On the one hand, the influence on European theater is shown by the fact that many of the materials used by the classical Greeks aroused later interest and continued to be used by the old Roman comedy poets Plautus and Terence. On the other hand, there were also many attempts to encourage the "rebirth" of the classical period, always taking into account the current currents.

Construction

Greek theaters were open-air theaters built on the side of a hill, mostly north-south. Research on Greek theater practice is countered by the fact that there is little documentation of theater dating back to the fifth century BCE. Chr., the so-called classical age of the tragic poets Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. To date, it is not clearly explained whether the orchestra and auditorium, the so-called theatron, in the fifth-century Athenian Dionysian theater already had a round shape with a stage house located in front of the orchestra (as in the accompanying sketch). Alternatively, if the orchestra and theater were rectangular. Preserved Greek theaters of the fifth century have a rectangular shape and are likely the Athens Theatre.

Movement sequences, manner of speaking or singing and music are rarely handed down to the choreographer and actors. There is a great deal of controversy in the research of how drama texts can be obtained to draw conclusions in research practice. Despite a great deal of research interest, little is known about ancient Greek theatre.

Social conventions

Greek theater was not just for men. Although only free citizens could participate (no slaves), the back rows of seats were reserved for women.

The choir and its maintenance equipment were the choreographer's work. The choir was an important liturgy, i.e. a private individual performance for the police community.

Theater served for the entertainment of the population, and even after the emergence of comedy, for entertainment. Although the visit was socially obligatory due to its religious character, the respect of the artists and writers attests to widespread acclaim; because the famous participants were honored and honored by the state.

The Ancient Greek word for the mask is prosophon (lit., "face"), and was an important element in the worship of Dionysus in Athens, used in ceremonial rites and celebrations. Most of the evidence comes from only a few flower paintings of the 5th century BC, such as decorated robes showing the mask of a god suspended from a tree and dancing and the Pronomos vase, depicting the preparation of the actors for a satire play. There is no physical evidence available to us, as the masks were made of organic materials and were not considered permanent objects, eventually being dedicated on the altar of Dionysus after the performance. Nevertheless, the façade has been in use since the time of Aeschylus and is considered one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre.

Masks were also created for members of the chorus, who play some part in the action and provide a commentary on the events in which they are caught. Although there are twelve or fifteen members of the tragic chorus, they all wear the same mask as they are believed to represent a single character.