ancient greek theater

72
Ancient Greek Theater Ms. Aixa B. Rodriguez World Cultures Theme Mythology Unit ESL L5 and Art in Literature Class High School for World Cultures Bronx, NY

Upload: precious-jo-ann-contado

Post on 22-May-2015

3.324 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Ancient Greek Theater

Ms. Aixa B. RodriguezWorld Cultures ThemeMythology UnitESL L5 and Art in Literature ClassHigh School for World Cultures Bronx, NY

Page 2: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What are the main parts of a Greek Theatre?

Page 3: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What parts can you identify?

Page 4: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What have they done to make this ancient theatre work now?

Page 5: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What do you notice in this picture?

Page 6: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Greek Theatre: Main componentsTheatron:

literally, the “watching place”

Orchestra: literally, the “dancing place”

Skene: “scene,” or backdrop

Page 7: Ancient  Greek  Theater

If you were sitting this high, you could still hear the actors’ voices.

Page 8: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were some of the issues in the Theatron?

DaylightClass issuesWomenComfortSound effects

Page 9: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Can you identify the parts of the stage?

Page 10: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Did you know?The modern word “theater” comes from the Greek word theatron meaning "seeing place"

Page 11: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were some of the challenges with the Orchestra?Challenges:

SizeDistance from audience

Holding interest

Page 12: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Do you see the mountains?

Page 13: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What was the Skene?

Behind orchestraServed as

backdrop, houseDecorative in

later yearsHolds mechane

Page 14: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were some other theatre components?

Parodos: passageways (pl.paradoi)

Ekkykleme: “the thing that rolls” the small wagon platform, was wheeled in

to show a corpse to the audience.

Page 15: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were some other theatre components?

All killing had to occur off stage and be reported to the audience by the chorus or a messenger.

Mechane: crane used for special effect

Page 16: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What was the mechane?

Page 17: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How were plays staged?

Staging was accomplished simply with the use of pinakes, or scenery painted on boards and placed against the skene.

Page 18: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How were plays staged?

Also periaktois, triangular prisms, that could be revolved for scenery changes.

Properties were also used. Drums were sounded for

thunder.

Page 19: Ancient  Greek  Theater

…In an amphitheatre

…With a chorus who described most of the action.

…With masks

Where and how were the plays performed?

Page 20: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What part did drama play in everyday culture in Ancient Greece?

• The theater of ancient Greece, flourished between c. 550 and c. 220 BCE.

• The city-state of Athens, was it’s centre.

• It was part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry with altars generally on stage.

Page 21: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What part did drama play in everyday culture in Ancient Greece?

• Banks would shut down for days, people would travel from all around to see the drama competitions—even prisoners were temporarily released to see the plays

• Tragedy means “goat song” (relates to Dionysian sacrificial rituals)

Page 22: Ancient  Greek  Theater

The Stage

Page 23: Ancient  Greek  Theater
Page 24: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How did the community Support drama?

The chorus was trained and costumed at state expense through a choregos (a wealthy citizen) who chose this job as his way of paying taxes and raising his standing in the community.

Page 25: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How were chorus members chosen?

Members of the chorus were chosen from the general population.

Chorus members were unpaid volunteers doing their civic duty.

The rehearsal period for a chorus was likely four months or more.

Page 26: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What is Drama?

• DRAMA: a literary composition written to be performed by actors

• central character called a tragic protagonist or hero suffers some serious misfortune

• the misfortune is logically connected with the hero's actions.

Page 27: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Did you know?

The modern word “drama” comes from the Greek word dran meaning "to do”

The Greeks understood the role of action in plays.

Page 28: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What are the Types of Greek Drama?

Comedy Tragedy Satyr

Comedy and tragedy were the most popular types of plays in ancient Greece. Hence, the modern popularity of the comedy and tragedy masks to symbolize theatre.

Page 29: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Did you know?

The word “comedy” comes from the Greek word “komos” which means “band of revelers.”

Page 30: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What are Satyr Plays?

These were short plays performed between the acts of tragedies. They made fun of the plight of the tragedy's characters.

The satyrs were mythical half-human, half-goat servants of Dionysus.

They served the function of comic relief.

Page 31: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Did you know?

The Satyr and the Satyr plays spawned the modern word “satire”.

Page 32: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Greek Theatre and the Chorus

Page 33: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What made GREEK THEATER unique?

used a chorus

The choric dithyrambs (choral songs) were originally about the death and resurrection of Dionysus (the god of wine and revelry).

Chorus reflects what the

audience is thinking▪ “color commentary”▪ Provides background and

spectacle

Page 34: Ancient  Greek  Theater

The first function of the chorus wasas narrator (telling stories,

providing information).

to bridge the gap between the audience and the players by making responses and asking questions    

What is the function of a chorus?

Page 35: Ancient  Greek  Theater

to intensify the emotion and establish a lyric mood through rhythmic chanting and dance

to maintain a sense of ceremony and

ritual    

What is the function of a chorus?

Page 36: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How was Music and Song used in greek theatre?

The chorus could punctuate the action of a play with bursts of song and dance, which enlarged the dramatic action and relieved tension.

Instruments used to accompany choric songs and dances included flutes, lyres, horns, drums, and bells.

Page 37: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How was Music and Song used in greek theatre?

The ‘Parados’ (chorus entrance) marks the beginning of the play, and the exodus (its exit) the ending.

Singing

Dancing

Strophe (1 section of a lyric poem in a Greek drama)

Antistrophe (answer)

Page 38: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What was the size of the Chorus?

As the number of actors increased from one to three, the size of the chorus, which originally numbered 50, was reduced.

12-15 men

Page 39: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Did the chorus ever act?

The Chorus could play the worshipers of a God, or as in Oedipus, the villagers and Theban elders (town leaders).

Page 40: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Did you know?

The modern word “thespian” (actor)

comes from the name Thespis, the first actor

credited with separating from the chorus to hold a call and response with

them.

Page 41: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How did the Chorus rehearse?

Choruses did not rehearse in the theatres, they probably rehearsed in a closed room so that the spectators would not see the drama before the performance.

Early dramatists (Aeschylus and probably Sophocles and Euripides) taught their own choruses.

Page 42: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What Costumes were worn in Greek theatre?

Consisted of standard Greek attire

Chiton: a sleeveless tunic belted below the breast

the himation: draped around the right shoulder

the chlamys, or short cloak, worn over the left shoulder

Page 43: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What Costumes were worn in Greek theatre?

elaborately embroidered patterns

Masks were used.

If playing a female role, the male actor in want of a female appearance wore the prosternida before the chest and the progastrida before the belly

Page 44: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Who were the actors in Greek Theatre?

3 Actors, all menElaborate gestures, “over-acting”

Women were not allowed to participate.

Page 45: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What did Greek Masks look like?

Page 46: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were the functions of the masks?

to masks bring the characters' face closer to the audience.

to enable an actor to play in several different roles.

Page 47: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were the functions of the masks?

to help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character’s emotions and appearance.

a mask—called a “persona”

Masks contained “megaphone” to amplify their voices

Page 48: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Sound Assistance

Another adaptation that the Greeks' developed for their theatre masks were special mouths that acted like megaphones to amplify their voice for everyone in the huge theatre to hear.

Page 49: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How did masks help visibility and characterization?

Actors wore masks with exaggerated facial features

and expressions to make it easy for all viewers to identify a particular character because theatres were very large.

Page 50: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What is the history of Greek Masks?

Greek actors originally started wearing masks that were very human like that just covered part of the face

Eventually with the increase in theatre size the mask changed as well

The mask then began to cover the whole head and resembled legends from Greek mythology not humans

Page 51: Ancient  Greek  Theater

How were masks made?

usually made by the people that who wore them in the play

from consisted of cloth, leather, and wood with animal hair and painted or died different colors with flowers and other plants attached to them.

Famous actors in bigger plays may have had jewels and other ornate items placed on their masks

Page 52: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Who were some important Playwrights of the age?

AeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesMenander

Page 53: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Euripides’ Medea/Aftermath of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts.Medea is a princess from Colchis. She marries Jason, who is on a quest for the Golden Fleece. Medea betrays her father and murders her brother for her love of Jason. Medea has magical powers. Jason takes Medea back to his homeland Iolcus. They are rejected for fear of Medea’s power and move to Corinth, where they have children.

Jason takes another wife, the king of Corinth’s daughter Glauce. Medea, betrayed, sends a bewitched gown to Princess Glauce, Jason’s new bride, it kills her and her father. Jason returns to find Medea has killed their sons. Medea leaves with the bodies of her children in a dragon led chariot. Jason, a shadow of a man, no longer protected by Hera, dies when a timber from the Argo crushes him in his sleep.

Page 54: Ancient  Greek  Theater

SOPHOCLES496 BC to 406 BC

Son of wealthy Athenian merchant

Lived during golden age of Athens Center of democracy

Important figure in society Becomes cultural

spokesperson Noted playwright Wrote primarily

tragedies Witnessed decline of

Athens

495 B.C.E. :Born in Colonus, in Attica

441: Writes Antigone

431-404: Peloponnesian War (Athens v. Sparta)

429: Writes Oedipus Rex

406: Sophocles dies

Page 55: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What were the prophecies in Oedipus the King?

Oedipus:1. “Aye, 'tis no secret. Apollo once foretold That I

should mate with mine own mother, and shed With my own hands the blood of my own sire. Hence Corinth was for many a year to me. A home distant; and I trove abroad, But missed the sweetest sight, my parents' face. ”

Jocasta:2. “An oracle Once came to Laius, I will not say

'Twas from the Delphic god himself, but from His ministers, declaring he was doomed to perish by the hand of his own son, A child that should be born to him by me.

Page 56: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Oedipus RexDelphic Oracle,

prophecyCorinth and

ThebesSphinx riddleSelf-punishmentChildren: Eteocles,

Polyneices, Ismene, Antigone

Page 57: Ancient  Greek  Theater

What was the Sphynx’s riddle?

• Sphinx's riddle: "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?"

• To this Oedipus answered "Man”.

• Oedipus's name means "swollen foot”. His ankles were pinned as a baby. Here is the baby of which the Sphinx speaks, crawling on four feet.

• Oedipus the adult man, standing on his own two feet.

• Oedipus will leave Thebes an old blind man, using a cane.

• Oedipus himself proves to be that same man, an embodiment of the Sphinx's riddle.

• Oedipus is solver of the Sphinx's riddle, and the answer.

Page 59: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Oedipus Plot

1. The play begins years after Oedipus is given the throne of Thebes.

2. The chorus of Thebans cries out to Oedipus for salvation from the plague sent by the gods in response to Laius' murder.

3. The blind prophet, Teiresias, is called to aid Oedipus in his search; He warns Oedipus not to follow through with the investigation.

4. Oedipus accuses him of being the murderer, even though Teiresias is blind and aged.

5. Oedipus promises to exile the man responsible for it.

6. Oedipus accuses Teiresias of conspiring with Creon, Jocasta's brother, to overthrow him.

7. Oedipus calls for one of Laius' former servants, the only surviving witness of the murder, who fled the city when Oedipus became king to avoid being the one to reveal the truth.

1. A messenger from Corinth also arrives to inform Oedipus of the death of Polybus, whom Oedipus still believes is his real father.

2. The messenger informs him that he was in fact adopted and his real parentage is unknown.

3. In the subsequent discussions Jocasta guesses the truth and runs away.

4. Oedipus is stubborn5. A 2nd messenger arrives and

reveals that Jocasta has hanged herself

6. Oedipus, upon discovering her body, blinds himself with the golden brooches on her dress.

7. The play ends with Oedipus entrusting his children to Creon and leaving in exile, as he promised would be the fate of Laius' murderer.

Page 60: Ancient  Greek  Theater
Page 61: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Dramatic Irony in Oedipus

1. Story revolves around two different unsuccessful attempts to change the course of fate:

1. Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus at birth and

2. Oedipus's flight from Corinth later on.

2. Jocasta kills her son only to find him married to her.

3. Oedipus leaves Corinth only to find that he has carried out the oracle's words.

Page 62: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Dramatic Irony … cont.Oedipus counts on his own ability not the gods. The irony is, of course, that the oracles and Oedipus's reasoning lead to the same outcome.Oedipus is a thinker. His intelligence is what makes him great, yet it is also what makes him tragic. Marriage to Jocasta and ruling Thebes was the prize for ridding Thebes of the Sphinx. Oedipus's intelligence, a trait that brings him closer to the gods, is what causes him to commit the most terrible of all sins.

In killing the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's savior, but in killing Laius (and marrying Jocasta), he is cause of the plague that has struck the city at the play's opening. Sight here means two different things. Oedipus is blessed with perception. But he is blind to the truth, for all he seeks it. Oedipus is human and we recognize this in his agonizing reaction to his sin. Watching this, the audience is moved to both pity and fear: pity for this broken man, and fear that his tragedy could be our own. Watching this tragedy gives us the audience a sense of purging. This is the catharsis which Aristotle spoke of.

Page 63: Ancient  Greek  Theater

The Six Aspects of Tragedy1. PLOT2. CHARACTER3. SPECTACLE4. SONG5. DICTION6. THOUGHT

From Aristotle’s Poetics

*

Page 64: Ancient  Greek  Theater

From Aristotle’s PoeticsThe Six Aspects of Tragedy: Plot

1. PLOT: Plot is the way the incidents are presented to the audience

• Must be “whole” –beginning/ middle and end• Incentive moment- begins cause and effect• Climax• resolution

• Must be complete and have “unity of action”• No “deus ex machina”• No “episodic plots”

• Plot can be simple or complex• Catastrophe (cata/strophe): change in fortune• Perepetia: a reversal• Anagnorisis: recognition

Page 65: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Plot Diagram/

Freytag’s Pyramid

Page 66: Ancient  Greek  Theater

From Aristotle’s PoeticsThe Six Aspects of Tragedy: Character

2. CHARACTER• Personal motivations connected to cause/ effect

aspect of plot• Protagonist should be renowned and

prosperous change from good to bad• Hubris – arrogance, overconfidence• Hamartia: a tragic flaw

• Characters should have the following qualities:• Good or fine• Fitness of character• True to life• Consistency• Necessary or probable• Idealized/ ennobled

Page 67: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Characteristics of a Tragic Hero

1. He must be a man who is superior to the average man in some way.

1. Oedipus is smart he is the only person who could solve the Sphinx's riddle.

2. Must evoke both pity and fear, must be a character with a mixture of good and evil. Oedipus is a hero with a violent streak, clever man, but is blind to the truth.

3. Hamartia, often translated as "tragic flaw" but really means "error in judgement.”

4. Dramatic irony The audience knows the outcome of the story already, but the hero does not, making his actions seem ignorant or inappropriate in the face of what is to come.

Page 68: Ancient  Greek  Theater

From Aristotle’s PoeticsThe Six Aspects of Tragedy

3. THOUGHT• Reference to theme

4. DICTION• Word choice is proper and appropriate• Emphasis on style and use of literary devices

(metaphor)

5. SONG• Musical element of the play• Use of the chorus

6. SPECTACLE* Production for effect

Page 69: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Antigone: in context

DionysiaSophoclesOedipus Rex

Cast of characters

Page 70: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Sophocles’ Antigone

Set in Thebes (a city in ancient Greece)

Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta

Antigone’s brothers, Eteokles and Polyneces, took opposite sides in a war

Eteokles and Polyneces killed each other in battle

Antigone’s uncle, Kreon, became king of Thebes

Page 71: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Two Daughters

Antigone • Antigone, had the better judgment, and Ismene with all the good intentions.

• They were both two extraordinary women that went through a lot together despite

their differences.

Page 72: Ancient  Greek  Theater

Two Sons

Eteocles and Polyneices

The princes who had refused to share their

inheritance shared death instead