Greek Tragedy

Everything you wanted to know about Greek tragedy but were afraid to ask

Adapted from www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jrea/Greek%2520Tragedy

What are we going to talk about?

• The Origins of Tragedy
• Which Cities Performed Tragedy
• When Tragedy was Performed
• The Parts of a Greek Theater
• The Theaters Themselves
• The Major Playwrights
• The Way a Greek Tragedy Was Staged

- number of actors

- the costumes

- the masks

- the audience

The Origins of Tragedy

• Originated from the dithyramb: a choral song in honor of Dionysos
• Arion of Methymna (7^th century) was the first to write a choral song, practice it with a chorus, and perform it
• Lasus of Hermione was the first to do it at Athens
• Connected with the worship of Dionysos in Athens

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The Origins of Tragedy

• Thespis of Corinth
• The first travelling actor
• Active c. 538-28 BCE
• Added prologue and speech to choral performance
• Said to have invented the mask

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When Was Tragedy Performed?

• City Dionysia @ Athens

- aka “Greater Dionysia”

- end of March

• Rural Dionysia

- different demes had performances

- “off-Broadway”

- various dates in December

• The Lenaea

- less prestigious

- sometime in late January/early February

Where Was Tragedy Performed?

• almost every Greek city had a theater
• Theaters could be very small or huge
• Each theater had specific parts
• Usually in the center of the city

The Parts of a Theater

• The Orchestra
• The acting area
• semi-circular
• Had a small altar to Dionysos in the center
• Where the Chorus danced and the actors spoke

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The Parts of a Theater

• The Skene
• The large backdrop
• Could be decorated with scenery
• Where the action actually took place (hidden)
• Roof was accessible
• Originally one door in the center, but eventually had three doors

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The Skene

The Parts of a Theater

• The Ekkyklēma
• A wheeled platform
• Used to display set pieces
• Agamemnon
• The Mēchanē
• a large crane
• Used for the entrance of gods
• Deus ex machina

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The Theaters

• Theater of Dionysos
• Athens
• Main theater for tragedy
• 4^th century remains
• c. 20,000 seats
• Located on side of Acropolis

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Theater of Dionysos

Theater of Dionysos

The Theaters

• Theater of Epidauros
• The best-preserved
• Largest surviving theater
• Located near Argos

in the Peloponnesus

• Sanctuary of Aesclepius
• Still in use today

Theater of Epidauros

Theater of Epidauros

The Theaters

• Theater of Pergamon
• In Asia Minor (Turkey)
• Extremely steep seating
• Fit to the terrain
• Pergamon one of the most wealthy Asian cities

Theater of Pergamon

The Playwrights

• Three major tragedians
• Aeschylus
• Sophocles
• Euripides
• All active in the 5^th century
• All won first place in multiple competitions
• Only Athenian plays survive

Aeschylus

• b. 525 d. 456 (Sicily)
• Fought at Marathon
• “Aeschylus, Euphorion's son of Athens, lies under this stone dead in Gela among the white wheatlands; a man at need good in fight -- witness the hallowed field of Marathon, witness the long-haired Mede.”�
• First tragedy 499
• First first prize 484 (13 overall)

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Aeschylus

• Introduced the second actor
• Wrote over 70 plays (seven survive)
• Always revered
• Main interest is in situation and event rather than character
• Oresteia, Seven Against Thebes
• Pericles directed the chorus for Persians
• Both sons were very successful playwrights

Sophocles

• b. 496 d. 406
• Served as a general with Pericles (441)
• Very active in city politics (413)
• First tragedy 468
• First first prize 468
• Won 18 first prizes
• Never finished third

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Sophocles

• Introduced the third actor
• Wrote over 120 plays (seven survive)
• The most successful of the Big Three
• Challenged conventional mores
• Introduced more dialogue between characters (less Chorus)
• Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra

Euripides

• b. 485 d. 406 (in Macedonia)
• Not active militarily or politically
• First tragedy 455
• First first prize 441
• Won only four first prizes
• The least successful of the Big Three

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Euripides

• No innovations on the stage
• Wrote ninety plays (19 survive)
• Sophocles: “I present men as they ought to be, Euripides presents men as they are.”
• More realistic than the other two
• Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, Bacchae, Orestes

The Staging of Tragedy

• “Classical theater resembled today’s rock concerts: the audience knew every number by heart, performers wore high heels, loud costumes and heavy make-up, and they relied on background singers, known as the Chorus.”

-Howard Tomb

The Staging of Tragedy

• “The audience knew every number by heart…”
• Most tragedies dealt with mythological themes
• “Performers wore high heels, loud costumes and heavy make-up…”
• They wore elaborate clothes, tall boots, and masks
• “They relied on background singers, known as the Chorus.”
• Especially after the introduction of the third actor

The Staging of Tragedy - Actors

• Maximum of three actors
• Aeschylus second
• Sophocles third
• All roles played by men
• Same group of actors for each set of plays for each author

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The Staging of Tragedy - Actors

• Playwrights did not act in their own plays after Sophocles
• Chorus publicly funded
• A choregos would pay for and train the chorus
• Viewed as a civic duty
• Could be prosecuted for failing to do it wealthy enough
• Choregos got a monument if his chorus won

The Staging of Tragedy - Costumes

• Actor wore:
• Mask
• Robes
• Platform boots (kothornoi)
• Chorus could be in costume (comedy)

The Staging of Tragedy - Masks

• The most salient feature
• All parts by men, so mask depicted gender
• Acted as a megaphone
• Voice inflection paramount
• Multiple Masks = Multiple Characters
• Only three actors
• More than three speaking roles, need for costume and mask change
• Oedipus and his eyes

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The Audience

• Any male could attend
• Women most likely able to attend
• Aeschylus’ Furies
• State funded attendance
• Cost was the average daily wage of a laborer
• Theoric Fund
• Never suspended, even when Athens in dire straights
• Supplied public tickets
• “Must-see TV”

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