Panoramic view of the Greek theater at Epidaurus

Greek theatre or Greek Drama is a theatrical tradition that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 600 and c. 200 BC. The city state of Athens, the political and military power in Greece during this period, was the epicenter of ancient Greek theatre. Athenian tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays were some of the earliest theatrical forms to emerge in the world. Greek theatre and plays have had a lasting impact on Western drama and culture. Download high resolution version (2428x626, 382 KB)Large version, by mdoege@compuserve. ... Download high resolution version (2428x626, 382 KB)Large version, by mdoege@compuserve. ... Panoramic view of the theater at Epidaurus Epidaurus (Epidauros) was a small city (polis) in ancient Greece at the Saronic Gulf. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... gszdgdegsd gdsffdfsd fdsf sdfdsf dfsd fd A tragedy may be defined loosely as any work of fiction in which the protagonist suffers a fall in his or her fortunes, and ends in a worse state than that in which they began. ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of comedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style. ... The Western World The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

History

Origins

Early tradition holds that formal theatre in Athens evolved from festivals related to the cult of Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility and wine. This tradition is probably accurate, since Athenian drama occurred at the Dionysia, an annual festival honoring Dionysus. However, it is impossible to know for sure how fertility rituals developed into tragedy and comedy. Bacchus by Caravaggio Dionysus or Dionysos (Ancient Greek: Διώνυσος or Διόνυσος; also known as Bacchus in both Greek and Roman mythology and associated with the Italic Liber), the Thracian god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficent influences. ... Fertility is the ability of people or animals to produce healthy offspring in abundance. ... The Dionysia was a large religious festival in ancient Athens in honour of the god Dionysus, the central event of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. ...

Aristotle's Poetics contain the earliest known theory about the origins of Greek theatre. He says that tragedy evolved from dithyrambs, songs sung in praise of Dionysus at the Dionysia each year. The dithyrambs may have begun as frenzied improvisations but in the 600s BC, the poet Arion is credited with developing the dithyramb into a formalized narrative sung by a chorus. Then, in the 500s BC, a poet named Thespis is credited with innovating a new style in which a solo actor performed the speeches of the characters in the narrative (using masks to distinguish between the different characters). The actor spoke and acted as if he were the character, and he interacted with the chorus, who acted as narrators and commentators. Thespis is therefore considered the first Greek "actor," and his style of drama became known as tragedy (which means 'goat song', perhaps referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus before performances, or to goat-skins worn by the performers. Aristotle, marble copy of bronze by Lysippos. ... Aristotles Poetics aims to give an account of poetry. ... The dithyramb was originally an ancient Greek hymn sung to the god Dionysus. ... Improvisation is the act of making something up as it is performed. ... =Events and trends 609 BC - [[quicklylace. ... Arion on a sea horse, as pictured by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1855). ... In classical music a chorus is any substantial group of performers in a play, revue, musical or opera who act more or less as one. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 509 BC September 13 - The temple of... Thespis of Icaria (6th century BC) is claimed to be the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor in a play although the reality is undoubtedly more complex. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... gszdgdegsd gdsffdfsd fdsf sdfdsf dfsd fd A tragedy may be defined loosely as any work of fiction in which the protagonist suffers a fall in his or her fortunes, and ends in a worse state than that in which they began. ... Species See Species and subspecies A goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ...

Thespis's new style subsequently became part of the official celebrations of the Dionysian festivals. In 534 BC, annual competitions for the best tragedy were instituted at the City Dionysia in Athens. Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC Events and Trends 538 BC - Babylon occupied by Jews transported to Babylon are allowed to return to...

In 471 BC, the dramatist Aeschylus innovated a second actor, thus making dialogue between characters possible onstage. Then, around 468 BC, Sophocles introduced a third actor making more complex dramatic situations possible. Three actors subsequently became the formal convention (the actors could still play more than one character, distinguising between them with masks). The chorus could also function as a separate character rather than a narrator (see Greek chorus). In addition, the subject matter of the plays expanded so that rather than just Dionysus, they treated the whole body of Greek mythology. Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 476 BC 475 BC 474 BC 473 BC 472 BC - 471 BC - 470 BC 469 BC 468... Aeschylus (525 BC—456 BC; Greek: Ασχύλος) was a playwright of ancient Greece. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 473 BC 472 BC 471 BC 470 BC 469 BC 468 BC 467 BC 466 BC 465... A Roman bust of Sophocles. ... In tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) was originally made up of 12 singing and dancing members (choreutai). ... Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. ...

Golden Age

By the 5th century BC, theatre had become formalized and was a major part of Athenian culture and civic pride, and this century is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The centerpiece of the annual Dionysia was a competition between three playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus. Each submitted a three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythological subject). In the 430s BC, competitions for comedy were also held. (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) The 5th and 6th centuries BC are a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations. ... Theatre of Dionysus viewed from the Acropolis The Theatre of Dionysus was a major amphitheatre in ancient Greece, built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis. ... Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of comedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style. ... Burlesque was originally a form of art that mocked by imitation, referring to everything from comic sketches to dance routines and usually lampooning the social attitudes of upper classes. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC - 430s BC - 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 439 BC 438 BC 437 BC 436 BC 435 BC 434 BC 433 BC 432 BC 431... Comedy is the use of humor in the form of theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. ...

Although there were many playwrights in this era, only the work of four playwrights has survived in the form of complete plays. All are from Athens. These playwrights are the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the comic writer Aristophanes. Their plays, along with some secondary sources such as Aristotle, are the basis of what is known about Greek theatre. Because of this, there is much that remains unknown. Aeschylus (525 BC—456 BC; Greek: Ασχύλος) was a playwright of ancient Greece. ... A Roman bust of Sophocles. ... A Statue of Euripides Euripides (c. ... Bust of Aristophanes Aristophanes (c. ... Secondary sources are texts based on primary sources, and involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation. ...

Hellenistic period

The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War. Although its theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into the Hellenistic period (the period following Alexander the Great's conquests in the fourth century BC). However, the primary Hellenistic theatrical form was not tragedy but 'New Comedy', comic farces about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only extant playwright from the period is Menander. One of New Comedy's most important contributions was its influence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautus and Terence. Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... (5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Invasion of the Celts into Ireland Kingdom of Macedon conquers Persian empire Romans build first aqueduct Chinese use bellows The Scythians are beginning to be absorbed into the Sarmatian... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... For the Indo-Greek king (160–135 BC) see Menander the Just. ... Titus Maccius Plautus (born at Sarsina, Umbria in 254 B.C.) was a comic playwright in the time of the Roman Republic. ... Publius Terentius Afer, better known as Terence, was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. ...

Characteristics

Writing

Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres, and no plays ever merged aspects of the two. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject matter of the tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner. but as he was writing over a century after the Athenian Golden Age, it is not known whether dramatists such as Sophocles and Euripides would have thought about their plays in the same terms. gszdgdegsd gdsffdfsd fdsf sdfdsf dfsd fd A tragedy may be defined loosely as any work of fiction in which the protagonist suffers a fall in his or her fortunes, and ends in a worse state than that in which they began. ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of comedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style. ...