History of Theatre in Ancient Greece

 

 

Greek theatre first emerged around the fifth century B.C. in Athens when plays were performed at religious festivals.

The first performances were tragedies, concentrating on serious themes and moral dilemmas.

Next to come along were satiric plays, using the same mythological subject matter of the tragedies but in a solely comic fashion and finally, in around 490 B.C, comedy appeared, usually poking fun at politicians, philosophers and fellow playwrights.

The plays of the ancient Greek playwrights, particularly Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, were originally performed at the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens.

 

 

These acclaimed playwrights, whose works delved into the subjects of morality, human conflict and the divine, had an acute impact on storytelling traditions and paved the way for modern theatre.

The design of ancient Greek open-air theatres with their extraordinary acoustics, never cease to act as templates for numerous modern day venues worldwide.

 Visiting historical theatres, such as the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, provides us with a unique glimpse into the origins of performance art and storytelling.

 

The Origins of Tragedy

 

 

There is an ongoing debate between scholars and historians as to the origins of tragedy; some would have it evolving from the lyrical recitation of epic poetry, whilst others state it emerged from its connections to Dionysian rituals.

 

The Dionysia

 

 

“The Dionysia” were festivals dating back to the fifth century B.C, dedicated to Dionysus (Latin-Bacchus), God of wine, theater, fertility and ecstasy.

The festivals were held in the spring, after the last stages of the fermentation of wine, just after the winter solstice and were celebrations of rebirth, of awakening of the Earth after winter and of the first leaves appearing on the vine.

“The Dionysia”, the most important festival of the year, was celebrated all over Greece, the main attraction though was Athens and thousands of people made their way to the big city for the event.

The six day “Dionysia”, later, in the fifth century, was no less eagerly awaited.

On the first day a huge wooden statue of Dionysus was borne aloft through the inebriated crowds, to the theatre of Dionysus, at the foot of the Acropolis, escorted by men dressed as satyrs, disguised by masks and the women wildly dancing, their heads thrown back in ecstasy.

Here at the theatre a contest was held.

 Three playwrights were each to submit a trilogy of tragedies, followed by a comic ‘satyr’ play.

The judges, one from each of the ten political tribes of Athens, decided which plays would be performed and which citizens would act as sponsors and have the honour of funding their production while the state paid the poet and lead actors.

Taking part would have been Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 BCE), Sophocles (c. 496-406 BCE) and Euripides (c. 484-407 BCE), the playwrights of the day, who all won several contests.

From 449 BCE there were also prizes for the leading actors

The only surviving trilogy is The Oresteia, with which Aeschylus won the competition in 485 B.C .

 

Origins of Greek Comedy

 

 

The exact origins of ancient Greek comedy plays have become lost in the passing of time, however, figures of ancient actors dressed up as various animals or satyrs, or sporting ridiculous outfits, depicted on pottery from the sixth century B.C, gives us some clue of when the fun began.

Another indication of when comedy raised its head can be found in the poems of Archilochus (7th century B.C.) and Hipponax (6th century B.C.) which allude to crude and explicit humour.

A third hint is the bawdy and lewd songs which were popular during Dionysia festivals of the fifth century.

 

Thespis

The First Actor

 

 

The first ancient Greek tragedies were performed with only one actor who dressed in a costume and wore a mask.

Legend has it that in 534 BCE, the poet Thespis, from where we get the term “thespian”, stepped forward from the chorus and gave the first individual speech, making him the first actor in Greek drama.

In due course, three actors were allowed on stage; nevertheless, a play could have as many performers as needed, as long as they didn’t utter a word.

This meant actors had to appear in multiple roles and this is where the use of masks came in.

 

Ancient Greek Theatre Masks

 

 

 Masks allowed actors to appear and reappear in multiple different roles and masks with dramatic facial features assisted the audience in figuring out a character’s gender, age, and social standing.

As only male actors were allowed, masks enabled them to play female characters.

No original ancient Greek theatre masks exist today as they were made from light weight, organic materials such as stiffened linen, leather, wood, or cork, adorned with human or animal hair.

We know what they looked like though owing to paintings on fifth century vases and sculptures.

 

 

Ancient Greek Theatre Costumes

 

 

Actors with tragic roles wore boots with thick soles called buskin which added height whilst actors with comedy roles wore thin-soled shoes called a soccus or sock.

 Sock and buskin became ancient symbols of comedy and tragedy.

The sock and buskin, as well as the comedy and tragedy masks, are associated with two of the nine Greek muses, Melpomene and Thalia.

 

 

Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy, is usually depicted wearing buskins and holding the mask of tragedy, while Thalia, the Muse of comedy, is depicted wearing the comic’s socks and holding the mask of comedy.

When playing female roles the male actors wore a wooden structure on their chest which imitated breasts and another one on their stomach to make them appear softer and more ladylike.

They also wore a white body stocking under their costume in order to make their skin appear fairer.

Again, we have knowledge of these costume details from images on pieces of pottery.

 Actors playing women characters with power, such as goddesses wore purple and gold.

 Actors playing queens and princesses would wear long cloaks decorated with gold stars and jewels.

 Warriors dressed in an assortment of armor and wore helmets decorated with plumes.

 

The Theatre

 

 

The word “theatre” comes from the Greek theáomai meaning to see or observe.

Open-air theatres were designed to hold audiences of up to 15,000 and plays often began in the morning and lasted into the evening.

 Many of the ancient Greek cities were built on or near hills, so seating was mostly built into the slope of a hill, which gave a natural viewing area known as the theatron; the “seeing place”.

 In cities without hills banks of earth were piled up.

At the foot of the hill was a flat, circular space known as the orchestra, the “dancing place” where a chorus of 12 to 15 people performed plays accompanied by music.

Originally flat, Greek theatres would later include a raised stage for better viewing.

Many theatres had tall, arched entrances, called parodoi or eisodoi, through which actors entered and exited the orchestra.

Some theatres had a backdrop or scenic wall, called the skené, from where the word scene derives.

The death of a character was only ever heard from behind the skené, never seen, as it was considered unfitting to show a killing in front of an audience.

The term theatre eventually came to mean the whole area of theatron, orchestra and skené.

Physics and mathematics played a huge role in the construction of theatres as they had to be able to create acoustics which enabled the actors’ voices to be heard throughout the theatre, even at the top row of seats.

In almost all Greek theatre complexes there would be a temple nearby, usually on the right side of the scene.

Of more than three hundred known Greek tragedies, only thirty complete plays have survived, six by Aeschylus, seven by Sophocles and eighteen by Euripides.

 The only surviving satyr play is Euripides’ Cyclops.

 Of the comedies, eleven remain, all of them by Aristophanes.

 

The Most Significant Remaining Ancient Greek Theatres

 

The Ancient Greek Theatre of Thorikos

Athens

The Oldest Theatre in the World

 

 

The Theatre of Thorikos, situated north of Lavrio, in the region of Thorikos in Attica, is said to be the world’s oldest known theater dating back to around 525 – 480 B.C.

The theater has an unusual design, it is elongated rather than the typical semicircle and can hold an audience of around 300 people.

 

 

The ruins of the theater are located on the southern slope of the hill known today as Velatoúri.

 It was built with limestone from the ancient quarry located nearby.

 

Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus

Greece

 

 

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Peloponnese is regarded as the best preserved ancient theatre in Greece regarding in its perfect acoustics and excellent structure.

It was constructed in the late 4th century B.C.

 Originally the theatre had 34 rows of seats divided into 34 blocks by stairs and walkways.

 

 Ancient Greek Theatre of Ephesus

 Izmir -Turkey

 

 

 At an estimated 25,000 seating capacity, the ancient Greek theatre of Ephesus, is one of the largest in the ancient world.

The city of Ephesus was once famous for the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which was destroyed by a mob led by the archbishop of Constantinople in 401 AD.

 Some of the structures can still be seen though including the impressive Great Theater.

This theatre was used initially for drama but later, during Roman times, it was also used for gladiator fights.

 

The Ancient Greek theater of Taormina

Sicily

 

 

Taormina was a Greek colony on the east coast of the island of Sicily.

The theater of Taormina was built by the Greeks in the 2nd century B.C.

The ancient theatre overlooks the bay of Naxos and Mount Etna.

 Today it is the center of the Taormina’s international film festival.

 

 The Ancient Greek  Pergamon Theatre

Turkey

 

 

Pergamon was an ancient city founded by Greek colonists on the Aegean coast of Anatolia.

The Hellenistic theatre at Pergamon is the centerpiece of the acropolis of the ancient city, located north of the modern-day town of Bergama on Turkey’s northern Aegean coast.

The Pergamon Ancient Theater is the world’s steepest theatre with an angle of about 70 degrees.

This theatre is said to have had seating capacity of 10,000 and the seating area was the steepest in the ancient world.

Thought to have been built in the 3rd century BC, research has shown that there was another theater built before in the same place.

 Some of the wall remains from the old theater can still be seen today.

 

Ancient Theater of Delphi

Greece

 

 

 In ancient times Delphi was the most important site in ancient Greek religion, home to the sanctuary and oracle of Apollo.

  The theatre of Delphi in Greece was built on a hill which gave the audience a view of the entire sanctuary and the spectacular landscape below.

 It was originally built in the fourth century and could seat 5,000.

 

Dodoni Theatre

 Ioannina – Greece

 

 

One of the oldest and largest ancient theaters in Greece is the one in Dodoni.

The ancient theater of Dodoni was completely destroyed twice in its history, once by King Dorimachos and and once by Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus.

 It was permanently abandoned, along with the rest of the sanctuary, after Barbarian invasions and a massive natural disaster which buried the site under tons of mud.

 Today, however, the ancient theater has resurfaced and is undergoing successive restoration phases and sometimes, during the summer months, it hosts several performances.

 

The Crimson Path of Ancient Greece:

Today known as The Red Carpet of Academy Awards Fame

 

 

 Did you know that more than 2,500 years before the first celebrity, Gucci–clad foot, hit the famous red carpet at the Academy Awards (The Oscars) the ancient Greeks were the first to roll out The Red Carpet?

The Crimson Path, or, The Red Carpet, only for the feet of gods to walk upon, was first mentioned in the play Agamemnon, a tragedy, written by Aeschylus, the father of tragedy, in 458 BC.

Agamemnon is the first play in the trilogy, the Oresteia, considered to be Aeschylus’ ‘pièce de résistance’, written in the 5th century BC, an update on Homer’s The Iliad, his sequence to  the The Odyssey, written  in around the 8th or 7th century BC.

 

 

Agamemnon, King of Argos (or Mycenae), has been away from home for ten years, fighting against the Trojans who had kidnapped his brother’s wife, the beautiful Helen.

The play begins when a watchman spies a fire, which signals to him that Troy has been captured and his king, Agamemnon, is on his way home.

Hearing of Agamemnon’s return, Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and mother of Iphigenia, waits outside the palace to welcome her husband, who turns up on his chariot with Cassandra, a Trojan princess( whom Agamemnon has taken as a concubine), alongside him.

 

 

Upon catching sight of her husband, Clytemnestra orders a “floor of crimson broideries” be spread for the King’s path, declaring:

“Let all the ground be red where those feet pass and Justice, dark of yore, home light him to the hearth he looks not for”

Whereupon her slaves unroll a crimson path of dark red tapestries, so the returning hero’s feet would not touch the ground on the way from his chariot to the palace.

 

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