1. Greek Drama Dithyrambs:
sung by a Greek chorus of up to 50 men or boys dancing in circular formation
would normally relate some incident in the life of Dionysus
leader of the chorus later became the solo protagonist, with lyrical interchanges taking place between him and the rest of the chorus

2. Greek Drama Dithyrambs:
Competitions between groups singing dithyrambs were an important part of festivals such as the Dionysia
Each tribe would enter two choruses, one of men and one of boys, each under the leadership of a choragos
successful choregos would receive a statue which would be erected - at his own expense - on a public monument to commemorate his group's victory.

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4. Greek Drama Thespis: singer of dithyrambs
introduced a new style in which one singer performed the words of individual characters in the stories
became different characters with different masks

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6. Greek Drama Early Greek playwrights wrote tragedies:
Stories of the gods and heroes used to explore human problems
Universe was governed by fate or destiny
Fate interacted with the ability of humans to make decisions which would bring them either greatness or disaster

7. Greek Drama Characteristics of Greek tragedy:
Little action presented on stage
Plot already familiar to the audience
Little character development, instead types
Centered on the conflict between the individual and the universe and not other personalities

8. Greek Drama Characteristics of Greek tragedy:
Tragic fate brought on by someone committing a crime against society or the gods thereby upsetting the balance of the universe
Punishment came in order to balance the scale of justice

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Purpose of Greek tragedy was to purify the emotions of the audience by representing the triumph of justice.

10. Greek Drama
Actors:
hired and paid by the state and assigned to the tragic poets
three actors were required for the performance of a tragedy
the protagonist “first actor”
the deuteragonist “second actor”
the tritagonist “third actor”

11. Greek Drama
Actors:
protagonist took the role of the most important character in the play while the other two actors played the lesser roles
since most plays have more than two or three characters (although never more than three speaking actors in the same scene), all three actors played multiple roles

12. Greek Drama Actors: male actors had to play female roles
playing of multiple roles, both male and female, was
made possible by the use of masks
masks with subtle variations also helped the audience
identify the sex, age, and social rank of the characters
main duties of an actor were to speak the dialogue assigned
to his characters and to sing songs solo or with the chorus or
with other actors

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Chorus:
tragedy was not just straight drama—included songs sung both by actors and chorus and also with dancing by the chorus
the chorus were non-professionals who had a talent for singing and dancing and were trained by the poet in preparation for the performance
standard number of members of a chorus was twelve
chorus, like the actors, wore costumes and masks

15. Greek Drama
Chorus:
first function of a tragic chorus was to chant an entrance song called a parodos as they marched into the orchestra
once the chorus had taken its position in the orchestra, it had two duties:
dialogue with characters through its leader, the Coryphaeus,
most important function was to sing and dance choral songs called stasima

16. Greek Drama Tragedy structure :
scenes of dialogue alternate with choral songs--allows the chorus to comment in song on what has been said and/or done in the preceding scene
most tragedies begin with an opening scene of expository dialogue or monologue called a prologue
after the prologue the chorus marches into the orchestra chanting the parodos

17. Greek Drama Tragedy structure :
a scene of dialogue called an episode, which in turn is followed by the first stasimon
alternation of episode and stasimon continues until the last stasimon
there is a final scene of dialogue called an exodos “exit scene”

18. Greek Drama Structure of a typical tragedy: Prologue Parodos
First Episode
First Stasimon
Second Episode
Second Stasimon
Third Episode
Third Stasimon
Fourth Episode
Fourth Stasimon
Exodos

19. Greek Drama Producing for the city Dionysia festival:
Decide what plays you want to stage.
Submit your proposal to the archon eponymos.
Wait for the archon to select the choregos who will fund your play, and your star actor.
Finish writing the plays.

20. Greek Drama Producing for the city Dionysia festival:
Write the music and attend to many other details.
Make sure the choregos attends to his duties.
Rehearse, rehearse, rewrite, rehearse, rehearse.
Wait for the process of selecting the judges to take place.
Attend the proagon.

21. Greek Drama Producing for the city Dionysia festival:
The Festival of the Greater Dionysia arrives.
Attend the events which take place just before the plays are presented.
The plays are presented.
The judging takes place.
Go to the cast party, and begin thinking about next year.

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skene
theatron
proskenion
parodos
chorus
orchestra

32. Greek Drama Aeschylus: First of the tragedy playwrights
Guilt and punishment were themes
Best known works: Prometheus Bound and The Oresteia
13 time winner of City Dionysia

33. Greek Drama Sophocles: Greatest of the tragedy playwrights Themes:
Ideal of nothing too much
Love or harmony and peace
Intelligent respect for democracy
Sympathy for human weakness
Best known works:
Antigone and Oedipus Rex
24 time winner of City Dionysia

34. Greek Drama Euripides: Developed a different style of tragedy
Ridiculed ancient myths
Humbled the proud, exalted the low
First to give ordinary man a place in Greek drama
Portrayed men as they were
Introduced love as a theme
Best known works:
Alcestis, Media, and Trojan Women
5 time winner of City Dionysia

35. Greek Drama Aristophanes:
Introduced comedy-developed from politics and current events
Wrote about Athenian politicians, generals, philosophers, and other playwrights
Best known works:
The Knights, The Frogs, and The Clouds

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