2.  Links with sacred ritual and with the social and political system  All plays were written for the annual spring festival of Dionysus  Held in large, open-air theatre built into natural slope of the hill  Hel 14 – 15,000 spectators on wooden benches

3.  Performances took place during daylight hours  Orchestra – a circular area with an alter in the center  Skene – building in back of orchestra which served as the setting for all plays  Proskenion – framework in front of the skene

6.  1 st plays were performed her in Athens at the beginning of the 5 th century  So popular they soon spread throughout Greece

7.  According to Greek Mythology, he was the son of Zeus – only god born of one god and one mortal parent  He was the god of wine, fertility, and revelry

8.  Raised by satyrs, killed, dismembered, and resurrected  Other gods had temples, the cult of Dionysus met in the wood  It was believed he could liberate and inspire man. It was also believed that he could endow man with divine creativity. Therefore, he came to be considered a patron of the arts.

9.  Established as a festival in honor of the god Dionysus.  Featured competitions in music, singing, dance, and poetry  Most remarkable winner was Thespis.

10.  Of or relating to drama; dramatic: thespian talents  Thespian: of or relating to Thespis

11.  1. performed for special occasions (Athens had 4 festivals worshipping Dionysus)  2. competitive – prizes were awarded, actors and playwrights competed  3. choral – there was singing and dancing, composed of men (3-50)  4. the stories were based on myth or history

12.  The play  The actors  the chorus

13.  Comedy  Tragedy  Satyr plays

14.  Late entrance into the festivals  1 st comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power  Master of comedy - Aristophanes

15.  Late point of attack  Violence and death offstage  Frequent use of messengers to relate information  Usually continuous time of action  Usually single place  Stories based on myth or history, but varied interpretation of events  Focus on psychological and ethical attributes of characters, rather than physical and sociological

16.  Dealt with love, loss, pride, the abuse of power, and fraught relationships between men and gods  Typically main character commits terrible crime without realizing it  3 great playwrights – Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

17. Thespis priest that walked away from the chorus during a presentation of a story and, instead of singing, began to recite words and create extra dialogue FIRST ACTOR and PLAYWRIGHT

18.  Large Theater: too large to depend on facial expressions or vocal inflections to convey characters  Had to rely on physical gestures and their ability to declaim the poetry of the script  Stylized character masks – could easily be seen by all audience members – also help project the voice

19.  3 actors to play all roles, including female ones – no females on stage, masks helped with this  Chorus included about 15 actors who represented townspeople and other groups  Chorus remained in the orchestra and sang, danced in ritualistic/formal patterns and commented on the action  No stage directions written down

20.  Same as Greek daily wear  Both men and women draped themselves in robes of finely woven wool or linen – much variety was possible  Variety of colors, elaborate embroidery  Held in place with pins, laces, or belts  Sandals (both men and women) – calf high boots (soldiers)  Top robe and switch of the mask could completely change a character in minutes