1. Greek Theater No, not geek theater. That’s Monty Python.

2. I. Greek Drama A.Origins 1. Religious festival for Dionysius 2. Dithyramb: story or sacred song, often performed by chorus (“goat songs”) 3. Held at the Acropolis – large, open air amphitheater 4. Plays often drawn from Greek legends/myths

3. I. Greek Drama B.The performance 1. 2-3 main actors on stage 2. Chorus – “narrator” a. May offer expository info b. Argue w/character c. “Moral voice” d. Choragos: leader of chorus 3. All male actors

4. I. Greek Drama C.Masks 1. Exaggerated – show emotion from a distance 2. Served to identify characters 3. Amplify voices (?)

5. I. Greek Drama D.The playwrights 1. Aeschylus (524-456 BCE) a. Won several drama competitions b. Known for the Orestia c. Agamemnon-- king sacrifices daughter (Iphigenia) to secure victory, is stabbed to death in bathtub by irate wife (Clytemnestra)

6. I. Greek Drama D.The playwrights 2. Sophocles (496-406 BCE) a. Drama prize at 28 b. Focus: individual and his struggles c. Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

7. I. Greek Drama The playwrights 3. Euripedes (485-406 BCE) a. Critiquing Greek culture and religion b. Medea 4. Aristophanes – (448-380 BCE) a. COMEDY (finally) b. Lysistrata– women of Athens and Sparta attempt to end war by witholding certain activities from their husbands.

9. II. Elements of Tragedy A.Aristotle -- Poetics 1. Theory of tragedy 2. Three unities: a. Unity of time: all events take place in the span of one day b.Unity of Place: all events take place in one central location c.Unity of Action: all events focus on one plot line

10. II. Elements of Tragedy B.The play 1. Plot a. Moves from happiness to suffering b. Suffering results because humans are “limited”

11. II. Elements of Tragedy 2.Protagonist: “tragic hero” a. Of noble birth/qualities b. Has “fatal flaw” – hamartia -- a virtue in excess c. Hubris – excessive pride

12. II. Elements of Tragedy 3.Fatal flaw leads to FALL a. Hero makes mistake, b. Suffers, and others suffer because of him c. Learns a lesson through failure d. Sacrifices -- often self-sacrifice!

13. II. Elements of Tragedy C.Audience: 1. Suffers with hero, but ultimately feels a. Pathos: deep emotion/passion b. Empathy: we relate because we see our own potential failure c. Catharsis: cleansing, a release of purifying emotion – a “good cry”