The Rest Of My Final Post :)
Genres: Tragedy
Greek Tragedy was a popular form of drama performed in theatres across ancient Greece from the late 6th century BCE. The exact history of Tragedy are debated among scholars. All Tragedy Plays were performed in an open air theatre and the plot of a tragedy play was almost always inspired from Greek Mythology. Which was often a part of Greek Religion. Also, the early tragedy plays had only one actor who would perform in costume and wear a mask. This would allow the actor to act like they are a god.
A guy named Thespis is considered to be the first Greek actor, and also is considered to be the creator of tragedy. But in some stories, Thespis is listed as late as 16th in the the order of Greek Tragedians. Also, an interesting fact is that in Greek, Tragedy literally means “goat song”
A guy named Thespis is considered to be the first Greek actor, and also is considered to be the creator of tragedy. But in some stories, Thespis is listed as late as 16th in the the order of Greek Tragedians. Also, an interesting fact is that in Greek, Tragedy literally means “goat song”
Other Genres
Comedy was also a really important part of Greek Theatre. Maybe even the most important. Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays. Comedy plays give an insight into Greek society. Also, comedy plays reveal something about the audience and show what “tickled” the the Greek people’s sense of humor. Because there was a limited amount of actors, each performer might have had to take on multiple roles which involved fast changes of costume and the use of recognizable character masks such as Hercules and Hermes.
Now Satyrs. Satyrs are ancient greek dramas that show the structure and characters of tragedy while still adopting a happy atmosphere and a rural background. Satyr plays can be considered as “joking tragedy.” The actors play mythical heroes engaged in action drawn from mythical tales. The chorus members are satyrs, guided by the old Silenus.
Now Satyrs. Satyrs are ancient greek dramas that show the structure and characters of tragedy while still adopting a happy atmosphere and a rural background. Satyr plays can be considered as “joking tragedy.” The actors play mythical heroes engaged in action drawn from mythical tales. The chorus members are satyrs, guided by the old Silenus.
Most popular plays
The most popular genres of the plays were definitely Tragedies and Comedy.( I will just write a quick fact under each play)These are 10 of the most popular plays from Ancient Greece:
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
This was one of the best known classical dramas.
The Oresteia by Aeschylus
This wasn’t a single play, but a trilogy.
Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
While it is unclear who wrote this play, it has traditionally been attributed to Aeschylus.
Antigone by Sophocles
Focuses on the eponymous daughter of the doomed Oedipus and his mother Jocasta.
Medea by Euripedes
Like many other Greek tragedies, this play focuses on betrayal and revenge.
Alcestis by Euripedes
Even the Greeks loved a good romantic tale, though this particular one might be a bit troubling for modern day audiences.
The Persians by Aeschylus
this other tragedy play is notable for being the oldest surviving example of the medium in the history of theatre
Ajax by Sophocles
Written in the 5th century BCE, this tragic play chronicles the life of the warrior Ajax after the events in Homer’s Iliad, but before the Trojan War ended.
The Frogs by Aristophanes
The Frogs pokes fun at the giants of Greek playwriting, Euripedes and Aeschylus
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Also focusing on the Peloponnesian War, this comedy is not only entertaining, but exposes some of the sexual politics in ancient Greece’s heavily patriarchal society.
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
This was one of the best known classical dramas.
The Oresteia by Aeschylus
This wasn’t a single play, but a trilogy.
Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
While it is unclear who wrote this play, it has traditionally been attributed to Aeschylus.
Antigone by Sophocles
Focuses on the eponymous daughter of the doomed Oedipus and his mother Jocasta.
Medea by Euripedes
Like many other Greek tragedies, this play focuses on betrayal and revenge.
Alcestis by Euripedes
Even the Greeks loved a good romantic tale, though this particular one might be a bit troubling for modern day audiences.
The Persians by Aeschylus
this other tragedy play is notable for being the oldest surviving example of the medium in the history of theatre
Ajax by Sophocles
Written in the 5th century BCE, this tragic play chronicles the life of the warrior Ajax after the events in Homer’s Iliad, but before the Trojan War ended.
The Frogs by Aristophanes
The Frogs pokes fun at the giants of Greek playwriting, Euripedes and Aeschylus
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Also focusing on the Peloponnesian War, this comedy is not only entertaining, but exposes some of the sexual politics in ancient Greece’s heavily patriarchal society.
The Audience
Rising up from the circle of the orchestra was the audience. The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to take care of the large number of people on the stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, that included numbers up to twenty thousand people. Crazy! Right? I would’ve never imagined that so many people would go to the theatre that long ago. Because there were so many people, and the stage was really far away from most of the audience, the actors had to wear really exotic costumes and masks. Also what I thought was kind of funny was that if the audience didn’t like the play, they would mock the actors, yell, or throw food. I thought that it was funny because people would never do something like that today. Also, playwrights would try to win over the audience through flattery, compliments, and also giving out small gifts.
Now it's time to say good bye.
I just want to say how interesting it was to learn all of these new things about greek theatre. It is very cool and it was fun to research all about it. I really hope that you guys got something from this blog and maybe it taught you some stuff :) This is my final post so I won’t really be commenting on this blog anymore, but even when I’m not on it, you guys can still learn new info!! Well anyway, I have to go now, but again I really hope that you guys got some good info about Ancient Greek Theatre!
Bye and thanks for reading ☺!
Bye and thanks for reading ☺!