Greek Theater

 

 

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The Festivals

 

All of the plays we study from ancient Greece today were written for performance at a festival. While smaller, local festivals did take place, the two largest, the Lenaea and the Great (or City) Dionysia, were held in Athens annually. Both of these events were held in honor of the god of wine and dramatic

interpretation, Dionysius, and included processions, religious rituals, and several days of dramatic performances.

 

 

 

 

 

The Lenaea was a smaller, four-day affair occurring in January, which meant the event was for Athens citizens only, since weather conditions would not be favorable for outsiders to travel to the city. In contrast, the Great Dionysia, which we know more about, took place in late March and drew in crowds from other city

-states. Though the festival was five days long, the first event actually took place two days before the official start with the proagόn (pre-contest) calling for poets and actors to gather near the theatre and give a preview of the performances to come in the following days. The first day of the festival would be consumed with processions, tributes to war orphans and notable citizens, religious sacrifices, dithyrambic contests (a chorus of 50 men and a chorus of 50 boys representing each deme), and concluded with one large, wine-soaked party.

Though there are competing theories, many believe that the Great Dionysia’s second day featured five comedies and the remaining three days were filled with three tragedies and one satyr play each. (The Lenaea is believed to have taken the opposite approach, presenting tragedy first and ending the festival on a lighter note). Whatever the case, the bulk of these festivals, while very much civic and religious events, were dedicated to the production and viewing of drama.

The Theater of Dionysus: where performances would take place during the two Athens festivals centered around dramatic productions.

 

 

 

Exactly how the three best tragedies and comedies were chosen is another topic up for debate, but we do know a lottery allowed one judge to be pulled from each deme. Also chosen at random was the order in which the plays were presented. The voting process is cloudier, but the use of representatives and of a lottery suggests the judging allowed for both a sense of democracy and divine intervention.

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Production

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Staging

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Audience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Image Sources

 

"Dionysus' Theater." University of Athens Department of Chemistry. University of Athens. n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

 

"Early Greek Comedy and Satyr Plays." Utah State University. Utah State University. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

 

"Greek Theater of Dionysos in Athens." Columbia College. Columbia College. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

 

"Illustration of a Greek theater." Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. Ed. Edward I. Bleiberg, et al. Vol. 2: Ancient Greece and Rome 1200 B.C.E.-476 C.E. Detroit: Gale, 2005. World     History in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

 

Works Consulted

 

Mueller, Carl R. Aristophanes in an Hour. Hanover: In an Hour Books, 2009.

 

Robson, James. Aristophanes: An Introduction. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., 2009.