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GREEK DRAMA
One of the pioneering civilization that made darama possible today are the
Greeks, native from Athens or Greece. Greece is not only known for their great
literary pieces and personalities but it is also the home or Greek Drama.

The Greek drama began as a religious observance in honor of Dionysus. To

the Greeks this god personified both spring and the vintage, the latter a very
important time of year in a vine-growing country, and he was a symbol to them of
that power there is in man of rising out of himself, of being impelled onwards by a joy
within him that he cannot explain, but which makes him go forward, walking, as it
were, on the wings of the wind, of the spirit that fills him with a deep sense of
worship.

A Greek drama was in many ways much simple than a modern drama. There
were fewer characters, and usually only three speaking actors were allowed on the
stage at once. There was only one story told and there was nothing to take the
attention of the audience away from this.

From very early times, stories of his life were recited at the religious festivals
held in honor of Dionysus, and then stories of other gods and of the ancient heroes
were told as well. It was from these beginnings that the drama came.

Originally, the story was told in the form of a song, chanted at first by
everyone taking part in the festival, and later by a chorus of about fifty performers,
and at intervals in the song the leader would recite part of the story himself. By
degrees the recitation became of greater importance than the song; it grew longer,
and after a time two people took part in it and then three; at the same time the
chorus became smaller and of less importance in the action of the drama, until at last
it could consist of only fifteen performers.

` The Chorus, though it no longer told the story, was very important, for it set
the atmosphere of the play, and lyrics of haunting loveliness hinted at the tragedy
that could not be averted, because of terrible deeds done in the past, or if, indeed,
there might be any help, the imagination was carried forward on wings of hope.

The Chorus also served another purpose. In the modern drama, when the
tragedy of a situation becomes almost too great for the audience to bear, relief is
often found in some comic, or partly comic, episode which is introduced to slacken
the tension.

In the great Greek dramas, the Chorus is a constant reminder that, though
they cannot understand or explain them, there are other powers in the world than the
wild passions of men.

The great dramatic festival of Athens was held in the spring in the theatre of
Dionysus, to the south-east of the Acropolis. The theatre in Athens never became an
everyday amusement, as it is today, but was always directly connected with the
worship of Dionysus, and the performances were always preceded by a sacrifice.
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The festival was only held once a year, and whilst it lasted the whole city kept
holiday. Originally, admission to the theatre was free, but the crowds became so
great and there was such confusion and sometimes fighting in the rush for good
seats, that the state decided to charge an admission fee and tickets had to be
bought beforehand.

But even then there were no reserved seats, except for certain officials who
sat in the front row. In the time of Pericles, complaints were made that the poorer
citizens could not afford to buy tickets, and so important was the drama then
considered, that it was ordered that tickets should be given free to all who applied for
them.

An Athenian audience was very critical, and shouts and applause, or groans
and hisses showed its approval or disapproval of the play being acted. Several plays
were given in one day, and a prize was awarded to the best, so the audience was
obliged to start at dawn and would probably remain in the theatre until sunset.

Structure of Greek Theater

The theatre is a great semi-circle on the slope of the Acropolis, with rows of
stone seats on which about eighteen thousand spectators can sit. The front row
consists of marble chairs, the only seats in the theatre which have backs, and these
are reserved for the priests of Dionysus and the chief magistrates.

Beyond the front row, is a circular space called the orchestra, where the
Chorus sings, and in the center of which stands the altar of Dionysus. Behind the
orchestra, is the stage on which the actors will act, at the back of which is a building
painted to look like the front of a temple or a palace, to which the actors retire when
they are not wanted on the stage or have to change their costumes.

That is the whole theatre and all its stage scenery. Overhead is the deep blue
sky, the Acropolis rises up behind, and the olive-laden hills are seen in the distance.
Much will have to be left to the imagination, but the very simplicity of the outward
surroundings will make the audience give all their attention to the play and the
acting.

When the play begins, there will only be three actors on the stage at once.
They will wear very elaborate costumes, and a strange-looking wooden sole called a
cothurnus or buskin, about six inches high, on their shoes, to make them look taller
and more impressive, and over their faces a curious mask with a wide mouth, so that
everyone in that vast audience will hear them.

There will be no curtain and the play is not divided into different acts. When
there is a pause in the action, the Chorus will fill up the time with their song. If it is a
tragedy, we shall not see the final catastrophe on the stage, but a messenger will
appear who will give us an account of what has happened.

All this is very different from the way in which a modern play is given, but
some of the greatest dramas the world possesses were written by Athenian
dramatists and acted on this Athenian stage more than two thousand years ago.
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The Different Types of Greek Drama and their importance

The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used drama
as a way of investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human.

The three genres of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most important of
all, tragedy.

 Comedy

The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for their
vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was the playwright
Aristophanes. Much later Menander wrote comedies about ordinary people
and made his plays more like sit-coms.

 Tragedy

Tragedy dealt with the big themes of love, loss, pride, the abuse of power and
the fraught relationships between men and gods. Typically the main protagonist of a
tragedy commits some terrible crime without realizing how foolish and arrogant he
has been. Then, as he slowly realizes his error, the world crumbles around him. The
three great playwrights of tragedy were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging us of
our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that there can be nobility in
suffering. He called this experience 'catharsis'.

 Satyr Plays

These short plays were performed between the acts of tragedies and made
fun of the plight of the tragedy's characters. The satyrs were mythical half-human,
half-goat figures and actors in these plays wore large phalluses for comic effect. Few
examples of these plays survive. They are classified by some authors as tragicomic,
or comedy dramas.

ANCIENT GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS

 AESCHYLUS (c. 525-456 BCE)

The first of the three classical playwrights of 5th-century Athens, Aeschylus

was born near Athens in 525 BCE, in the village of Eleusis. His father was called
Euphorion, and was of noble descent. As a young man Aeschylus would have been
influenced by two historic events: the exile of Hippias, a dictator, in 510 BCE, and the
establishment of democracy in Athens under Cleisthenes in 508 BCE.

His first win at the drama festival (City Dionysia) came in 484 BCE, although
scholars do not know the name of the trilogy that won. We do, however, know the
name of his winning trilogy for the festival in 472 BCE -- The Persians -- sponsored
by Pericles himself, then an aspiring politician.

Aeschylus was prosecuted for revealing the mysteries of Eleusis in one of his
plays. Although he was eventually proven innocent, this accusation remained a stain
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on his character. Driven from the city by growing social and political unrest,
Aeschylus died far away from Athens, in Sicily, in 456 BCE.

 SOPHOCLES (c. 496-406 BCE)

Sophocles' work is considered the pinnacle of Greek tragedy. Born in near

Athens in 496 BCE in the town of Colonus, in his ninety-year lifespan he witnessed
the rise and fall of the Athenian Golden Age. Sophocles was the son of a wealthy
manufacturer.

He grew up during the Persian Wars, and was chosen to participate in the
victory celebrations for the Greek naval victory at Salamis in 480 BCE, an honor that
suggests that the young Sophocles was particularly talented and handsome. Indeed,
he is thought to have performed some of the roles in his early plays, but was unable
to continue as an actor due to problems with his voice.

Sophocles was popular in Athens, and, perhaps as a result of the patriotism he

developed as a young man, remained in Athens throughout his life despite multiple
summons from local rulers to visit other cities and regions. A close friend of Pericles,
he held several public offices throughout his life in addition to being a leading
dramatist.

 EURIPIDES (c. 485-406 BCE)

Euripides inclusion among the great Athenian dramatists is sometimes

debated by scholars, who see his plays as irreverent misrepresentations of the
Greek religion, filled with too many unrelated ideas. These scholars note that while
Euripides' plays were included in the drama festival (the City Dionysia) twenty-two
times, he only won five times.

Sophocles was popular in Athens, and, perhaps as a result of the patriotism he

developed as a young man, remained in Athens throughout his life despite multiple
summons from local rulers to visit other cities and regions. A close friend of Pericles,
he held several public offices throughout his life in addition to being a leading
dramatist.