Hey guys! It’s Melana, and this is my final post. Many of you have answered my survey. The most picked answer was “Shakespeare.” Most of you will be surprised to know that the actual answer was “A festival.” The festival that started it all was called the “City Dionysia.” It was located in Athens, the main center of theatrical tradition. This festival, as you can probably already tell by the name, honored Dionysus, god of the grape harvest, wine and the making of wine. During the festival, men sang songs welcoming Dionysus, and plays, the first plays, were performed here. The plays weren’t as “sophisticated” as they are today, still developing, but were nevertheless, were the plays that started it all. They spread these festivals, thus spreading the popularity of plays. In early plays, the actors, directors, and playwrights were all the same person! After some time, three actors were allowed, but no more. Later in time, non speaking roles were allowed and the chorus was created. The chorus was a very popular part of Greek Theatre, and added to the liveliness of it. Eventually more people were allowed, and over a long period of time it became what it is today.
Without playwrights, there would not be a play. The playwrights wrote the plays and made it interesting and fun to watch. One famous playwright was a man named Sophocles. He wrote one hundred and twenty plays! He is one of the three playwrights whose plays survived. He worked mainly with tragedy plays and was a very famous playwright. He was born in Colonus, a village just outside of Athens that is now considered a part of Athens. Sophocles died in four hundred and six B.C.E.
Another famous playwright was Aeschylus. He was the first of the three playwrights whose plays still survive to be able to be read or performed. He was born in Eleusis, a town eight kilometers from the center of Greece and was known as the “Father of Tragedy”. It is estimated that he wrote seventy to ninety plays, but of those only seven of those survived.
The last of the playwrights whose plays have survived is Euripides. He was born on Salamis, the largest island in Ancient Greece. He was estimated to have made ninety two to ninety five plays. Unfortunately, only eighteen of his plays survived. Fragments of Euripides other plays have been found, but not full plays. Euripides died in four hundred and six B.C.E, around the same time Sophocles died.
There were many popular play themes. The three main themes were tragedy, comedy, and satyr. Tragedy plays were developed by songs sung at “City Dionysia” each year. Aristotles poems had the “perfect structure” for tragedy plays. All tragedians strived to have this “perfect structure” in their plays. In ancient greece acting, they wore masks and never went without them. The masks for the tragedy plays were exaggerated greatly. For example, if one’s character was sad, the mouth would be like an arc, representing sadness.
Another play theme was comedy. There is no trace of comedy play’s origin. Comedy plays were not allowed at City Dionysia until four hundred and eighty seven B.C.E, which was very late for a play to be added in the festival. The masks that comedians used were, like tragic plays, very exaggerated. In that time, comedy plays were focused mostly on social, political, and cultural problems. The comedy plays back then were called “Old Comedy.” T he plays that Menander’s made, who was a Greek Dramatist, were considered “New Comedy.”
Another theme of plays were Satyr plays. Satyr plays, like comedy plays, also have no trace of it’s origin. Satyr plays are tragedy and comedy plays mixed into one. The satyr plays had to be mastered by tragedians, because there would then be an even balance of tragedy and comedy, whereas if they were mastered by comedians, it would most likely be more comedic than sad. The masks used in Satyr plays, like comedic and tragedy plays, were exaggerated to emphasize what the character was feeling and make it more sad and comedic.
Another form of play, although it is not one of the main themes, is a drama play. In eighth century B.C.E, the first drama play ever in history was performed. It brought Athens to the “Golden age of Greece.” It is considered to have emphasized culture.
We have been influenced greatly by Ancient Greek theatre acting. They started it all with one festival, made it famous with that one festival, and thus “spread acting.” Without Ancient Greece, we would never be where we are today with acting. They have greatly influenced us, with some of the oldest plays in time, that they made, still being performed live today. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this blog. Bye!
-Melana
Without playwrights, there would not be a play. The playwrights wrote the plays and made it interesting and fun to watch. One famous playwright was a man named Sophocles. He wrote one hundred and twenty plays! He is one of the three playwrights whose plays survived. He worked mainly with tragedy plays and was a very famous playwright. He was born in Colonus, a village just outside of Athens that is now considered a part of Athens. Sophocles died in four hundred and six B.C.E.
Another famous playwright was Aeschylus. He was the first of the three playwrights whose plays still survive to be able to be read or performed. He was born in Eleusis, a town eight kilometers from the center of Greece and was known as the “Father of Tragedy”. It is estimated that he wrote seventy to ninety plays, but of those only seven of those survived.
The last of the playwrights whose plays have survived is Euripides. He was born on Salamis, the largest island in Ancient Greece. He was estimated to have made ninety two to ninety five plays. Unfortunately, only eighteen of his plays survived. Fragments of Euripides other plays have been found, but not full plays. Euripides died in four hundred and six B.C.E, around the same time Sophocles died.
There were many popular play themes. The three main themes were tragedy, comedy, and satyr. Tragedy plays were developed by songs sung at “City Dionysia” each year. Aristotles poems had the “perfect structure” for tragedy plays. All tragedians strived to have this “perfect structure” in their plays. In ancient greece acting, they wore masks and never went without them. The masks for the tragedy plays were exaggerated greatly. For example, if one’s character was sad, the mouth would be like an arc, representing sadness.
Another play theme was comedy. There is no trace of comedy play’s origin. Comedy plays were not allowed at City Dionysia until four hundred and eighty seven B.C.E, which was very late for a play to be added in the festival. The masks that comedians used were, like tragic plays, very exaggerated. In that time, comedy plays were focused mostly on social, political, and cultural problems. The comedy plays back then were called “Old Comedy.” T he plays that Menander’s made, who was a Greek Dramatist, were considered “New Comedy.”
Another theme of plays were Satyr plays. Satyr plays, like comedy plays, also have no trace of it’s origin. Satyr plays are tragedy and comedy plays mixed into one. The satyr plays had to be mastered by tragedians, because there would then be an even balance of tragedy and comedy, whereas if they were mastered by comedians, it would most likely be more comedic than sad. The masks used in Satyr plays, like comedic and tragedy plays, were exaggerated to emphasize what the character was feeling and make it more sad and comedic.
Another form of play, although it is not one of the main themes, is a drama play. In eighth century B.C.E, the first drama play ever in history was performed. It brought Athens to the “Golden age of Greece.” It is considered to have emphasized culture.
We have been influenced greatly by Ancient Greek theatre acting. They started it all with one festival, made it famous with that one festival, and thus “spread acting.” Without Ancient Greece, we would never be where we are today with acting. They have greatly influenced us, with some of the oldest plays in time, that they made, still being performed live today. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this blog. Bye!
-Melana