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Greek Theatre (600 BCE- 400 BCE)
The cult ceremonies of the fertility and wine god Dionysus are directly connected to the origins of the Greek theatre. These performances included female devotees who danced themselves into a state of trance. Besides dancing, they also ripped apart and devoured the raw flesh of sacrificial animals.
The Dionysians then went on to develop a more structured version of theatre. More precisely, it was the Dionysian priest Thespis who first introduced a new element to the Greek theatre. He engaged in a first ever dialogue with the chorus and in that way became the world’s first actor. This event also marks the birth of theatre as we would recognise it today.
Tragedians (500 BCE)
Theatrical performances and contests became integral parts of the festival which was held in the honour of Dionysus. Unfortunately, there are not many tragedies that survived as full texts, but those that did are truly works of geniuses. Namely, there are three extremely important Greek tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.
Aeschylus – He added a second actor and in that way increased the potential for drama. He wrote around 80 plays, out of which 7 are preserved. He won the prize for the best tragedy in 484 BCE.
Sophocles – He added a third actor, thus expanding the possibilities for achieving an even greater dramatical effect. He defeated Aeschylus in 468 BCE when he won the prize for best tragedy. While Aeschylus dealt with topics of great public interest, Sophocles was concentrated on personal interaction between characters.
Euripides – He introduced an unconventional view of the Greek myth. He represented mythological characters as having human frailties and by doing so, he influenced the later schools of tragic drama.
The Beginning of Greek Comedy (500 BCE)
An annual comedy competition started taking place in Athens in 486 BCE. Unfortunately, only one comedy author’s work was saved, namely, Aristophanes: a comedy genius who won the prize many times. Most of his plays heavily rely on the devices that are central to the ongoing tradition of comedy. He satirised basic character flaws while putting the characters in a ridiculous setting. A good example of such a play is The Frogs, which was written mainly to satirise Euripides.
Architecture
At first, the Greeks sat on hillsides to watch the performance on a temporary wooden stage. In 400 BCE the “venue” got an upgrade in the form of a stone auditorium. This is known today as the theatre of Dionysus and represents a reconstruction from the Roman period. The best example of a classical Greek theatre is Epidaurus, which was built in around 340 BCE.
Roman Comedy (300 BCE- 200 BCE)
It is well known that Greece heavily influenced Rome in most cultural matters, but this is especially true when it comes to theatre. In the decades before and after 200 BCE, there were two Roman comedy writers who achieved lasting fame.
One of them was named Plautus and is famous for his body of work that resembled entertainment similar to a farce. The other one is Terence and he was mostly known for his comedy of manners. However, neither of them ever invented a single plot. They were all based on Greek drama, while the setting of all Terence’s plays was actually Athens.
Roman plays were held as a part of a broader event: the Roman games (which were essentially a harvest festival). Consequently, the audience was scarce and inattentive. The main events were chariot races and boxing matches, while the clowns and plays were more of a sideshow act.
What is also interesting is the fact that the Roman circus and gladiators were much more popular than the theatre. Romans found greater excitement in the gladiator’s’ arena while watching a fight to the death, than in the theatre.
Senecan Tragedies
The date of these writings cannot be exactly pinpointed due to the lack of any ancient references. According to a nineteenth-century German scholar, Friedrich Leo, Seneca’s tragedies were written essentially for recitation. Others believe that the tragedies were in fact performed during Seneca’s lifetime. Unfortunately, we cannot be certain solely on the basis of the existing evidence.
Nevertheless, Senecan tragedies are of great value. They were written in blank verse and were not all reworks of Greek dramatists. Senecan tragedies include Hercules Hercules, Furens, Troades, Phoenissae, Phaedra, Thyestes, Hercules Oetaeus, Agamemnon, Oedipus, Medea and Octavia. Seneca’s works heavily influenced medieval tragic drama and still remain of great value.
And Then There was Silence
With the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire many festivals were abated. The last records of Roman theatre could be associated within the Byzantine Empire. When the seat of Roman power shifted to the Northern Roman Empire, so did the festivities.
Various dances, including a form of ballet, together with pantomime and recitations from comedies and dances became increasingly popular. Unfortunately, by 400 CE the theatre was completely banished because of its association with the pagan gods, the lack of moral constraints and the ridicule of the church by the mimes.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire and during the upheaval in Europe, the theatre did not play any significant roles because it was suppressed by the church and reduced to folk tales. It reemerged in the late tenth century when the Christians introduced dramatic elements into the Easter liturgy to make it more interesting and captivating. These dramatic integrations led to the development of the Medieval Christian drama.
It is worth noting that this article only covers the development of the Western theatre. The Eastern theatre was unimpacted by the Christian censorship and continued its steady course of development.]]>
