They were the first step toward a literary drama with both tragedy and comedy. These plays were demonstrated at the city of Dionysus featuring Greek actors such as Thespis. The plays consisted of three unities. The unity of action, time and place. The all united to form a whole with a ‘certain degree of magnitude’ according to Aristotle.
Causing people of his time to consider issues within their own society. Many of Sophocles plays were performed during a religious festival held in Athens honoring the Greek God Dionysus, called The City Dionysia. For each festival a competition was held where competitors would write plays that were performed throughout the festival. At the conclusion the author of the best play was declared the winner. Sophocles entered this competition many times and was often awarded first prize.
Historians have long considered Ancient Greece to be one of the most influential societies on modern day life. Ancient Greece has inspired the modern world in five main areas: theatre, government, philosophy, art, and architecture. Theatre flourished in Greece, particularly in Athens, between c. 550 BC and c. 220 BC. During its beginnings theatrical performances were part of Dionysia, a festival held in honour of the god Dionysus. The plot of the plays was always inspired by Greek mythology, a theme that is still common today.
Solon began the idea of celebrating Dionysus by reciting Homer’s play. These festivals were first held in honor of Dionysus, but through the years it evolved into a celebration of other gods and hero’s inside the walls of Athens. “The ... ... middle of paper ... ...e to lash out were the three best playwrights of 5th century BC. They were Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles. They changed theater for the better by introducing multiple characters, by adding drama and irony to the stage and by utilizing props such as masks and costumes.
Soon after the dithyramb became popular at Athenian festivals where poets would compete to create their own unique dithyramb. Soon the dithyramb ceased to be about Dionysus and his adventures. Famous poets chose subjects from several different periods of Greek mythology. Over time, the dithyrambs formed into stories to be performed thus creating drama. During the golden age of Greece, city-states were developed, the most prominent being Athens with a population of at least 150,000.
Oedipus The King as Greek Tragedy The genre of drama is wide and contains works of varied forms and subjects. The first drama, on which all later works are based, developed in Greece and dealt with religious and social issues. According to AristotleÕs The Poetics, a Greek Tragedy must deal with a serious purpose, arousing a sense of pity or fear in the audience. The emphasis must be on plot over character development and the playwright must utilize suspense and unity of time, place and action. Aristotle writes that a tragic hero is a character who is renowned and prosperous, not necessarily perfect, but not an evil person either.
One of the most central aspects of the god Dionysus was his importance in theater. He had three distinguished festivals dedicated to theater: the Lenaia and the lesser and greater Dionysia. In order to understand these festivals, one must first understand the meaning of theater and how it relates to Dionysus throughout Athenian history, and in classical Athens. Many items used in Athenian theater were, from an early origin, directly and religiously related to Dionysus, such as costumes and masks. Plays were in a way a form of worship of the god of theater, and Athenians did so through dance and music, and also through things like miracle plays.
Theater was an important part of Ancient Greek Civilization. History of Greek theatre began with religious festivals which aim to honor Dionysus, a god. During the festivals some citizens sing songs and perform improvisation plays and other participants of festivals judges this performances to decide which one of them was the best. These plays form the foundation of the Greek Theatre. Because of the competition between performers to create best performances, plays gained an aesthetic perspective and became a form of art.
The Great Dionysia was an important yearly religious celebration and festival, honoring Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility. The Great Dionysia is where theatre first began. Also, the actors of ancient Greek theatre were treated much differently than actors are today. They heavily impacted ancient theatre and shaped the way performers act today. Most actors performed in tragedies and comedies, the two main forms of theatre.
In a general sense comedy and tragedy differ only in there endings. For instance both comedies and tragedies can have moments of laughter and sadness, but comedies end happy while tragedies end very sad. While both genres of drama have greatly influenced theater as we know it today, Greek tragedy is better known as having a more important part in modern history. This is because tragic plays portray many issues still plaguing society’s today. Although societies develop through the ages, the people who make up the societies will always have the same faults, desires, consequences; and in a broad sense this is what tragedies portray.