Have you ever wondered where the Olympics started or maybe where your favorite theatre comedies originated from? Well the answer is Greece. Greece is where these two wondrous forms of entertainment and competition started and expanded from. Both sports and theatre influenced and changed Greek live changing the way we live our lives in the process. Sports were an important aspect of Greek life for both children and adults. Greek children usually played with each other competitively such as racing each other or playing games such as ephedrismos and morra. Usually the boys and the girls played separately because the Greek boys liked to play naked. Greek parents also encouraged their children to do juggling as a way to improve their motor skills. Sports was all about winning even for the children back in …show more content…
Two types of plays were developed in Greek particularly in Athens called tragedies, a serious play based on myths, and comedies, funny maybe even rude plays. Playwrights who regularly wrote these plays usually became quite successful and famous. Such as Euripides, who was known for his dialogues, realism, and habit of posing awkward questions to the audience, and Sophocles, who was “extremely popular and added a third actor to the performance as well as painted scenery” (Cartwright). Almost every major Greek city had an open-air theatre for plays. During those plays actors often wore costumes and different masks showing different moods, music often accompanied the plays. In conclusion, Greek sports and theatre has changed Greek lives, it has provided Greeks with a form of entertainment, it has provided jobs, it has brought riches and fame to the athletes and playwrights. Greek sports and theatre has made a huge difference over what people do. Both for the ancient Greeks and modern people in more ways than anyone can
Athletics were an expression of the philosophical, religious and civic values that were at the very heart of Greek culture. In the world of the ancient Greeks, well-educated individuals were expected to be balanced mentally, spiritually, and physically (http://www.mediaconcero.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). It was felt that athletics aided in the creation of such an individual. Athletic events during this period were not simply displays of physical prowess, but an integration of the facets of Greek culture.
In the history of civilization, there have been many different types of theatre. There is Greek theatre and Elizabethan theater. Some are musicals, some are comedies and some are tragedies. Some types employ realistic techniques while others are more avant-gardes. But one type stands out among the rest, and that is Kabuki theatre. This classical Japanese style of dance and drama is not just theatre. It is a beautiful form of art, which has been carefully crafted over many centuries.
The Ancient Greece era played a big role on how we still live today. It contributed its religion, technology, important events, and even its theater to us. Gods and goddesses also played a big role in ancient Greece, which is evidence in the play The Curmudgeon by Meander.
A play is meant to entertain. A play that amuses the audience is considered a comedy, and a play that saddens is classified as a tragedy. Sophocles wrote tragedies about ordinary people and their interaction with fate. All of Sophocles’ major characters posses a heroic flaw. A heroic flaw is a trait that brings both good and bad events upon the character (Magill 3). Sophocles’ use of heroic flaws, the irony between a prophecy and a characters attempt to avoid it, his definition of what makes someone great, and his view of laws are the reasons why his plays are still read almost two thousand years after they were written.
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece explains a variety of ways in which the Greeks were influenced by their religion. The Greeks expressed their respect for their gods through sacred acts, primarily festivals and rituals. The festivals were held to honor certain deities such as the Olympic Games, an event held for athletes meant to honor
The Ancient Greek Olympics were not only sporting events, it was a celebration to honor the great and powerful Zeus. The Ancient Olympics were held every four years at the famous Olympia, a district of Elis, here all free Greek men were allowed to compete. The first record of the Olympic Games was held in 776 B.C. The main sports were the Pentathlon, the Equestrian Events, Pankration, and Boxing.
The Olympic Games were started by the Greeks a long time ago. It was in the honor of Zeus, the kings of the gods and were part of a religious festivals. They started in 776 B.C. The games were held every four years in Olympia, which is located in southeast Greece. People came from all around Greece to take part or just watch the games. Events in the Ancient Olympic Games were boxing, chariot racing, riding, pentathlon, discus, javelin, jump, running, and wrestling. Events in modern Olympic Games are swimming, diving,
Ancient Greece is famous for their beautiful and various forms of fine art. One such form of entertainment still admired today is Greek theater. Many famous plays are still acted out by modern day thespians, however, Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, remains as one of the most famous plays presented in Ancient Greek theater. This play spreads the message of how one cannot escape fate nor punishment for wrongdoing, whether a king or commoner.Complex characters drag the audience in and keep them engaged as more attributes, flaws, and plot are revealed. Oedipus, the protagonist of Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King, experiences first hand how one’s flaws can be their own antagonist and bring the downfall of men.
...in our readings. Understanding the importance of the athlete to the Greeks will further our understanding of why so much of their art is focused on athletes and athletic events. It is important to understand that everyday Greek culture is depicted by Greek art.
In ancient Greece, plays were more then simply a form of entertainment. "Athenian drama was supported and financed by the state. (...)Greek theater was directed at the moral and political education of the community." (Kennedy and Gioia, pgs 1357-1363) Sophocles understood this, and dissipated any pollyanic view of society by presenting us with plays that were intended to teach. Sophocles's Oedipus the King issued a warning for those who foolishly believed that they could challenge the forces of nature. Sophocles was known for presenting characters that are fluid not static. So it should come as no surprise that the Oedipus the reader encounters at the outset of the play, an extraordinary leader, but one who's pride has lead him to challenge his fate, has changed by the end of the play. He comes to realize that all his efforts to change the outcome of his life were acts of futility. We are shown a man who has finally accepted divine will and though now fallen from high estate is uplifted in moral dignity. (Kennedy and Gioia Pg 1364-1365)
Life in Greece in ancient times would remind you of your own life in many ways. There was school, family, athletic competition, and social gatherings. Knowing that participants in their sporting events competed nude or that you rarely knew your husband/wife until the wedding day does however, make you grateful for the society that you live in today.
During the Classic Greek era, dramas were the most important form of entertainment which included three genres: comedy, satyr, and the most significant of all, tragedy. The genre of tragedy was important to the Greek because is allowed the citizens to purge or to commit catharsis (Class Dis.). The popular and well known play, Oedipus Rex is an example of a tragedy that evokes emotion by following the trials and triumphs of a tragic hero. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’ fate, hubris, and failure to acknowledge his identity led to his ultimate downfall as a tragic hero.
Greek and Elizabethan theatre, while similar in some respects, had a few large differences. The Greeks believed in a certain unity of theme, which was prevalent throughout the production. Greek plays were often drawn from myth or of historical significance, so it seems that only ki...
Ancient Olympics The ancient Olympics had some differences from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Women where not allowed to even watch the games on penalty of death let alone play in them.. Also, the games were always held at Olympia in Greece instead of being moved around to different sites every time. But also they had some similarities to our modern Olympics, winning athletes were heroes who put their home towns on the map, and became financially sound for life. The conflict between the Olympic's ideals of sportsmanship and unity and the commercialism and political acts which accompany the Games where also present in ancient times. "Sotades at the ninety-ninth Festival was victorious in the long race and proclaimed a Cretan, as in fact he was. But at the next Festival he made himself an Ephesian, being bribed to do so by the Ephesian people. For this act he was banished by the Cretans."
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.