performed for special occasions festivals competitive prizes awarded to best actors and playwrights...
TRANSCRIPT
Performed for special occasions Festivals
Competitive Prizes awarded to best actors and playwrights
Choral Singing involved
Religious Stories based on myths or history Greek gods invoked throughout plays
Festival of Dionysus Yearly festival Groups would
perform for prizes Semicircular theater
Seats on the hillside Stage located at the
bottom of hill Up to 14,000 people
in the audience
Actors wore masks Large
mouthpieces that amplified voice
Mask styles reflected character's status: king, servant, etc.
Actors were all men
Purpose of tragedy: “to arouse pity and fear in the audience so that we may be purged, or cleansed, of these unsettling emotions” (World Drama 8).
Tragic hero Rich, well-liked, admired Better than the audience yet still fails
Hero has Hubris = arrogant pride Hero has Harmantia = tragic flaw
Wrote 92 plays in his lifetime
Rarely won first place in play competitions
Became more popular after his death
Thus, his manuscripts were copied and preserved.
References to his work in medieval and Renaissance literature
Usually focused on controversial issues, challenging traditional views
Plays do not follow typical dramatic style Used minor myths or changed major
myths Less poetic language than other Greek
playwrights More realistic characterizations and dialogue
Medea: granddaughter of sun god Helios, has magic powers
Medea meets Jason Helps him obtain golden fleece in exchange for
his promise to marry her Uses her magic to help Jason obtain fleece and
take revenge on his father's half-brother Pelias After killing Pelias, Medea and Jason (now
married), go to Corinth, where this play is set.
World Drama. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston.
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/ancientgreek.htm