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The roots of modern theater trace back to Ancient Greece, a land rich in history and lore. Many of today’s civic and theatrical traditions originate from the city-state of Athens, in the region of Attica. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea to the south, Athens was strategically built on its steep hills, allowing its citizens to seek refuge on fortified hilltops when necessary.
One of the most prominent hills is the Acropolis, home to many of the city’s ancient religious structures. The Acropolis served as the foundation of Athenian civilization and remains a symbol of Classical Greece, the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, and theater. On its southern side, two ancient theaters—one Athenian and the other Roman—remain in use today during the summer months as open-air stages.
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Ancient spectacles
The ancient Greek theater, typically built in a semi-circle (amphitheater) against a hillside, featured tiered seating for the audience and a circular stage where actors and choruses performed. Unlike modern theaters with movable scenery and curtains, the Greek stage used a permanent backdrop, often a building that symbolized various settings like a palace or temple.
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This building also housed the “machine,” a winch used to lower an actor portraying a god onto the stage, a technique that inspired the Latin term “Deus ex Machina,” meaning “God from the Machine.” The phrase is still in use today, referring to a person or thing introduced unexpectedly into a situation to provide a sudden, often contrived, solution to an otherwise unsolvable problem.
Actors in ancient Greece wore masks to distinguish their characters, often playing multiple roles in a single play. The masks allowed all-male casts to portray both male and female characters, while props like crowns, scepters, and walking sticks symbolized different traits or statuses.
Greek theater was centered around storytelling, with playwrights writing three tragedies on a specific theme, followed by a comedy to lighten the mood. The performances had a didactic purpose, illustrating real-world consequences of the characters’ actions. Renowned playwrights like Thespis, Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles laid the foundation for modern drama. The term “thespian,” used to describe actors today, comes from Thespis, one of Athens’ earliest playwrights.
Celebrated Greek gods
The most celebrated tragedians — Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles — crafted epic plays that won numerous competitions and were often performed during religious festivals. Many early plays were rewritten by later playwrights as societal values evolved. For example, the Eumenides, the three goddesses of vengeance, appear in both Achaeus of Eretria’s early work and in Aeschylus’ The Oresteia, a trilogy about the curse on the House of Atreus and the murder of King Agamemnon.
Though many ancient plays did not survive, those that did are still performed in Greece today, often in the amphitheaters of Herodus Atticus in Athens or Epidaurus. This summer, audiences can enjoy both tragedies and comedies, such as The Persians and Orestia by Aeschylus, and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.
The Persians, based on the real events of the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C.E., stirred controversy at the time, with Aristotle viewing it as sympathetic to the Persians, while Aristophanes saw it as a celebration of Athenian victory.
Orestia, on the other hand, delves into themes of revenge and humanity, as it recounts the murder of Agamemnon and the subsequent trial of his son, Orestes. Oedipus Rex explores fate and identity, revealing the tragic realization that Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has unknowingly fulfilled a prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother.
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In contrast to the tragedies, Aristophanes’ comedies like Lysistrata and The Birds offer humor and social commentary. Lysistrata, a timeless masterpiece about war and sex, tells the story of how Athenian women withhold sexual favors to end the Peloponnesian War. Meanwhile, The Birds critiques Athenian life, where the characters’ discontent with constant political squabbling leads them to seek a better existence — until birds reveal a new perspective on how to change their situation.
The ancient Greek theater was a lively experience, and the audience’s reactions were immediate. Without theater critics, viewers expressed their opinions directly, often by throwing pillows or even rotten fruit at the performers if they disapproved of the play.
Today, the enduring legacy of ancient Greek theater continues to influence modern drama, reminding us of its profound cultural significance.
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