It's All Greek To Me
This Greek god was the king of the gods and ruled over thunder and lightning.
Who is Zeus?
Ancient Greek plays were usually performed indoors or outdoors?
What is outdoors?
Ancient Greek actors wore these over their faces to represent different characters.
What are masks?
Traditionally, this performer is credited as the first actor to step out of the chorus and speak independently.
Who is Thespis?
This type of Greek play generally deals with serious conflicts, suffering, and difficult consequences.
What is tragedy?
This Greek god ruled over the sea and was often pictured carrying a trident.
Who is Poseidon?
This Greek word refers to the audience seating or viewing area and is the origin of our word "theatre."
What is the theatron?
This group of performers spoke, sang, and moved together, sometimes representing townspeople or commenting on the story.
What is the chorus?
True or False? In ancient Athens, were women generally allowed to perform as actors in the major dramatic festivals?
What is False?
This type of Greek play often uses humor, ridiculous situations, and satire.
What is comedy?
Ancient Greek theatre developed as part of festivals honoring this god of wine, celebration, and theatre.
Who is Dionysus?
This circular performance area was where the Greek chorus performed. Its name is also used for a group of musicians today.
What is the orchestra?
Greek actors relied on large movements and exaggerated gestures because the audience was often very far away. What problem did these movements help solve?
What is making characters' actions and emotions visible to the audience?
This Greek goddess represented wisdom and was especially important to the city of Athens.
Athena
This Greek philosopher studied drama and wrote about the elements of tragedy in his work Poetics.
Who is Aristotle?
This annual festival featured dramatic competitions and was a major public celebration in ancient Athens.
What is the Festival of Dionysus (City Dionysia)?
This structure behind the performance area was used for entrances, changing, and as a scenic background. Its name influenced our word "scene."
What is the skene?
Greek theatre masks often had exaggerated facial expressions. A mask showing a wide smile would most likely represent which dramatic genre?
What is comedy?
Roughly how many spectators could attend a performance at the Theatre of Dionysus, according to our class slides?
Approximately 15,000
A group of three tragedies presented together is called what?
A trilogy
Greek theatre was more than just entertainment. Name one other important purpose it served in ancient Greek society.
What are religious worship and/or community/civic participation?
The Theatre of Dionysus could accommodate thousands of spectators without microphones. What feature of its design helped audiences hear the actors?
What is the theatre's acoustics, including its sloped seating and open-air design?
Most original ancient Greek theatre masks have not survived. Name ONE reason why and ONE way historians know what they looked like.
What are perishable materials that deteriorated over time, and evidence from pottery, artwork, or surviving representations?
Daily Double!
Greek plays could include many different characters, even though only a few actors performed the speaking roles. Explain TWO ways they made this possible.
Aristotle described tragedy as producing this emotional experience, often understood as a release or cleansing of emotions such as pity and fear.
What is catharsis?