Mythology, Ritual and Ancient Babylonia
What is a Primary Orality culture?
Primary Orality: “those peoples who have never encountered writing and whose entire worldview and modes of communication are untouched by any form of writing” (Zarrilli et al, 17).
The ancient Egyptian Ikhernofret Stela describes what type of performance?
Passion Play
What were the three main types of ancient Greek theater?
In ancient Rome, what type of spectacle was known as Naumachia?
Naval battles
What is a Passion Play?
A religious drama dealing with suffering, death, and resurrection.
What was the Babylonian ritual festival that included the ritual humiliation of the king?
• Dionysia
• Ludi Romani
• Akītu Festival
• Phlyax
Akītu Festival
Which Egyptian god, considered the ultimate royal god and depicted as a “falcon-headed man”?
Horus
Considering Aristotle’s definition of a tragic character, who is the protagonist of the play Antigone?
Creon
What roles were women allowed to play in ancient Roman theater?
Only in mimes
Who were the Histriones in ancient Rome?
Roman actors
What is a Processional Performance?
“performance in motion through space.” (Kirshenblatt-Gimblett).
Which Egyptian god represented the desert and lands beyond it, symbolized evil and foreign enemies, and was often depicted as a hippopotamus?
Seth
Who was the ancient Greek playwright of Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, and Electra, and is credited with introducing the third actor?
Sophocles (496–406 BCE)
What are two main differences between ancient Roman theaters and Greek theaters?
What is a dithyramb?
A choral song in honor of Dionysus.
What is the main difference between ritual and theatre?
Primary purpose
- Theatre: Artistic and aesthetic pleasure, entertainment
- Ritual: Survival of the society
In the play The Triumph of Horus, based on ancient Egyptian ritual, what is the main role of the chorus?
Cheering for Horus
In Aristotle’s view, what is the main purpose of tragedy?
Catharsis
Who was Rome’s best-known comedy playwright, author of 21 plays adapted from New Greek Comedy, including Menaechmi (The Brothers Menaechmus)?
Plautus
What is Historical Positivism?
Historical Positivism is the belief that history should be studied objectively through documentary sources and facts, treating science as the only valid knowledge and rejecting any forces beyond observable facts and laws.
What is Cultural Darwinism?
• Extends Darwin’s theories to include cultural phenomenon.
• Theatre evolves through a “steady-to-complex” process.
• Assumption that societies that separate art and ritual are superior to those who do not.
What did the thinkers of the “Aryan model” believe about the origins of ancient Greek culture and art?
They argued that Greek culture and art were the product of a racially “pure” European lineage, rejecting influences from Egypt, Mesopotamia, or other non-European civilizations. This contrasted with earlier “Ancient Model” views, which acknowledged strong cultural borrowings from African and Near Eastern societies.
Who was the comic playwright, known as a dramatist of “Old Comedy,” who wrote plays such as The Birds, The Frogs, Plutus, and Lysistrata, and was twice taken to court for his comedies?
Aristophanes
What was the most important feature of Seneca's tragedies?
Their focus on rhetoric and psychological analysis rather than stage action