ancient Greek theater

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The Ancient Greek Theater

Ancient Greek theatre was a . mixture of myth , legend , philosophy social commentary , poetry , dance , music , public participation , and visual splendor (Cohen 64 ) It started as part of a religious ceremony at the Dionysus festival . This festival celebrated the birth of the wine god , Dionysus and the great grapes that made the wine . It was performed at an orgia , the four tribal festivals every year . It was also known as the "Festival of the Wine Jugs " and "Old Dionysia " as stated

by Cohen

The ancient Greek theater was made of three parts . It had an Orchestra the Scene that is the stage , and the main theater , which was known as the Koilon . The Orchestra was a circular place , which was situated in front of the Skene . An altar known as the Thymeli was placed at the center of the Orchestra . In later plays the leader of the chorus who was known as koryphaios would be standing here during the performance Though some archaeological research and evidence show that some of the orchestras existing in Athens which belonged to the period of ancient Greek theater were rectangular in shape it was the circular ones which were dominant . These circular ones were the closest to the dionyssiac cult , which considered that the circle had supernatural powers . In the early years the performance took part from the orchestra to the skene , that is right in front of the skene- this was called the Proscenia , meaning pro scene situated in front of the skene

The part of the Skene which faced the audience , served as the background and this was decorated as a Temple or a Palace . There were one or three entrances for the actors in the Skene . Later on the skeneography developed (i .e . theatrical painting . These were placed on the background on painted tables and had themes like the woods , the army etc

Now between the skene and the seats , there was the Parodoi . These were two entrances , one on the right and one on the left . The chorus and the persons coming from outside that is not from the background (the Palace or the Temple ) used the Parodoi . Both the entrances had their own meanings . If a person entered from the right parodos , it was understood that he was coming from the city or the port . If he entered from the left meant that he had come from the fields . Behind the Skene there were two buildings with doors . These might extend the Proscenio and the decoration , representing the theme of the scene or they may present another theme . Along the back of the skene all along was a narrow raised platform . This was the Logeion . This area was designed for the actors for it separated them from the chorus . It is a sure fact that this took place in the Hellenistic period , for there are no records stating this in the classical theaters . In the classical theaters all performance took...