Greek Theater: history, characteristics and works

Currently, going to the theater is quite common, especially in large cities, which have a succulent billboard with a multitude of plays to choose from. Of course, we all have our preferences when it comes to authors and styles; the very long history of performing arts offers a lot of scope when it comes to deciding.

What you may not have known is that, originally, theater was a religious manifestation. That's how it is; was born in ancient Greece related to the celebrations in honor of the gods, especially Dionysus or Dionysus, popularly known as the god of wine, but whose meaning was then much deeper, as we will see.

In this article we are going to delve into the origins of the Greek theater, in its historical trajectory and in the most representative authors and works.

Origins of the Greek theater: in honor of the god Dionysus

There are many current entertainments that have a sacred origin, and theater is no exception. Although it is unknown when and where exactly the Greek theater was born, it is believed that one of its bases could be the

Great Dionysias of Athens, that is, the festivals dedicated to the god Dionysus. During these celebrations, which lasted for days, the crowds gathered excitedly to drink, sing and dance and, of course, to attend certain shows that represented themes mythological.

We will understand much better the religious (and especially Bacchic) ​​origin of the Greek theater if we take the etymology of the word tragedy. Today, the word refers to a play with a sad and unfortunate content, as well as an eminently painful real event. But what do we find if we take the Greek root of the word?

Tragedy is a Castilian voice that comes from Latin and that, in turn, has its origins in the tragoidy Greek. tragoidy It is composed of two roots: tragos, "male goat", and i heard, "singing". Therefore, tragedy, in its original meaning, could be translated as "the song of the goat".

Amazing? If we analyze the reason for the birth of the Greek theater, it will not be so surprising. We have already commented that the beginnings have their roots in the celebrations in honor of the god Dionysus (the Roman Bacchus). Well, the goat was one of the animal-symbols of divinity, while Dionysus was the god of fecundity, fertility and abundance.

During the primitive festivities in honor of the god (before the Dionysias of Athens), a ram was sacrificed so that, with its blood, it would feed the crops and guarantee food and security for the people. While this bloody sacrifice was taking place, the goblins, dancers disguised as satyrs, danced in ecstasy. (let us not forget that Dionysus was also the god of drunkenness, disorder and debauchery) and they recited psalmodies in honor of the god. These types of liturgies were called dithyrambs, and they are the first clear antecedent of later Greek theatre.

How do these dithyrambs evolve towards the celebrations of the classical era (such as the aforementioned Great Dionysias), where theater is already the main protagonist? Historians believe that from the verses of the goblins originated the idea of ​​the chorus, the voices that support the actors. On the other hand, the chorus that, in the dithyramb, responded to the dancers, is the precedent of the actor.

Because in the first Greek theatrical performances (6th century B.C. C.), a single actor carried the entire weight of the representation. Later, especially thanks to Aeschylus (525 - 456 a. C.), a second interpreter is added. Already in classical times, the number of actors was variable (depending on the work and the author), although the usual was a maximum of four.

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Characteristics and evolution of the Greek theater

According to legend (because it is not certain that such a character existed), Thespis was the first actor in history, who separated from the chorus of dithyrambs to declaim his own lines. It is said that Thespis was the winner of the theater contest of the Great Dionysias of Athens in 536 BC. c.

Legends aside, the truth is that, in the sixth century B.C. C., the theater is consolidated as part of the Greek religious celebrations. And it is no longer a matter of dancers who sing and a chorus that answers them, but of a complete representation, which has about three actors in scene (protagonist, deuteragonist and triagonist), plus the choir that supports them, which is symbolically located in the place previously occupied by the altar of Dionysus.

Both the actors and the chorus were made up exclusively of men, as was the case with all other public acts in ancient Greece. But, as stated by Máximo Brioso Sánchez in his interesting article The audience of the ancient Greek theater, we cannot affirm with certainty that women were prohibited from attending as mere spectators, despite the social restrictions of which they were victims. On the other hand, the public officials of the city and the priests had the privilege of occupying the best seats.

The masks were an essential element in the Greek theater, since, in addition to exercising a ritual function (Dionysus was related to everything hidden and the darkness of the human being), allowed the actors to characterize themselves to represent diverse papers.

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A new building for a new show

As the Greek theater gained presence in religious festivals, a place to perform the plays became necessary.

At the beginning, these buildings were built with ephemeral materials, such as wood, so we have no evidence of their structure and characteristics. Later, around the sixth century, the koilon either cavea (the stands) began to be built with stone on the slopes of a hill, as evidenced by the remains from the wonderful theater of Thorikos, east of the city of Athens, the oldest Greek theater conserved.

With the passing of the centuries, the structure of the theaters was modified. While the theater of Thorikos has an elliptical shape and straight stands, in the Hellenistic period the morphology changes considerably. It is the time of theaters like the one in Epidaurus, in the Argolis, built in the 4th century BC. c. and that it corresponds, following the classification that Jean-Charles Moretti proposes to the typology of oriental Hellenistic theater.

Epidaurus, designed by Polykleitos the Younger and intended for representations in honor of the god Asclepius, It already has a semicircular grandstand, which in its heyday could accommodate no less than 14,000 viewers. Famous is the acoustics of the place; It is said that if someone drops a coin on stage, the people in the upper stands can hear the noise.

We cannot conclude this section without giving, at least, a general idea of ​​what were the main parts of the theater in Greek times. In the center, circular in shape and with a sand floor, we find the orchestra, space where the choir was located and where, in more archaic times, the thymile or sacrificial altar for Dionysus. He koilon either cavea It was the stands where the spectators sat, usually in the shape of a half circle. Finally, on the other side of the orchestra the scene either skene, the stage where the actors declaimed, generally on top of a platform.

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Genres and authors of the Greek theater

We have already discussed where the word tragedy comes from, which also corresponds to the first of the Greek theatrical genres. The tragedies staged mythological stories of gods and heroes, and had a highly solemn and moralizing content. Comedy appeared later, a word that has its roots in the word komos, “parade”, and i heard, “song, ode”. According to other sources, komos it would be the name given to the cries of the bacchantes, the worshipers of Dionysus.

Among the main authors of Greek tragedy we find the aforementioned Aeschylus, with works such as The Persians (472 B.C. C.), the Oresteía (458 a. C.), composed of three works related to the curse of the house of Atreus, or The seven against Thebes (467 a. c.). Euripides (484-406 B.C. C.), is also an important representative, with works such as The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Aulis (both from 406 B.C. c.). Finally, Sophocles (496-406 B.C. C.) closes the "triad" of authors, with world-famous works such as the trilogy dedicated to the hero Oedipus, the tragedy ajax (450-430 B.C. C.) and electra (418-410 B.C. c.).

the greek comedy (also called comedy artistophanic for being Aristophanes its main author) had, in general, a humorous character as well as a critic. We find this style, specifically, in the comedies of Aristophanes (444-385 BC). C.), such as Clouds (423 B.C. C.), where the author criticizes the philosophers who believe they are new, The birds (414 B.C. C.), an acid satire on the expansionism of Athens, or the famous Lysistrata (411 a. C.), on the "war of the sexes" and the situation of women.