Greek theater and its parts

The theater originated in Ancient Greece. In fact, Greek culture was the one that began by organizing popular shows in which They dealt with topics of citizen interest such as tragedies and comedies that entertained and instructed the same weather. But the theater was not only considered as mere entertainment but it was considered as a scenic art in which great Greek authors such as Sophocles or Euripides.

The Greeks made the theater a new profession and, therefore, in cities like Athens buildings were built that were intended only to broadcast plays. In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to discover you how was the greek theater and its parts and that, thus, you see the great work that the Greeks did to consecrate an art as important as that of the theater.

Index

1. Parts and elements of Greek theater
2. Characteristics of the Greek theater
3. Greek theater actors

Let's get into the subject and get to know what the Greek theater and its parts were like. You have to know that these constructions were divided into three different sections and that they marked the place where the public had to go, the place of the actors and the area in which the choir performed. But so that you better understand what the elements of the theater were, here is a list with the names and the functions that each one fulfilled.

Orchestra

In Greek, the word orchestra Means dance and this area of ​​the theater was known that way because it was the one that was destined to Choir members will dance and sing. Therefore, the orchestra It used to be a circular or semicircular area located in the open air and in which the choir remained throughout the performance of the theatrical works.

The orchestra It used to be connected to corridors that allowed the choir artists to access this area of ​​the theater.

Skené

Another part of the Greek theater is what was known as skené. We currently know this area as stage and it is where the actors represented the works oriented towards the public. In Greek theaters, these spaces used to meet a series of characteristics, for example, they were rectangular in size and somewhat narrow. They rose three meters above the orchestra since it was located behind, in this way, it allowed the public a better visibility.

In the back area of ​​the skené There was a wooden construction that was used as props or decoration, in this way, the representations looked more realistic and credible. The front area of ​​the skené it was known by the name of proskenionand it was where the actors carried out the representations.

To achieve more impressive and striking works, in some theaters the skené was decorated with columns or statues. These elements, in addition to decorating, also allowed to better place the sets and get the public to fully connect with the work.

Koilon

Another part of the Greek theater is what is known as koilon and that in Castilian, it means "the place where it is contemplated". Therefore, the koilon is the area of ​​the stands or the space for the public. This space used to be designed in a semicircular way and it used to be adorned with elements that could serve as seats (for example, wood, stones, etc.).

But in Ancient Greece, society was very well segmented and, therefore, the koilon was divided into different sections. For example, the proedia they were the seats that were in the first row and, therefore, the closest to the orchestra. These seats were thought to be occupied by the greatest personalities of society such as priests and authorities.

Now that you know the parts of the Greek theater, let's discover some of the features of this theater that are most relevant. As we have already indicated, the origin of the theater It was in Ancient Greece and, therefore, the buildings that we have today to represent the works also drink from the Greek creation. In fact, after having known the different parts of these spaces, surely you have been able to verify that they do not differ too much from the ones we currently have in cities.

However, the theaters of Ancient Greece complied with a number of common features which, below, we will summarize:

1. Outdoor: the first theaters in history were built outdoors and, therefore, they were not closed buildings but open constructions
2. Sacrifices: at the beginning, in the area of ​​the orchestra an altar was usually placed in which a divine sacrifice of a lamb was made to pay homage to the god Dionysus
3. Hillsides: Theaters used to be built on the slopes of the hills in order to create bleachers and improve the visibility of the attending public
4. Chorus: the importance of the choir is vital in the greek plays since it was a group of people who embodied a character who fulfilled a vital function during the course of the play. The members of the choir sang and danced and, initially, could be up to 50 people
5. The theatrical audience: people from any social class could access the theater and, therefore, the influx was massive and very popular at the time. Of course, there were areas reserved for the most important people in society, as we have already mentioned.
6. Use of masks: We must remember that in Greece only men acted and, therefore, in order to embody female characters they dressed in a wig, mask and clothing. All the actors wore masks that made it possible to emphasize the character of their character and achieve greater expressiveness.

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And to finish this lesson on Greek theater and its parts it is important to talk about one of the essential factors that allowed the theater to develop and acquire the category of art: actors. The acting profession began to take its first steps at this time, which is when the first actors in history appeared.

The origin of the actor is in the figure of the choir since, in the early days, the shows were performed in honor of the god Dionysus where a group of choristers sang and narrated the adventures written by the authors. With the passage of time, some members of the choirs stood out since they not only sang and danced, but also acted to narrate the action in an exciting and deep-seated way. And that's how the first actor was born.

With the passage of time, the actors began to star in the plays that were shown in the theaters of Greece and could embody characters of all kinds: with more comic dyes, mythological, historical or burlesque. These plays were initially performed by only one actor but, as time passed, the number of actors on stage began to increase. However, it was common for the characters to be superior to the actors who worked and, therefore, a single actor used to play more than one character in the work.

For this reason, costumes and masks andn Ancient Greek plays were so important. They allowed the actors to really transform themselves into very different characters from each other and, in addition, they managed to better convey the essence and virtues of each character. In fact, the clothing that the characters wore was not individual but was designed to identify specific characters in society (kings, workers, warriors ...).

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