Thar 102 Greek Comedy Web Page Presentation Outline
Political, Social and Religious Ideas of Ancient Greece during the Classical Period
Politics
Geography
Landscape forming borders
Maps of Ancient Greece
Concept of Earth
City-states (Polis)
Developed in Archaic Age
750-500 BC
Colonization of South Italy & Sicily by Greeks
Taxes
Minimal tax burden on Athenian natives
Main Government Revenue sales tax at the Agora (marketplace)
Taxing of foreign citizens
Voting Rights only males of pure Athenian decent
1% Wartime tax
Persian Wars
550-449 BC
Battle of Marathon
1st battle of 51 years of war
Athenians were far out-numbered but strategy won out
Persia soundly defeated
Delian League
Created after the war
Athens and Ionian states in Asian Minor
Growth of Greek culture and economy
Religion
12 Gods
Mt. Olympus
Aphrodite –love
Apollo –music, prophecy & medicine
Ares –war
Artemis –the hunt
Athena –wisdom & war
Demeter –earth
Dionysis – wine
Hades – underworld
Hera – wife and sister of Zeus – marriage
Hestia – hearth & home
Poseidon – the sea
Zeus – ruler of Olympian gods
Meddle in everyday politics and society
Festivals in honor of Gods
Athletic competitions
Drama competitions
Sacrifices
Oracle at Delphi
Delphi - center of the Greek world
The Oracle - priestess of Apollo (prophecy)
Social Identity
Philosophers
Socrates
development of moral character
Plato
student of Socrates
founded a school to teach Socratic philosophy
Writers
Sophacles
Specialized in plot
Aeschylus
525-456 BC
introduced the second actor
Euripides
Humanized the gods
Aristotle
Tragic form
Plot
Characters
Theme
Language
Music
Spectacle
Gender Roles
No women actors in theatre
Men only voted
Social Political & Religious influence of the Classical Period of Ancient
Greece
1. Prelude to the Classical Period
A. Geographical summary
a. Borders and Landscape (picture)
b. Concepts of the Earth
B. Archaic Period
C. Persian Wars
a. Battle of Marathon
b. Subsequent results of victory
2. The Classical Age
A. Politics
a. Characteristics of a City-State
b. Responsibilities of leaders and citizens
B. Religion
a. Gods and their representation
b. Festivals and their relation to religion
c. The Oracle at Delphi
C. Society
a. Philosophers and artisans
b. Gender roles
c. Theater in society
3. The Frogs
A. Aristophanes (picture)
B. Performances and awards
Aristophanes' Ancient Greek Comedy-- "Old Attic Comedy"
-purpose: to educate and entertain (Casson, 9)
-more like today's musicals than our modern day comedies (Casson, 6)
-most popular from 455 to 385 BC (Ehrenberg, 15-16)
- 11 of Aristophanes' plays are the only surviving examples (Ehrenberg, xv)
Acharnians
Birds
Clouds
Ekklesiazousai
Frogs
Knights
Lysistrata
Peace
Ploutos
Thesmophoriazousai
Wasps
How Old Comedy began (Benet)
1. evolved from Dionysian fertility rituals, which:
- allowed for obscenity in plays
- obscenity was believed to drive away evilness (Spatz, 21)
- granted playwrights the freedom of political commentary
2. and from the comos- a carnival-like procession of revelers who sang
and dances throughout town, often wearing masks and animal costumes or
leading animals. (Spatz, 21)
The Festivals
1)The Greater Dionysia Festival (Casson, 5)
-end of March or beginning of April
-three days long with a trilogy of tragic plays and one satyr play per day
-three tragic and comic playwrights compete for a separate prize
-comedy competitions began in 486 BC
2) The Lenaea Festival
-end of January or beginning of February
-emphasis on comedy
-began in 442 BC
-three comic writers competed, with one play each three tragic writers competed with only two plays each
-these festivals continued for at least 350 years (Casson, 5)
-festivals were run entirely by the state as a part of a religious
celebration
-two elected "archons" were in charge of assigning choruses and actors
to the festival contestants. One archon per festival.
The Beginning of Profession Acting
-cost to pay all the actors was too much for the state to handle
-each playwright was assigned a wealthy "chorus handler" to pay the
large choruses (Casson, 6)
-often the early playwrights would cut down the cost by starring as the
lead role himself
-work on the productions started 6 months before the festivals
(Spatz, 26)
Influences and Playwrights of the time (Wilson, 33-40)
Aeschylus (525- 456 BC)
-born of a noble family in Eleusis, near Athens
-founder of Greek drama
-added second actor on stage from the original single actor
-reduced the size of the chorus
-wrote about 90 plays, 79 of which are known (Wilson, 33)
Sophocles (496- 406)
-introduced a third actor
-emphasis on plot construction
-acted in his own early dramas (as early playwrights often did)
-wrote over 120 plays
-known for his good nature (Wilson, 34)
Euripides (480- 406)
-most "modern" tragic Greek playwright-- criticized greatly
-died a few months after Sophocles
-his mixing of comedy and tragedy became a model for tragicomedy
and melodramas of the future.
-created believable female characters
-portrayed gods as fallible (Wilson, 35)
Aristotle (384-322)
-one of the most influential Greek philosophers
- book Poetics shows his views on literature
- believed that drama, especially tragedy is a danger to society because
it encouraged irrationality (Wilson, 40)
Aristophanes, 450-387 BC (Casson, 8)
-grew up in the wealthy, conservative middle class in Athens
-used his plays to ridicule the people and ideas that he felt were
leading Athens to ruin (Wilson, 46)
-wrote about 40 plays in his life time.
-didn't feel confident enough to stage his own plays, and usually turned
them over to a producer-director (46)
Major three themes in plays (Casson, 9):
1) politics and the war with Sparta
2) literature (especially regarding Euripides)
3) education and the teachings of the sophists, whose views directly
opposed Aristophanes'
-fun fact: according to Plato, Aristophanes could outdrink and outtalk
all the guests at an all-night party (Wilson, 46)
Satirical Humor- political satire
1. Old Comedy was used to ridicule public figures, institutions, gods,
and the people's views on the figures.
2. Aristophanes provided literary criticism in his plays
3. Aristophanes' favorite victims of satire:
a. the demagogue Cleon (Knights)
b. Euripides (Frogs, Thesmophoriazusae)
c. Socrates (Clouds)
Aristophanes' universal influences on theatre (picture):
Freedom of creativity
a. inventing new, unknown characters
b. gave known characters (Dionysius, in Frogs) new personalities
c. created entirely new worlds and societies (Cloudcuckooland and the
birdmen in Birds)
Entertaining Choral Additions for Comedy productions (Benet)
1. Pnigos: patter song sung by the chorus sung in one breath
2. Agon: contest in which the 2 halves of the chorus argue violently
over some contemporary question
3. Parabasis: when the chorus directly addressed the audience to reward
the playwright
4. Phalli: large artificial phalluses as a part of the actors' stage dress
-symbol of fertility & continued life in Greek culture (Murray, 4)
Acting Style of Greek Old Comedy
1. Exclusively men
2. Large, exaggerated movements
- Had to be seen by those sitting in the back rows of the amphitheatre
3. Loud, strong voices
- faces hid behind masks which made it more difficult
-amphitheatre naturally had great acoustics
How Old Comedy is Performed Today (picture):
1. Comic moments and main messages were universal enough to appeal to
present day audiences
2. New and improved!
- over time, theatrical technology, theatre spaces, costumes etc. have
improved or changed in style and gave a much wider range of
opportunities for special effects, set design, etc.
For example, in The Frogs, Greek actors originally pantomimed rowing
in a boat with oars, while today theatre groups have figured out
ways to make the boat trip more realistic. (Wilson, 42)
3. Unrealistic acting
- big, bold characters
The End of Old Comedy
After the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, 404 BC (Benet)
- decrease in freedom of speech
-Old Comedy led to the next form of drama called New Comedy
-The Frogs was performed the year before, right after Sophocles and
Euripides died.
Spectacle of Old Greek Comedy
a. Theater Space
i. History of the Amphitheater (Nicoll 20-21)
1. Theaters built to accommodate the rise of comedy and tragedy
a. religion was the basis of theater, so it appealed to many people
b. needed a space that could hold all the people, so built
theaters at the base of hills, making natural amphitheaters
2. Amphitheater
a. Theatron (picture Nicoll 23)
i. seating on the mountainside for audience
b. Orchestra
i. the floor was circular for dancing
ii. mostly used by the chorus
iii. entered through the parados
c. Proscenium (picture, Nicoll 27)
i. stage used for the main actors
ii. above the chorus ( Arnott 2)
d. Skene
i. backstage changing area
ii. three doors for the actors to enter and exit
iii. sound carried by bouncing off the walls of the building
e. Altar
i. may or may not have used one in the last scene between the two
poets
b. Set Designs
i. Movable sets (Lever 125)
1. Set changing was neither realistic nor elaborate (Wilson 50,
Lever 125)
a. In today's time, we as the audience, assume that the settings of
various plays will be easily distinguished (Wilson 50)
b. In the time of Aristophanes, the set designs and set changes were
usually fairly subtle (Wilson 50)
c. Not elaborate set designs since it was hard to create a specific
location or uniqueness for every play that was performed (Wilson 50)
2. Pinake: early theater flat which was made out of a wooden frame
with fabric covering one side (Wilson 50)
3. Periaktoi: screen-like structure that was made out of three pinake
that were hinged together (Wilson 50)
a. Each pinake portrayed one location, which could be changed
when the periaktoi was turned to reveal a new scene (Wilson 50)
ii. Stage Scenery of the Greek Theater
1. Mechane (aka deus ex machina): Crane that raised the god
characters
into the air for the effect that they were coming down from the
heavens (Wilson 50-51) (picture of mechane and ekkyklema on page 51-
Wilson)
2. Ekkyklema: a wooden structure that would be wheeled onstage with a
"dead" person on it to show the after effects of a violent act which
occurred offstage (Wilson 51)
iii. No curtain used (Lever 125)
iv. Skene house-provided a backdrop of a location for audience
(Lever 69)
- Worked with spoken décor
v. Greeks used a few set pieces including:
- Altars for the gods (usually in the center of the orchestra area)
(Lever 125)
a. Altars were used to make the people remember that theater during
these times was strictly for religious purposes (paying respects to
the gods) (Wilson 49)
b. Trees or bushes to show that it is outside (Lever 125)
vi. Props in The Frogs include:
1. A throne or two for the scene in Pluto's palace
2. Torch lights for the journey that Dionysos and Xanthias make
3. A boat that Xanthias, Dionysos, and Charon take to the underworld
4. A donkey that Xanthias is riding in the beginning of the journey
(it is debated as to what the Greeks did with the donkey if it were
real (Dover 180))
5. Some scales are used when Euripides and Aeschylus are battling
for the chance to return to earth with Dionysos
c. Lighting
i. Sun= natural lighting (Lever 124-125)
ii. Spoken décor told what time of day the play was performed
1. Usually given by chorus members
iii. A play was presented at dawn if the text called for the time
being at sunrise (Wilson 46)
d. Costumes
i. Masks (picture Nicoll 46)
1. showed different characters
a. difference b/w tragedy and comedy
b. chorus would have the same face in tragedy
c. chorus had different faces in comedy depending
on character type
d. nobles had crowns
2. Covered actors entire face
a. actors able to play multiple roles
ii. Clothing (modern adaptation picture, Wilson & Goldfarb, 47)
1. Everyone wore togas
a. color was decided by character role
b. example: chorus who are in Hades wear rags, but
as Initiates wear white
2. Also wore cloaks
a. Example: Dionysus has his yellow cloak under his Heracles costume
Text and Language
e. Text
i. Structure
1. Episodes (scenes) and contests (agon)
- Poetic battle between Aeschylus and Euripides (Dover 67)
2. Lyric stanzas
- Poetry sung to musical accompaniment in most of Aristophanes' works
(Dover 68)
- Sung by the chorus of 24 men between episodes or long scenes (Dover
68-69)
-Greek verses were patterns of quantity and not of stress (Dover 69)
3. Parody
a. Poetic dialogue of comedy used by Aristophanes
b. One purpose of a parody is to present the serious poetry to
criticism (Dover 73)
c. Another purpose of a parody is to poke fun at tragic events with
humor (Dover 73-74)
4. The plot changes in relation to the characters changing (Frogs)
(McLeish 133)
5. Characters in The Frogs are not stereotyped as they are in other
works by Aristophanes (McLeish 131)
6. Not many stage directions given in script
ii. Type of Drama
1. Farce vs. Comedy
a. In farces, the actions invoke laughter (more so than the
characters) (McLeish 15)
b. Everything is exaggerated and criticized (McLeish 15-16)
c. It's hard to categorize Aristophanes' works specifically as
farcical or comedic because he added elements of seriousness to his
plays (McLeish 17-22)
i. This seriousness appears in the poetry itself, as well as in the
ethical and/or moral comments made by characters within the play
(McLeish 15)
2. Non-literary drama (McLeish 17)
a. Non-literary texts are based on improvisation and have a skeleton
comic routine that the actors can work off of (McLeish 17)
f. Language
i. Poetry
1. Combines iambics, anapests, and lyrics (McLeish 162)
ii. Themes
1. Aristophanes criticized:
a. Moral Results of Tragedy
i. Performers imitated tragic behavior
ii. Performers expressed opinions and doubts through their characters
on stage (Dover 185)
b. Euripides' insights on tragedy
i. Aristophanes felt that intellectual examination was harmful for
drama ( Dover 186)
2. Aristophanes believed that tragedy in its entirety could be written
as humor for mass audiences (Dover 188).
3. Athenian politics, art, and philosophy (Encarta)
a. Aristophanes wrote about the welfare of the people of the state and
poked fun at it
4. Religion
a. Aristophanes explored role of the Gods and the natural powers that
they wielded over everyone (McLeish 58-59)
b. Aristophanes mocks religion and its rituals in plays
i. Dionysos the character is performing in front of the statue of the
actual God Dionysos
iii. Characters
1. Different types of heroes found in Aristophanes' plays (McLeish
55-56)
a. Bomolochos: the irrelevant and loud hero whose subtle humor serves
to emphasize complex plot explanations
i. Dionysos can be viewed as this type of hero in The Frogs (McLeish)
b. Poneros: excessive and subtle hero that personifies ingenuity and
is an associate to the "real" hero
i. Xanthias demonstrates this type of hero in The Frogs
Dance Style and Music
g. Dance Style
i. Chorus may not have danced
ii. Two different choruses
1. one of the Frogs that might have done an animal
dance (Lawler 72)
2. other was Hades dwellers and Initiate, make no
reference to dance
h. Music
i. Music was free versed
1. Did not have as many beats as was written
(West 146)
ii. If there were chorus dances, then the music would follow the
attitude of the chorus
Synopsis of The Frogs
PROLOGUE
Enter Dionysos and his servant Xanthias. They are on their way to hell to bring Euripides back to Athens. Xanthias complains repeatedly that the luggage is too heavy. They’ve come to the house of Herakles to as him the way to hell. Herakles tells Dionysos to hang himself or jump off a large building. Dionysos refused and asks how Herakles got there. Herakles tells him the way. Xanthias tries to get someone on their way to hell (a corpse) to carry the bags for him. But the corpse demands too much money and Xanthias decides that his place is by his master with the weight of the bags
SCENE I
Xanthias and Dionysos come upon the lake that leads them to the shores of hell. Charon is there waiting with a skiff (boat) to go across. The toll is two pennies and servants are not allowed on the skiff. Dionysos pays the two pennies, but then Charon make Dionysos row to the other shore. During the trek across the lake, Dionysos argues with the Frogs (the chorus) and they chant back and forth until Dionysos ends the argument with a loud fart.
SCENE II
Xanthias meets Dionysos on the other side of the lake at which point Xanthias (the servant/ human) scares Dionysos (the god) by telling him there is a huge monster in their path. After Xanthias has had his fun with Dionysos, they hear flutes and find the chorus who lead them to the center of hell, Pluto’s palace.
PARODOS
Dionysos and Xanthias listen and comment on the Chorus and the Koryphaios chants.
SCENE III
Dionysos knocks on the gates of Pluto’s Palace and says that he is Herakles. Aiakos, Pluto’s keeper of keys, beings yelling at him for Herakles’ last visit when he stole a dog. Dionysos is frightened and makes Xanthias put on his clothes and play Herakles while Dionysos carries the baggage.
SCENE IV
Dionysos disguised as a servant and Xanthias disguised as Herakles enter the palace. A maid comes out and asks if Xanthias would like food or company. Xanthias replies that he’ll take the company at which point Dionysos makes Xanthias give the Herakles clothes back to him. Suddenly a Barmaid and Plathane, a young waitress, come out and accuse Dionysos of Herakles crime of sealing food the last time he was there. They run off to fetch a lawyer or police officer. Dionysos begs Xanthias to put back on the Herakles clothes. Finally he does as Aiakos comes in with a whip and three constables. Xanthias convinces Aiakos to whip his servant rather than himself. Dionysos tries to explain the truth, but Xanthias is not playing along. They both get whipped to see which one cries uncle first. Both do, but they cleverly hide it from Aiakos’ eyes. He decides that he will get Pluto to decided who is who.
SCENE V
Xanthias and a servant to Pluto discuss their masters. (Dionysos has somehow cleverly talked to Plutio and everything is fine). It turns out that Aischlyus was the reigning poet in hell until Euripides died. Even Sophocles (who was better than both), agreed that Aischlyus should have the chair next to Pluto for being the best poet. Euripides believes the chair is his and is fighting for it. Dionysos will be their judge to see which poet deserves the chair more.
SCENE VI – X
Euripides and Aischlyus pick apart each other’s plays and versus until they have gone over everything. They are challenged to a duel in which a scale weighs each verse. Aischlyus wins. Dionysos and Aischlyus are invited to have lunch with Pluto.
EXODOS
Pluto gives leave to Aischlyus and he states that he wants Sophocles to have his chair next to Pluto while he is gone.
Presentation of scene 10 of The Frogs in the outdoor Alumni
Amphitheatre
Questions