Greek theatre
Describe ancient Greek theatre, including tragedies and comedies, masked actors, and large open-air theatres. Explain that plays at festivals in Athens honoured Dionysus and could draw audiences of thousands.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name tragedies and comedies as two well-known kinds of ancient Greek plays
- Describe masked Greek actors and large open-air theatres
- Say that plays at festivals in Athens honoured Dionysus
1 · Read
In ancient Greece, people watched actors perform plays. Greek theatre influenced Roman theatre and later plays. This lesson follows the Greek tradition, especially performances in Athens.
Two well-known kinds of Greek plays were tragedies and comedies. Tragedies told serious stories about suffering and hard choices. Comedies used funny stories and jokes to make people laugh.
Many Greek theatres were outdoors. Seats curved around a space for performances and often rose up a hillside. Some theatres held thousands of people. These buildings are called theatres.
Actors wore masks to show which characters they played. Changing a mask could help an actor play another character. Both tragedies and comedies used masks. Both could be performed in large outdoor theatres, so a comedy did not mean a small indoor show.
In Athens, plays were performed at religious festivals honouring Dionysus, a Greek god linked with wine and theatre. People could enjoy a play while also taking part in a religious festival.
Greek tragedies and comedies used masked actors in open-air theatres. Theatre festivals in Athens honoured Dionysus.
Original learning material written for this dataset. Historical background was consulted in Khan Academy's Classical Greek culture.
Original reading written for this dataset, with historical background from Khan Academy's Classical Greek culture. Linked video: The battle of the Greek tragedies - Melanie Sirof, from TED-Ed.
More to read
Stories performed for a crowd
Watching a play meant joining other people to see actors tell a story. Some Greek theatres could hold thousands of spectators outdoors. Their seats rose around the performance space.
The actors played characters. A mask helped show which character an actor was playing. The same performer could use a different mask for another role.
Greek audiences watched serious tragedies and funny comedies. At theatre festivals in Athens, the performances also honoured Dionysus. Enjoyment and religious worship could be part of the same occasion.
Greek plays later influenced Roman theatre and other writers. Studying that influence is different from saying that every tradition of performance began in Greece.
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2 · Watch
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Where this leads
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