Greek/Roman Theatre (600 B.C. - 400 A.D.)

Greek Theater Begins

600 BCE

Greek theater began in 600 B.C as a part of festivals, and it was paid for and performed by the community. The theatrical performances of ancient Greece were seen as offerings to the God Dionysia, and plays were presented in his honor. From the beginning of theater, it was shown "exclusively at festivals honoring Dionysus, one of the many gods that were worshiped by the greeks" (61). Greek tragedy play often shows the results of humans trying to escape fate (Brockett et al. 61)

Greek/Roman Theatre (600 B.C. - 400 A.D.)

Period: 600 BCE to 400

Thespis the First Record of Theatrical Event

534 BCE

The first record of a theatrical event is the establishment of a contest for the best tragedy. In 534 B.C, this contest was established in Athens to see who was the best at acting the best tragedy. The first winner of this contest was Thespis, the earliest playwright, and actor. Thespis name "is still used today as a reference to actors" (62). Overall, Thespis had a significant influence over the ancient greek theater. (Brockett et al. 62).

"The Persians"

472 BCE

There is little known about Greek Tragedy before Aeschylus. His earliest surviving work is Persians, which was produced in 472 B.C.Aeschylus wrote this play, and it is the first recorded play. "Out of the approximately eighty plays, only seven survived" (68). (Brockett et al. 68). The roots of Greek Tragedy. Aeschylus was one of the great writers of Greek Tragedy. Known as 'the father of tragedy,' he won half of his plays at the tremendous Athenian festivals of Greek drama. (Cartwright).

Sophocles's "Oedipus Rex"

430 BCE

"Oedipus Rex," made in 430-425 B.C., the skill in which this play can be appreciated by comparing the complex story to Sophocles' ordering of the events. (Brockett et al. 70) "Oedipus Rex" plays a vital role in Ancient Greek theater because it marks the achievement of using tight construction, mounting tension, and perfect use of the dramatic devices of recognition and discovery. This play represents the typical Greek tragedy, separated into five scenes and choral passages. (Brockett et al. 70)

Greek Comedy

411 BCE

Many people have written old comedies, which is what anything before 404 B.C., but only eleven comedies have survived, and Aristophanes wrote all. "Lysistrata 411 B.C., probably the best-known of all greek comedies" (76). This comedy is about how the woman of Greece went on a sex strike to end the war. After the fourth century B.C., comedy underwent the most drastic changes; they no longer were about what it used to be about and instead turned to intrigues of everyday life. (Brockett et al. 76)

Theater of Dionysus

350 BCE

The oldest known Greek theater is the theater of Dionysus in Athens. It was built in honor of Dionysus, the God of wine, festivals, and theatre. The theatre then could have held between 14,000 to 17,000 audience members. (Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble). This theater had been built to honor the God of Dionysus and to perform. The theater included an altar "within a compound that included a temple and a large outdoor altar dedicated to the worship of Dionysus" (64) (Brockett et al. 64).

The First Roman Play

240 BCE

The first roman play was produced in 240 B.C. The Romans were great assimilators who would borrow things that seemed desirable to them. When they encountered greek drama, they wanted to adapt it, so they found a writer by the name of Livius Andronicus "the first play was produced in 240 B.C., and soon native Romans would write plays" (77). However, soon after the Romans' interest peaked, it declined by 150 B.C. Romans began to favor novelty and variety. (Brockett et al. 77).

Roman Tragedy

65

Almost every roman tragedy was written by a man named Seneca. He wrote nine of the Roman tragedy plays between the years of 5 B.C. through the year 65 A.D. An anonymous author wrote one play. "However, many schoolers do not believe that Seneca's plays were meant for public performance" (84), like how the Greek Tragedies were meant to be seen and enjoyed by the public. However, Seneca's plays were based on myths, exaggerated emotions, and onstage violence. (Brockett et al. 84).

100 Days of Theatre

354

This year would be considered especially important because, in 240 B.C., only one day was given to the Theatre throughout the year. Before 354 A.D in 240 B.C., "there was only one day throughout the whole year devoted to" (78) theatre. Still, after Romans had realized how much they loved Theatre, they made it a celebration of one hundred days for everyone to enjoy Theatre and performances, followed by seventy- five days devoted to other events for all to enjoy. (Brockett et al. 78).

The fall of the Roman theatre

400

As the Christian church began to grow, it directly opposed the theatre. They disagreed with the promotion of worshipping idols and pagan gods to which the roman theatre was connected. They expressed their intolerance for it, and the theatre began to decline slowly; however, it did not officially disintegrate until it had been "overrun by invaders in A.D. 476" (84). The theatre also lost the financial support sustained for over a thousand years. (Brockett et al. 84)