Question I was just wondering if you know when greek theatre began? And what the festival of dionosus is, how it started? and Also what types of costume were used for greek theatres?
Thankyou so much for your help,
Sophie
Answer Hello,
here are my answers to your questions:
1.”When Greek theatre began?”
Ancient Greek theatre began as a religious ceremony in about the 7th.century BC when it was a mixture of myth, poetry, dance, music and public participation.
In ancient Greece there were three types of theatre, i.e. Tragedy, Comedy and the Satyr Play, though originally (7th century BC) there was also another type called 'Dithyramb', which however had no actors and was simply a hymn sung to the god Dionysus, who freed one from one's normal self, by madness, ecstasy, or wine.
As for the theatre as a building (Greek ‘théatron’ meaning "seeing place"), it was a large, open-air structure constructed on the slopes of hills. It was not enclosed, of course.
2-“What the festival of Dionysus is, how it started?”
The Dionysia, also known as the festival of Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine which brings the followers to orgiastic ritual celebrations with elements of extasis and mysticism, was very important in ancient Greece, mostly in Athens where the central event was the performance of tragedies and comedies which both originate from Dionysian cult: the former from a synthesis of myth, poetry and epic /dramatic elements, the latter more specifically from the hymns devoted to Dionysus, called "phallic hymns".
In Athens, there were four Dionysia which included dramatic performances (tragedies/ comedies) and were organized to praise the god :
-The Rural Dionysia in December
-The Lenea in January
-The Small Dionysia in February
-The Great Dionysia (or”City Dionysia”) in March
3-“What types of costume were used for Greek theatres?”
I suppose you mean “actors costume” as there was no specific type of clothing the audience had to wear.
So, although we have little information on theatrical costumes, the actors wore the contemporary dressing, i.e. the long “chiton” (made of linen or silk ) and the “himation”( an exterior cloth usually made of wool and worn over the shoulders). For theatrical use the clothes were more decorated than usually.
Since the actors were always men, in order to play female roles, they were wearing a “prosternidion” (Greek term for a wooden structure in front of the chest, simulating a woman's breasts) and a “progastridion” , i.e. a false belly.
Moreover the actors used shoes with high heels (Greek, “kothornoi”, soft lace-up boots) which were employed to give them added height.
Finally they wore a mask which had big holes for the mouth and the eyes. The mask was absolutely necessary as it was necessary in the Dionysian religion.
Tragic masks carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling or leering.
An actor's entire head was covered by his mask, which included hair. It has been supposed that the shape of the mask amplified the actor's voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear.
Finally I have to point out that the profession of the actor came into existence as a clearly defined occupation, after the 6th century BC, when Thespis, known as the "inventor of tragedy", introduced the first actor (Greek ‘protagonistes’) separated from the chorus, while later Aeschylus ((5th century BC) introduced the second actor(Greek, ‘deuteragonistes’) and Sophocles (5th century BC) the third one (‘tritagonistes’).
Hope this can be helpful to you.
Best regards,
Maria
