HIST101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Aeschylus, Hubris, Euripides
8 Sep 2016
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Greeks were the first people to act out stories with actors portraying fictional characters. Cast: chorus, three speaking characters at a time. Setting and costumes: outdoor auditoriums that could seat thousands of people, large masks. Used to determine which character the actor was playing and how that character was feeling. Had to be big enough that everyone in the auditorium could see what was happening on stage. Composition of plays: written for religious festivals. Submitted in sets of three tragedies and one comedy. Sometimes all followed the same plotline, sometimes were four separate stories. Public voted on the best play, which would then be performed at the festival: based on stories and events that were already widely known. Audiences didn"t watch plays to see what happened in the story, but rather how a certain author would treat the subject matter: were meant to be entertaining as well as to teach.
