Essay On Ancient Greek Theatre

Theatre, a dramatic art, was founded in modern-day Europe’s own Ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was an extremely influential civilization that lasted from 750 – 146 B.C.E. (“Time Periods”). Settled on the mountainous Balkan Peninsula, this civilization was the birthplace of large advancements in governmental, healthcare, philosophical, and especially artistic ideas that have lasted through generations, affecting us to this very day. Theatre is one of the many Greek creations that is still revered in our society today. Ancient Greece was a polytheistic society, believing in many gods and goddesses. One of those deities was Dionysus. Dionysus was the god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness, and wild frenzy. He had a very strong following for a more minor god. His devotees, referred to as Dionysians, would celebrate and worship him using cult ceremonies that idolized his interests. At these gatherings, the women would dance themselves silly. Another prominent symbol of Dionysians was the thyrsus (“History of Theatre”). This was a staff with a pine cone on the tip. While carrying this, the devotees would slaughter and ingest raw animal …show more content…
This was Athenian event was a six day festival that honored Dionysus through theatre, music, dance, and community. Well respected playwrights, actors, and artists presented their works during this time not only before Dionysus, but judges, as well. These judges would award prizes such as best actor in comedy or best actor in tragedy. These two types of theatre have continued to influence playwrights to this very day. A comedy is a humorous, communal, and somewhat sexual play that usually ends in a marriage. A tragedy is a sad, male-dominated, and heroic play that focuses on individuality and vengeance (Morreall). These two types of theatre, along with the City of Dionysia, greatly influenced architecture, as well as future Roman