What kind of plays did the ancient greeks perform

It was used in conjunction with certain speeches in the plays and often during the words of the chorus. Music was rarely separated from the spoken word and when used as such, was for special effects. Musical accompaniment to the drama was commonly played on a flute.

Special effects were provided by a trumpet or percussion. Most dance in the plays of Ancient Greece expressed a particular character or situation in the plot. These included everything from religious processions to wedding dances and even frenzies.

Performers in Greek tragedies wore masks made of linen, cork or wood. Costumes changed over the centuries, though it was common for actors to wear a sleeved, highly decorated ankle-length tunic.

Typical footwear was most likely a soft shoe or boot. As there was little in terms of set design or properties, the visual element of the plays was largely characterised by the use of costumes and masks. On a slightly different note, I am now publishing images about all aspects of theatre and drama education to Instagram. I am…. While recently introducing Polish theatre practitioner Jerzy Grotowski to my Year 11 Drama students, we began by first understanding a key element of his practice — that of ritual.

Ritual was at the centre of…. Etymology c. C, later appearing in Medieval and Elizabethan dramas emerged in the 19th century…. The mesmerising, idiosyncratic sketches of Clarke and Dawe are now consigned to Australian…. This resource should prove…. Your email address will not be published.

Skip to content Table of Contents. He wrote around 89 plays, of which we have only seven. He first competed in , when he won first prize and beat his great elder Aeschylus at the same time. He won eighteen victories at the Great Dionysia, and he never placed lower than second. He was also personally involved in bringing the healing cult of Asclepius to Athens. He died in , soon after Euripides. Aristotle admired Sophocles and particularly his Oedipus the King because he wrote good plots about important people.

We know of a total of plays written by Sophocles, of which a mere seven survive. Euripides was the youngest of the three great tragedians. Born in the s b. He competed twenty-one more times, but won only four times, including with the tetralogy that included Bacchae and Iphigeneia at Aulis , produced after his death in London: Trustees of the British Museum, Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, Trendall, A. Phlyax Vases. Illustrations of Greek Drama. London: Phaidon, Visiting The Met? Terracotta amphoriskos flask in the form of a bird-man. Terracotta lekythos oil flask Attributed to the Painter of the Yale Lekythos. Terracotta calyx-krater mixing bowl Attributed to the Konnakis Group. Two terracotta roundels with theatrical masks. Terracotta calyx-krater mixing bowl Attributed to the Dolon Painter.

Colette Hemingway Independent Scholar October Citation Hemingway, Colette. See on MetPublications Bieber, Margarete. See on MetPublications Green, J. Theatre in Ancient Greek Society. London: Routledge,