Martin von Wagner Museum
der Universität Würzburg
The History of Greek Theatre
We can think of theatre as the earliest manifestation of animation: During the performance, people transform into and embody new characters, giving the audience a front-row seat to an array of human experiences. The audience can comfortably feel all these grand emotions without them affecting their actual lives. So, in a way, the origins of what we know today as show theatre can be found right there in ancient Greece.
Tragedies, comedies and satyr plays, the three traditional types of Greek drama, have their origins in Athens in the second half of the sixth century BCE. They were adapted from the dance performances of masked choruses, whose singing was meant to honour Dionysus. While their performances were originally full of improvised action and lines, the stories, when written down, received a structured shape with an engaging and dramatic story arc. Tragedies were often inspired by the misfortunes of mythological figures. Satyr plays approached those same stories more playfully and mockingly. Comedies, on the other hand, reproduced and engaged with social interactions and incidents, going as far as referencing and reacting to popular political events in the fifth and fourth century BCE.
During the early fifth century BCE, these performances in Athens turned into actual contests organised by the state. It wasn’t only the authors and composers who competed against each other. In addition, choruses, financed and managed by wealthy members of the public (choregoi), were also part of the spectacle. The choregos who had won was awarded a monument celebrating his accomplishments on the Street of Tripods – a place located between the theatre of Dionysus and the agora. These kinds of competitions would usually take place during the Festivals of Dionysus, in particular when the City Dionysia and the Lenaia were being celebrated. The voting was coordinated by jurors, who were selected at random. No prior experience was necessary for them to be considered for the job.
Originally, poets were the ones tasked with directing the plays. Later, the work was delegated to professional choreographers. Actors – usually only three! – as well as the members of the chorus were all male. The men even played female characters. To mask their gender, costumes as well as masks (with wide openings at the mouth) were used. Depending on the genre, the masks would mimic the mood and physical traits of the character in an exaggerated manner. Stock characters became popular with the emergence of New Comedy (320–280 BCE), where political satire made way for the moralisation of human behaviour and habits. Complex stage design developed over time; however, most of the set design was still standardised.
The beginnings of the literary theatre lie in Athens – just like its physical manifestation (ill. 1). During the fifth and fourth century BCE, it gained popularity and recognition throughout the entire Greek realm, reaching as far as Rome. Its stone structures became an integral part of the existing urban landscape and life. Along with it, simpler forms of improv theatre began to take root, such as comic farces, travesties and mime (so, silent performances).
Images of Greek Theatre on Vases
Considering that theatrical performances have fascinated people since Classical Antiquity (first in Athens, then in Sicily and other parts of Western Greece), it is no surprise that their cultural achievements have been documented and reproduced in other forms of visual media. However, what these other visual forms lack is the immersive yet fleeting nature that defines the theatre – characteristics that are largely responsible for people’s fascination with the art form and ultimately have ensured its lasting appeal. What becomes obvious here is how the meaning carried by the visual images depends on and is tied to the audience’s memories as well as their associations and expectations.
Greek vase painting engaged with the world of theatre in two main ways. With one, the focus lay on the portrayal of (stage) equipment, such as costumes, masks and other props; even (partial) set designs were replicated. The other specialised in representations of actual theatre plays. It’s worth noting that the focus here did not necessarily lie on specific actors or stage productions. What these painters were interested in was how the narratives of the dramas influenced and shaped well-known myths. However, whether the considerable influence of the literary work on the visual arts was due to people frequenting the theatre or people having read the actual works remains unclear.
To this day, researchers are trying to establish and verify connections between vase painting and well-known plays, in part as they are trying to close existing gaps in the documented history of specific artefacts. A few vases exist that show a clear engagement with popular comedies and satyr plays (ill. 2). However, concerning the reproduction of tragedies, most of the vase paintings do not reference just one literary work / -genre. On top of that, they seem to diverge significantly from the original stories (ill. 3).
As for the scenes depicting tragedies, they were not exact copies of well-known plays either, which becomes apparent when looking at the locations in which these objects had originally been discovered. Most of these vessels portraying tragic myths had been taken from graves in Apulia in 400 BCE. Their purpose was to offer the remaining family members inspiration and hope in the form of mythological characters representing the deceased – which, in a way, encouraged the idealisation of the dead. This confirms that the references to the theatre on such vessels were also meant to appeal to and strengthen people’s empathetic nature.