About Greek Theater

Video Transcript

"Have you ever wondered where theater began? Where it began and when it began. Hi. I'm Professor John Conlon and I'm here to tell you a little bit about Greek Theater. The Greek Theater began about the sixth century BC. It improved over the centuries until we come to the fifth century BC where we have the Theater of Dionysus built on a hill of Athens near the Parthenon and The High City. That theater is now being restored and has been for the last few years in the twenty-first century. It consists of five elements. The first element is of course the orchestra. Which is where the chorus would dance, sing, interact with the actors on a stage two or three steps above the orchestra. The teatron or theatron or theater is where the spectators sat, surrounding the orchestra on three sides. Behind the stage is something called the scaena or tent which by the time the Theater of Dionysus was built was a marble edifice which had doors for entrance and exits. which had access to the roof for flying in as it were, figures of the gods. Particularly Isis when we come to a play by Aristophanes, The Birds. During the festival of Dionysus in Athens, three days were spent on tragedies, one day on comedies. And of the hundreds and hundreds of works that existed, particularly in tragedy, we have a few dozen only. That's a few words about Greek Theater. I'm John Conlon."