Athenian Theatre

In our world of movies and theatre it is hard to imagine when stories were only spoken. This used to be how it was in Ancient Athens but soon people were chosen to act out an author's story  for spectators. These actors gave added effect to the story and brought an element to the table that was absent earlier. While the Athenians did create this wonderful form of entertainment they could not leave out parts of their culture. Bits and pieces of Athenian culture was ever present in their plays, such as religious beliefs and political views. When a writer's work was approved to be performed the performance occurred during the religious festival in honor of the God Dionysus: The City Dionysia. The people of Athens did believe that they were in a sense performing to the gods and recognized this by celebrating the God of theatre. Some actors also represented a god in the play by being suspended from a mechane and descend to the set majestically as a deity would. In the political sense the democracy that was forming in Athens had an impact on the plays also. Actors were chosen by lot, a sort of dignified version of random picking. This was the democratic way back then and it was only fair that everyone had an equal chance to perform in a tragedy turned play. It is amazing what Athens did with their stories and turned them into magnificent spectacles.  

















"Introduction to Greek Tragedy." AbleMedia LLC - A Knowledge Company. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. <http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/netshots/tragedy.htm>.


"File:DionysiusTheater.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DionysiusTheater.jpg>.


"File:DionysiusTheater.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DionysiusTheater.jpg>.