049 Theater and the Dionysia

The History of Ancient Greece

Ryan Stitt

History, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2017

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we discuss the origins of drama in the Attic countryside, its relation to the cult of Dionysos, and its introduction to Athens in the late 6th century BC; its evolution from a chorus of satyrs singing dithyrambs to the addition of actors (aka Thespians from the first one, Thespis); the Dionysia festivals celebrating the cultivation of vines, both "Rural" throughout Attica during the month of Poseideon (late December/early January) and "City" in Athens during the month of Elaphebolion (late March/early April), as well as the Lenaia in the month of Gamelion (late January/early February); the physical space and early evolution of the theater in the sanctuary of Dionysos Eleutherios on the southern slope of the Athenian acropolis; the various roles of the actors and the chorus and their costumes; the components of tragic and comedic plays; and drama's civic importance in 5th century BC Athens

Show Notes: http://www.thehistoryofancientgreece.com/2017/07/049-theater-and-dionysia.html

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're going to be. So, The Hello and
0:45.0	episode 49, Theater and the Diennesea.
0:50.0	Today's episode, today's episode is brought to you by our July Patreon supporters, Justin Heron, Barbara Ishmael,
0:57.8	Sherry Aiken, and Christopher Payall, as well as PayPal donors, Mark Ibrahim.
1:04.0	Once again, I do apologize if I didn't pronounce those correctly,
1:07.0	but I do thank you for your donations in support of the podcast.
1:10.0	If you too would like to support the History of Ancient Greece, you can become a monthly
1:14.3	Patreon supporter at www.patrion.com backslash the History of Ancient Ancient
1:19.7	Greece Podcast or a one-time donor at
1:23.0	www dot PayPal dot me backslash Ryan Stitt.
1:27.0	Links to the various sites are in the show notes.
1:30.0	And now let us turn our attention back to the ancient Greeks.
1:36.0	The invention of drama is among the most important of the many Greek contributions to Western
1:41.4	civilization, and it heavily influenced the theater of ancient Rome and the Renaissance.
1:47.0	After the destruction of Athens by the Persians, the town and the Acropolis were rebuilt and theater became more formalized and an even greater part of Athenian culture and civic pride.
2:00.0	We may judge the importance attached to the theater by the Athenians from the degree to which
2:04.9	the state was involved.
2:07.0	As part of an official religious festival, the theatrical performances were organized and considerably
2:12.4	financed by the state.
2:14.0	The theater reached its greatest height in the 5th century BC,
2:18.0	in large part because Pericles promoted
2:20.0	and favored the theater with a series of practical and economic measures.
	...

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