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♀Important People♂ Playwrights Actors Historical Figures Technicians Directors Thespis: A performer from the sixth century B.C.E., Thespis is credited with being the first actor and writer of tragedy. He traveled from Icaria on a cart which doubled as a stage. He was the first performer of the dithyramb to step out of the chorus and become a character with spoken dialogue, and therefore the first unsanctified person to perform the role of a god. Pericles: Ruler of Athens in the fifth century B.C.E. Established the Theoric Fund for Athenians who could not afford theatre admission. Aeschylus (c. 525-456 B.C.E.): Tragic playwright, considered the founder of Greek drama. His plays dealt with nobility and were known for their lyric poetry, dramatic structure, and intellectual content. He won prizes at a number of drama contests and had the most powerful and effective use of the chorus. Drama prior to Aeschylus' arrival included only one actor interacting with a chorus of fifty, but Aeschylus included two actors in his plays, and reduced the chorus to twelve. He was best known as a playwright but he was also a director, actor, and designer. Aeschylus may have written over ninety plays, but only seven exist today. Sophocles (c. 496-406 B.C.E.): Sophocles expanded on Aeschylus' dramatic techniques. He is known for plot construction, poetry, exploration of character, and focus on one individual. He also acted in his early plays and won his first dramatic contest in 468 B.C.E., beating Aeschylus. Sophocles was very popular during his lifetime; he won multiple drama contests, and never came in lower than second place. Aristotle also wrote that Sophocles was responsible for innovations in realistic scene painting. Sophocles changed the structure of performances as well, increasing the chorus from twelve to fifteen, and adding a third actor to tragedy. Only seven of over 120 tragedies exist today. Euripides (c. 480-406 B.C.E.): Thought to be the most "modern" of the three great tragic playwrights, Euripides was criticized during his lifetime. His plays mixed tragedy and comedy, he often portrayed the gods in a skeptical manner, he has a very sympathetic portrayal of women, and characters acted as people do in everyday life. Euripides was criticized for all these reasons and for having weak plots. Unlike other Greek playwrights he didn't take part in daily Athenian life and was, instead, reclusive. After his death, Euripides was praised for his originality, having invented the prologue and studied abnormal states of mind. Eighteen of his plays exist today. Aristotle (c. 384-322 B.C.E.): As a child Aristotle studied with Plato at the Academy, he began developing a philosophic system based on improving Plato's ideas. After 20 years at the Academy, Plato's death (347 B.C.E.) caused Aristotle to move out of Athens. For a short time he was tutor to the young Alexander the Great in Macedon, the region where he was born. Aristotle returned to Athens after 13 years and opened the Lyceum. In 323 B.C.E. he left Athens again because, following Alexander's death, Athenians became hostile against Macedon and the people from the region. In Aristotle's Poetics he discusses many forms of literature, including his approval for tragedy. Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates were the most influential Greek philosophers, but Aristotle was the only one to analyze drama in addition to logic, physics, ethics, etc. According to Aristotle there are six elements of drama: Plot, Characters, Theme, Language, Music, and Spectacle, in order of importance. Aristophanes (c. 448-380 B.C.E.): A well-known comic playwright from the Greek golden age, Aristophanes wrote in the Old Comedy style. Aristophanes lived in Athens during its declension of power, and so his plays reflected the social and political atmosphere. His plays are known for their satire and witty dialogue. Aristophanes ridicules specific people and events in his plays, and so it is difficult to translate into modern versions. Menander (c. 342-291 B.C.E.): A writer of Greek New Comedy, Menander also studied philosophy. In the beginning of the 20th century, Menander's plays were found, but before then he was only known through the works of Plautus and Terence, because several of their plays were based on Menander's works. |
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