The golden age of Greek drama was the 5th century BC. The city-state of Athens was experiencing a peak of political, economic, and artistic development. Dramas were staged in other Greece regions, but the Athenian, or Attic, theater was distinguished by particular refinement and sophistication. Performances were held three times a year at the Dionysus festivals. Each tragic poet presented three plays and a satire drama – a short farce in which satyrs performed the choir’s part, Dionysus’ goat-footed companions, the comic poet gave one comedy. The heyday of ancient Greek buskin is associated with three great tragedian playwrights – Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. There was a legend which linked them all to the Battle of Salamis. Aeschylus fought in it, Sophocles sang in the chorus of young men who greeted the winners, and Euripides was born that day. But the Parian Chronicle dates the birth of Euripides years earlier.
The theater consisted of a scene – a tent where the actors changed their clothes. This was the decoration: orchestras – a circular platform where actors and the choir performed, and a semicircular amphitheater where spectators were accommodated. The choir always had a significant meaning in the play, the number of its participants varied: Sophocles had 15, Aristophanes – 24 (Puncher, 2018). The drama never had more than three actors, so each played several roles, men played the female roles. Comic actors wore short tunics, and their costumes were often grotesque or fantastic. The masks helped to recognize the characters and were amplified with a bell in the mouth. Thanks to masks with extensive, expressive features and patterns, as well as shoes with very thick soles, the actors were visible from all the vast amphitheater rows.
Reference
Puncher, M. (2018) The Norton anthology of world literature. W. W. Norton & Company