Greek Theatres essays

Greek Theatres essays Very early in history, the Greeks began to collect poems that had been written in honor of their brave ancestors. These poems were often recited in public and almost everyone in the city would come to listen. Many people think that Greek entertainment evolved from these poems, but actually it did not. The word tragedy comes from the Greek word tragos-oidos, which means goat-singer. The Greeks had wild parades that consisted of people stomping around like wild goats, wearing goatskin. These people often sang, but the viewers of the parade eventually got bored of this. The officials in charge of the parade thought of the idea for the goat singers to stage conversations between each other, which would be considered acting. This concept of acting eventually evolved into the grand entertainment of the Greek theatres. This type of acting entertainment became popular and drew large crowds of people. When plays began to be performed on small stages, they also drew a large crowd. Wh en the theatres were built, they became a major part of the lives of all people and also affected play entertainment for decades to come. Before the actual theatres were built, small stages were built out of wood and set up only during festivals. The plays were performed and then the stages would be taken down. These plays attracted a large crowd of people but are nothing compared to the first Greek theatre built. The first theatre made of stone was the main one in Athens. It may be the largest facility ever made for theatrical performances. It could seat almost 20,000 people at a time. Most theatres were built just like the first in Athens. They were all large, open-air structures mainly built on hillsides. The theatres were built on hillsides because the slope could be used to support the seating. All of the Greek theatres had the same elements, which were the orchestra, theatron, skene, and paradoi. The...