[PDF] Theatrical Performances In The Ancient World eBook

Author : David Wiles
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 355 pages
File Size : 49,13 MB
Release : 2000-05-25
Category : Drama
ISBN : 1316284190

GET BOOK

In this fascinating and accessible book, David Wiles introduces ancient Greek theatre to students and enthusiasts interested in knowing how the plays were performed. Theatre was a ceremony bound up with fundamental activities in ancient Athenian life and Wiles explores those elements which created the theatre of the time. Actors rather than writers are the book's main concern and Wiles examines how the actor used the resources of story-telling, dance, mask, song and visual action to create a large-scale event that would shape the life of the citizen community. The book assumes no prior knowledge of the ancient world, and is written to answer the questions of those who want to know how the plays were performed, what they meant in their original social context, what they might mean in a modern performance and what can be learned from and achieved by performances of Greek plays today.

Author : Eric Csapo
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 28,82 MB
Release : 2022-10-24
Category : History
ISBN : 3110980355

GET BOOK

Why did ancient autocrats patronise theatre? How could ancient theatre – rightly supposed to be an artform that developed and flourished under democracy – serve their needs? Plato claimed that poets of tragic drama "drag states into tyranny and democracy". The word order is very deliberate: he goes on to say that tragic poets are honoured "especially by the tyrants, and secondly by the democracies" (Republic 568c). For more than forty years scholars have explored the political, ideological, structural and economic links between democracy and theatre in ancient Greece. By contrast, the links between autocracy and theatre are virtually ignored, despite the fact that for the first 200 years of theatre's existence more than a third of all theatre-states were autocratic. For the next 600 years, theatre flourished almost exclusively under autocratic regimes. The volume brings together experts in ancient theatre to undertake the first systematic study of the patterns of use made of the theatre by tyrants, regents, kings and emperors. Theatre and Autocracy in the Ancient World is the first comprehensive study of the historical circumstances and means by which autocrats turned a medium of mass communication into an instrument of mass control.

Author : Bruno Gentili
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 117 pages
File Size : 14,47 MB
Release : 2023-08-21
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9004673008

GET BOOK

This book offers a fresh insight into the methods adopted by Roman playwrights in utilizing and recasting their Greek models. The author investigates the techniques adopted by such authors as Livius Andronicus and Pacuvius and arrives at results which throw a new light on the influence which Hellenistic literature exerted upon early Roman writers.

Author : Jennifer Wise
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 44,11 MB
Release : 2019-05-15
Category : History
ISBN : 1501744941

GET BOOK

What is the nature of theatre's uneasy alliance with literature? Should theatre be viewed as a preliterate, ritualistic phenomenon that can only be compromised by writing? Or should theatre be grouped with other literary arts as essentially'textual,'with even physical performance subsumed under the aegis of textuality? Jennifer Wise, a theatre historian and drama theorist who is also an actor, director, and designer, responds with a challenging and convincing reconstruction of the historical context from which Western theatre first emerged. Wise believes that a comparison of the performance style of oral epic with that of drama as it emerged in sixth-century Greece shows the extent to which theatre was influenced by literate activities relatively new to the ancient world. These activities, foreign to Homer yet familiar to Aeschylus and his contemporaries, included the use of the alphabet, the teaching of texts in schools, the public inscription of laws, the sending and receiving of letters, the exchange of city coinage, and the making of lists. Having changed the way cultural material was processed and transmitted, the technology of writing also led to innovations in the way stories were told, and Wise contends that theatre was the result. However, the art of drama appeared in ancient Greece not only as a beneficiary of literacy but also in defiance of any tendency to see textuality as an end in itself.

Author : Stuart Douglas Olson
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 12,64 MB
Release : 2023-06-19
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 311124802X

GET BOOK

Our knowledge of the ancient theatre is limited by the textual and iconographic character of the evidence available to us: we cannot watch or otherwise experience an Athenian tragedy or comedy. These essays, by a distinguished group of international scholars, bridge the gap between the surviving literary and iconographic evidence and the realities of performance on the ancient Greek stage. This ambitious goal is reached by means of a detailed examination of several case-studies: the construction of dramatic space in Sophocles’ Antigone; the significance of the use of deictic pronouns in Sophocles’ Trachiniae; the theatrical and religious dynamics of the appearance of divine figures on stage; the relationship between the victory celebrations at the end of Aristophanic comedies and their counterparts in the after-performance real world; the investigation of nude or semi-nude female characters in Aristophanes; the staging of Clouds and the opening scene of Acharnians; the meditation on the metapoetics of the use of props in 5th-century comedy; the relationship between performance context and text through a close reading of a number of Aristophanic fragments; the way the scholia vetera on Frogs imagine and use questions of staging practice; and the potential Aeschylean authorship of some of stage-direction traceable in Aeschylus’ Eumenides and Diktoulkoi.

Author : Eric Csapo
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 961 pages
File Size : 30,51 MB
Release : 2019-12-31
Category : History
ISBN : 0521765579

GET BOOK

This is the second volume of A Social and Economic History of the Theatre to 300 BC and focuses exclusively on theatre culture in Attica (Rural Dionysia) and the rest of the Greek world. It presents and discusses in detail all the documentary and material evidence for theatre culture and dramatic production from the first two centuries of theatre history, namely the period c.500 to c.300 BC. The traditional assumption is laid to rest that theatre was an exclusively or primarily Athenian institution, with the inclusion of all sources of information for theatrical performances in twenty-two deme sites and over one hundred and twenty independent Greek (and some non-Greek) cities. All texts are translated and made accessible to non-specialists and specialists alike. The volume will be a fundamental work of reference for all classicists and theatre historians interested in ancient theatre and its wider historical contexts.

Author : Martin Revermann
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 15,79 MB
Release : 2019-08-08
Category : History
ISBN : 1350135305

GET BOOK

Theatre was at the very heart of culture in Graeco-Roman civilizations and its influence permeated across social and class boundaries. The theatrical genres of tragedy, comedy, satyr play, mime and pantomime operate in Antiquity alongside the conception of theatre as both an entertainment for the masses and a vehicle for intellectual, political and artistic expression. Drawing together contributions from scholars in Classics and Theatre Studies, this volume uniquely examines the Greek and Roman cultural spheres in conjunction with one another rather than in isolation. Each chapter takes a different theme as its focus: institutional frameworks; social functions; sexuality and gender; the environment of theatre; circulation; interpretations; communities of production; repertoire and genres; technologies of performance; and knowledge transmission.

Author : George William Mallory Harrison
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 602 pages
File Size : 13,49 MB
Release : 2013
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9004244573

GET BOOK

This series has existed for the past 50 years. It provides a forum for the publication of well over 300 scholarly works on all aspects of the ancient world, including inscriptions, papyri, language, the history of material culture and mentality, the history of peoples and institutions, but also latterly the classical tradition, for example, neo-latin literature and the history of Classical scholarship.

Author : Theocharis George Paterakis
Publisher : Theocharis George Paterakis
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 18,60 MB
Release : 2024-05-29
Category : Art
ISBN :

GET BOOK

Introduction to Ancient Theatre: Exploring its Origins and Enduring Significance This comprehensive e-book serves as a thorough introduction to the world of ancient theatre. Delving into the origins, development, and purpose of this venerable art form, it also explores its profound connection with ancient religious practices. Exploring Ancient Forms The e-book provides detailed insights into the genres of tragedy, comedy, and satire, offering a deep understanding of their significance. Furthermore, it presents enlightening biographies of legendary playwrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as well as renowned comedians including Aristophanes and Menander. Historical Context and Influence Beyond mere references and summaries of these timeless works, the ebook meticulously examines the historical contexts in which they were created. It also sheds light on how these works were utilised by early Christian apologists, providing a fascinating perspective on their enduring influence. Legacy and Relevance Additionally, the ebook offers a compelling exploration of some of the most famous theaters that once hosted these renowned performances. It eloquently discusses the reasons why this ancient art continues to hold relevance in modern times, making it a compelling read for enthusiasts and scholars alike.