Oedipus Contextualisng the Play
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Contextualising the play
Ancient Greek theatre dates from the fourth century BC; it was stopped by the Romans who invaded Greece in the sixth century BC. Greek theatre has influenced all theatre, the Greeks started experimenting with tragedies and comedies, which later went on to influence our very own William Shakespeare and all of today's modern theatre.
Greek theatre originally started at religious festivals, performances were held in honour of the god Dionysus, who was god of wine and merriment. Every March Greeks celebrated by carrying a statue of Dionysus to the hills of Acropolis. As in nearly all Greek religious celebrations there were many sacrifices, dancing, music, feasting and general partying!
The plays were performed on the hills to the north of the temple, we believe these are the first ever theatre performances. The early stage was very simple, with a plain circular area to perform in. Later the Greeks invented a semicircular space for the actors. The audience would sit on giant stones laid out around the stage area. Scenery was an important part of the plays...