Greek dramas evolved out of religious festivals. The plays were usually performed in late March/ early April.They were performed in outdoor theaters with virtually no scenery. Actors usually wore elaborate costumes and personalized masks. The chorus would sing or chanted comments of the actors actions that were taking place at the time. Plays were often based on popular myths and legends.The playwrights discussed moral and/or social issues, or they would explore the relationship between people and gods.
The best playwrights of this time were Aeschylus (ES-Kih-lus), Sophocles (SAH-fuh-kleez), and Euripides (you-RIP-ih-deez). All three of them wrote tragedies. They told stories of human suffering and that usually ends in disaster. The tragedies were known to stir up and then relieve the emotions of pity and fear.
Oresteia (aw-res-TEE-uh) written by Aeschylus is about a family torn apart by betrayal, murder, and revenge. the audience could see how the wrath of the gods could bring down even the greatest of heroes.Antigone (an-TIG-uh-nee) was written by Sophocles is about a young girl whose brother was murdered while leading the rebellion. The king tells her that she can't bury him because he is a trader; but her being the rebellious person she is, she decides that she is going to bury him anyway. She is then sentenced to death, but before she dies, she defiantly told the king that the duty to the gods and goddesses is greater than any human law.
Another tragedy is written by Euripides. He survived the horrors of the peloponnesian war. In his play, he suggest that people, not gods, were the cause of the human misfortune. In the “Trojan War” he stripped the war of all of its glamor and decided to show the suffering of the women who were victims of the brutal way.
The best playwrights of this time were Aeschylus (ES-Kih-lus), Sophocles (SAH-fuh-kleez), and Euripides (you-RIP-ih-deez). All three of them wrote tragedies. They told stories of human suffering and that usually ends in disaster. The tragedies were known to stir up and then relieve the emotions of pity and fear.
Oresteia (aw-res-TEE-uh) written by Aeschylus is about a family torn apart by betrayal, murder, and revenge. the audience could see how the wrath of the gods could bring down even the greatest of heroes.Antigone (an-TIG-uh-nee) was written by Sophocles is about a young girl whose brother was murdered while leading the rebellion. The king tells her that she can't bury him because he is a trader; but her being the rebellious person she is, she decides that she is going to bury him anyway. She is then sentenced to death, but before she dies, she defiantly told the king that the duty to the gods and goddesses is greater than any human law.
Another tragedy is written by Euripides. He survived the horrors of the peloponnesian war. In his play, he suggest that people, not gods, were the cause of the human misfortune. In the “Trojan War” he stripped the war of all of its glamor and decided to show the suffering of the women who were victims of the brutal way.