Greek Theatre Basics

3. Literary work with dialogue written spoken by actors playing characters experiencing conflict and tension. comes from the Greek word "dran," meaning "to do."
6. Patron god of Greek drama; god of wine and fertility.
7. Tiered seating area built into a hillside in the shape of a horseshoe.
9. Building behind the stage. First used as a dressing area for actors (and sometimes an entrance or exit area for actors), this eventually became a background showing appropriate scenery.
10. Scene or section of a play with dialogue. .
13. Conversation between characters in a play.
14. Choral hymn that praised Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, and sometimes told a story.
15. Passage on the left or right through which the chorus entered the orchestra.
17. Main character in an ancient Greek play who usually interacts with the chorus.
20. Introduction of a play that provides background material.
22. Altar in the center of the orchestra used to make sacrifices to Dionysus.
24. Failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious to the audience.
26. Acting area, or stage, in front of the skene.

1. Chief opponent of the protagonist in a Greek play.
2. Group of three plays on a related subject or theme.
4. Noun meaning actor or actress; adjective referring to any person or thing pertaining to Greek drama or drama in general.
5. Extensions or annexes on the sides of the skene.
6. Arm-like device in an ancient Greek theater that could lower a "god" onto the stage from the "heavens."
7. literally "goat song" - the ode sung at the sacrifice of a goat during the Dionysian festival.
8. Verse drama written in elevated language in which a noble protagonist falls to ruin during a struggle caused by a flaw (hamartia) in his character or an error in his rulings or judgments.
11. Poem sung in a play or a festival. .
12. Great pride.
16. Play that pokes fun at a serious subject involving gods and myths; a parody of stories about gods or myths.
18. Ground-level area where the chorus performed. It was in front of the proscenium.
19. In literature and art, a purification of emotions.
21. Final scene of a play where the chorus exits.
23. Character flaw or judgment error of the protagonist of a Greek tragedy.
25. Bystanders in a play who present odes on the action. Purpose was to (1) to explain the action, (2) To interpret the action in relation to the law of the state and the law of the Olympian gods, (3) to foreshadow the future, (4) to To serve as actor actor in the play, (5) To sing and/or dance, and (6) to give the author's views.