What does the expression Greek tragedy mean? Theater and dramaturgy of ancient Greece

In the 7th - 8th centuries. BC, the cult of Dionysus, the god of the productive forces of nature, fertility and wine, is widespread. The cult of Dionysus was rich in carnival-type rituals. A number of traditions were dedicated to Dionysus, and the emergence of all genres of Greek drama, based on ritual magic games, is associated with them. The staging of tragedies at festivals dedicated to Dionysus became official at the end of the 8th century BC during the era of tyranny.

Tyranny arose in the struggle of the people against the power of the tribal nobility; tyrants ruled the state, naturally, they relied on artisans, traders and farmers. Wanting to ensure popular support for the government, the tyrants confirmed the cult of Dionysus, popular among farmers. Under the Athenian tyrant Lysistrata, the cult of Dionysus became a state cult, and the holiday of the “Great Dionysius” was established. The production of tragedies was introduced in Athens in 534. All ancient Greek theaters were built according to the same type: under open air and along the hillsides.

The first stone theater was built in Athens and could accommodate from 17,000 to 30,000 people. The round platform was called the orchestra; even further away is the skena, the room in which the actors changed clothes. At first there were no decorations in the theater. By the middle of the 5th century. BC. Pieces of canvas began to be leaned against the façade of the sketches, painted conventionally: “Trees meant the forest, the dolphin meant the sea, the river god meant the river.” Only men and only free citizens could perform in the Greek theater. The actors enjoyed a certain respect and performed in masks. One actor could, changing masks, play male and female roles.

Almost no biographical information has been preserved about Aeschylus. It is known that he was born in the town of Eleusis near Athens, that he came from a noble family, that his father owned vineyards, and that his family took an active part in the war with the Persians. Aeschylus himself, judging by the epitaph he composed for himself, valued himself more as a participant in the battle of Marathon than as a poet.

We also know that he is around 470 BC. was in Sicily, where his tragedy “The Persians” was staged a second time, and that in 458 BC. he left again for Sicily. He died and was buried there.

One of the reasons for Aeschylus’s departure, according to ancient biographers, is the resentment of his contemporaries, who began to give preference to the work of his younger contemporary, Sophocles.

The ancients already called Aeschylus “the father of tragedy,” although he was not the first author of tragedy. The Greeks considered Thespis, who lived in the second half of the 4th century, to be the founder of the tragic genre. BC. and, in the words of Horace, “carrying tragedy in a chariot.” Apparently Thespil was transporting costumes, masks, etc. from village to village. He was the first reformer of tragedy, since he introduced an actor who answered the chorus, and, changing masks, played the roles of all characters dramas. We also know other names of tragic poets who lived before Aeschylus, but they did not make significant changes to the structure of the drama.

Aeschylus was the second reformer of tragedy. His plays are closely related to, and sometimes directly dedicated to, current problems modernity, and his connection with the cult of Dionysus was concentrated in satyr drama. Aeschylus turned a primitive cantata into dramatic work by limiting the role of the chorus and introducing a second actor into the action. Those improvements that were introduced by subsequent poets were only quantitative in nature and could not significantly change the structure of the drama created by Aeschylus.

The introduction of a second actor created the opportunity to portray a conflict, a dramatic struggle. It is possible that it was Aeschylus who came up with the idea of ​​the trilogy, i.e. the development of one plot in three tragedies, which made it possible to more fully reveal this plot.

Aeschylus can be called the poet of the formation of democracy. Firstly, the beginning of his work coincides with the time of the struggle against tyranny, the establishment of democratic order in Athens and the gradual victory of democratic principles in all spheres public life. Secondly, Aeschylus was a supporter of democracy, a participant in the war with the Persians, an active participant in the public life of his city, and in tragedies he defended the new order and the moral norms corresponding to them. Of the 90 tragedies and satyr dramas he created, 7 have reached us in full, and in all of them we find a thoughtful defense of democratic principles.

The most archaic tragedy of Aeschylus is “The Prayers”: more than half of its text is occupied by choral parts.

An adherent of the new order, Aeschylus appears here as a defender of paternal law and the principles of a democratic state. He rejects not only the custom of blood feud, but also the religious purification of shed blood, depicted earlier in the poem of Stesichorus, a lyric poet of the 7th - 6th centuries BC, who owns one of the adaptations of the myth of Orestes.

The pre-Olympic gods and the old principles of life are not rejected in the tragedy: a cult is established in honor of the Erinyes in Athens, but they will now be revered under the name of Eumenides, benevolent goddesses, givers of fertility.

Thus, reconciling the old aristocratic principles with the new, democratic ones, Aeschylus calls on his fellow citizens to a reasonable settlement of contradictions, to mutual concessions for the sake of preserving civil peace. In the tragedy there are repeated calls for harmony and warnings against civil strife. For example, Athena:

“May abundance be here forever

Fruits of the earth, let the gardens grow richly,

And let the human race multiply. And just let

The seed of the daring and arrogant perishes.

As a farmer, I would like to weed

A weed so that it does not choke the noble color.”

(Art. 908-913: translated by S. Apta)

Athena (Erinyam):

“So don’t harm my land, not this

Bloody feuds, intoxicating the youths

Intoxicated by the intoxicating intoxication of rabies. my people

Don't burn like roosters so that there won't be

Internecine wars in the country. Let the citizens

They do not harbor insolent enmity towards each other.”

(Art. 860-865; translated by S. Apta)

If the aristocrats were not content with the honors bestowed upon them, but sought to preserve all their previous privileges, the establishment of a democratic polis would not have been possible to achieve " little blood"how it really happened; Having accepted the new order on certain conditions, the aristocrats acted wisely, like the Erinyes, who agreed to perform new functions and renounced their claims.

Aeschylus reduced the role of the chorus and paid more attention to stage action than before, nevertheless, choral parts occupy a significant place in his tragedies, which is especially noticeable when comparing his dramas with the works of subsequent tragic poets. Aeschylus’ artistic technique is usually called “silent grief.” This technique was already noted by Aristophanes in “Frogs”: the hero of Aeschylus is silent for a long time, while other characters talk about him or his silence in order to draw the viewer’s attention to him.

According to ancient philologists, the scenes of silence of Niobe at the grave of her children, and Achilles at the body of Patroclus, in the tragedies of Aeschylus “Niobe” and “The Myrmidons” that have not reached us, were especially long.

In this tragedy, Aeschylus protests against the violence from which the daughters of Danae are fleeing, contrasts Athenian freedom with Eastern despotism and develops an ideal ruler who does not take serious steps without the consent of the people.

The myth about the humane titan Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus for people, is the basis of the tragedy “Chained Prometheus” (one of later works Aeschylus).

Prometheus, chained to a rock by order of Zeus as punishment for stealing fire, pronounces angry, accusatory speeches against the gods and especially Zeus. However, one should not see in this a conscious criticism of religion on the part of Aeschylus: the myth of Prometheus is used by the poet to pose current socio-ethical problems. Memories of tyranny were still fresh in Athens, and in Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus warns his fellow citizens against the return of tyranny. The face of Zeus depicts a typical tyrant; Prometheus personifies the pathos of freedom and humanism hostile to tyranny.

The latest work of Aeschylus is the trilogy “Oresteia” (458) - the only trilogy that has completely come down to us from Greek drama. Its plot is based on the myth about the fate of the Argive king Agamemnon, over whose family a hereditary curse hung. The idea of ​​divine retribution, reaching not only the criminal, but also his descendants, who in turn are doomed to commit a crime, has taken root since the time of the tribal system, which conceived the clan as a single whole.

Returning victorious from the Trojan War, Agamemnus was killed by his wife Clytemnestra on the very first day. The trilogy is named after Agamemnon's son, Orestes, who kills his mother to avenge his father's death. The first part of the trilogy: “Agamemnon” tells about the return of Agamemnon, about the feigned joy of Clytemnestra, who arranges a solemn meeting for him; about his murder.

In the second part (“Choephors”), the children of Agamemnon take revenge for the death of their father. Obeying the will of Apollo, and inspired by his sister Electra and friend Pylades, Orestes kills Clytemnestra. Immediately after this, Orestes begins to be pursued by the ancient goddess of revenge, Erypnia, who, obviously, personifies the torment of Orestes' conscience - the matricide.

The murder of a mother in ancient society was considered the most serious, irredeemable crime, while the murder of a husband can be expiated: after all, the husband is not a blood relative of the wife. This is why the Erinyes defend Clytemnestra and demand the punishment of Orestes.

Apollo and Athena, the “new gods” who here personify the principle of citizenship, adhere to a different point of view. Apollo, in his speech at the trial, accuses Clytemnestra of killing a man, which in his opinion is much more terrible than killing a woman, even a mother.

Key Concepts

Cult of Dionysus, great Dionysia, ancient tragedy, ancient theatre, orchestra, skena, katurni, “Aeschylus the Father of Tragedy”, “Chained Prometheus”, “Oresteia”, “silent sorrow”.

Literature

• 1. I.M. Tronsky: History ancient literature. M. 1998
• 2. V.N. Yarkho: Aeschylus and the problems of ancient Greek tragedy.
• 3. Aeschylus “Chained Prometheus.”
• 4. Aeschylus “Oresteia”
• 5. D. Kalistov “Ancient Theater”. L. 1970

Ancient Greek tragedy - the oldest known form of tragedy

Comes from ritual actions in honor of Dionysus. Participants in these actions wore masks with goat beards and horns, depicting Dionysus' companions - satyrs. Ritual performances took place during the Great and Lesser Dionysias (festivities in honor of Dionysus).

Songs in honor of Dionysus were called dithyrambs in Greece. The dithyramb is the basis of Greek tragedy, which at first retained all the features of the myths about Dionysus.

From mimic praises telling about the sufferings of Dionysus, they gradually moved on to showing them in action. The authors played the main roles, wrote the music for the tragedies themselves, and directed the dances. The three greatest tragedians of Greece - Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides- consistently reflected in their tragedies the ideology of the landowning aristocracy at various stages of their development. Each of them had their own style and favorite themes. For example, the main motive of Aeschylus' tragedy is the idea of ​​omnipotence of fate and the doom of the fight against it. Even the rebellious titans cannot shake him (the tragedy "Chained Prometheus"). These views expressed the protective tendencies of the ruling class - the aristocracy, whose ideology was determined by the consciousness of the need for unquestioning submission to a given social order.

The tragedies of Sophocles reflect the era of the victorious war between the Greeks and the Persians, which opened up great opportunities for trading capital.

In this regard, the authority of the aristocracy in the country fluctuates, and this accordingly affects the works of Sophocles. At the center of his tragedies is the conflict between tribal tradition and state authority. Sophocles' tragedies are characterized by dialogues of rare skill, dynamic action, and naturalness in untying complex dramatic knots. Sophocles considered it possible to reconcile social contradictions - a compromise between the trade elite and the aristocracy. The tragedy of Sophocles is recognized as the canonical form of Greek tragedy.

And finally, Euripides - a supporter of the victory of the trading stratum over the landowning aristocracy - already denies religion. His tragedy Bellerophon depicts a fighter who rebelled against the gods for patronizing treacherous aristocratic rulers. In the works of the atheistically inclined Euripides, the characters in the drama are exclusively people. If he introduces the gods, it is only in those cases when it is necessary to resolve some complex intrigue.

The structure of tragedy: The tragedy begins with a prologue, followed by the entrance of the choir with a song, then episodies (episodes), which are interrupted by the songs of the choir (stasims), the last part- final stasim and departure of the actors and choir. Choral songs thus divided the tragedy into parts, which in modern drama are called acts. The number of parts varied even among the same author. The chorus (at the time of Aeschylus 12 people, later 15) did not leave its place throughout the entire performance, as it constantly intervened in the action: it assisted the author in clarifying the meaning of the tragedy, revealed the emotional experiences of his heroes, and assessed their actions from the point of view of the prevailing morality. The presence of a choir, as well as the lack of scenery in the theater, made it impossible to transfer the action from one place to another. We must also add that the Greek theater did not have the ability to depict the change of day and night - the state of technology did not allow the use of lighting effects. This is where the three unities of Greek tragedy come from: place, action and time (the action could only take place from sunrise to sunset), which were supposed to strengthen the illusion of the reality of the action. Greek tragedy was greatly influenced by Homeric epic. Tragedians borrowed a lot of legends from him. The characters often used expressions borrowed from the Iliad.

For example, Sophocles' tragedy "Antigone":

"Antigone" was written in mythological story. In the tragedy "Antigone" Sophocles reveals one of the conflicts of his contemporary society - the conflict between generic unwritten laws and state laws.

Plot: Polyneices, brother of the determined Antigone, daughter of King Oedipus, who has enormous power freedom, betrayed his native Thebes and died in the fight with his brother, the defender of his homeland. King Creon forbade burying the traitor and ordered his body to be torn to pieces by birds and dogs. Creon does not take into account traditional tribal laws, unlike his sister's daughter. But Antigone performed the religious burial rite. For this, Creon ordered Antigone to be walled up in a cave. Antigone chose death over obedience to the king and committed suicide. After this, Antigone's fiancé, Creon's son, Haemon, pierced himself with a dagger, and in despair over the death of his son, Creon's wife Eurydice took her own life. These misfortunes led Creon to admit his insignificance and to humility before the gods.

The forms that the main source of the tragedy took.

a) Aristotle speaks of the origin of tragedy “from the singers of praise.” The dithyramb was indeed a choral song in honor of Dionysus. The tragedy, therefore, arose from the alternating singing of the lead singer and the choir: the lead singer gradually becomes an actor, and the choir was the very basis of the tragedy. Based on the three great Greek tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides - one can quite clearly establish the evolution of the chorus in Greek classical drama. This evolution was a gradual decline in the importance of the chorus, starting from those tragedies of Aeschylus, where the chorus itself is a character, and ending with tragedies and represented nothing more than a kind of musical intermission.

b) The same Aristotle speaks about the origin of the tragedy from the Satmra game. Satyrs are humanoid demons with strongly pronounced goat-like elements (horns, beard, hooves, unkempt fur), and sometimes with a horse's tail.

The goat, like the bull, was closely related to the cult of Dionysus. Dionysus was often represented as a goat, and goats were sacrificed to him. Here was the idea that God himself was torn to pieces so that people could taste the divinity of Dionysus himself under the guise of goat meat. The word tragedy itself, translated from Greek, literally means either “song of the goats” or “song of the goats” (tragos - goat and ode - song).

c) It is necessary to recognize the folklore origin of drama in general. Ethnographers and art historians have collected significant material from history different nations about primitive collective game, which was accompanied by singing and dancing, consisted of the parts of a lead singer and a choir or two choirs and initially had a magical meaning, because in this way the influence on nature was imagined.

d) It is quite natural that in primitive religious and labor rituals those elements that later led to the development of separate types of drama or to vicissitudes within one drama were not yet differentiated. Therefore, a mixture of the sublime and base, serious and humorous is one of the features of these primitive beginnings of drama, which later led to the origin of tragedy and comedy from the same Dionysian source.

e) In the city of Eleusis, mysteries were given, which depicted the abduction of her daughter Persephone from Demeter by Pluto. The dramatic element in Greek cults could not help but influence the development of drama in the dithyramb and could not help but contribute to the isolation of artistic and dramatic moments from religious rituals. Therefore, in science there is a firmly established theory about the influence of the Eleusinian mysteries on the development of the tragedy in Athens.

f) The theory of the origin of tragedy from the cult of the spirit of the dead, and in particular from the cult of heroes, has also been put forward. Of course, the cult of heroes could not be the only source of tragedy, but it was of great importance for tragedy already in view of the fact that tragedy was almost exclusively based on heroic mythology.

g) Almost every tragedy contains scenes of mourning for certain heroes, so there was also a theory about the phrenetic origin of the tragedy (tbrenos - in Greek “funeral lament”). But frenos also could not be the only source of tragedy.

h) It was also pointed out that there was a mimic dance at the grave of the heroes. This point is also very important.

i) At a certain stage of development, a serious tragedy separated from. funny satyr drama. And from mythological tragedy and satyr drama a non-mythological comedy was separated. This differentiation is a certain stage in the development of Greek drama.

Tragedy before Aeschylus.

Not a single tragedy has survived before Aeschylus. According to Aristotle, drama originated in the Peloponnese, among the Dorian population. However, drama received its development only in the much more advanced Attica, where tragedy and satyr drama were staged on the festival of the Great (or City) Dionysia (March - April), and on another festival of Dionysus, the so-called Lenaea (January - February) - mainly comedy; At the Rural Dionysia (December - January), plays that had already been performed in the city were staged. We know the name of the first Athenian tragedian and the date of the first production of the tragedy. It was Thespis who first staged the tragedy at the Great Dionysia in 534. A number of innovations and the titles of some tragedies are attributed to Thespis, but the reliability of this information is questionable. A contemporary of the famous Aeschylus was Phrynichus (approx. 511-476), to whom, among others, the tragedies “The Taking of Miletus” and “The Phoenician Women”, which gained great fame, are attributed. Later Pratin acted, becoming famous for his satyr dramas, of which he had more than tragedies. All these tragedians were eclipsed by Aeschylus.

The structure of tragedy.

Aeschylus' tragedies are already distinguished by their complex structure. Undoubtedly, the development path of this structure was long. The tragedy began with a prologue, by which we must understand the beginning of the tragedy before the first performance of the choir. The first performance of the choir, or more precisely, the first part of the choir, is a parod of tragedy (parod in Greek means “performance”, “passage”). After the parod, the tragedy alternated between the so-called episodies, that is, dialogical parts (episodies means “entry” - dialogue in relation to the chorus was initially something secondary), and stasims, the so-called “standing songs of the choir”, “song of the choir in a motionless state” . The tragedy ended with an exodus, exodus, or final song of the choir. It is also necessary to point out the combined singing of the choir and actors, which could take place in different places of the tragedy and usually had an excited-crying character, which is why it was called kommos (copto in Greek means “I hit,” that is, in this case, “I hit myself in the chest.” "). These parts of the tragedy can be clearly traced in the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides that have come down to us.

Satire drama.

Satyr drama, or otherwise playful, was a special type of dramatic poetry among the ancient Greeks, which existed along with tragedy and comedy.

From a satyr drama, according to testimony Aristotle, the tragedy developed by expanding plot and replacing the comic style with a serious and solemn one. The external feature that distinguished satyr drama from tragedy in the heyday of Greek theater comes down to participation in stage action satyrs who, according to legend, were involved in the performance of dithyrambs Arion Corinthian around 600. The place of origin of the satyr choir is recognized Peloponnese; in Athens, the satyr's dithyramb turns out to be an alien phenomenon, confined to the forms of Attic cult. Chronologically, this phenomenon is attributed to tyranny Pisistrata, who established the holiday of the great Dionysius (city). According to another view, the birthplace of the satyr chorus was Athens, and stage satyrs who put on goatskin (in other parts of the costume they could rather resemble centaurs), were the costumed retinue of god Dionysus, totem which, by the way, was a goat. The choral dance dithyramb, performed by mummered satyrs, was, according to this view, a remnant of the ritual action of the time when Dionysus was honored, taking the image of an animal dedicated to him, and in myth, which formed the basis of the dramatic action, these satyrs turned into companions of Dionysus ( Veselovsky, “Three chapters from historical poetics”). According to Wilamowitz (“Heracles”), satires were introduced specifically for the purpose of amusing and amusing the public and had nothing to do with the cult. Be that as it may, the setting of the satyr chorus came into use during the Dionysus festival and determined the development of cult and then artistic drama.

In the legends about Dionysus, a combination of ideas of suffering and joy, death and life was given. This duality of the nature of the deity was reflected in the everyday life of the festival: the bearers of the ritual act - the satyrs - either performed passionate songs, imbued with joy, while dancing, or tuned in to the mood of crying. With the gradual evolution of ritual forms, fun and serious moments were distributed between satyr drama and tragedy: the first retained the name and masks of the cult performers of the ancient dithyramb. The development of comedy proceeded completely independently, but along with the development of satyr drama and tragedy: neither by constitution, nor by setting, nor by goals was Greek comedy connected with satyr drama. According to Magaffey(“History of the classical period of Greek literature”), the satyr drama was in the initial phase of development a rural and cheerful form of dithyramb performed by the lower class of the population, and choir imitated the games of satyrs, while tragedy arose from a serious dithyramb. When the latter began to deviate from his original goal and began to glorify, in addition to Dionysus, other gods and heroes, the satyr's dithyramb was dedicated to the Athenian stage and became fashionable. According to Berngardi(“Grundriss der griechischen Litteratur”, II part, 2 parts), initially at the Dionysian festivals the religious and secular, artificial and free elements stood next to each other; the first was expressed in a dithyrambic chorus, the second in the jokes of satyrs, and the satyr drama constituted the prelude of the holiday. The connection between satyrs and dithyramb was reinforced by Arion. Initially, the satyr drama was performed by a choir without actors; unlike the tragedy, it was noticeable that there was a predominance orchestic element. Since Thespis its development went hand in hand with tragedy, and innovations in the field of the latter were simultaneously transferred to satyr drama.

The first known representative of satyr drama in the history of Greek literature is considered to be Pratin from Phliunt (Dorian), the author of 32 plays, according to legend, he transferred the satyr choruses from Corinth to Athens. Despite the fact that the Doric dialect of choirs was little understood by the Athenians and the image of satyrs was alien to their mythology, the innovation quickly took root in the cult of Dionysus. From that time on, satyr drama was recognized as a necessary branch of dramatic art and was included in the program of the Dionysian festivals (Great Dionysias). Among other representatives of this era in the field of satyr drama, Aristius, son of Pratin, and Khoiril stood out. The satyr drama reached its apogee with Aeschylus. Before him, the satyr drama, which concluded a tetralogy, could stand in connection with the plot of previous tragedies; after Aeschylus, independence of satyr drama became common. Sophocles And Euripides also wrote satirical dramas. Some critics also consider “Alcestis” and “Orestes”, two plays of Euripides that have come down to us, to be considered a type of drama. In addition to the named poets, the following representatives of Stairov poetry were also known in ancient times: Ion of Chios, Achaeus Electrician, Iophoktes, Philocles, Xenocles. In the 4th century. BC. and later the decline of satyr drama is noticed; only a few of its representatives are known.

The Pathfinders of Sophocles, the Cyclops of Euripides and Daphnis or Lityers have survived to this day. Sosifea. The drama of Euripides has been preserved in its entirety, the drama of Sophocles has survived almost half (the first 394 verses) with gaps, which were restored; From the drama of Sosifeus, two fragments are currently known (21 verses and 3 verses).

A characterization of the satyr drama of the classical period (5th century BC) can be made on the basis of the Cyclops. Its content is taken entirely from Song IX “ Odyssey"(Art. 105-542), except that Euripides introduced Strong and satyrs, that is, the actual satyr setting, and there is no mention of the ram that carried out Odyssey from the Cyclops Cave. The action takes place in Sicily, on the seashore, and begins with Silenus, who fell into slavery with the satyrs. Cyclops, sadly recalls the time when he was a servant of Dionysus. Meanwhile, a chorus of satyrs, in the theme of a fast and comic dance, runs onto the stage and in a naively funny pastoral songs expresses his sympathy for Silenus. A ship brings Odysseus and his comrades from Troy to the shore; a conversation ensues between the satyrs and the newcomers. A giant appears Polyphemus and mistakes the aliens for robbers. Odysseus with dignity convinces Polyphemus that he is not a robber, but a guest, and asks for protection. Polyphemus replies that for him there are no laws or fear, and that the gift of hospitality to Odysseus will be fire and a cauldron in which his meat will be cooked. Odysseus addresses Pallas And to Zeus with a prayer for help and follows Polyphemus into the cave. In the choral song that follows, the satyrs glorify the wide throat of the cannibal and express a desire to leave the inhospitable shore as soon as possible. Soon after this, Odysseus runs out of the cave and talks in horror about the bloodthirstiness of Polyphemus, who devoured two of his comrades, and how he managed to get Cyclops drunk. The chorus expresses sympathy for Odysseus, who is planning to gouge out the eye of the monster during his sleep and announces to Polyphemus his name - Nobody. With the help of satyrs offstage, Odysseus pierces the Cyclops' only eye. The groans and complaints of the blinded giant, his rage at the news of Odysseus's salvation, the last dialogue between them and the satyrs' readiness to sail with Odysseus - all this makes up the final scene of the satyr drama.

The setting of the drama, the characters of the characters and the form make it possible to summarize the main features of satyr poetry. On the one hand, satyr drama brings before us satyrs - true children of nature, roguish, fearful, sensual, careless, naively shameless, playful and cheerful, living in the lap of nature; Polyphemus also belongs to them as a representative of the gross animal element. In contrast to them, Odysseus appears as a representative of the heroic and cultural principle. He behaves like a hero of a tragedy, without humiliating his dignity, without falling into either a vulgar or too solemn tone. The purpose of the satyr drama, which was a harmless, naive joke on a mythical plot, was in depicting this contrast and in communicating direct fun to the audience. Without preaching like a comedy, the satirical drama made people laugh and entertained, giving rise to the heavy and serious mood evoked in the audience by previous tragedies. The repertoire of satyr roles was not particularly large, which, by the way, explains the relatively small participation of satyr drama in the programs of Dionysus festivals and its gradual disappearance from the stage (by the end of the 4th century BC). The themes were initially taken from the legends of Dionysus and had to do with the introduction of wine among people and the influence of the new gift on its inexperienced admirers (“Lycurgus” by Aeschylus). Later, myths with an element of the animal, funny, fairy-tale and wonderful were chosen as the basis for satyr plays; Thus, the satyr types of gluttonous, simple-minded, sensual, rude were especially popular Hercules, roguish Autolyka, crippled Hephaestus, fierce, in the spirit of Cyclops, Anthea And Busirisa, the robber Skiron, etc. Plots were also allowed in which the action consisted of marriage and joy (Marriage of Helen). Sometimes the tragic and serious in myths is distorted into the funny ( Alcmaeon, Amphiarai, Afamant, Telephone), but at the same time the poet had to take into account the beliefs and tastes of the public and not overstep the limits of what was permitted. In general, satyr drama had to satisfy the following requirements, which were set out by Horace in “Ars poetica” (vv. 220-250): she had to carefully choose expressions so that the heroes, like a venerable matron performing a public religious dance, did not lose their dignity, and the speech of the satyrs corresponded to their shepherd character; in other words, its language should represent a middle ground between the language of comedy and tragedy. The task of the satyr drama was not parody, but to make people laugh by presenting the amusingly indecent, naively inappropriate against the backdrop of the serious and heroic and maintaining the tone of naive fiction and idyllic simplicity.

The liveliness of the action also corresponded to the size (trochaic tetrameter), originally used, according to Aristotle (Poet. § 14), in satyr poetry and was closely related to dance. Choral meters were generally freer and simpler than in tragedy; the choral parts were not strophic. In dialogues spoken by satirical persons, freedom of both style and meter was also allowed: replacement iambic cyclic anapest was found, for example, in all feet except the last one. On the contrary, the heroic parts were strictly consistent in stylistic and metrical respects, as required by the laws of the tragic form.

Dance of the Satyrs ( Old Greekσίκιννις) was more of a rhythmic jump, sometimes of an obscene nature; the pace of the dance was fast, and the satyrs accompanied the movements with gestures, grimaces and antics, designed to make the audience laugh (vase painting provides a lot of material illustrating the satyr drama both from the plot and from the external setting). Number Horevtov in satyr drama there were 12-15, the chorus had a quadrangular structure. The satyrs were dressed in goatskins and had phallus(there were also ithyphallic satyrs) and a tail (horse) at the back, as can be concluded from the vase painting

Compared to tragedy, satyr drama was more conservative, as indicated, by the way, by the archaic nature of its style, and had fewer vital elements that could ensure its free development. Although the constituent elements of tragedy and satyr drama were the same, the second always seemed underdeveloped in comparison with the first. This is clear both from a consideration of the metrical properties of both dramatic types, and from the fact that, compared to tragedy, the volume of satyr drama was smaller and the dramatic conflict was simpler. It was especially difficult for the poet to give an artistic combination of elements of the serious and funny and maintain a tone intermediate between tragedy and comedy.

The obligation to amuse without complete freedom for jokes and the narrow range of subjects delayed the evolution of satyr poetry; its success in the 5th century. BC. is explained only by the high talent of the poets who created the artistic drama. The degeneration of satyr drama was noticed already under Sophocles, who in some plays brought out ordinary mortals instead of satyrs (in the drama “The Shepherds” the choreuts were shepherds, in the drama “Hercules on Tenar” - helots). Finally, the decline of satyr drama was facilitated by the success of comedy, which fell to the lot of making the Athenian public laugh starting in the eighties of the 5th century. By the end of the 4th century. satyr drama completely went out of fashion, which explains, among other things, the loss of numerous examples of it created in the 6th and 5th centuries.

Drama (from the Greek drama - action) was born in Greece in the 6th century BC, when the slave system was finally established and the center cultural life Greece became Athens. On certain holidays, the ancient theater gathered the entire population of the city and surrounding area.

The precursor to the appearance of drama in Greece was a long period during which epic and lyric poetry occupied the leading place. The drama was a unique synthesis of the achievements of previously formed types of literature, incorporating an “epic” heroic, monumental character and a “lyrical” individual beginning.

The emergence and development of Greek drama and theater is associated, first of all, with ritual games of a mimic nature, which were noted at an early stage of development among many peoples and have been preserved for centuries. Mimic games of agricultural peoples were part of holidays dedicated to the dying and resurrecting gods of fertility. Such holidays had two sides - serious, “passionate”, and carnival, glorifying the victory of the bright forces of life.

In Greece, rituals were associated with the cult of the gods - the patrons of agriculture: Dionysus, Demeter, and her daughter Persephone. At holidays in honor of the god Dionysus, solemn and cheerful carnival songs were sung. The mummers who were part of Dionysus's retinue organized a noisy party. Participants in the festive procession “camouflaged” their faces in every possible way - they smeared it with wine grounds, put on masks and goat skins.

Three genres of ancient Greek drama originate from ritual games and songs in honor of Dionysus - comedy, tragedy and satyr drama.

An integral part of folk holiday activities associated with agricultural work was singing and dancing. From them later arose the classical Athenian tragedy.

The theater had two stages. One - the stage - was intended for actors, the other - the orchestra - for a choir of 12 - 15 people.

The ancient Greeks believed that the theater should reveal universally significant and deep themes and glorify high quality the human spirit and ridicule the vices of people and society. A person, after watching the drama, should experience a spiritual and moral shock. In tragedy, empathizing with the heroes, the viewer must cry, and in comedy - the type of drama opposite to tragedy - laugh.

The ancient Greeks created such theatrical forms as monologue and dialogue. They made extensive use of multi-faceted action in the drama, using the chorus as a commentator on the events taking place. The choral structure was monophonic, they sang in unison. IN professional music male choirs predominated.

IN ancient Greek theater special buildings appeared - amphitheaters, designed specifically for acting and audience perception. It used stages, backstage, a special arrangement of seats for spectators, also used in modern theater. The Hellenes created the scenery for performances. The actors used a special pathetic manner of pronouncing the text, widely used pantomime and expressive plasticity. However, they did not consciously use facial expression; they performed in special masks, symbolically reflecting a generalized image of joy and grief.

Tragedy (a type of drama imbued with the pathos of the tragic) was intended for broad sections of the population.

The tragedy was a reflection of the passionate side of the Dionysian cult. According to Aristotle, tragedy originates from the dithyramb singers. Elements of acting were gradually mixed into the dialogue between the singer and the choir. The word "tragedy" comes from two Greek words: tragos - "goat" and ode - "song". This title brings us to satyrs - goat-footed creatures, companions of Dionysus, who glorify the exploits and sufferings of God. Greek tragedy, as a rule, borrowed plots from mythology well known to every Greek. The audience's interest was concentrated not on the plot, but on the author's interpretation of the myth, on social and moral issues, which unfolded around well-known episodes of the myth. Within the framework of the mythological shell, the playwright reflected the contemporary socio-political situation in the tragedy, expressed his philosophical, ethnic, and religious views. It is no coincidence that the role of tragic ideas in the socio-political and ethical education of citizens was enormous.

The tragedy reached significant development already in the second half of the 6th century BC. According to ancient tradition, Thespis is considered to be the first Athenian tragic poet in the spring of 534 BC. At the festival of the Great Dionysius, the first production of his tragedy took place. This year is considered as the year of birth of the world theater. A number of innovations are attributed to Thespis: for example, he improved masks and theatrical costumes. But the main innovation of Thespis is the separation of one performer, an actor, from the choir. Hypocritus (“responder”), or actor, could answer questions from the choir or address the choir with questions, leave the stage area and return to it, and portray various characters during the action. Thus, early Greek tragedy was a kind of dialogue between an actor and a chorus and was more like a cantata in form. At the same time, it was the actor who, from his very appearance, became the bearer of an effective energetic principle, although quantitatively his part in the original drama was insignificant ( the main role assigned to the choir).

Phrynichus, a student of Thespis, an outstanding tragedian of the era before Aeschylus, “expanded” the plot boundaries of the tragedy, taking it beyond the boundaries of Dionysian myths. Phrynichus is famous as the author of a number of historical tragedies that were written in the wake of recent events. For example, in the tragedy “The Capture of Miletus” the capture by the Persians in 494 BC was represented. the city of Miletus, which rebelled against Persian rule along with other Greek cities of Asia Minor. The play shocked the audience so much that it was banned by the authorities, and the author himself was sentenced to a fine.

The works of Thespis and Phrynichus have not survived to this day; information about them theatrical activities are few in number, but they also show that the very first playwrights actively responded to pressing issues of our time and sought to make the theater a place for discussing the most important problems of public life, a platform where the democratic principles of the Athenian state were affirmed.

blog.site, when copying material in full or in part, a link to the original source is required.

Social, ethical, political problems, issues of education, deep depiction of heroic characters, the theme of high civic consciousness form the life-affirming basis of ancient Greek theater.

However, as we mentioned above, Tronsky notes that a characteristic feature ancient Greek tragedies there was "suffering". He explains this as follows: “Interest in the problems of “suffering” was generated by the religious and ethical ferment of the 6th century, by the struggle that the emerging slave-owning class of the city waged, relying on the peasantry, against the aristocracy and its ideology. The democratic religion of Dionysus played a significant role in this struggle the role was put forward by tyrants (for example, Pisistratus or Cleisthenes) in opposition to local aristocratic cults. Myths about heroes, which belonged to the basic foundations of city life and constituted one of the most important parts of the cultural wealth of the Greek people, could not help but fall into the orbit of new problems. With this rethinking of Greek myths, it was no longer epic “feats” or aristocratic “valor” that began to come to the fore, but suffering, “passions” that could be depicted in the same way as the “passions” of dying and resurrected gods were depicted; In this way, it was possible to make myth an exponent of a new worldview and extract from it material for those relevant in the revolutionary era of the 6th century. problems of “justice”, “sin” and “retribution” [Tronsky: 1983, 109].

Aeschylus became the true founder of ancient Greek tragedy. He is the author of more than seventy works, of which only seven have come down to us: “The Persians”, “The Pleaders”, “Seven Against Thebes”, “Prometheus Bound”, “Agamemnon”, “Choephori”, “Eumenides”. All of Aeschylus' plays are permeated with a strong religious feeling; they are based on the conflict between human passions and spirituality.

Aeschylus was the founder of the ideologically civil tragedy, a contemporary and participant in the Greco-Persian wars, a poet of the time of the formation of democracy in Athens. The main motive of his work is the glorification of civil courage and patriotism. One of the most remarkable heroes of Aeschylus’s tragedies is the irreconcilable god-fighter Prometheus, the personification of the creative forces of the Athenians. This is the image of an unbending fighter for high ideals, for the happiness of people, the embodiment of reason overcoming the power of nature, a symbol of the struggle for the liberation of humanity from tyranny, embodied in the image of the cruel and vengeful Zeus, to whose slavish service Prometheus preferred torment.

The plots of his tragedies are simple and grandiose, like in ancient epic poems. In Prometheus there are gods and demigods. The plot of the tragedy “Seven against Thebes” is an internecine war that ends with the death of brothers who challenged each other for power over their hometown. The plot of "Oresteia" is the struggle of maternal law (matriarchy) with paternal law (patriarchy): the son avenges the death of his father, killed by his mother; the custodians of maternal right - the Erinnias - come to the defense of the murdered woman, but the matricide is protected by the god Apollo, the guardian of paternal right. There are no events everywhere privacy, but shocks that matter in the lives of entire tribes and peoples. The action is built like those cyclopean structures ancient greek architecture, where colossal stones, not held together by cement, are piled on top of each other. The characters are just as grandiose. Their characters are monolithic and do not change during the course of the tragedy. They may also resemble statues from archaic Greek sculpture with frozen expressions. Sometimes they are silent for a long time at the beginning of the action. “Power” and “Strength” chain Prometheus to a rock, but neither a sigh nor a groan escapes from the titan’s chest. In the tragedy “Agamemnon,” the Trojan captive, the prophetess Cassandra, is silent, not answering questions, and, only sensing the murder taking place behind the scenes, she begins to talk about it in mysterious words, interrupted by screams. Sometimes the whole tragedy sounds like a continuous plaintive moan and cry. Such are the “Prayers,” where the main character is a chorus of unfortunate girls seeking protection from their pursuers from the inhabitants of Argos. Such is “The Persians,” where the chorus and Queen Atossa, the mother of the defeated Persian king Xerxes, mourn the death of the army and the shame of the state. Even if Aeschylus expanded the dialogues, he still left the chorus with the role of an important character. The conversations of the faces are constantly interrupted by the songs of the choir, as if the heroes of a tragedy are talking and calling out to each other on the shore of the ever-noisy sea.

Behind the images of Aeschylus we always feel their author. Of course, our conclusions about him are only conjectural: after all, they are made on the basis of only seven tragedies that have reached us. But they also allow us to say that the poet, who belonged to the Greek aristocracy, was by no means a person limited by class. An ardent patriot who highly valued the freedom of the Athenian Republic, he was at the same time opposed to the radical destruction of institutions left over from the past. This aristocrat argued, however, that Truth loves the humble huts of the poor and avoids palaces. A deeply religious man, an admirer of Zeus, he portrayed the supreme god in Prometheus as a cruel tyrant, and made his opponent an eternal symbol of a revolutionary fighter, an enemy of all violence.

Initially Greek gods did not have that noble and beautiful appearance that they received later in sculpture and poetry. These primitive gods were crude personifications of the forces of nature. In the 5th century BC new era they became humanoid and handsome. In Aeschylus they often retain their ancient nature. And at the same time they are reborn, evolving. The cruel Zeus, as we see him in Prometheus, later turns in Aeschylus into a benign, world-embracing deity, the embodiment of wisdom and justice. The evil Erinnyes in the last part of the “Oresteia” become the Eumenides, goddesses favorable to people, the personification of those torments of conscience that do not destroy, but heal souls. They, by the will of the goddess Athena, are installed within the boundaries of her city to protect it from crime.

Aeschylus lived and worked at the turn of two eras, when concepts associated with the era of communal tribal life were being eradicated, and new ones were born, imbued with greater humanity, greater freedom of human thought.

Sophocles is also considered a great playwright of Ancient Greece. He wrote 125 dramas, of which seven tragedies have survived: “Antigone”, “Ajax”, “Oedipus the King”, “Electra”, etc. According to Aristotle, Sophocles depicted ideal people, while Euripides depicted people as they are in reality. actually. Euripides was more of a commentator than a participant in events; he was deeply interested in female psychology. The most famous of the 19 works that have come down to us are Medea and Phaedra.

A feature of all ancient dramas was the choir, which accompanied all the action with singing and dancing. Aeschylus introduced two actors instead of one, reducing the chorus parts and focusing on the dialogue, which was a decisive step in transforming the tragedy from purely mimetic choral lyrics into genuine drama. The play of two actors made it possible to increase the tension of the action. The appearance of a third actor is Sophocles' innovation, which made it possible to outline different lines of behavior in the same conflict.

Sophocles has similarities with Aeschylus, but there are also noticeable differences. Like Aeschylus, Sophocles dramatizes epic tales. But he does not refer to stories from modern life, just like Aeschylus in the Persians. Dramatization of myth is generally characteristic ancient Greek tragedy. It does not at all follow from this that this tragedy was far from the living life and anger of the political day. It also does not follow that the tragedy once and for all retained its ancient religious character.

The authors turned to myths, knowing that they were familiar to most viewers, and hoping to arouse public interest not by the originality of the fictional plot, but by its processing, interpretation of images, names and stories well known to the public. The authors did not consider themselves obligated to strictly adhere to the most widespread version of the myth and, under the cover of ancient legend, often discussed through the mouths of the characters and the chorus issues that were of the most pressing importance to the Athenian citizens. On the other hand, turning to mythical images taken from ancient legends allowed Aeschylus and Sophocles to bring to the stage heroes somewhat elevated above the level of everyday reality. Sophocles is credited with saying that he portrayed “people as they should be,” that is, he gave broadly generalized characters, emphasizing in people their highest, heroic aspirations, revealing all the richness of a person’s spiritual properties.

It is in the attention to man, to his inner world, to his suffering, to his struggle with the vicissitudes of fate that the main difference between the images of Sophocles and the monumental and often static images of Aeschylus lies. The man in Sophocles' tragedies is more independent, the action is more determined by the character properties of the main person, which are the cause of both his happiness and his misfortunes.

The famous chorus in Antigone is the most majestic hymn to man that has come down to us from antiquity. The choir glorifies man - the most wonderful and powerful thing in the world. Man subjugated the earth, the sea, and the entire animal world. But Sophocles limits his glorification of man with significant reservations. The human mind does not always lead people to dombra, but can lead to evil and injustice. For all his power, man is helpless before death. And not only before death, but (this is not mentioned in the chorus of Antigone) also before fate. The will and mind of man are limited by even more powerful forces. The conflict between man and fate is the basis of the most famous of Sophocles' tragedies - Oedipus the King.

The last of the tragic poets from whom entire plays have come down to us is Euripides. In his tragedies he reflected the crisis of traditional polis ideology and the search for new foundations of worldview. He sensitively responded to pressing issues of political and social life, and his theater represented a kind of encyclopedia of the intellectual movement of Greece in the second half of the 5th century. BC e. In the works of Euripides various social problems, new ideas were presented and discussed.

Ancient criticism called Euripides “a philosopher on stage.” The poet was not, however, a supporter of a particular philosophical doctrine, and his views were not consistent. His attitude towards Athenian democracy was ambivalent. He glorified it as a system of freedom and equality, but at the same time he was frightened by the poor “crowd” of citizens who decided issues in public assemblies under the influence of demagogues. A common thread running through Euripides’ entire work is interest in the individual with his subjective aspirations. Great playwright depicted people with their drives and impulses, joys and sufferings. With all his work, Euripides forced viewers to think about their place in society, about their attitude to life.

Thus, we can conclude that the heroes ancient tragedies in the interpretation of different authors they looked different, but they were always strong-willed individuals who challenged fate, not wanting to submit higher powers, wanting to choose their own life path. They expressed social, moral and philosophical problems that worried poets and spectators.

Conclusion

Having reached great ideological and artistic heights, the ancient theater laid the foundations for all subsequent development of European theater. We can safely say that the theaters of Ancient Greece became the basis for the subsequent development of theatrical art, which continues to this day. Ancient Greek drama had a huge influence on the development of world literature. It touched upon socio-political and philosophical issues; it was characterized by its saturation with the ideas of patriotism, attention to man with all the richness of his spiritual life, and a deep depiction of heroic characters, educating the consciousness of the audience.

Thus, we can draw the following general conclusions on the topic we have considered:

1. Coming from a religious cult in its origin, the theater was already becoming a socially significant phenomenon. And, receiving support at the state level, being an important part of the life of the polis, the theater was also an integral element of public life, an exponent of the sentiments of the citizens of Ancient Greece.

2. The organization of the theatrical action was well-established, and although the nature of the action itself was conventional, the costumes and scenery were poor, all this was compensated for by the acting of the actors, the inclusion of a choir in the action and the presence of a moral component in the plays: suffering, crying, which determined the mood public and general character performed works.

3. Social, ethical, political problems, issues of education, deep depiction of heroic characters, the theme of high civic consciousness form the life-affirming basis of ancient Greek theater.