The Theater of Dionysus :: essays research papers fc

The Theater of DionysusThe Theater of Dionysus was Europes first battlefield, and stood immediately belowthe Par accordinglyon in Athens, Greece. It was originally built in the late 5thcentury B.C. The field was an outdoor auditorium in the shape of a greatsemi pile on the slope of the Acropolis, with rows of seats on which abouteighteen thousand spectators could comfortably seat. The apparent motion rows consisted ofmarble chairs, and were the only seats in the theater that had a back support.The priests of Dionysus and the chief magistrates of Athens reserved these rows.Priests claimed 50 of the 67 front row seats, then came the officials, theguests of honor, then finally the ordinary citizens of Athens. Beyond the frontrow, stood a circular space called the orchestra where the Chorus would sing anddance, and in the center of which stood the alter of Dionysus. The orchestralevel was or so 3 meters higher than the shrine. Behind the orchestra, therelied a heavy rectangular foun dation known as the stage on which the actors wouldperform their segment of the play. The back of the stage had a building paintedto look like the front of a temple or a palace. Here, the actors would retirewhen they were not mandatory on stage or would go to when they had to change theircostumes. Above lay the deep blue sky, behind it was the Acropolis, and seen inthe distance was the olive colored hills and sybaritic green of the forests thatsurround.The theater was built as a result of the Athenians religious practice in honorof the god, Dionysos, who personified both wine and fruitfulness. Long beforethe theater itself was built, an annual ceremonial festival was held forDionysus in the same spot. This ancient ceremony was performed by choruses ofmen who sang and danced in the gods honor. Spectators would gather in a circleto watch these dancers that was the way that the theater took its circularshape. When the theater was built, the performers only sang and danced aboutthe st ories of Dionysuss life, then later the stories of other gods and heroes.The stories were told in the form of a song, intonate at first by all who tookplace, then later by a chorus of about fifty performers. During the intervalsof a song, the leader would recite offend of the story himself. As time passed,these recitations became more and more important, as it eventually overtook thechorus. They were now presented by two or three people, while the chorus