The Skene (original meaning “tent”) was a large wooden wall used for the backdrop. It could also be decorated as part of the set. The Skene was a substantial structure because it had to incorporate a lifting apparatus to be used to suspend actors in the air. In the case of one play, the entire chorus went to visit Zeus and “flew” to Mount Olympus. There were two (or three) openings cut in the Skene connected to long ramps called Parodos. These ramps were used for entrances and exits for the actors.
The Paraskenia was a roofed building which housed the dressing rooms and costumes for the actors. Next to the public seating was a roofed building called the Odeon of Pericles which provided shelter in case of inclement weather.
The Theater of Dionysus was located on the southeast side of the Acropolis. Destroyed at least twice, the current remains are part of a Roman reconstruction. To its right is the Odeon of Pericles, a roofed structure designed for rehearsals and to shelter the public in case of inclement weather. The theater supposedly held as many as 17,000.
Greek Tragedy As Intellectual Expression
We’ve been talking about the intellectual accomplishments of the ancient Greeks and unique contribution they made to the history of mankind. This creative capability existed in both the Dorian and Ionian races because we know that Sparta made a contribution to the arts before its militaristic political system cut off artistic expression. Still the majority of the output occurred in Athens where the people’s sense of freedom combined with the wonder they felt about life produced a wellspring for creativity.
Tragic drama is an interesting facet of the Greek cultural contribution because the body of work is monumental. Indeed, as scholars rate the great dramatic playwrights of all time, three out of the top four were Greeks from the golden age of Athens – Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
The drama plays began as a part of the Festival of Dionysus in the sixth century B.C. Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, inspirer of madness and ecstasy, and the god of theater. He was celebrated in a rural Dionysia in late fall and a city Dionysia in March. The Greeks loved to dance and sing so a festival honoring the wine god would certainly be a wonderful pretext for merriment. The Dionysia was a merging of religion and joy like no other. The first day of the festival featured a grand parade ending at the Theater of Dionysus. Included in the procession were sacrificial animals, sons of those who died in battle, and the political leadership of Athens.
On the second day, the schedule of dramatic plays was announced and judges were selected by lot. Three playwrights put on three of their own dramatic plays along with one satyr play. The satyr play featured a mythology-based plot in a burlesque style probably designed to be a break for the audience after the intensity of the dramas.
The dramas were designed to teach the public the important virtues of life, validate the political system of Athens, and criticize its enemies. All the public was invited including the poor who were given money to buy their tickets. Many times the comment has been made that the drama plays were more democratic than the democracy of Athens because the plots included groups, like women and slaves, who had no rights in the political system.
The plays were very structured: in meter with a specific format to the dialog. Each play featured a chorus that sang or provided an external view of the action. The number of actors was limited to three and they wore masks. There was also a chorus included which took the role of an external observer of the action.
Once a dramas were concluded, the judges voted and the winners were announced. Of the three giants of Greek drama, Aeschylus wrote 70-90 plays of which seven survive. All seven won first prize at the Dionysia. Sophocles wrote 123 plays of which seven survive. He won twenty-four times and never finished lower than second. Euripides wrote 91 plays of which eighteen survive. Euripides won first prize four times.
The great period of Greek drama spanned the period from 472 B.C, when Aeschylus’ The Persians was performed, to 401, when Sophocles Oedipus of Colonus was performed posthumously. The form had been created, reached perfection, and died in a century. Because art reflects the mood of a culture, the end of classical drama in Greece is not surprising when one considers the impact of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.). Perhaps the Greeks found their dramas too depressing and needed comedies to help them deal with the occupation of the Spartans.
The Greeks used these designations to relate each type to its ancient race, although it is not clear whether there was any connection. Doric columns were used in mainland Greece and Sicily: Ionic in western Asia Minor. The most famous Greek temple, The Parthenon, is constructed in the Doric style.
The Doric order is older and more simple than the Ionic. The use of a Metope (square block of stone between Triglyphs) may have been part of a transition from wooden buildings which the space occupied by the Metope was the opening between two roof beams.
The Skene (original meaning “tent”) was a large wooden wall used for the backdrop. It could also be decorated as part of the set. The Skene was a substantial structure because it had to incorporate a lifting apparatus to be used to suspend actors in the air. In the case of one play, the entire chorus went to visit Zeus and “flew” to Mount Olympus. There were two (or three) openings cut in the Skene connected to long ramps called Parodos. These ramps were used for entrances and exits for the actors.
The Paraskenia was a roofed building which housed the dressing rooms and costumes for the actors. Next to the public seating was a roofed building called the Odeon of Pericles which provided shelter in case of inclement weather.
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The Theater of Dionysus was located on the southeast side of the Acropolis. Destroyed at least twice, the current remains are part of a Roman reconstruction. To its right is the Odeon of Pericles, a roofed structure designed for rehearsals and to shelter the public in case of inclement weather. The theater supposedly held as many as 17,000.
Greek Tragedy As Intellectual Expression
We’ve been talking about the intellectual accomplishments of the ancient Greeks and unique contribution they made to the history of mankind. This creative capability existed in both the Dorian and Ionian races because we know that Sparta made a contribution to the arts before its militaristic political system cut off artistic expression. Still the majority of the output occurred in Athens where the people’s sense of freedom combined with the wonder they felt about life produced a wellspring for creativity.
Tragic drama is an interesting facet of the Greek cultural contribution because the body of work is monumental. Indeed, as scholars rate the great dramatic playwrights of all time, three out of the top four were Greeks from the golden age of Athens – Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
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The drama plays began as a part of the Festival of Dionysus in the sixth century B.C. Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, inspirer of madness and ecstasy, and the god of theater. He was celebrated in a rural Dionysia in late fall and a city Dionysia in March. The Greeks loved to dance and sing so a festival honoring the wine god would certainly be a wonderful pretext for merriment. The Dionysia was a merging of religion and joy like no other. The first day of the festival featured a grand parade ending at the Theater of Dionysus. Included in the procession were sacrificial animals, sons of those who died in battle, and the political leadership of Athens.
On the second day, the schedule of dramatic plays was announced and judges were selected by lot. Three playwrights put on three of their own dramatic plays along with one satyr play. The satyr play featured a mythology-based plot in a burlesque style probably designed to be a break for the audience after the intensity of the dramas.
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The dramas were designed to teach the public the important virtues of life, validate the political system of Athens, and criticize its enemies. All the public was invited including the poor who were given money to buy their tickets. Many times the comment has been made that the drama plays were more democratic than the democracy of Athens because the plots included groups, like women and slaves, who had no rights in the political system.
The plays were very structured: in meter with a specific format to the dialog. Each play featured a chorus that sang or provided an external view of the action. The number of actors was limited to three and they wore masks. There was also a chorus included which took the role of an external observer of the action.
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Once a dramas were concluded, the judges voted and the winners were announced. Of the three giants of Greek drama, Aeschylus wrote 70-90 plays of which seven survive. All seven won first prize at the Dionysia. Sophocles wrote 123 plays of which seven survive. He won twenty-four times and never finished lower than second. Euripides wrote 91 plays of which eighteen survive. Euripides won first prize four times.
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The great period of Greek drama spanned the period from 472 B.C, when Aeschylus’ The Persians was performed, to 401, when Sophocles Oedipus of Colonus was performed posthumously. The form had been created, reached perfection, and died in a century. Because art reflects the mood of a culture, the end of classical drama in Greece is not surprising when one considers the impact of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.). Perhaps the Greeks found their dramas too depressing and needed comedies to help them deal with the occupation of the Spartans.
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The Greeks used these designations to relate each type to its ancient race, although it is not clear whether there was any connection. Doric columns were used in mainland Greece and Sicily: Ionic in western Asia Minor. The most famous Greek temple, The Parthenon, is constructed in the Doric style.
The Doric order is older and more simple than the Ionic. The use of a Metope (square block of stone between Triglyphs) may have been part of a transition from wooden buildings which the space occupied by the Metope was the opening between two roof beams.
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