The Theater of Dionysus :: essays research papers fc

The athletic field of DionysusThe Theater of Dionysus was Europes first theater, and stood immediately belowthe Par henceon in Athens, Greece. It was originally strengthened in the late 5thcentury B.C. The theater was an outdoor auditorium in the shape of a greatsemicircle on the slope of the Acropolis, with rows of sit down on which closeeighteen thousand spectators could comfortably seat. The front rows consisted of stain chairs, and were the only seats in the theater that had a back support.The priests of Dionysus and the honcho magistrates of Athens reserved these rows.Priests claimed 50 of the 67 front row seats, then came the officials, theguests of value, then finally the ordinary citizens of Athens. Beyond the frontrow, stood a vizor space called the orchestra where the Chorus would sing anddance, and in the center of which stood the alter of Dionysus. The orchestra take was around 3 meters higher than the shrine. Behind the orchestra, therelied a heavy rectangular fo undation known as the stage on which the actors wouldperform their section of the play. The back of the stage had a building multicolorto look like the front of a temple or a palace. Here, the actors would retirewhen they were not needed 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 lush green of the forests thatsurround.The theater was construct 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 formal festival was held forDionysus in the same spot. This ancient ceremony was performed by choruses ofwork force who sang and danced in the gods honor. Spectators would gather in a circleto soak up these dancers that was the way that the theater took its circularshape. When the theater was built, the performers only sang and danced abou tthe stories of Dionysuss life, then later the stories of other gods and heroes.The stories were told in the form of a song, chant at first by all who tookplace, then later by a chorus of about fifty performers. During the intervalsof a song, the leader would itemise part 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, tour the chorus