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... e used in various ways. The center door was where the priest or the leading actors would enter. The chorus, messengers, or servants would enter from either side door. The flat roof of the see was called the theologian. There, the main actors would act out their parts of the drama during the performance (Foundation 1).
The theologian was also a place that was reserved for the gods. Along the back wall of the see was a narrow, raised platform, called the legion. The legion was a place designed just for the actors. It is unclear whether they would act back there or whether it was used for a dressing room of sorts. In later years, a paraskenia was added. The inner faces of the paraskenia were originally open with doors being added later.
The decoration of the paraskenia could have the same theme as the see or they could have had its own theme. In the Greek theatres, the orchestra and the paradox separated the theatre and the see. The paradox were entrances used by patrons of the theatre as entrances or exits. During the performances, the chorus and sometimes the main actors would use them.
If a messenger or servant would come from a far off land, they would also enter through the paradox. (Bangham 1) If horses or chariots were to be used, they would enter through the paradox. The late 400 BCE introduced the ekkuklema, or tableau machine which was a platform or couch set on wheels. Since scenes of violence were not shown on stage war, rape, and murder for example, took place off stage. In the off stage area, there would be a tremendous amount of commotion.
This was done to represent the calamity or tragedy that was taking place. At the same time, the chorus would be reacting about it in an attempt to excite the audience. A messenger or servant would report on such calamities. Following the announcement of, perhaps a murder, the ekkuklema with the dead body would be rolled in. Even without the violence being shown, patrons of the theatre would still have shuddered and gasped at the sight. (Raw 14) It is undoubted that the see served as the main focal point and background for all of the scenes. During the overlapping years of Aeschylus and Sophocles, painted scenery was beginning to be employed.
Vitruvius' description of the first scene painting suggests; ' that it was an architectural design on a flat surface'; (Brockett 4 ed 37). There were two major devices used. The pirates, which were painted panels similar to modern flats, could have been attached to the see and changed as needed. Though the practice of using them in the fifth century BCE was well documented the practice of changing them for different plays is not. Another mechanism that was employed at around this time was the periaktoi. The periaktoi were triangular with flat sides that could be used to paint scenery on.
They would be mounted on a pivot and revolved to show the appropriate side. These could make scene changes go quickly and effortlessly. When the play was to be changed, or when gods would enter to the accompaniment of sudden claps of thunder, these may be revolved to present a face differently decorated. (Leacroft 7) Sometime after 400 BCE a special effects machine was developed. The methane, or deus ex machina, (god from the machine) was a large crane or derrick. In order for the machine to be put into use, the stone foundations for the see had to become the accepted practice (Leacroft 6). By raising and lowering ropes and pulleys attached to the machine, stagehands could make a deity appear to fly through the air.
When the sequence of events in a play made a good ending seem impossible this machine could be incorporated into the final scene with an actor swinging above the stage acting as a deity. This deity would then use his supernatural powers to bring about a just ending to the play (Raw 12). In Euripides' Bacchae, it is the god Dionysus, who appears on the machine. After explaining his behavior, he ends the play by telling why the character Pentheus had to die and what the fate of the other main characters will be. The crane was primarily used for the appearance of gods but it did have other uses as well.
It could have been used for Perseus on his flying horse. In comedy, it was often used to parody tragedy or to ridicule human pretensions (Brockett 4 ed 38 - 39). Another aspect of the Greek plays was the mask. Although not a direct part of the architecture, they played a very important role in the production. Later on in the history of Greek plays more than one actor would perform.
These actors would be on stage as more than one character. The masks, sometimes several for one actor, would be used to tell one character from the other. Since all actors were male, the masks would be used to portray females. The masks, when constructed, were shaped almost like a bullhorn, giving them the ability to amplify the voices of the actors. This, along with the bowl shape of the theatres, made the acoustics nearly perfect. It is said even in the structures that are still standing today that a whisper spoken on the orchestra can be heard perfectly in the last row. (Brockett 4 ed 42 - 43) I have discussed in very detailed ways how the ancient theatres evolved around the text of the plays.
In other words, as the plays themselves evolved so did the demands on the physical structures. The early plays of Aeschylus, who is generally credited with the introduction of the see and of painted scenery, required only simple settings, an altar with surrounding statues, or a simple building with a single door. When the drama developed beyond what was readily available, scenic backgrounds were instituted. The orchestra was often backed by curtains, or a wall containing a door, window, or other openings. The addition of the paraskenia is more proof that as the audience of ancient Greece became more sophisticated, so did the design of the sets become more sophisticated. The theatres themselves are a testimonial to this.
With Athens becoming the cultural Mecca of the world, the physical size of the structure had to be enlarged. In the words of T. S. Eliot, 'Behind the dialogue of Greek drama we are always conscious of a concrete visual actuality. '; Ancient Greek theatre architecture is more then just something to look at.
It took on a shape all its own. From its infancy through its growing stages, and into its adulthood it has never let us forget whence theatre came from. Over the years, it was transformed and given life to help the playwrights tell the stories of their day. It provided that 'visual actuality'; that imposed an emotional response. If we sit back and say that it is nothing more than just a building, then we are guilty of having no passion for the art that we love so much. As sophisticated as theatre is today, most of what we know started almost two thousand years ago.
Notes: 1. The spelling of the Greek terms varied from resource to resource. I tried in vain to use the spelling that occurred most often. Bibliography Bangham Jerry, Greece-Turkey 1999, 8 / 15 / 99, 10 / 19 / 1999, Brockett, Oscar G. , History of the Theatre. 2 nd edition, Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1974 Brockett, Oscar G. , History of the Theatre. 4 th edition, Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1983 Duke, Bernard F. Dramatic Theory and Criticism. New York, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc. 1974 Foundation of the Hellenic World, the Theater, 1997, 10 / 19 / 1999, Norwich, John Julius, Great Architecture of the World.
New York, Bonanza Books, 1982 Leacroft, Richard and Helen, Theatre and Playhouse. London, Methuen, 1984 Raw, Mariam F. 'The First Theaters. '; Calliope. November 1997: 12 - 17
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