Theater of Dionysus | Acropolis of Athens | Greece | 4K

On the south slope of the Acropolis was the location of the very birth of theater as we know it. It is one of the oldest Greek theaters in the world and it is famous for hosting ancient competitions of comedy and tragedy. Its winners would become legendary inspiring playwrights of the renaissance and their works would still be performed and taught in schools today thousands of years later. Many innovations in theater were made during this time including the first use of Later it would be converted to an arena for gladiatorial games and was even flooded with water to host aquatic spectacles and mock naval battles. This is James from History Victorum from the Acropolis of Athens join us as we explore the ancient theater of Dionysus. The theater of Dionysus is located on the southeast slope of the Acropolis of Athens. Although today it may look fairly small the rows of seats once stretched all the way up to this marble monument and held about 15,000 people. That's similar in size to this great theater of Epidaurus which held about 14,000. Around the year 500 BC the theater of Dionysus was built into the hillside with wooden seating after the previous theater in Niagara had collapsed. These wooden seats were called theatron or a viewing place which is where we get our word for theater. The theater is named after the Greek god of wine Dionysus seen here on the Parthenon and it hosted plays performed as part of an annual festival called the Great Dionysia. It was held every year in March or April and included a procession, feasts, and held various performances including competitions for comedy and tragedy. Many great innovations happened during this time in the early days of theater including the use of actors. In fact it may have been here during these ancient competitions where we would see the very first time an actor spoke to another actor on stage. In the 6th century BC the concept of actors speaking to each other to act out a play hadn't really been fully invented yet. A lead actor had been introduced in the late 6th century who would interact with a group of people called the chorus who would perform dances and songs. According to Aristotle the playwright Aeschylus known as the father of tragedy introduced the second actor which allowed for two actors to interact with each other and with the chorus. These two could play multiple roles and change masks and costumes. Seven plays from Aeschylus survive today. His oldest surviving play is called the Persians which won first prize in 472 BC. This was before the building of the Parthenon which started around 447 BC and at this time the Acropolis was still in ruins after it had been destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. In his play Aeschylus describes the aftermath of a Persian defeat at the battle of Salamis in 480 BC presented fully from the perspective of the Persians. Aeschylus was followed by two other great tragedians Sophocles and Euripides both of which produced their last works around the end of the 5th century BC. A third actor was said to have been introduced in the mid 5th century possibly by Sophocles and three actors became the standard for tragedy. The lead actor was called the protagonist who would compete for the prize of best actor. What we see here is more of an artistic representation of what the theater may have looked like at its peak in the 2nd century AD but early plays in the 5th century BC would have been performed in front of a more simple wooden stage building possibly with a flat roof for the appearance of gods which could be flown in using a crane and sometimes painted scenes could be brought in for the background. It's not actually known if the actors performed on a low stage at this time or were simply acted in this area here called the orchestra along with the chorus which consisted of about 12 to 15 people for tragedies and was about 24 people for comedies. The orchestra also included a central altar for making offerings or sacrifices before the performances and could sometimes be used as part of the play. It may have looked like this one found on the frieze of the theater. This finely crafted frieze shows scenes from the life of the god Dionysus. Here we can see figures of Silenus who is the tutor and companion of Dionysus and was almost always drunk. He seems to hold scrolls which could represent written plays. The scene here shows the birth of Dionysus. Zeus is seated while Hermes carries the baby Dionysus. Two figures strike swords against their shields possibly to make noise to drown out the cries of the newborn. In this slab Dionysus on the right gives the gift of the vine introducing wine to the people and this is followed by the marriage of Dionysus and Dionysus being crowned in Olympus as a god. He sits on a carved throne similar to some of those found in the theater. Although the frieze was created in the 2nd century AD, the clothing style on this slab is reminiscent of those worn back in the 5th century, 600 years earlier when Greek theater was in its golden age. We can see the similarity here to the clothing worn on the porch of the maidens of the Erechtheion on top of the Acropolis. The Erechtheion was completed around 406 BC, around the same time that the last works of Sophocles and Euripides were being performed in the theater. During its yearly competitions, each tragic playwright would not be judged on a single play alone but would get his own full day to present three tragedies in a row. They would also present a satyr play which was acted out by half human, half goat, or half horse figures called satyrs as well as Silenus. Another full day would be dedicated to a competition of five comedies and there was a musical competition which was sung and danced by 50 people called a dithyram although the schedule did change somewhat over time. The cost for the plays including the training of people in the chorus, sometimes their housing, their props, and their costumes were required by law to be paid by a selected wealthy citizen or sometimes by a volunteer. The victorious wealthy sponsors were allowed to build monuments or statues to celebrate their victories. One of these can be seen right here on top of the theater. This known as the monument of Thrasyllus was built around 320 BC after a victory in a musical dithyram. The bronze tripod received for their victory was often displayed on these monuments. Another well-preserved victory monument can be seen in one of the oldest streets in Athens known as the street of the tripods which once contained many monuments. This one was built in 335 BC also for a dithyram and it shows scenes of Dionysus turning his captives into dolphins. They put a lot of effort into these monuments and this one was the first known use of the elaborate Corinthian column on the exterior of a building. We're not exactly sure where the musical performances originally took place but after 445 BC they were instead performed at the wooden Odeon of Pericles. An Odeon meaning a roofed concert hall which was built adjacent to the theater of Dionysus. This may have been the first roofed Odeon ever constructed and stood for 400 years. In the 330s BC the theater was rebuilt in stone. This was during the time of Alexander the Great who admired the classics of Greek theater. He is known to have brought books with him during his campaigns in Asia of 5th century Greek tragedies. The stage building was also built from stone. We're not sure exactly what it looked like but it had three doors and was likely two-story or had a flat roof. It also had projecting buildings on the sides the remains of which are still visible. 67 carved marble thrones were added near the front for important officials and priests 60 of which still survive in some form today. Names or titles were inscribed on some of the seats. These were altered during Roman times but due to their style of script they appear to be copies of Greek originals. In the center is the most elaborately carved throne which was reserved for the priest of Dionysus. The sanctuary of Dionysus was located close to the theater. On the front we can see depictions of griffins in battle and satyrs with a grapevine. The sides are partially lost but show a winged figure. The theater was designed so that the space on the floor in front of the thrones becomes wider as it approaches the sides. This is possibly to help people exit the theater more quickly when the whole row leaves at the same time. After 449 BC awards began to be given out for best actor for tragedy and eventually in the late 4th century after the theater was built in stone best actor awards were given out for comedies as well. Actors had been increasing in importance over time and in the 4th century classic plays which were meant to be played only once for the festival were allowed to be performed once again during the competition. Also around this time bronze statues were set up near the east entrance of the three great tragedians of the 5th century BC. Some of these statues survive today in the form of Roman marble copies. With the support of Lycurgus of Athens a law was passed standardizing some of their plays and they were stored in public records which is partially why they survive today. Many other works that were once performed here are now lost to us today. One I would have liked to have seen was called Hector which is based off of Homer's Iliad and was written by the tragedian Astadamus in the 4th century BC. A bronze statue was set up for Astadamus on the west side of the theater. He famously requested to have an inscription added for the statue stating that he wished he had lived back in the 5th century BC so that he could have competed amongst the best. The play Hector was mentioned by the Roman author Plutarch in the same sentence as the works of the earlier great tragedians of the 5th century. Another statue was set up in the early 3rd century of the comic playwright Menander. Its original base survives and this replica of the statue was added based on pieces from surviving Roman copies. Menander wrote plays of new comedy which focused more on day-to-day life rather than the 5th century comic playwrights like Aristophanes whose plays were much more politically themed. Menander would be highly influential and popular in Roman times and is seen here on the fresco from the house of the Menander in Pompeii. Under the influence of the Romans in the 1st century AD the theater would be transformed to be used as an arena for gladiatorial games and its stage building would be further enhanced by two famous Roman emperors known for being admirers of Greek culture. The theater had been heavily damaged during a siege by the Roman general Sulla in the 1st century BC. It was rebuilt and made more grand during the mid-1st century AD during the time of Roman emperor Nero who was a great admirer of theater and even to the horror of his advisors acted in plays himself. A new stage building was added which was likely partially roofed and holes were found which could support a great curtain which was more common in Roman theaters. The floor was decorated with a design of colored marble which can still be seen. The Roman philosopher Seneca who was also the tutor of Nero created new versions of plays which were originally made by classic Greek writers in the 5th century. Seneca's Phaedra which is an adaptation of a play by Euripides may have been the first play from antiquity to be staged in the renaissance in late 14th century Italy. These plays would be highly influential to Shakespeare and other great playwrights of the renaissance. Possibly also during the time of Nero around 61 AD the theater was converted to be able to hold gladiatorial games. It may have been the first Greek city to convert a theater for use as a gladiatorial arena. This wall about three feet high was added to protect spectators. This wall is relatively short but holes were found near the wall which could be for wooden posts that would hold a series of nets to help protect the spectators. Some opposed the staging of games in the theater as it was something of a sacred space. The philosopher Apollonius was quoted as saying he was surprised the gods Athena and Dionysus had not left the Acropolis after so much blood had been spilled there. The stage building was further enhanced by the Roman Emperor Hadrian who had sponsored many large building programs throughout Athens. He was present at the Dionysia around 125 AD and this frieze on the theater is thought to date from this time. We can still see inscribed bases of statues of Hadrian set up around the theater. This theater in Hadrian's time seems to have been destroyed at some point possibly by a sack of Athens by the Heruli in 267 AD. This platform would be restored later and the frieze was placed here. We can still see an inscription on the top stair which dedicates this platform. When it was not being used for performances the theater was sometimes used as a meeting point for the Athenian assembly where laws could be passed or officials could be elected. The speaker of the assembly would have stood on this platform at the time when addressing the audience. Sometime during the late Roman period the figures on the frieze would be plastered over cut down and made watertight so that the orchestra could be flooded with water. This would host aquatic games and spectacles. These type of aquatic games were popular at the time and included miniature reenactments of historic naval battles or sometimes exotic animals such as seals or alligators. We can still see the remains of a water tank behind the stage building which could have been used to flood the theater with water. Possibly in the 6th century AD part of the theater seems to have been transformed into a Christian church with the orchestra serving as its courtyard. But over time the theater was mostly dismantled and its stone was used for other purposes. The location of the theater was lost completely in medieval times as it was overgrown but it was rediscovered in the 18th century and luckily much of this frieze was recovered under the plaster as well as other statues, thrones, and fragments that once decorated this theater. The theater today is being restored. Personally I do like how it is now with its evocative ruins and fragments scattered on the hillside but I must admit that I would like to see one of these ancient plays performed here once again. If you know any good adaptations of these ancient plays please feel free to let me know in the comments I'd love to see them. Thank you for joining us at History of Victoria. My name is James. Hope you enjoyed this and thanks for watching!