Greek Gods

Greek masks were originated in the theatre of ancient Greece. These masks showed the emotions or feelings of the characters in the play. They also allowed actors to change characters in the play without anyone noticing. They could also play the character of a different gender without anyone noticing that they had played another role previous to that one. The earliest plays known were called satyrs. They were plays about the myths and their style was very much like Burlesque, as we know it. Melpomene plays were the muse of tragedy. They were depicted with the actor holding a tragic mask and wearing cothurnus. The muse of comedy known as Thalia, is associated with the mask of comedy and also comedy socks. Some people called the masks ‘Sock and Buskin’. The actors played the female roles by wearing a wooden structure, called a prosterneda, in front of the chest to look like the female breasts. They also wore a progastreda in front of the belly.

Some of the Greek theatre Tragedies on record are: Aeschylus (around 5250 456 B. C.), The Persians (472 B. C.), Seven Against Thebes (467 B. C.), The Suppliants (463 B. C.), The Oresteia (458 B. C., this was a trilogy comprising Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides), Prometheus Bound, Phrynichus (511 B. C.), The Fall of Miletus (late 500's B. C.), and The Life and Love of Athena (late 440's, The Sexual Rituals (Late 440's), just to name a few. The Greek theatre or also known as the Greek drama was very popular in Ancient Greece between 550 B. C. And 220 B. C., in Athens. Political and military power was the center of this drama. The different forms of theatre in ancient Greece were Tragedy (which was formed in the late 6th century), comedy (formed in 486 B. C.), and satyr. The masks were wore for these and depicted whichever character the actor was playing. There are many Greek plays that have lasted for centuries and are still popular in the western world of drama and culture.

It is not known why or how the fertility rituals became the basis for the tragedy and comedy plays. Up until the Hellenistic period, the tragedies were all written in the honor of Dionysus. Dionysus was the son of Semele (a mortal) and Zeus (the Greek God of Thunder, the Lord of the Skies, and the ruler of all gods and mortals). Dionysus was the god of Vine, Wine, and Merriment. This may have something to do with how the plays came about. The people would be interested in watching plays about others who wined, dined, and made merriment. This would surely liven up the show.