Roman Theater Research Paper

Ancient Rome is one of the greatest and most influential societies in the history of the world. From the basic rules of how the Roman Empire is set up to the infrastructures in the city, the strict hierarchy of Roman social structure can be reflected clearly all over the whole ancient Rome. In fact that “public architecture presents people with the official view of a society and provides the background against which its individual markers live their lives.”1 With the great desire of Roman for entertainment and their special taste for blood, the amphitheatre is considered as the most popular and most representative type of the entertainment building in the ancient Roman culture. And

The Romans were heavily influenced by Grecian culture, using Greek culture as a model of which to build their own. The Romans have also heavily influenced modern life throughout the world, for example the use of aqueduct water systems and sewers. Life seemed to revolve around the Flavian Amphitheatre ,also known as the Roman Coliseum in classical Rome (Culture). The main entertainment took place within the walls of the coliseum. Gods and Goddesses like in Athens also play a massive role in the Roman culture. Although they possess different names the deities shared very similar attributes

Theatre became important to Greek cultures when it became a part of the festival honoring the god Dionysus (The god of wine and fertility).”( Greek Mythology in Theater by Bruce Tucker October 27, 2016) The theater festival was founded to bring unity among the Attican tribes.( Greek Mythology in Theater by Bruce Tucker October 27, 2016) Athens was the main center of these traditions. Everyone came to sing and dance in hope for a good harvest. At one point, a Greek named Thespis began to sing praises to the god, with others responding, which led to the actor and chorus. During the festival everyone would dance and sing in a circle, in the middle of which was the altar to Dionysus. Over time the festivals started giving thanks to other themes, and eventually had nothing to do with Dionysus or any god, but began to turn into classical Greek plays. (First Ancient History, Oxford University Press 2000 pg.166)

The Romans architecture was heavily influenced by Greek Architecture, in the way of columns and stone (Cartwright). The Coliseum is the largest of their structures, and Coliseum-inspired structures can still be seen around the world through football stadiums, or soccer stadiums. The Romans Pantheon inspired the Capitol Building, as well. The Capitol Buildings similarities to the Pantheon are so close, that the ceilings even look the same. Arches and heavy use of columns are both influenced by the Romans as well (Cartwright). The Romans were excellent architectures, and a lot of their larger structures are still standing, so it’s no wonder that they could influence buildings even

Mythology and domestic life also had major impacts on the way Roman theatre evolved over years. Each influence had their own special thing about them that when added to Rome 's theatre, slowly created a wonderful art that still remains today.

Roman theater has been around since the Greeks created it in the sixths century B.C., Romans later revamped Greek theatrical plays, characters, and stages. Many concepts of theater that the Greeks and Romans created are still around today such as tragedy, comedy and musical numbers. Many people believe that it was the drama of the theater that was so enjoyable to watch, one example of this extreme drama is Phrynichus’ most famous play the Fall of Miletus. This specific play brought the entire audience to tears and Phrynichus was fined one thousand drachmas, for upsetting the citizenry. Along with creating the concepts of theater the Greeks also constructed some of the first stages, some of which are still used today. The last genuine Greek plays were presented more than two thousand years ago, so we will probably never know exactly how Greeks

The theatre that you are most familiar with today generally comes via the movie version of an originally staged play. But if we go back further, we find that most of the theatre that is written and performed today can be traced back to Greek origins through various

Greek and Roman temples are the most influential temples of all times. It is argued that the Greek influenced the Romans and this may be the reason why their temples are so alike. The Parthenon and the Pantheon are the most popular temples of both eras. However, the Pantheon does not look like other roman temples would to Greek temples – and this is because it has interior space and thus has a completely different composition. Despite their quite similar looks, Roman and Greek temples have unique differences in material, method, purpose, and others.

     Once plays started being written, the number of interested spectators increased. In order to satisfy the Greeks amphitheaters were constructed all over Greece. Three well-known theaters were the theater at Delphi, the Attic Theater and the theater of Dionysus built at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens. During their prime time, the plays attracted crowds of 30,000 and more. The stands were built around the orchestra and up hillsides; somewhat like a baseball stadium today. This made it possible to seat more than 17,000 spectators at a time.

Ancient Rome’s culture has existed throughout the almost 1200- year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome adapted most of their culture from their neighbors the Greeks and Etruscans. Ancient Rome culture has been affecting our modern world from colosseums and satre, for entertainment, to the name of Roman gods, for constellations. In Ancient Rome their entertainment included gladiator fighting and Roman Theater. Ancient Rome’s arts were greatly influenced on the art Ancient Greece. Sculpture played an important role on Roman daily life; they would symbol honor, power, and wealth. Homes of the Roman people were often filled with paintings called (frescos) which were directly painted on walls. Most of Ancient Rome’s culture and Arts has affected our modern world and daily life.

     The third distinct part of the theater was the skene (scene building). "The earliest scene buildings were very simple wooden structures " (Butler 31). " Originally, the skene was a dressing room; later it is believed to have borne a painted backdrop" (Kennedy 1102). This area was known as the actors place. It was intended to provide a background against which actors could perform. "In Greek theater as we know it, the skene appears as a appendage, adjunct, breaking the perfect circularity of the design" (Arnott 13).

Madam shall we go to the theatre now so that we can get good seats?"

A final cultural difference is the importance of the chorus and its use in the plays Agamemnon, Oedipus, and Medea. The chorus was not highly involved in the action of the plays. In general, the chorus’ main functions were to create a psychological and emotional background to the action through its odes. It introduces and questions new characters, as well as point out the importance of events as they occurred, to establish facts and avow the outlook of society. Finally, the chorus covers the passage of time, between events, and separates episodes (Calder 21). Within the play Agamemnon, by Aeschylus, the chorus represents the voice of wisdom of the city as well as its limitations (Novelguide). The chorus’ limitations are clear when they fail to

In Ancient Greece religion and theater went hand in hand. The Greeks developed religion that was based on worship of many Gods. In honor of the Gods there were festivals with dancing, music, and theatrical performances. During the festivals the whole city would come to a complete stand still. All businesses were closed, politics were put on the back burner, and wars were halted. All social classes were welcome to come to the festival, and they all did. One of the most famous religious festivals is the City Dionysia, a festival in honor of the god Dionysus, god of wine, revelry, and fertility. The festival was held in ancient Athens, in March for five days, featuring dramatic competitions. These dramatic competitions consisted of dithyrambs, tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays. The tragedy competition was four plays per playwright, three tragedies and one satyr play. There were two processions; the first was carrying the statue of Dionysus from the temple to the theater of Dionysus at the foot of the Acropolis. The second were the patrons parading through the

Next, you can detect Roman theatre influence in this play as one of the elements,