From 550 BC to 220 BC, the theatre of Ancient Greece blossomed. The god Dionysus was honored in a festival called Dionysia – from which the dramatic genres of tragedy, comedy and satyr were born.
In this essay I will focus on Greek tragedy, with reference to Antigone, by outlining the basic use of dramatic style, staging including the use of masks in costume; as these features are typical of Greek theatre, but in particular I have chosen to illustrate the developments and changes in the genre of ancient Greek Tragedy, principally through the Aristotle’s commentary on the matter.

Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone is an important and influential aspect of Greek theatre as he was one of the most celebrated dramatists in Athens. Antigone was written …show more content…
This was reflected through the staging of the play. The design of a sun lit Greek theatre was architecturally reflective of the function of the plays performed in them; attempting to achieve catharsis, the drama would unravel in the middle of the public, illustrative of the idea that tragedy itself was no longer about pathetic, unsophisticated plots, but rather something that developed directly out of society. The audience were seated almost as if in-the-round and so this added further to the idea that the audience were looking not only at the performers but at themselves (Arnott 1971: 16-17), which would then exercise the concept of catharsis. When watching Creon’s hubris cause mistakes, fear would be instilled and then his anagnorsis would provoke pity, allowing the audience to internally comment on themselves and cleanse their own