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Key research themes
1. How did ancient Greek drama function as a social and cultural mirror within Athenian society?
This theme investigates the multifaceted interactions between ancient Greek theatrical performances and the social, political, and cultural realities of classical Athens, emphasizing how drama both reflected and shaped societal values and ideologies. It also explores the reciprocal relationship between theatrical fiction and its audience within the Athenian civic context, integrating interdisciplinary approaches to understand theatre’s place as a medium of cultural communication.
Key finding: This volume argues that ancient Greek drama functioned as a complex cultural phenomenon where theatrical fictions and the realities of Athenian society were engaged in continuous mutual pollination; it emphasizes that no... Read more
Key finding: Building on decades of scholarship, this monograph details how Athenian theater served both as an ideological space reflecting communal and private experiences and as a socio-political arena, highlighting the nuanced... Read more
Key finding: This chapter advances a performance-based anthropological approach recognizing 'action' as central to ancient drama, showing how culturally significant gestures and practices (e.g., ritual hand-washing) embedded within... Read more
2. How have staging practices and theatrical performance conditions in ancient Greek theatre shaped dramatic expression and audience engagement?
Focusing on the practical and material aspects of ancient Greek theatre performance, this theme examines how conditions such as large outdoor venues, costume, masking, chorus presence, and declamatory acting style influenced dramatic structure, character portrayal, and audience reception. Understanding these staging conventions clarifies the experiential and interpretative dimensions of classical drama.
Key finding: This foundational guide describes the architectural scale of fifth-century theatres and the consequent declamatory acting style necessitated by auditory and visual distance; it explicates how limited actors, heavy use of... Read more
Key finding: Provides an in-depth architectural and functional study of key Greek theatres such as Thorikos and Epidaurus, illustrating how their design features—including acoustical excellence, seating capacity, and spatial... Read more
3. What characterizes the transformation and reception of ancient Greek musical theatre traditions in modern and post-antiquity contexts?
This theme covers the historical evolution of Greek musical theatre from antiquity through the Byzantine and Roman periods to the modern era, including shifts from integrated musike to fragmented entertainment forms, the role of performance in national identity formation in modern Greece, and contemporary theatrical interpretations that intertwine philological fidelity with evolving aesthetic and ideological concerns.
Key finding: Examines the critical early 20th-century revival of ancient Greek drama in modern Greek theatre, focusing on the directorial approaches of Konstantinos Christomanos and Thomas Oikonomou who synthesized European philological,... Read more
Key finding: Documents the discontinuous evolution of Greek theatre post-antiquity, highlighting the decline of traditional drama under Orthodox constraints and its eventual revival in the Renaissance via Venetian Crete, leading to the... Read more
Key finding: Proposes visual methodologies to teach the sociopolitical relevance and historical consciousness embedded in modern Greek theatre imagery, thereby linking classical theatrical traditions with contemporary history and refugee... Read more