Drama as a Mode of Communication in the Ancient Greek World

Sepali Bamunusinghe

doi:10.4038/sljhrm.v3i1.5099

Abstract

In the ancient Greek world, drama was a part of their lives, something intimate, frequent and inseparable. It was not the individual choice that took the mass to the Greek theatre, but they were a part of this process of dramas as a nation, which came in the guise of rituals of festivals, held in honour of god Dionysus. Drama and drama festivals were facilitated with state recognition and were sponsored by the rulers of the city-states, encouraging the citizens to participate in them. Massive theatre structures were constructed, providing seating capacity for thousands. Within such appealing circumstances, Greek drama has evolved through time, gifting outstanding dramatists and drama compositions to the world of aesthetics. Greeks being a nation whose lives were embedded in a performance culture, drama was the most effective and intimate to be utilized as a mode of communication, during such an ancient period where there were no other modes of communication like in the world of today. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljhrm.v3i1.5099 Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management Vol.3(1) 2012 pp.78-85

Highlights

The beginning of Greek drama goes back to thousands of years
While the Greek tragedians attempted to touch on the untouched deep human emotions and concepts with the appropriate use of the subject matters and tragic characters, even the comic writers were successful enough to convey the bitter truths about humanity and current issues as bitter pills coated with sugar of laughter
The beginning of drama was the religious rituals, once it was established as an accepted mode of art in Greek culture, the dramatists were not reluctant to go into philosophical aspects of humanity and world which they observed around them through their drama compositions

Summary

Introduction

The beginning of Greek drama goes back to thousands of years. It was a gift to the Western world, and to the whole world of arts. Greek drama was a mode of art which had such an impact over the Greek life style and Greek culture and its popularity among the people was irresistible. During such an ancient time, communication modes being so limited, it was drama that played an effective role as a mode of communication to the citizens of the ancient Greek world. The beginning of drama was the religious rituals, once it was established as an accepted mode of art in Greek culture, the dramatists were not reluctant to go into philosophical aspects of humanity and world which they observed around them through their drama compositions. Nature of the world, destiny or fate which could not be altered even by the divine intervention and tragic sense of humanity which prevails within the human soul are such themes that the Greek dramatists handled

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Discussion

Conclusion