The greek comedy It was a popular and influential form of theater in ancient Greece from the 6th century BC. It was characterized as a means of making fun of politicians, philosophers and other artists.
As for the origin of the word "comedy", many sources agree that it comes from the Greek words komos (to delight the band) and aeido (from the verb to sing).
Aristotle described the genre of Greek comedy based on its differences from tragedy. Among other distinctions, he explained that comedy depicts men as worse than they are in real life.
On the other hand, he believed that tragedy made a better representation of human nature. Another difference is that tragedy worked with real people, while comedy used stereotypes.
In general, the Greek comedy allowed to have an indirect vision on the operation of the political institutions, the legal systems, the religious practices, the education and the war in the Hellenic world.
Likewise, the works also revealed something of the identity of the audience and showed what their sense of humor was like..
The Greek comedy and its immediate predecessor, the Greek tragedy, formed the basis of modern theater.
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The precise origins of Greek comedies are lost in the mists of prehistory, but the activity of men in dressing up and imitating others surely dates back long before written records..
The first signs of such activity in the Greek world come from pottery, where decoration in the 6th century BC. C. used to represent actors dressed as horses, satyrs and dancers in exaggerated costumes.
According to Aristotle, who wrote a century and a half later on this subject, Greek comedy began in Megara and Sition, both cities in Greece. He also claimed that Susarion was the first comic poet.
In addition, this philosopher claimed that the Greek comedy had official recognition (and therefore state support) in Athens after the popular phallic processions during the Dionysian festivals.
For its part, the Suda (historical encyclopedia written in Greek in the 10th century by Byzantine scholars) suggests that the first dramatic competitions in Athens took place at the festival in the city of Dionysia in early 480 BC. C.
Other sources indicate that in the 490s in the Greek city of Syracuse, in Sicily, comedies written by the Greek comic poet Epicharmus were already being presented..
Some authors even claim that the precursors of the genre were the poems of Archilochus (7th century BC) and Hiponax (6th century BC), which contain crude and explicit sexual humor.
Although during its development some innovations were presented, the structure of the Greek comedy was fixed. In a first part, called unemployed, the choir entered the stage to perform various songs and dance rhythms.
During the unemployed, costumes were used to impress, and they could represent anything from giant bees to kitchen utensils. Sometimes the work was named after the choir (Aristophanes' wasps, for example).
Then the second phase was the agon. It was an ingenious verbal contest or debate between the main actors. I followed the parabasis, when the choir spoke directly to the audience.
The end of a comedy play was the Exodus. Again, the choir performed songs and performed dances to joyfully dismiss the audience..
All the performers, singers, and dancers were professional male actors. In order to represent a great variety of human characters, they appealed to highly decorated costumes and face masks..
Due to the restricted number of actors, each performer had to take on multiple roles involving rapid costume and mask changes.
The choir, costumes, musicians, and rehearsal time were financed by a designated private citizen, a khoregos, which was a highly prestigious role in the play.
The masks used in the plays deprived the actor of using facial expressions and, consequently, the use of voice and gesture became extremely important for the transmission of content..
The plays were performed in an open-air theater (theatron). The attending public occupied a semicircle of seats facing an elevated area where the actors were located, called skēne.
Also, in front of the audience, but at a lower level than the skēne, was a central area known as the orchestra, from where the choir performed. This distribution is broadly maintained in current theaters.
This Greek comedy writer was the main representative of the comic genre. It is estimated that his theatrical work consisted of some forty comedies. In them, the use of an incisive and sarcastic language stands out.
Among the comedies of his extensive work are The guests, Babylonians, The Acarnians, The Knights, Clouds, The bees, The birds, Themoforiants, Lysistrata, The Frogs Y Assembly members Y Pluto.
Menander was a Greek comediographer considered the greatest exponent of the so-called new comedy. He wrote more than 100 works during a career that spanned approximately thirty-three years.
He is considered the successor of Aristophanes. In his artistic work they stand out The shield, The Wayward or The misanthrope, Arbitration, The Shearing, The Woman of Samos Y The Zionians, among other titles.
Cratinus was a comedian of the old Athenian comedy and a consequent winner of the Greek comedy competitions. It is estimated that he won 27 times in the city of Dyonisia and only once in Lenaia.
He died at the age of 97 after leaving a wide artistic work. His extensive repertoire includes works such as The Archilochuses, Delos women, Runaway women, Men on fire, Sons of Euneus Y Thracian women.
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