At Play in the Theater of Dionysus

The Theater of Dionysus as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides knew it was very different than the theater whose remains you see today in Athens. Listen to Emily and Cam walk you through the development of the space, and through the creation of the genre associated most strongly with it: Greek tragedy.

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For images of the Theater and Sanctuary of Dionysus, visit our blog:

1. https://havetogawilltravel.com/blog/the-sanctuary-and-theater-of-dionysus

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00:10 - Introduction

01:37 - Visiting the Theater and Sanctuary

1. 01:42 - Where to find the Theater and Sanctuary
2. 02:16 - Don’t confuse it with the Odeion of Herodes Atticus!
3. 03:26 - An overview of the physical remains

04:01 - The Origins of the Sanctuary, the Theater, and the Festival

1. 04:02 - The Sanctuary, the Festival, and the Temples of Dionysus
2. 04:58 - The Theater through Time: The Fifth Century, the Lycurgan Theater, the Hellenistic Theater, and the Roman Theater
3. 07:59 - The Festivals of Dionysus: The Origins of the City Dionysia and celebrations for Dionysus in Ikaria and other demes

11:44 - The Origins of Scripted Drama in Athens

1. 11:50 - The Dithyramb
2. 12:41 - The legend of Thespis, the first actor
3. 13:15 - The importance of the chorus in Greek drama
4. 14:10 - Masking and actors playing multiple characters
5. 14:30 - The Development of the Three-Actor Model in the Age of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

19:09 - The City Dionysia

1. 19:42 - The Schedule: The Procession and its Ithyphallic Floats; the Dithyrambic Competitions; the Dramatic Competitions
2. 22:50 - Dionysus, the most important spectator
3. 23:48 - The Organization of the Dramatic Competitions: Tragedies, Satyr Plays, Choruses, and Choregoi!

30:09 - The Performance Space and its Evolution

1. 30:20 - The Fifth-Century Theater: the Orchestra, the Skēnē, and the Paradoi
2. 33:30 - Technical Innovations: the ekkyklēma and the mechanē
3. 36:36 - The Deus Ex Machina in ancient Drama

Emily and Cam talk about their recent trip to Athens and Rome in an episode that features some talk about marathons, tsipouro, and cats.

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• https://havetogawilltravel.com

For images of the Museum of the Forma Urbis, visit our blog post:

• https://havetogawilltravel.com/blog/the-museum-of-the-forma-urbis

Links to some of the places we mention in this episode:

• Athena’s Cook
• Paradosiako Serron
• Noctua Brewing
• Esthio
• Βαυβώ (Vafvo)
• Hotel Santa Maria
• San Clemente Archaeological Zone
• Museum of the Forma Urbis

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00:10 - Introduction

01:25 - Our second walk through the Athens Marathon

• 01:38 - Faliro: tourist sites, getting there, and the Marathon Expo
• 05:06 - Carb loading before the Marathon
• 06:32 - The trip to Marathon and the wait in the Stadium
• 09:27 - The race itself (drinking tsipouro in the footsteps of Spiridon Louis!)

15:19 - Our stay in Athens

• 15:41 - How we travel
• 17:11 - Old neighborhoods (Plaka and Monastiraki) and ancient sites (the Acropolis and the Theatre of Dionysus)
• 19:01 - A field trip to Ilion (the Athens suburb, not Troy!) to eat at Paradosiako Serron
• 21:06 - Modern Athens: Pangrati
• 23:23 - Modern Athens: Koukaki and its restaurants (including Esthio) and our view of the Acropolis
• 29:36 - Modern Athens: Neos Kosmos and Βαυβώ

33:41 - Our Stay in Rome

• 33:53 - Rome’s “feel” compared to Athens: geography and tourism
• 35:39 - Trastevere and the Hotel Santa Maria
• 37:12 - Culture shock: coffee and language issues
• 40:01 - The Archaeological Zone at San Clemente
• 43:45 - Castel Sant’Angelo
• 44:42 - The Museum of the Forma Urbis
• 46:34 - Wandering the city (and the Temple of Vibia Sabina and Hadrian)
• 49:30 - Hangin’ on the Janiculum

50:26 - Wrap-up

Emily and Cam tackle “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”—an uproarious adaptation of Plautus’ Roman comedy.

Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:

• https://havetogawilltravel.com

Some plays of Plautus referenced in this episode:

• Pseudolus
• Mostellaria
• Miles Gloriosus
• Menaechmi

Cover Image:

• Mosaic of Masks. Second or third century CE. Found on the Aventine, possibly on the site of the ancient Thermae Decianae; now held in the Capitoline Museums. Photo by Carole Raddato, Wikimedia Commons.

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00:11 - Introduction

• 00:38 - A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Sonheim’s Musical and the 1966 film

03:19 - Our approach to reviewing adaptations of ancient literature

05:20 - Plautus and Roman Comedy

• 05:29 - What we know about Plautus himself (his dates, his name, his background)
• 09:41 - Plautus' style: Roman comedy, exotic settings, stock plots, and stock characters

17:56 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Plautus on Screen

• 18:51 - The setting: “A less fashionable suburb of Rome”
• 19:44 - The characters (Pseudolus, Hysterium, Marcus Lycus, Hero, Philia, Miles Gloriosus, and others)
• 23:33 - The plot, in all of its messiness
• 27:15 - The movie’s sources: Plautus’ Pseudolus, Mostellaria, Miles Gloriosus, and other plays
• 33:01 - Metatheatre in Plautus and in A Funny Thing
• 36:25 - The movie’s departures from Plautus: More is more! (Expansive sets, elaborate scenes, and exaggerated physical comedy)

43:36 - Cam and Emily discuss their reactions (and we learn the dirty secrets of Emily’s history with this film!

49:01 – Wrap-up