CHORUS IN ANCIENT GREECE

By Woong Gyu Jin, Angus Conway, and Hee Jae

Choi

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE CHORUS OF ANCIENT GREEK

DRAMA?

All of the ancient Greek plays are actually ceremonies dedicated to

Dionysus, god of wine. 20,000 people watched it in an amphitheater so

one actor’s voice was not loud enough. So the chorus was invented.

Chorus is a group of 15 people (it was 50 but then a

person called Sophocles decreased it to 12 but then

he added 3 more after) that amplify the actor’s voice.

You could see it as an ancient microphone.

People of the chorus were trained for 11 months. They were all

usually amateurs. But the leader was a professional dancer and singer.

W H E N A N D W H E R E D O T H E C H O R U S E N T E R A N D E X I T T H E P E R F O R M A N C E S PA C E ?

Chorus enter from the two parados, entrances only

for the Chorus.

They came in, in three rows in the form of a

square. The leader (Coryphaios) was in the middle of

the first row.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CHORUS IN THE DRAMA?

The chorus was there to amplify the actor’s voice

because 20,000 people could not hear a single

actor’s voice.

They also gave us the narration

of the play.

HOW IS THE CHORUS COMPOSED?

They chanted out whatever the actor was saying. It

was very simple but they had to memorize

EVERYTHING EVERYBODY SAID!

They also said things in a dramatic voice.

Everything they said was composed by the author

of the whole script.

HOW ARE THEY DRESSED AND MASKED?

They were dressed based on the theme of the play.

If it was a tragedy, they were dressed in a

melancholy outfit, if it was a cheerful play, they were

dressed in a colorful outfit.

They wore long white robes.

They had to be masked in an exaggerated

mask so people could see.

H O W D O E S T H E C H O R U S P E R F O R M ? W H AT I S T H E S T Y L E O F T H E I R A C T I N G W O R K ?

They perform in the voice of the condition of the play. If it

was sad, they would utter out the words sadly and when it

was comedy, it was hilarious.

Sad plays were called “emmelia”,

happy plays were called “codrax”

First, the chorus was an

indispensable part but their

importance faded as time went.