Characteristics of Hellenistic Theatre

The Hellenistic period of world history dates from the time Alexander the Great assumed the throne of Macedon in 336 BC until the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC. Its principal characteristic is that the territory of the Eastern Mediterranean area, from the Greek peninsula and the Balkans to Asia Minor and Persia, came under the domination of Greek culture, which was the heir of the Athenian classical tradition. Of primary artistic significance to Greek culture was the theatre, and theatre in the Hellenistic period took the classical theatre of Greece as its model, although certain adaptations from the classical model distinguish the later period.

Some 40 Hellenistic theatres had been identified by the 20th century, with the best extant theatres located in Priene, Oropus, Ephesus, Epidaurus, Pergamum, Corinth, and Alexandria. As a group they follow the floor plan of the physical theatre of Dionysus in Athens; however, certain departures from the classical model may be discerned. One element of the classical theatre plan that was retained in the Hellenistic plan was the circular orchestra, w

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owever, his account of the architecture of theatres appears to have been drawn from direct observation. Roman theatres, as Vitruvius's discussion makes clear, developed design conventions of their own. For example, the Romans were the first to physically link the performance area with the audience area, whereas the Hellenistic theatre, like the classical Athenian theatre, left open the parodoi, or space between the skene and the theatron, which was used as a stage entrance for performers. The Hellenistic theatrical configuration affected the kinds of performances that were presented and the priorities of aesthetic development and practical use of the theatre. Scenic conventions were adhered to. According to Frost (5), plays that were set in Athens were portrayed the city's harbor and city as lying to the audience's right, with the countryside to their left. Meanwhile, the classical convention of the chorus disappeared in the Hellenistic period, "except as a kind of intermission entertainment between episodes" (Gassner and Allen 73). Acting as an art became more highly developed, says Kitto (409), which is consistent with the content of plays that were produced. Menander adhered to what Frost calls the three-actor rule, which was
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