75957 - Greek and Roman Theatre

Learning outcomes

The course will teach the main features of classical literary civilisation. The student will learn the main features of classical literary civilisation, will be able to read in translation and to contextualise the main ancient literary works, esp. theatrical plays, and will hold the critical tools to interpret the literary, visual and performative European culture, as well as its reception.

Course contents

The course focuses on the main classical dramatic genres, tragedy and comedy, as well as on their persistence in modern and contemporary culture. No prerequisite knowledges (not even of classical languages and literature) are required to access the course

After a general introduction to Greek drama (origins, functions, production, performance, themes), the course will read and analyse selected plays (tragedies and comedies).

The course will deal with (minor adjustments as required might occur):

1) General Part

1. The origins of Greek theatre; the dramatic festivals at Athens
2. The main developments of the Greek tragedy (with the study of Aristotle, Poetics)
3. Autors and Texts: reading from Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides
   
4. Greek comedy from Aristophanes to Menandre

2) Monographical section

This part of the course is dedicated to the reading (in Italian translation), analysis, and critical commentary of Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Trojan Women. Particular emphasis will be placed on the modern and contemporary reception of these tragedies, including their rewritings and reinterpretations in literary and theatrical culture.

Readings/Bibliography

(1) General Part

The student must study Storia del teatro greco, a cura di Massimo Di Marco, Roma: Carocci, 2020.

Texts of classical dramas and other teaching material from the course website are mandatory.

(2) Monographic part

It is also required to read in full Antigone. Variazioni sul mito, Sofocle, Anouilh, Brecht, a cura di M.G. Ciani, Venezia: Marsilio, 2000; Euripide, Troiane, a cura di E. Cerbo e V. Di Benedetto, Milano: Bur, 1998.

Students not attending are required to prepare at least one of the following essays:

G. Avezzù, Il mito sulla scena. La tragedia ad Atene, Venezia: Marsilio, 2003; V. Di Benedetto-E. Medda, La tragedia sulla scena. La tragedia greca in quanto spettacolo teatrale, Torino: Einaudi, 2002; M. Di Marco, La tragedia greca. Forma, gioco scenico, tecniche drammatiche, Roma: Carocci, 2009; G. Ieranò, La tragedia greca: origini, storia, rinascite, Roma: Salerno, 2010; D. Lanza, La disciplina dell'emozione, Milano: Il Saggiatore, 1997; B. Zimmermann, La commedia greca dalle origini all'età ellenistica, trad. it. Roma: Carocci, 2016.

 

Teaching methods

Lectures will be designed to foster seminar-style discussion, with particular emphasis on textual interpretation. The study of performance practices and theatrical mechanisms will be consistently examined in relation to contemporary culture.

Throughout the course, lectures by scholars, directors, and actors will be held on specific aspects of theatrical communication. Screenings of films or recordings of performances of classical plays will also be organized.

In particular, in collaboration with Ravenna Teatro, a preparatory meeting will be arranged for the production of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone, scheduled at the Teatro Alighieri on Saturday, 7 February 2026, and Sunday, 8 February (detailed information on tickets available to students will be provided at the beginning of the course).

Students will have the opportunity to complement their participation in the course with a dedicated workshop on theatrical performance, during which they will experiment with basic techniques of diction, gesture, and stage acting.

At the conclusion of the course, in the final weeks of May, an educational trip to Syracuse will be organized to attend the performances of classical dramas staged by the Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico (scheduled for 2026, among others, is Sophocles’ Antigone

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Assessment methods

Oral examination of the base and critical knowledge of the course topics, related to Greek dramatic civilisation and its reception in contemporary culture. The examination will focus on:

(a) base knowledge of themes, genres and performance of classical dramatic literature;

(b) knowledge of the authors and plays discussed during the lectures;

(c) knowledge of the tragedy analyzed during the lectures, Euripides' Hippolitus and Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae, and acquired skills of critical analysis of the text and its reception, with special reference to the ability to rework and discuss the critical essay in the program.

In the first part of the examination, the student will be allowed the choice of a specific topic of classical dramatic culture from which to begin (the origins of Greek  theatre, production and performance, evolution of a specific genre, etc.).

In the second part, the student will be allowed to the play analysed, present it and discuss its critical features also on the basis of the selected essays.

The third  part of the exam will  be focused on Euripides' Medea.

Marking will be based on the following criteria:

• Fail: insufficient knowledge in all 3 sections.
• Pass: adequate knowledge in at least 2 out of 3 sections (mark between 18/30 and 23/30).
• Merit: adequate knowledge in all 3 sections (mark between 24/30 and 27/30).
• Distinction: excellent knowledge in all 3 sections, and evidence of remarkable skills in the critical evaluation of the course contents (mark between 28/30 and 30/30).

Teaching tools

On the course web site will be available texts of tragedies, essays and other teaching material.
The course will be supported by a educational travel to Siracusa in May, to attend the performances organized by the INDA (Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico)

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Iannucci

See the website of Matteo Zaccarini