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56-546: Today, the Parthenon, which functions as an art museum, stands as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, a large public park just west of downtown Nashville. Alan LeQuire 's 1990 re-creation of the Athena Parthenos statue in the naos (the east room of the main hall) is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece . Since the building is complete and its decorations were polychromed (painted in colors) as close to

112-480: A comedy. Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added the second actor ( deuteragonist ), and that Sophocles introduced the third ( tritagonist ). Apparently, the Greek playwrights never used more than three actors based on what is known about Greek theatre. Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres, and no plays ever merged aspects of the two. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject matter of

168-580: A hill, producing a natural viewing area known as the theatron (literally "seeing place"). In cities without suitable hills, banks of earth were piled up. At the foot of the hill was a flattened, generally circular performance space with an average diameter of 78 feet (24 m), known as the orchestra (literally "dancing place"), where a chorus of typically 12 to 15 people performed plays in verse accompanied by music. There were often tall, arched entrances called parodoi or eisodoi , through which actors and chorus members entered and exited

224-518: A play entitled The Fall of Miletus and produced it, the whole theatre fell to weeping; they fined Phrynichus a thousand drachmas for bringing to mind a calamity that affected them so personally and forbade the performance of that play forever." He is also thought to be the first to use female characters (though not female performers). Until the Hellenistic period , all tragedies were unique pieces written in honour of Dionysus and played only once; what

280-549: A play, such as the Furies in Aeschylus ' Eumenides and Pentheus and Cadmus in Euripides ' The Bacchae . Worn by the chorus, the masks created a sense of unity and uniformity, while representing a multi-voiced persona or single organism and simultaneously encouraged interdependency and a heightened sensitivity between each individual of the group. Only 2 to 3 actors were allowed on

336-671: A similarly mythological plot, but was shorter and better received. A copy of the script is on file at the Nashville Public Library. Both shows featured displays ranging from chariot races to large dance numbers to thousands of live birds to set pieces that shot flames, all set against the backdrop of the Nashville Parthenon. As an art museum, the Parthenon's permanent collection on the lower level exhibits 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists, donated by James M. Cowan in 1927–1929. Additional gallery spaces provide

392-475: A steel and aluminum armature , is currently the largest piece of indoor sculpture in the Western World, standing almost 42 feet (13 m) tall. LeQuire received the commission for the work in 1982, and it was unveiled in 1990 in a stark, white finish. In 2002, LeQuire oversaw a polychroming and gilding process that brought the statue to an appearance close to what ancient Greek visitors may have seen at

448-762: A venue for temporary shows and exhibits. The main level contains a replica, completed in 1990, of the Athena Parthenos statue that was in the original Parthenon in Athens. In 1982, Alan LeQuire was commissioned to create the statue of Athena Parthenos as a reconstruction, to scholarly standards, of the long-lost original: she is cuirassed and helmeted, carries a shield on her left arm, a 6-foot-high (1.8 m) statue of Nike (Victory) in her right palm, and stands 42 feet (13 m) high, gilt (as of 2002) with more than 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of gold leaf; an equally colossal serpent rears its head between her and her shield. Some followers of Goddess Spirituality practices have left ritual offerings near

504-511: Is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The center-piece of the annual Dionysia , which took place once in winter and once in spring, was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus . Each submitted three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythological subject). Beginning in a first competition in 486 BC each playwright submitted

560-482: Is presently known, was created in Athens around 532 BC, when Thespis was the earliest recorded actor. Being a winner of the first theatrical contest held in Athens, he was the exarchon , or leader, of the dithyrambs performed in and around Attica, especially at the Rural Dionysia . By Thespis' time, the dithyramb had evolved far away from its cult roots. Under the influence of heroic epic, Doric choral lyric and

616-633: Is primarily extant today are the pieces that were still remembered well enough to have been repeated when the repetition of old tragedies became fashionable (the accidents of survival, as well as the subjective tastes of the Hellenistic librarians later in Greek history, also played a role in what survived from this period). After the Achaemenid destruction of Athens in 480 BC, the town and acropolis were rebuilt, and theatre became formalized and an even greater part of Athenian culture and civic pride. This century

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672-531: Is the Pronomos Vase where actors are painted at a show's after party. Costuming would give off a sense of character, as in gender, age, social status, and class. For example, characters of higher class would be dressed in nicer clothing, although everyone was dressed fairly nicely. Contrary to popular belief, they did not dress in only rags and sandals, as they wanted to impress. Some examples of Greek theatre costuming include long robes called chiton that reached

728-582: Is unclear at best, but his name has been given a longer life in English as a common term for performer—i.e., a "thespian." The dramatic performances were important to the Athenians – this is made clear by the creation of a tragedy competition and festival in the City Dionysia (or Great Dionysia). This was organized possibly to foster loyalty among the tribes of Attica (recently created by Cleisthenes ). The festival

784-618: The British Museum in London and at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Nashville's nickname, the "Athens of the South", influenced the choice of the building as the centerpiece of the 1897 Centennial Exposition. A number of buildings at the exposition were based on ancient originals. However, the Parthenon was the only one that was an exact reproduction. It was also the only one that was preserved by

840-566: The Golden Age such as the Danaids , Phoenician Women and Alcestis . He was the first poet we know of to use a historical subject – his Fall of Miletus , produced in 493–2, chronicled the fate of the town of Miletus after it was conquered by the Persians. Herodotus reports that "the Athenians made clear their deep grief for the taking of Miletus in many ways, but especially in this: when Phrynichus wrote

896-523: The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad . Originally built of plaster, wood, and brick, the Parthenon was not intended to be permanent, but the cost of demolishing the structure combined with its popularity with residents and visitors alike resulted in it being left standing after the Exposition. In 1895, George Julian Zolnay was "employed to make models for the ornamentation" for the building. Within

952-690: The Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville dedicated to the Women's Rights Movement and commemorating passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920—Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, thus making it part of the U.S. Constitution. Another large-scale work is Musica , a bronze statue grouping unveiled in 2003 that sits in a grassy knoll at

1008-550: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. LeQuire specializes in work of great scale, usually large public commissions. His most famous work is the replica of Phidias ' Athena Parthenos that stands in the naos of the full-scale reconstruction of the Acropolis Parthenon in Nashville's Centennial Park . This statue, cast in a composite of gypsum and fiberglass on

1064-466: The 1960s. Greek mask-maker Thanos Vovolis suggests that the mask serves as a resonator for the head, thus enhancing vocal acoustics and altering its quality. This leads to increased energy and presence, allowing for the more complete metamorphosis of the actor into his character. In a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens , the classical masks were able to create a sense of dread in

1120-474: The actors' voices could be heard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats. The Greek's understanding of acoustics compares very favorably with the current state of the art . There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre: The Ancient Greek term for a mask is prosopon (lit., "face"), and was a significant element in the worship of Dionysus at Athens likely used in ceremonial rites and celebrations. Many masks worshipped

1176-400: The altar of Dionysus after performances. Nevertheless, the mask is known to have been used since the time of Aeschylus and considered to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre. Masks were also made for members of the chorus, who play some part in the action and provide a commentary on the events in which they are caught up. Although there are twelve or fifteen members of

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1232-542: The audience creating large scale panic, especially since they had intensely exaggerated facial features and expressions. They enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different roles, thus preventing the audience from identifying the actor to one specific character. Their variations help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social status, in addition to revealing a change in a particular character's appearance, e.g., Oedipus , after blinding himself. Unique masks were also created for specific characters and events in

1288-433: The bottom of the theatron where the chorus and actors performed; the word means "dancing space", as the chorus also danced in early periods. Originally unraised, Greek theatre would later incorporate a raised stage for easier viewing. This practice would become common after the advent of "New Comedy," which incorporated dramatic portrayal of individual characters. The coryphaeus was the head chorus member, who could enter

1344-508: The center of Buddy Killen Circle, a roundabout where Division Street meets 17th Avenue South in the Music Row area of Nashville. Musica is over 40 feet (12 m) tall, and consists of nine colossal nude figures, male and female, dancing in a circle. It is the largest bronze figure group in the United States. LeQuire is also a portrait sculptor. Other works by LeQuire include: LeQuire

1400-533: The city, although the Knights of Pythias Pavilion building was purchased and moved to nearby Franklin, Tennessee . Major Eugene Castner Lewis was the director of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and it was at his suggestion that a reproduction of the Parthenon be built in Nashville to serve as the centerpiece of Tennessee's Centennial Celebration. Lewis also served as the chief civil engineer for

1456-473: The climax of the Hector Lassiter novel Three Chords and The Truth , by Craig McDonald . Alan LeQuire Alan LeQuire (born 1955) is an American sculptor from Nashville , Tennessee . Many of his sculptures are installed in the city. Alan LeQuire was born in 1955. His father, Virgil, was a physician and researcher on the faculty of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine . His mother, Louise,

1512-549: The exterior. The exterior lighting was upgraded to allow the columns of the building to be illuminated with different colors than the facade. The Parthenon served as the location for the political rally in the climactic scene of Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville . It was used as a backdrop for the battle against the Hydra in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief . It features in

1568-454: The floor for actors playing gods, heroes, and old men. Actors playing goddesses and women characters that held a lot of power wore purple and gold. Actors playing queens and princesses wore long cloaks that dragged on the ground and were decorated with gold stars and other jewels, and warriors were dressed in a variety of armor and wore helmets adorned with plumes. Costumes were supposed to be colourful and obvious to be easily seen by every seat in

1624-550: The higher power, the gods, making masks also very important for religion. Most of the evidence comes from only a few vase paintings of the 5th century BC, such as one showing a mask of the god suspended from a tree with decorated robe hanging below it and dancing and the Pronomos vase, which depicts actors preparing for a satyr play . No physical evidence remains available to us, as the masks were made of organic materials and not considered permanent objects, ultimately being dedicated at

1680-545: The innovations of the poet Arion , it had become a narrative, ballad-like genre. Because of these, Thespis is often called the "Inventor of Tragedy"; however, his importance is disputed, and Thespis is sometimes listed as late as 16th in the chronological order of Greek tragedians; the statesman Solon , for example, is credited with creating poems in which characters speak with their own voice, and spoken performances of Homer 's epics by rhapsodes were popular in festivals prior to 534 BC. Thus, Thespis's true contribution to drama

1736-411: The masked actor from the theatrical character. The mask-makers were called skeuopoios or "maker of the props", thus suggesting that their role encompassed multiple duties and tasks. The masks were most likely made out of light weight, organic materials like stiffened linen, leather, wood, or cork, with the wig consisting of human or animal hair. Due to the visual restrictions imposed by these masks, it

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1792-447: The mouth and an integrated wig. These paintings never show actual masks on the actors in performance. They are most often shown being handled by the actors before or after a performance. This demonstrates the way in which the mask was to 'melt' into the face and allow the actor to vanish into the role. Effectively, the mask transformed the actor as much as memorization of the text. Therefore, performance in ancient Greece did not distinguish

1848-529: The next 20 years, weather had caused deterioration of the landmark; it was then rebuilt on the same foundations, in concrete , in a project that started in 1920; the exterior was completed in 1925 and the interior in 1931. Local architect Russell Hart was hired for the reconstruction. Some of the most elaborate events that occurred at the Parthenon were the Spring Pageants of 1913 and 1914. These extravaganzas were theatrical productions. With casts of up to 500,

1904-443: The orchestra and also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. After 425 BC a stone scene wall, called a paraskenia , became a common supplement to skené . The paraskenia was a long wall with projecting sides, which may have had doorways for entrances and exits. Just behind the paraskenia was the proskenion ("in front of the scene"), which is similar to the modern day proscenium . The upper story

1960-423: The orchestra. In some theatres, behind the orchestra, was a backdrop or scenic wall known as the skené . The term theatre eventually came to mean the whole area of theatron , orchestra , and skené . The theatron was the seating area, built into a hill to create a natural viewing space. The first seats in Greek theatres (other than just sitting on the ground) were wooden, but around 499 BC,

2016-532: The original Parthenon. In 1997 LeQuire created a sculptural group of life-size portraits of Tennessee women's suffrage activists Elizabeth Avery Meriwether , Anne Dallas Dudley , and Lizzie Crozier French . The sculpture is on display in Market Square in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee and is known as the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Memorial . LeQuire also created a large bronze relief for

2072-735: The other actors. The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin-soled shoe called a soccus or sock. For this reason, dramatic art is sometimes called " sock and buskin ." Male actors playing female roles would wear a wooden structure on their chests ( posterneda ) to imitate the look of breasts and another structure on their stomachs ( progastreda ) to make them appear softer and more lady like. They would also wear white body stockings under their costumes to make their skin appear fairer. Most costuming detail comes from pottery paintings from that time as costumes and masks were fabricated out of disposable material, so there are little to no remains of any costume from that time. The biggest source of information

2128-412: The pageants attracted audiences from surrounding states and rail prices were lowered to encourage attendance. The city of Nashville celebrated the "Athens of the South". The 1913 performance was entitled The Fire Regained , a play written by Sidney Mttron Hirsch , and featured a mythological story line enhanced by theatrical spectacle popular in that era. The 1914 production, The Mystery at Thanatos , had

2184-498: The power of the spoken word, and it was their main method of communication and storytelling. Bahn and Bahn write, "To Greeks, the spoken word was a living thing and infinitely preferable to the dead symbols of a written language." Socrates himself believed that once something has been written down, it lost its ability for change and growth. For these reasons, among many others, oral storytelling flourished in Greece. Greek tragedy , as it

2240-442: The practice of inlaying stone blocks into the side of the hill to create permanent, stable seating became more common. They were called the prohedria and reserved for priests and a few of the most respected citizens. The diazoma separated the upper and lower seating areas. After 465 BC, playwrights began using a backdrop or scenic wall, called the skené (from which the word scene derives), that hung or stood behind

2296-614: The presumed original as possible, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture . The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Treasury Room (the west room of the main hall) are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon , dating to 438 BC. The surviving originals are housed in

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2352-435: The stage at one time, and masks permitted quick transitions from one character to another. There were only male actors, but masks allowed them to play female characters. The modern method to interpret a role by switching between a few simple characters goes back to changing masks in the theatre of ancient Greece. The actors in these plays that had tragic roles wore boots called cothurnus ( buskin ), that elevated them above

2408-443: The statue. In the summertime, local theater productions use the building as a backdrop for classic Greek plays such as Euripides ' Medea and Sophocles ' Antigone , performing (usually for free) on the steps of the Parthenon. Other performances, such as Mary Zimmerman 's Metamorphoses , have been held inside, at the foot of Athena's statue. In 2001, the Nashville Parthenon received much needed cleaning and restoration of

2464-439: The story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play. Plays often began in the morning and lasted into the evening. The theatres were built on a large scale to accommodate a large number of performers on stage and in the audience—up to fourteen thousand . Physics and mathematics played a significant role in the construction of these theatres, as their designers had to be able to create acoustics in them such that

2520-617: The theatre was institutionalised there as part of a festival called the Dionysia , which honoured the god Dionysus . Tragedy (late 500 BC), comedy (490 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres emerged there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies. Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from the theatre of ancient Greece , from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes , stock characters , and plot elements. The word τραγῳδία , tragodia , from which

2576-536: The title and lyrics of the song "Nashville Parthenon" from the album Etiquette , by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone , as well as the song's 2011 sequel "Goodbye Parthenon". It was used in the 2000 PBS series Greeks: Crucible of Civilization . A poem titled "Ganymede" in Heather Ross Miller 's Celestial Navigator: Writing Poems with Randall Jarrell features the Parthenon. The structure figures in

2632-569: The tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner. The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta . From that time on, the theatre started performing old tragedies again. Although its theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into the Hellenistic period (the period following Alexander the Great 's conquests in the fourth century BC). The primary Hellenistic theatrical form

2688-415: The tragic chorus, they all wear the same mask because they are considered to be representing one character. Stylized comedy and tragedy masks said to originate in ancient Greek theatre have come to widely symbolize the performing arts generally. Illustrations of theatrical masks from 5th century display helmet-like masks, covering the entire face and head, with holes for the eyes and a small aperture for

2744-432: The word " tragedy " is derived, is a compound of two Greek words: τράγος , tragos or "goat" and ᾠδή , ode meaning "song", from ἀείδειν , aeidein , 'to sing'. This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancient Dionysian cults . It is impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility rituals became the basis for tragedy and comedy . The Ancient Greeks valued

2800-444: Was a Tennessee Arts Commission Fellow in 1986, and received a Tennessee Governor's Citation in 1987. In 1990 he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Design Award for Athena Parthenos. Ancient Greek theatre A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens , which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and

2856-635: Was a painter, art teacher, and writer. The young LeQuire showed an early interest in sculpture. While an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University , he studied independently under professor of sculpture Puryear Mims and Middle Tennessee State University sculptor Jim Gibson . He spent his senior year in France, studied art history, and earned a degree in English . After a year in Rome learning bronze casting as an assistant to New York City artist Milton Hebald , LeQuire entered

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2912-510: Was called the episkenion . Some theatres also had a raised speaking place on the orchestra called the logeion . By the end of the 5th century BC, around the time of the Peloponnesian War, the skené was two stories high. The death of a character was always heard behind the skené , for it was considered inappropriate to show a killing in view of the audience. Conversely, there are scholarly arguments that death in Greek tragedy

2968-409: Was created roughly around 508 BC. While no drama texts exist from the sixth century BC, the names of three competitors besides Thespis are known: Choerilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus . Each is credited with different innovations in the field. Some information is known about Phrynichus. He won his first competition between 511 BC and 508 BC. He produced tragedies on themes and subjects later exploited in

3024-416: Was imperative that the actors hear in order to orient and balance themselves. Thus, it is believed that the ears were covered by substantial amounts of hair and not the helmet-mask itself. The mouth opening was relatively small, preventing the mouth being seen during performances. Vervain and Wiles posit that this small size discourages the idea that the mask functioned as a megaphone, as originally presented in

3080-408: Was not tragedy but New Comedy , comic episodes about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only extant playwright from the period is Menander . One of New Comedy's most important contributions was its influence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautus and Terence . Most ancient Greek cities lay on or near hills, so seating was generally built into the slope of

3136-399: Was portrayed off stage primarily because of dramatic considerations, and not prudishness or sensitivity of the audience. A temple nearby, especially on the right side of the scene, is almost always part of the Greek theatre complex. This could justify, as a transposition, the recurrence of the pediment with the later solidified stone scene. The orchestra was a circular piece of ground at

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