Thespis facts for kids

Base for a statue of Thespis in the Theatre of Dionysus, a very old theater.

Thespis' wagon, a carving from Florence, Italy.

Thespis was an Ancient Greek poet who lived around the 6th century BC. He was born in a city called Icarius, which is now known as Dionysos, Greece. Many old Greek writers, especially Aristotle, say that Thespis was the very first person to act on a stage. Before him, people would just tell stories as themselves. Thespis, however, pretended to be a character in a play.

Some sources also say he added the first main actor to a group of singers called a chorus. Because of his new ideas, he is often called the "Inventor of Tragedy." The word "thespian", which means actor, comes from his name.

Thespis used to sing dithyrambs. These were songs that told stories from old myths and had parts sung by a chorus. He created a new way of performing these stories. One singer or actor would speak the words of different characters. He would even use different masks to show which character he was playing.

This new way of telling stories was called tragedy. Thespis became very famous for it. Around 534 BC, contests were started in Athens to find the best tragedy. Thespis won the very first one! After his success, Thespis also started the idea of touring with plays. He would travel to different cities, carrying his costumes, masks, and other items in a wagon pulled by horses.

Thespis's Plays

Some plays are said to have been written by Thespis. However, most experts today believe these plays were not actually written by him. They think these plays were created much later by other people.

Here are some of the play titles that were linked to Thespis:

• Contest of Pelias and Phorbas
• Priests
• Demigods
• Pentheus

Thespis's Impact on Theatre

Thespis is thought to have invented acting in the Western world. Before his performances, no one had ever pretended to be another person just to tell a story. He is the first actor we know of in plays that were written down. This means he played a huge part in changing how stories were told. He helped create theatre as we know it today. To honor Thespis, actors in English-speaking countries are often called thespians.

Thespis was also a character in a funny opera from 1871. This opera was called Thespis and was the first time W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan worked together. Most of the music from this opera is now lost. The story is about Thespis and his group of actors taking the place of the gods of Olympus for a short time. The gods come down to Earth to spend time with people. The actors do not do a good job as gods, so the real gods get angry and return to their rightful places.

In 1939, a part of the National Theatre of Greece was created to travel around the country. It is named "The Wagon of Thespis" (Árma Théspidos in Greek) to remember him.

Related Topics

• Aeschylus
• Aristophanes
• Aristotle
• Dionysia
• Euripides
• International Thespian Society
• Phrynichus
• Solon
• Sophocles
• Thespian (disambiguation)

See also

In Spanish: Tespis para niños