VI. Spectacle
The Greatest Spectacle:
After the extraordinary hardships which Medea faces throughout the play, we come across the ending when she "appears in a winged chariot, rising above the house. The bodies of the two children are visible in the chariot." Interestingly, over the past 1570 lines of the play, the stage directions are almost never this specific or elaborate. Showing that Euripides has literally saved the best for last, perhaps to shamelessly present a big ending, the rising chariot is the epitome of spectacle in this play.
Although there would be no such chariot in the ancient theaters, it is likely that Medea herself would be lifted from the stage level by the deus ex machina (literally, god machine) and the childen's bodies would be thrust forth on a rolling wagon from the skene in the rear of the orchestra.
By creating such a spectacle, Euripides also highlights the importance of this event: Medea has killed her own childen in order to free them from the terror of the world which has been created for them. Her actions display her insanity, and her relentless pursuit of revenge against Jason.
Setting and Costumes:
The unique Greek theaters which seated many thousands called for very simplistic yet very clear design choices. Instead of elaborate costumes, the performers would wear large bold costumes which allowed even the farthest spectator to be clear on who is who. Due to the widely acknowledged "three-actor rule" (whereby three actors played the roles of all the characters in a play) the costume and mask changes would need to immediately reflect differing characters. It is also widely accepted that the performers would wear a type of stilts to make them "larger than life" leading to two interpretations: the actors could be better seen and heard when higher, but also became almost godlike or unrealistically large- adding to the spectacle of this world.
Entrances and Exits:
In the rear of the orchestra section was the Skene, a large building which served as a universal setting for Greek Theater. The sometimes elaborate building would generally have a major door in the center (for palace settings) as well as machines which hoisted actors above the orchestra section. Some characters may have entered this way, but most, including the chorus, would enter on ramps adjacent to the orchestra area. These eisodoi or parodoi would be used for entrances by characters such as a messenger or soldier.
How did the actors move:
Simply, the actors moved in large, overstated motions. In order to make the play as clear as possible for the large audiences, subtlety was not an option for the ancient Greeks. But what this also meant for the performance was that the plot had to be appropriately planned for this style of acting. Performers carried out sometimes-long speeches with highly clear emotional intent. This style is a crucial part of Medea. As the plot continues and Medea's situation worsens, emotions become increasingly polar and disjointed, making clear the protagonist and antagonist's intentions.