ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to advance the theory of prediction processing in practical terms and shows how the form of the theatre itself greatly enhanced these cognitive processes on a neurochemical basis. It describes the fifth-century theatre space with the benefit of new archaeological evidence that is challenging much of what we thought we knew about the classical stage, and re-evaluate what it meant to stage these works in this particular "open-air" theatre. The chapter considers how having the sky as the most dominant sight in the visual realm increased the brain's production of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that is necessary for memory recall, movement, imagination, prediction, and abstract thought. It seeks to re-examine Aristotle's concept of opsis, most frequently and rather derogatorily translated as "spectacle”. The chapter suggests that the physical setting of the Theatre of Dionysos in Athens was an extremely dopamine-rich environment and how this helped facilitate the dramas of alternative realities that the Athenians experienced there.
