Questions about Greek tragedy
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What does the word Greek tragedy mean and where does it come from?
The word tragedy derives from the Greek tragodía, combining tragos ("goat") and ode ("song"), meaning roughly "song of the goats." Multiple origins have been proposed: a prize goat awarded to the winner, a chorus of satyrs, a harvest song for the barley grain called tragos, or a reference to adolescent voice-change. Jane Ellen Harrison argued it meant "the harvest-song of the cereal tragos, the form of spelt known as 'the goat.'" Aristotle traced it to the satyr dithyramb, a hymn sung in honor of Dionysus.
Who were the three main playwrights of Greek tragedy?
The three most acclaimed Greek tragedians are Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Together, only 32 full-length plays by these three authors survive from antiquity. Aeschylus is credited with inventing the trilogy form and introducing the second actor; Sophocles introduced the third actor and raised the chorus to fifteen members; Euripides introduced the deus ex machina and foregrounded internal psychological conflict in his characters.
How many Greek tragedies survive from ancient times?
Only 32 full-length Greek tragedies survive, all by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Seven plays by Aeschylus survive out of roughly ninety works, seven by Sophocles out of over 120, and eighteen by Euripides. More than 300 additional works are known from fragments alone.
How were Greek tragedies performed and who attended them?
Greek tragedies were performed at the Great Dionysia festival, held in Athens in the month of Elaphebolion near the end of March. The Theatre of Dionysus on the south slope of the Acropolis seated approximately 17,000 people. Three playwrights competed, each staging a tetralogy of three tragedies and a satyr play across three days. A jury of ten citizens selected by lot chose the best choir, actor, and author, with five tablets drawn at random from the collected votes to determine the winner.
What is catharsis in Greek tragedy according to Aristotle?
Aristotle defined tragedy as "an imitation of a noble and complete action... which through compassion and fear produces purification of the passions," calling that purification catharsis. Scholars remain divided on its precise meaning. Gregory argues it transforms pity and fear into pleasurable emotions in the theatre. Lear describes catharsis as "an education for the emotions," supplying the appropriate objects toward which to direct pity and fear.
Who was Thespis and what role did he play in the origins of Greek tragedy?
Thespis is credited by tradition as the first person to represent a character in a play, an innovation that took place in 534 BC during the Dionysia established by Peisistratus. According to Aristotle, he was the first to win a dramatic contest and the first actor to portray a character rather than speaking as himself. The 4th-century AD writer Themistius also attributed the invention of the prologue and the spoken passage called the rhesis to Thespis, whose name is the root of the English word "thespian."