Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

Pleasure and Leisure 271
invention of tragedy to a shadowy figure named Thespis, who is
credited with having won first prize in the first contest for tragedy
held in about 534 b.c.e. Recently, however, scholars have argued
that tragedy was only introduced after the establishment of democracy
in 508/507 b.c.e. Kômoidia, which gives us the word comedy,
means kômos singing. A kômos was a band of tipsy revelers who
wandered about the town, crashing drinking parties.
The promotion of drama to the level of Athenian national pastime
par excellence owed much to the tyrant Peisistratos, who accorded
it a central position in a new or revamped festival in honor of Dionysos,
the patron god of drama—though why it was held in honor
of this particular god was not entirely apparent even in antiquity. It
was at this festival, known as the Great or City Dionysia, that plays
were staged that rank today among the foremost achievements of
Athenian culture—namely, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophokles,
and Euripides and the comedies of Aristophanes. The City Dionysia
was a four-day festival held in March. In the opening ceremony, a
statue of the god was carried into the theater so that Dionysos could
witness the performances. At the center of the playing area, known
as the orchêstra (meaning dancing space), stood an altar. Both the
statue and altar were reminders of the religious aspect of drama.
Because the City Dionysia coincided with the beginning of the
sailing season, many foreigners and tourists would have been able
to attend, including Athens’s allies. The annual tribute that they
brought with them was displayed in the theater (Isokrates, On the
Peace 82)—a curious mingling of the secular with the divine that is so
characteristic of Greek culture. On this occasion, too, orphans of the
war dead paraded in battle gear and received the thanks and support
of the citizenry. The Dionysia was initially devoted exclusively
to tragedy, although, from 486 b.c.e., comedies were performed at it
as well. This may well be the year when comedy first became part
of the theatrical offering. Then in about 440 b.c.e., the Athenians
established a festival devoted exclusively to comedy known as the
Lenaia (derived from the word lênê, meaning a maenad or devotee
of Dionysos), held around the end of January, which only citizens
were permitted to attend.
Staging a Dramatic Performance
Every tragedian hoping to mount a production at one of the festivals
had to submit three tragedies to a magistrate known as the
eponymous archon (i.e., the Athenian magistrate who gave his name