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4 from ritual to theater and back: the efficacy ... - AAAARG.ORG

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Figure 5.4 The A<strong>the</strong>nian <strong><strong>the</strong>ater</strong><br />

Note<br />

Nested at <strong>the</strong> center of <strong>the</strong> A<strong>the</strong>nian <strong><strong>the</strong>ater</strong> was <strong>the</strong> open eye of <strong>the</strong> Altar of<br />

Dionysus. Around it danced <strong>the</strong> Chorus, giving a core of solidarity for <strong>the</strong> agonistic<br />

actions of <strong>the</strong> ac<strong>to</strong>rs. The audience nested both Chorus <strong>and</strong> ac<strong>to</strong>rs. But <strong>the</strong> agon of<br />

<strong>the</strong> contest among poets <strong>and</strong> ac<strong>to</strong>rs for <strong>the</strong> prizes surrounded <strong>the</strong> whole <strong>the</strong>atrical<br />

event. Yet <strong>the</strong> solidarity of A<strong>the</strong>ns, <strong>the</strong> polis, provided <strong>the</strong> ultimate nest for <strong>the</strong> entire<br />

sequence of performances <strong>and</strong> contests. Each agon was literally held in a nest of<br />

solidarity. The outer nest – <strong>the</strong> polis – was not metaphorical: <strong>the</strong>re were definite<br />

geographical, ideological, <strong>and</strong> social limits <strong>to</strong> A<strong>the</strong>ns; <strong>and</strong> each person knew what it<br />

was <strong>to</strong> be a citizen. The shape of <strong>the</strong> <strong><strong>the</strong>ater</strong> was a version of <strong>the</strong> social system which<br />

alternated agon <strong>and</strong> solidarity; it was open <strong>to</strong> debate <strong>and</strong> interrogation, but closed<br />

about who was or was not a member, a citizen.

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