Themis, a study of the social origins of Greek ... - Warburg Institute

EXCURSUS ON THE RITUAL FORMS PRESERVED IN
GREEK TRAGEDY.
The following note presupposes certain general views about
the origin and essential nature of Greek Tragedy. It assumes
that Tragedy is in^origin a Ritual Dance, a Sacer Lucius, repre-
senting normally the Aition, or supposed historical_ Cause, of
some current ritual practice : e.g. the Hippolytus represents the
legendary death of that hero, regarded as the Aition of a certain
ritual lamentation practised by the maidens of Trozen. Further, it
assumes, in accord with the overwhelming weight of ancient
tradition, that the Dance in question is originally or centrally
that of Dionysus ; and
it regards Dionysus, in this connection,
as the spirit of the Dithyramb or Spring Dromenon (see above,
Chapter VI.), an '
Eniautos-Daimon,' who represents the cyclic
death and rebirth of the world, including the rebirth of the
tribe by the return of the heroes or dead ancestors.
These conceptions, it will be seen, are in general agreement with
the recent work of Dieterich (Archiv fur Religionswissenschaft,
xi. pp. 163—196), also with that of Usener (ib. vn. pp. 303—313),
as developed by Dr Farnell (Cults, vol. v. p. 235, note a),
and the indications of the Macedonian mummeries described by
Mr Dawkins and others. I must also acknowledge a large debt to
Prof. Ridgewa}r's Tomb-theory, the more so since I ultimately
differ from him on the main question, and seek to show that
certain features in tragedy which he regards as markedly foreign
to Dionysus-worship are in reality natural expressions of it.
It is of course clear that Tragedy, as we possess it, contains
many non-Dionysiac elements. The ancients themselves have
warned us of that. It has been influenced by the epic, by hero
cults, and by various ceremonies not connected with Dionysus.
Indeed the actual Aition treated in tragedy is seldom confessedly
and obviously Dionysiac. It is so sometimes, as sometimes it is
the founding of a torch-race or the original reception of sup-
pliants at some altar of sanctuary. But it is much more often
,