the great dionysia Flashcards
when was the city of Dionysia founded ?
in 6rth century BC - a date which coincides with the alliance between Eleutherae and Athens
where is Eleutherae?
the northern borser of Attica
how was an allinace formes between. the Eleutheraens and Athenians?
a statue from Eleutherae came but was then rejected byt Athenians. The city was hit with a plague affecting men’s gentials and the Athenians linked the events. They then accepted DIonysus into the city and honoured him and the men were cured
how was dionysus worshipped? when? where?
through theatre. dionysus was associated with rebirth, so the festival took place in spring over 5 days in Mid-March.
the festival started in Athens (at the gates), but the majority of the festival was based int he sanctary of Dionysus (on the south side fo the acropolis and had an altar and short wall, there was also a temple that was small and in the NW corner)
where is the sanctuary of Dionysus?
on the south side fo the acropolis and had an altar and short wall, there was also a temple that was small and in the NW corner
what officials were infolved witht Dionysia? what did their role involve
the city was democratic and they had an epynomous archon who was an elected official who had various administrative responsibilities over the year eg., they woudl select 3 tragic playwrites and 5 comic playwrites to participate in the play. they woudl also choose choregos to finance the plays
who participated int he festival celebrating Dionysus?
professional playwrites (among which was fierce competition), however not exclusive to them
what are some examples of the activities that the wider communitiy of Dionysia coudl get involved in?
the Dithyramb which was the choral dance honouring Dionysia. 100 members from each tribe took part (1000 amateurs). these epople were drawn from the citizen body
what happened the night before the festival in the city of Dionysia?
a torch procession took place to recreate the events that took place in 6th cent BC when ELeutherae allied with Athens and wodden statue of Dionysus was brought into the city. The statue travelled from just outside the cuty into the city and was accompanied by military cadetts
what heppened on day 1 of the festival of the City Of Dionysia?
pompe, dithyrambic contests, komos
what was the pompe of the festival of the City Of Dionysia?
grand procession that took place accompanied by the statue of Dionysus in a boat on wheels from the city gates to the sanctuary of Dionysus. it was carnival-like with drinking, dancing, revelry.
people broughr food and model phalluses. Note there was also a v big sacrifice.
what woudl people in the pompe of the festival of the City Of Dionysia?
they would bringh sacrificial objects and phalluses in reconition with Dionysus’ relationship with fertility
what did the dithyramb competition involve?
- took place in a theatre
involved a choral song and dance written to honour Dionysus
what did the komos involve? (when was it?)
- only men took part and a central symbol was the Phallus
- it took place in the evening and participants woudl rbing leather phallus to present to Gods (Dionysus as God of fertility). involved singing, dancing,
it took place on day 1
what happened on Day 2 of the festival of the City Of Dionysia
There was a sacrifice of a piglet to dionysus in the opening ceremony. 10 generals of athens would pour 12 libations to the Gods.
there were the opening ceremonies and the 5 comedies
these were not free.
what happened in the opening ceremonies of the festival of the City Of Dionysia? When was it?
priest of Dionysus would sacrifice a piglet
- 10 generals of Athens poured a libation to 12 Olympian Gods
- there were thratrical contests which cosrted 2 Obols ( a day’s wage for an unskilled worker) and the Athenians set up the Theoric Fund to help the poor attend
beginning of day 2
what was special about comedies?
develped later than tragedies and perhaps reflected the political freedom of 5th century Athens - themes of cpomedy, war, reversed roles e.g., slaves and bosses, politics
what happened on day 3 and day 4 of the festival of the City Of Dionysia?
3 tragedies and 1 Satyr play
what happened on day 5 of the festival of the City Of Dionysia?
the 3 tragedies and 1 satyr play anfd the judging and prize givign
what did the tragedies of the festival of the City Of Dionysia involve?
they were perfomed in a trilogy so each day was devoted to 3 playwrites (showing emphasis on tragedy over comedy)
the tragedy was usually inspired by well known mythic and historical events of the past - focused on human suffering and explore human nature
what did the satyr plays of the festival of the City Of Dionysia involve?
written by 1 play write. it had mythological themes and was unrelated to the tragedies played prior. it was supposed to be a comedic respite after the 3 tragedies
how were things judged in the festival of the City Of Dionysia?
each judge wrote the plays in orfer of preference and olaced in. alist in a single urn. the epynomous archon then drew 5 of the 10 lists. The playwrite with the most votes was declares victor and was given a garland of ivy ( a symbol of Dionysus)
how were elements of the great dionysia organised? What was done?
by the epynomous archon.
his duty was to select 3 tragic playwrites and 5 comic playwrites , who woudl collectively produce 17 plays.
what happened the night before the festival?
the torchlight procession, to recreate the origins of the festival, bringing the statue form a shrine just outside the city, accompanied by military cadets
what happened the morning of the city Dionysia?
the pompe, meaning grand procession, accompanied by the statue in a boat on wheels to the sanctuary.
It was like a carnival, with drinking, revelry, and participants woudl carry sacrificial objects such as animals, fruit, and breads, but also model phalluses (associated with fertility and recreation)
who woulf finance the play?
a choregos
how often did the great dionysia take place?
every year (fun fact: prisoners woudl be given a day release to watch it!)
what was the great dionysia in comparison to the gp?
it was far less organised and Dionysus encouraged wild abandon
what does protagonistes mean?
leading actor
what is a proagon?
an official theatrical presentation which took place a few days before the City Dionysia began
where did the proagon take place? give more information about it
it took place in the odeion (concert hall). It was basically an advert written by playwrites who must act without masks
what happened the day before hte main procession in the great dionysia?
the eisagoge (bringing in torch procession) in eve which reenacts Dionys’ statue arrival from Eleutherae escorted to theatre of D by ephebes (cadets) on wooden ship wheels. NOTE THIS IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION
what was the theoric fund?
a supply of money that was use to pay for the poor to attend the theatre in ancient Athens.
It was set up in the late 5th century.
This was needed because it costs 2 obols to attent somethign
what was the parade tribute? (when was it) -grat dionysica
is showed of the silver paid by for allies of the DELIAN LEAGUE
(day 2)
what was the parade of honours in the city of Dionysia
it was when the prixe of a crown was given, signifying outstanding service
supposedly on day 2
what was the parade of orphans?
it was state paid eduction and if you were 18 you were given armour and declared citizen
in detail, explain how they would judge the city of DIonysia
- thye drew up a list of names form each of the ten tribes
- the names from each tribe were stored in s eperate urns, and 10 urns were stored on the acropolis
- on the first mornging of the plays, the 10 urns were placed in the theatre and the epynomous arhon drew a name out of each urn at random
- the 10 chosen citizens then swore an oath of impartiality and sat as judges the whole competiiton
- the judges watched the plays and they were influenced by audience reaction
- ont he final day of competition, each judge wrote down their order of merit and the tablets were each placed into an urn
- the epynomous archon woudl when draw out 5 of the 10 tablets
- the playwrites with the most names was declared winner and the winner got a farland of ivy
what was the prize of the winning playwrites and actor
a garland of ivy
how many people probably wathced the plays?
up to 1500 people could fit into the Theatre of Dionysus
can you draw out the layout of the city dinoysia sanctuary?
