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
