Text 6. Greek Drama

Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

Twice a year, writers throughout Greece composed plays that were presented at festivals in Athens to honor Dionysus, the god of human and agricultural fertility. The Cult of Dionysus practiced ritual celebrations. A key part of the rites of Dionysus was the dithyramb. The dithyramb was an ode to Dionysus. It was usually performed by a chorus of fifty men dressed as satyrs – mythological half-human, half-goat servants of Dionysus. They played drums, lyres and flutes, and chanted as they danced around an effigy of Dionysus. Although it began as a purely religious ceremony, like a hymn in the middle of a mass, the dithyramb over time would evolve into stories, drama and the play form. The plays produced on the Athenian stages are one of the lasting contributions of the Greeks. Most of the plays told stories about Greek gods or heroes. They combined religion and history with entertainment. Most popular were the tragedies. Tragedy, derived from the Greek words tragos (goat) and ode (song), told a story that was intended to teach religious lessons. Much like Biblical parables, tragedies were designed to show the right and wrong paths in life.

Tragedies were not simply plays with bad endings, nor pathos (another Greek word, meaning pitiable people or events). They depicted the life voyages of people who steered themselves on collision courses with society, life’s rules or simply fate.

Tragedy did not develop in a vacuum. It was an outgrowth of what was happening at the time in Athens. On one hand, Greek religion had dictated for centuries how people should think and behave. On the other hand, there was a flourishing of free thought and intellectual inquiry. Athens in the 4^th and 5^th centuries B.C. was bustling with radical ideas like democracy, philosophy, mathematics, science and art.

During a festival for Dionysus, plays were presented from dawn until dark for four days. Three days were devoted to tragic plays. Tragedy was not the only product of Athens’ flourishing theatre culture; comedy also thrived. Not only did the Greeks produce many lasting comedies, they also cast the molds for many Roman, Elizabethan and modern comedies.

The historical development of comedy was not as well-recorded as that of tragedy. Aristotle notes in The Poetics that before his own time comedy was considered trivial and common – though when it was finally recognized as an art form.

Greek comedy had two stages: Old Comedy, represented by Cratinus and Aristophanes; and New Comedy, whose main exponent was Menander.

Comedies were presented for only one day during the festival. Like comedies today, the Greek comedies made fun of a wide range of topics, from politics to everyday life.

All business in Athens closed during the festivals to Dionysus. Thousands of people headed to the open-air amphitheater to watch the plays. The city even released prisoners from jail so that they could go to the festival.

A jury of Athenian citizens judged the plays and awarded ivy crown to the writer of the winning plays. Many of the prizewinning plays are still performed today.

Work Check

Ex. 1. Match the words in column A with their definition in column B.

A

B

Dionysus a rite the dithyramb a satyr an effigy a parable a tragedy pathos to steer an outgrowth a comedy to thrive to cast molds for an exponent

to direct the course of (a bort, ship car) natural development to prosper to became models for is a representative or example the god of human or agricultural fertility the god of the woods, a half-man and a half-goat a ceremony in religious services an ode to Dionysus representation of a person (in wood stone) a play with a sad ending a word for pitiable people or events a simple story designed to teach a moral lesson a branch of drama that deals with everyday life and humorous events

Ex. 2. Arrange the following in pairs of synonyms:

A	B
fertility rites a dithyramb to chant an effigy to derive to depict to steer an outgrowth inquiry to thrive an exponent a flourishing	religious ceremonies an ode to sing a scarecrow to originate to describe productivity to direct development study to prosper a representative a blossoming

Ex. 3. Complete the sentences, use the words and expressions from the text.

1. Twice a year, writers throughout Greece … plays that were presented at … in Athens to honor Dionysus.

2. The Cult of Dionysus, the god of … practiced ritual celebrations.

3. A key part of the … Dionysus was the dithyramb.

4. The … was an ode to Dionysus.

5. They played drums, … and … .

6. A chorus of fifty men dressed as satyrs chanted as they danced around … of Dionysus.

7. Tragedy, … from the Greek words tragos (goat) and ode (song), told a story that was intended to each … lessons.

8. Much like Biblical … tragedies were designed to show the right and wrong paths in life.

9. They … the life voyages of people who … themselves on collision courses with society.

10. There was a … of free thought and intellectual … .

11. Comedy also … .

12. The Greek comedy writer … for many Roman, Elizabethan and modern comedies.

_______________________________________________________________

Words for reference: thrived, cast the molds, composed, festivals, human and agricultural fertility, rites, lyres and flutes, and effigy, dithyramb, derived, parables, religious, depicted, steered, flourishing, inquiry.

Comprehension

Ex. 1. Complete the sentences, use the information from the text.

1. Twice a year writer throughout Greece composed plays that were presented … .

2. A key part of the rites of Dionysus was … .

3. Tragedy, derived from the Greek words tragos (goat) and ode (song), told a story … .

4. Tragedies were not simply plays with bad endings, they depicted … .

5. Tragedy did not develop in a vacuum. It was … .

6. Comedy also thrived. Not only did the Greeks produce … .

7. Greek comedy had two stages … .

8. Greek comedies made fun of … .

9. Thousands of people headed to … .

10. A jury of Athenian citizens judged the plays and … .

Ex. 2. Say if the statements are true or false.

1. Every year writers and philosophers throughout Greece composed plays that were presented in Athens to honor Zeus.

2. A key part of the rites of Dionysus were the Olympic Games.

3. A chorus of fifty men dressed as satyrs mythological half-human, half-goat servants of Apollo played violins, organs and pianos and chanted as they danced around an effigy of Demeter.

4. Tragedy told a story that was intended to make fun of the Gods, Athenian institutions and popular figures.

5. Tragedies were not simply plays with bad ending nor pathos (another Greek work meaning pitiable people or events).

6. Athens in the 4^th and 5^th centuries B.C. still was not interested in radical ideas like democracy, philosophy, mathematics, science and art.

7. Tragedy was not the only product of Athen’s flourishing theatre culture, parables also thrived.

8. The Greek comedies also cast the molds for many Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian comedies.

9. Like comedies today, the Greek comedies depicted the life voyages of people who steered themselves on collision courses with society.

10. A jury of five ephors judged the plays and awarded a plot of land to the writes of the winning plays.

Ex. 3. Answer the following questions.

1. How did the Greeks honour Dionyses?

2. What was a key part of the rites of Dionyses?

3. How was the dithyramb performed?

4. What is a tragedy?

5. How did it develop?

6. What is a comedy?

7. What was closed in Athens during the festivals to Dionysus?

8. Who did the city release?

9. Who judged the plays?

10. What were the winners awarded?

Ex. 4. Speak about

1. the tragedy

2. the comedy