VOLUME VII, ISSUE I, SPRING 2014
Abstract
Greek drama and its house, theater, is a specific and unique crystalization of many forces of culture that started coming together in the 6th century B.C. in ancient Greece; geographically they came from different parts of Greek lands but they seem to have coalesced in Athens. Among these forces we can count epic poetry, lyric poetry (especially choral poetry like the dithyramb), and cult practices, which were already interwoven in one form or another in earlier times. In The Birth of Tragedy Nietzsche presents how these forces came together with an emphasis on the cult of Dionysus. In this paper, I would like to explore his thesis as I explore the presence of Dionysian rituals in tragedy, but take it further and examine, based on specific tragedies, the presence of rituals of other cults such as those of Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hades, Hermes, and Prometheus. Although Nietzsche’s thesis that Greek theater evolved out of the cult of Dionysus may be correct, it is not sound to say that all gods were presented on stage through the mask of Dionysus. I will end my paper by reflecting on the difficulties of presenting gods on stage, which forced dramatists to invent devices like the ‘deus-ex-machina.’
Ancient Greek tragedy is an aesthetic phenomenon that emerged in 6th century B.C. as a result of the conflux of many different forces of culture, including those of religion, poetry, and politics. This paper will focus on the relation between tragedy and religion in ancient Greece and precisely the presence of cult rituals and practices in tragedy. Cult practices in ancient Greece were pervasive and present in all aspects of life. As in many other ancient societies, these rituals were, among many others, those of sacrifice, or offerings of any kind, fertility rites, orgiastic rites, athletic practices, and divination and prophecy. Nietzsche’s conclusion regarding the origin of tragedy in the cult of Dionysus has been confirmed by many other scholars of the 20th century. Nietzsche’s point makes sense not only because the core of Greek drama, the chorus, may have originated from the practices of Dionysian revelers, but also because acting is specifically an ecstatic function. However, it is not only the rituals of Dionysus that are present in Greek drama, but also the rituals of many other Greek cults.
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