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Getting ready for a dramatic competition involved a complex set of operations:-
Appointment of the Choregoi.
The Liturgy of Choregy was one of the ways by which a rich citizen could perform a public service, and one by which the Athenian polis transferred the expensive responsibility for sponsoring Choruses for dramatic performances onto particular rich citizens.
The Liturgy of Choregy was one of the ways by which a rich citizen could perform a public service, and one by which the Athenian polis transferred the expensive responsibility for sponsoring Choruses for dramatic performances onto particular rich citizens.
Choregoi were appointed by the presiding Archon for the particular festival and they were chosen from amongst the Athenian citizens of the greatest wealth from one of the ten tribes [phylai] of Athens which were charged to find the richest from their number on a round-robin basis. Choregoi belonged to the highest socio‐economic tier, roughly one per cent of the citizen population. In the 4th Century BC around 1200 citizens met the criteria for performing a liturgy by reason of their wealth. Typically a minimum 3 or 4 talents of total wealth would place a person into this category for selection as a Choregos.
The function of the choregos was to arrange for the provisioning of a Chorus from males selected from his own tribe, provide and pay for their costumes and masks [50 persons in the case of a dithyrambic contests, 15 or 12 for tragic performances and satyr plays, 24 for a comedy plays], the hiring of a space or rooms for their rehearsals, the hiring of musicians, pay for those members of the Chorus' board and lodging whilst they were away from their homes.
The most affluent members of society were obligated to fund and sponsor specific public services in the form of liturgies: the principal ones being hierarchy, choregia, gymsiarchy and hestiasis. In the 4th century, around 200 citizens of Athens, compelled by their wealth, were tasked with providing these liturgies. The role of the dramatic liturgy or choregia was to arrange for and organize a tragic or comic Chorus for the dramatic festivals of Athens. To accomplish this, the choregos [the sponsor] had first to assemble the required number of persons, 15 for a tragedy (in the time of Sophocles) and 24 for a comedy. Recruitment was facilitated by the widespread presence of orchestral and musical instruction in Athens, when at the time ten dithyrambic concerts alone demanded 500 choreutes [members of a Chorus] annually.
Athenian law empowered the Choregos with significant authority for recruitment, allowing for fines and seizures of assets upon those who, without valid reasons, refused to participate. The Choregos' responsibilities were diverse, including the renting of a sufficiently large enough space or room for the rehearsal of the Chorus, the provision of drinks and refreshments during the rehearsal sessions, and the furnishing of luxurious choral equipment such as golden crowns and purple garments, and other masks and costumes. Additionally, the Choregos had to handle the costs of the daily board and lodging for the Chorus during the lengthy rehearsal period, as well as to oversee the payment for and attire of an Aulete, the aulos player responsible for leading the Chorus' songs [odes] and dances.
After appointment each Choregos would also engage an assistant, a person to help him manage his role. Generally they would appoint one of the three Epimelites [the word means curator or trustee, one who takes care] for the tribe to help him manage the spending of the large sum of monies he had to spend of his liturgy, and to ensure if that Choregos won the tribe's own records would be updated with the details of the win.
In the 4th century BC, with the poets and playwrights no longer personally oversaw their own dramas, the Choregos also had to appoint a chorodidascal [choreographer], a professional instructor of a Chorus, managing subordinates. The Choregos also had to cover extra expenses for witnesses, confidants, guards, and occasionally a second chorus in specific plays. On average, a tragic Choregia cost 25 minas, whilst a comic Choregia cost around 15 minas.
Towards the end of the Peloponnesian War, with the general impoverishment in Athens due to war and disease, led to the replacement of Choregia with Synchoregia — a temporary measure in which two wealthy individuals jointly covered and shared the expenses of sponsoring a Chorus. By 398 BC, the ancient Choregia was reinstated, lasting until the late 4th century when it gave way to a new system called Agonothesia, around 308 BC. This new system involved a general commissioner of festivals, elected annually, primarily responsible for the training of lyric and dramatic Choruses. The commissioner received an insufficient subsidy, and had to supplement it with personal funds, as seen in a decree where one agonothetes personally spent seven talents. Agonothesia continued throughout the 1st century BC.
Selection of Jurors and the Voting System Verdict and Awards. Following the conclusion of the dramatic competitions, the judgement unfolded, signifying the official ranking of the participants¹. The process of jury selection and voting involved four sequential steps: 1° Preliminary creation of a comprehensive list of judges before the competition; 2° Random selection of ten judges at the start of the competition; 3° Confidential voting by these ten judges at the end of the competition; 4º A draw held to extract five final votes from the ten cast. The task of drawing up the initial list of judges was jointly shared between the Council of Five Hundred [Boulé] and the Choregoi [sponsors of Choruses], with the latter including Poets, Choreographers, and Protagonists. [The Council of 500 represented the full-time government of Athens. It consisted of 500 citizens, 50 from each of the ten tribes, who served for one year. The Council could issue decrees on its own, regarding certain matters, but its main function was to prepare the agenda for meetings of the Assembly.] ¹ The voting for the Poet/Playwrights and the Choreographers was combined and separate from that of the voting for the Protagonists (Principal Actors). The right to nominate candidate judges/jurors for the competition was exercised in each of the Athenian tribes by their nomination of an equal number of such judges/jurors from each tribe. These candidate judges/jurors' names were placed into urns; each urn bore the seal of the polis of Athens and the private seal of the choregos of the tribe concerned. Until the very first day of the competition, these sealed urns were kept for safekeeping on the Acropolis, most likely in the opisthodomos of the Parthenon, and supervised under the watchful eyes of Athena's treasurers.
The most affluent members of society were obligated to fund and sponsor specific public services in the form of liturgies: the principal ones being hierarchy, choregia, gymsiarchy and hestiasis. In the 4th century, around 200 citizens of Athens, compelled by their wealth, were tasked with providing these liturgies. The role of the dramatic liturgy or choregia was to arrange for and organize a tragic or comic Chorus for the dramatic festivals of Athens. To accomplish this, the choregos [the sponsor] had first to assemble the required number of persons, 15 for a tragedy (in the time of Sophocles) and 24 for a comedy. Recruitment was facilitated by the widespread presence of orchestral and musical instruction in Athens, when at the time ten dithyrambic concerts alone demanded 500 choreutes [members of a Chorus] annually.
Athenian law empowered the Choregos with significant authority for recruitment, allowing for fines and seizures of assets upon those who, without valid reasons, refused to participate. The Choregos' responsibilities were diverse, including the renting of a sufficiently large enough space or room for the rehearsal of the Chorus, the provision of drinks and refreshments during the rehearsal sessions, and the furnishing of luxurious choral equipment such as golden crowns and purple garments, and other masks and costumes. Additionally, the Choregos had to handle the costs of the daily board and lodging for the Chorus during the lengthy rehearsal period, as well as to oversee the payment for and attire of an Aulete, the aulos player responsible for leading the Chorus' songs [odes] and dances.
After appointment each Choregos would also engage an assistant, a person to help him manage his role. Generally they would appoint one of the three Epimelites [the word means curator or trustee, one who takes care] for the tribe to help him manage the spending of the large sum of monies he had to spend of his liturgy, and to ensure if that Choregos won the tribe's own records would be updated with the details of the win.
In the 4th century BC, with the poets and playwrights no longer personally oversaw their own dramas, the Choregos also had to appoint a chorodidascal [choreographer], a professional instructor of a Chorus, managing subordinates. The Choregos also had to cover extra expenses for witnesses, confidants, guards, and occasionally a second chorus in specific plays. On average, a tragic Choregia cost 25 minas, whilst a comic Choregia cost around 15 minas.
Towards the end of the Peloponnesian War, with the general impoverishment in Athens due to war and disease, led to the replacement of Choregia with Synchoregia — a temporary measure in which two wealthy individuals jointly covered and shared the expenses of sponsoring a Chorus. By 398 BC, the ancient Choregia was reinstated, lasting until the late 4th century when it gave way to a new system called Agonothesia, around 308 BC. This new system involved a general commissioner of festivals, elected annually, primarily responsible for the training of lyric and dramatic Choruses. The commissioner received an insufficient subsidy, and had to supplement it with personal funds, as seen in a decree where one agonothetes personally spent seven talents. Agonothesia continued throughout the 1st century BC.
Selection of Jurors and the Voting System Verdict and Awards. Following the conclusion of the dramatic competitions, the judgement unfolded, signifying the official ranking of the participants¹. The process of jury selection and voting involved four sequential steps: 1° Preliminary creation of a comprehensive list of judges before the competition; 2° Random selection of ten judges at the start of the competition; 3° Confidential voting by these ten judges at the end of the competition; 4º A draw held to extract five final votes from the ten cast. The task of drawing up the initial list of judges was jointly shared between the Council of Five Hundred [Boulé] and the Choregoi [sponsors of Choruses], with the latter including Poets, Choreographers, and Protagonists. [The Council of 500 represented the full-time government of Athens. It consisted of 500 citizens, 50 from each of the ten tribes, who served for one year. The Council could issue decrees on its own, regarding certain matters, but its main function was to prepare the agenda for meetings of the Assembly.] ¹ The voting for the Poet/Playwrights and the Choreographers was combined and separate from that of the voting for the Protagonists (Principal Actors). The right to nominate candidate judges/jurors for the competition was exercised in each of the Athenian tribes by their nomination of an equal number of such judges/jurors from each tribe. These candidate judges/jurors' names were placed into urns; each urn bore the seal of the polis of Athens and the private seal of the choregos of the tribe concerned. Until the very first day of the competition, these sealed urns were kept for safekeeping on the Acropolis, most likely in the opisthodomos of the Parthenon, and supervised under the watchful eyes of Athena's treasurers.
On the first day of the competition, the urns were brought down from the Acroplis to the Dionysian theatre and there opened by the presiding Archon for that competition. By means of a mysterious selection process, one name was drawn from each urn by the Archon, thereby creating a list of ten jurors, ensuring each tribe was represented by one juror. This final list of 10 jurors was immediately made to take an oath swearing that they would act in all fairness in their judgements; this oath was administered by the Archon. After the oath each juror received a blank tablet and occupied a special designated section of the theatre. At the conclusion of all the performances, each of the jurors voted by writing down the names of the competitors on their tablets in the order of merit as seen by them. These tablets were placed in a single urn.
[It is worthy of note that the method of selection of the Archons for Athens involved much the same kind of procedure. The names of nine Archons and their secretary were chosen by lot from a general list of 500 candidates. According to Aristotle, these candidates had been previously designated by lot in a proportion of 50 names per tribe. This kind of procedure is called Sortition.]
Subsequently, a final drawing of lots, in this case of the voting tablets occurred, reducing the initial ten tablets down to five. These five votes or tablets constituted the final verdict in the competition. This procedure was undoubtedly followed in the comedy competition, and there is no real reason why it might not have been different for the tragedy competition. Textual evidence confirms that the names of the final five judges and their individual votes were publicly known, suggesting that each of tablets they voted on also bore the voter's name.
Whilst the exact method used to the final draw of voting tablets remains unknown, we can speculate that it was based on what the typical and customary Athenian approach to voting was. Consider that there were three urns: one containing the jurors ten voting tablets, the second having five black cubes and five white cubes, and a third used for cancelled/invalid/discarded/not to be used voting tablets. A voting tablet would be drawn from the first urn, and a cube from the second. If the vote corresponded to a black cube from the 2nd urn, it would be thrown into the urn for invalid ballots; if a white cube was drawn from the 2nd urn, the vote would be deemed valid and count towards the final vote.
This dual drawing process would continue until all five white cubes were drawn from the 2nd urn, concluding the selection of votes for the final draw.
In the previously described voting system, elaborate measures were employed to ensure against bribery and fraud influencing the final result. After two elimination rounds, chance alone determined the selection of the final five judges. Despite these precautions, historical records reveal instances where intrigue and monetary influences managed to corrupt both the Archon and the selected jurors/judges. It is important to note that public influence on the verdict was minimal in this system, but as Plato argued that the cheers or jeers of an ignorant crowd often intimidated the judges/jurors to vote for a decision not quite based on their own personal opinion.
Moving onto the competition aspect, whether tragic or comic, each event concluded with the presentation of three prizes. These were the awards - one given to the winning Poet (playwright and also for his choreography), and one for the Protagonist (principal actor) - the Choregos also gained recognition for his sponsorship. Originally it was supposed that the prize for tragedy consisted of a goat, which the victorious Choregos, playwright and his team then supposedly offered as a sacrifice to Dionysos. For comedy the prize was a jar of wine. However, during the classical period in Athens, during 5th century BC, the prize evolved into simply becoming a wreath of ivy, a stephanos or crown, publicly declared by the herald in the midst of the theatre. It is essential to differentiate these prizes to those paid for from the ticket sales [two obols per day per seat], as all participating poets/playwrights also received a monetary sum, presumably proportionate to their relative ranking in the competition.
Moving onto the competition aspect, whether tragic or comic, each event concluded with the presentation of three prizes. These were the awards - one given to the winning Poet (playwright and also for his choreography), and one for the Protagonist (principal actor) - the Choregos also gained recognition for his sponsorship. Originally it was supposed that the prize for tragedy consisted of a goat, which the victorious Choregos, playwright and his team then supposedly offered as a sacrifice to Dionysos. For comedy the prize was a jar of wine. However, during the classical period in Athens, during 5th century BC, the prize evolved into simply becoming a wreath of ivy, a stephanos or crown, publicly declared by the herald in the midst of the theatre. It is essential to differentiate these prizes to those paid for from the ticket sales [two obols per day per seat], as all participating poets/playwrights also received a monetary sum, presumably proportionate to their relative ranking in the competition.
The Calendar of the Great Dionysia Festival in Athens
Held annually in late March (Athenian month of Elaphebolion), it was a vibrant celebration of theatre, music, wine, and revelry.
Festival's schedule:
Day 1 (10th Elaphebolion):
Procession (Pompe): The festival starts with a grand procession, winding through Athens. Citizens dressed in white, foreigners in red, and priests carrying a statue of Dionysus Eleuthereus parade amidst music, singing, and offerings.
Sacrifices: At the temple of Dionysus Eleuthereus, bulls and other animals are sacrificed, and prayers are offered for blessings.
Days 2-4 (11th-13th Elaphebolion):
Dithyrambic Competitions: Choruses compete in singing dithyrambs, hymns praising Dionysus. These performances were energetic and emotional, often involving dancing and costumes.
Proagon:-
A pre-festival day, featuring a Proagon, was also part of the festivities. Post 444 BC, the Proagon took place in the Odeion, though records don't specify its earlier location or existence. An intriguing description of the Proagon for the Lenaia can be found in Plato's Symposium (194a and ff.). It seems that each participating group erected a temporary stage with actors and a chorus upon which they announced the theme of the plays they intended to present in the competition.
Plato, Symposium, section 194a
Days 5-7 (14th-16th Elaphebolion):
Plato, Symposium, section 194a
Days 5-7 (14th-16th Elaphebolion):
Dramatic Competitions: The highlight of the festival. Three playwrights [poets] on each day each present four plays: three tragedies and a satyr play.
Choregia - Oxford Reference
Isocrates, Trapeziticus, section 33
Isocrates, Trapeziticus, section 34
Prytaneion - Wikipedia
Prytaneis - Wikipedia
Prytaneis - Oxford Reference
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Wilson, P. (2009). Tragic Honours and Democracy: Neglected Evidence for the Politics of the Athenian Dionysia. The Classical Quarterly, 59(1), 8–29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20616659
Greek Stagecraft - Didaskalia.net
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Street of the Tripods
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The monument was originally crowned by thetripod which was the prize of the successful chorus, and it doubtless was one of many buildings of similar character along the famous " Street of Tripods .
Description
Starting from the beginning of the 5th century BC, it became customary for a choragos (the sponsor who paid for and supervised the training of a dramatic dance-chorus) who had won the contest at the Theatre of Dionysos to set up a choragic monument in the "Street of the Tripods". Such a choragic monument usually served as a support for the bronze tripod given to the winning choragos. These monuments were often adorned with wall paintings and sculptures.
This street, simply known as "Tripods" during our period of reference, started near the Eleusinion and circled the north side of the Akropolis Rock on a distance of 800 m up to the Odeion. The street was, with the road to the Akademeia, one of the favourite promenade of the Athenians.
These tripods were displayed either in or near the sanctuary of Dionysos on the South Slope of the Acropolis or along the Street of the Tripods, an ancient road which ran south from the Prytaneion to the area of the Theatre of Dionysos.
References
Search for Prize, Prizes and Tripod
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The team that won the contest received a bronze tripod as prize. Many of those choregoi built monuments to exhibit these tripods, and these monuments used to be aligned all along the "Street of Tripods" from the theatre of Dionysios to the Eleusinion in the Athenian Agora.
www.ascsa.edu.gr/pdf/uploads/hesperia/147593.pdf
by BAGK SAITA - Cited by 9 - Related articles
The Speeches of Isaeus with Critical and Explanatory Notes. CUP Archive. 1967. pp. 467–.
Oscar Gross Brockett; Franklin Joseph Hildy (2006). History of the Theatre. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 978-0-205-47360-1.
J.W. Roberts (11 September 2002), City of Sokrates: An Introduction to Classical Athens, Routledge, pp. 45–, ISBN 978-1-134-70479-8
The Great Dionysia and Civic Ideology
Simon Goldhill
The Journal of Hellenic Studies
Vol. 107 (1987), pp. 58-76
Published by: Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
DOI: 10.2307/630070
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/630070
Tragic Honours and Democracy: Neglected Evidence for the Politics of the Athenian Dionysia
Peter Wilson
The Classical Quarterly
New Series, Vol. 59, No. 1 (May, 2009), pp. 8-29
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20616659
Tragic Honours and Democracy: Neglected Evidence for the Politics of the Athenian Dionysia
Peter Wilson
The Classical Quarterly
New Series, Vol. 59, No. 1 (May, 2009), pp. 8-29
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20616659
Rudolf Blum (1 June 2011), Kallimachos: The Alexandrian Library and the Origins of Bibliography, Aristotle's Didaskaliai: Univ of Wisconsin Press, pp. 24–, ISBN 978-0-299-13173-9.
Athens and Athenian democracy : Osborne, Robin, 1957 - Internet Archive
Inscriptions: Fasti, Victor's Lists, and Didaskaliai
The Dramatic Festivals Of Athens: Pickard-Cambridge, Arthur - Internet Archive
Chapter II THE GREAT OR CITY DIONYSIA pp. 57-125
Stephen V. Tracy. (2015). The Dramatic Festival Inscriptions of Athens: The Inscribers and Phases of Inscribing. Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 84(3), 553–581. https://doi.org/10.2972/hesperia.84.3.0553 https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.84.3.0553
Inscriptional Records for the Dramatic Festivals in Athens: IG II2 2318–2325 ... - Google Books
Scullion, S. (2002). Tragic Dates. The Classical Quarterly, 52(1), 81–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3556446
A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama - Google Books
The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City and the Stage - Peter Wilson - Google Books
Choragic Monuments
Tripodon Street ("Street of the Tripods") in Athens leads from the Prytaneum in the Agora housing the symbolic hearth of the community of Athens winding around the Acropolis to the Theatre of Dionysus on its southern side. The tripods were sponsors' prizes in the dramatic and dithyrambic competitions: they were sometimes dedicated to the god Apollo. The Choregoi, if their team won, had to pay for the erection of these monumental "tripods". Prytaneion - Wikipedia πρυτανεῖον/prutaneîon/“city hall” where VIPs [ambassadors and others] were feasted and dined by the City of Athens.
A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama - Google Books
The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City and the Stage - Peter Wilson - Google Books
Choragic Monuments
Tripodon Street ("Street of the Tripods") in Athens leads from the Prytaneum in the Agora housing the symbolic hearth of the community of Athens winding around the Acropolis to the Theatre of Dionysus on its southern side. The tripods were sponsors' prizes in the dramatic and dithyrambic competitions: they were sometimes dedicated to the god Apollo. The Choregoi, if their team won, had to pay for the erection of these monumental "tripods". Prytaneion - Wikipedia πρυτανεῖον/prutaneîon/“city hall” where VIPs [ambassadors and others] were feasted and dined by the City of Athens.
Schmalz, G. C. R. (2006). The Athenian Prytaneion Discovered? Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 75(1), 33–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067975
The Oldest Street in Athens and Europe
Choragic monument | Greek, Corinthian & Doric | Britannica
Monument of Lysicrates | monument, Athens, Greece | Britannica
de Cou, H. F. (1893). The Frieze of the Choragic Monument of Lysikrates at Athens. The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, 8(1), 42–55. https://doi.org/10.2307/495920 https://www.jstor.org/stable/495920
Choragic monument | Greek, Corinthian & Doric | Britannica
Monument of Lysicrates | monument, Athens, Greece | Britannica
de Cou, H. F. (1893). The Frieze of the Choragic Monument of Lysikrates at Athens. The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, 8(1), 42–55. https://doi.org/10.2307/495920 https://www.jstor.org/stable/495920
Choragic Monument of Nikias - Wikipedia
Dinsmoor, W. B. (1910). The Choragic Monument of Nicias. American Journal of Archaeology, 14(4), 459–484. https://doi.org/10.2307/497149 https://www.jstor.org/stable/497149
Dinsmoor, W. B. (1910). The Choragic Monument of Nicias. American Journal of Archaeology, 14(4), 459–484. https://doi.org/10.2307/497149 https://www.jstor.org/stable/497149
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