In the beginning, the city-states were ruled by kings, but after 800 B.C. nobles were able to assume considerable power. The more ambitious nobles soon learned they could win support through promises of improved rights for tradesmen and farmers, who had few privileges. Through such means, a number of "tyrants" won control of states between 650 and 500 B.C. Many of these tyrants did much to improve social conditions and to promote the arts. For example, Peisistratus, who dominated Athens from 560 to 510 B.C., redistributed land, promoted farming and foreign trade, made Athens the leading center of the arts, and established or enlarged numerous festivals (including the City Dionysia, which was to be the major home of drama). But by the late sixth century Greeks were weary of tyrants and found means to prevent them from assuming power. Athens' solution was to found the world's first democracy (around 508 B.C.).

Although by 500 B.C. Athens was the artistic center of Greece, Sparta was the major power and the head of an alliance that encompassed most of the city-states, including Athens. But war with Persia soon altered this arrangement. At the beginning of the fifth century, Persia, already the most extensive empire in the world, sought to expand into Europe. In 490 the Greeks defeated the Persians at Marathon, and in 480-479 the Athenians dealt the Persians a mortal blow by destroying their fleet. Because of troubles at home, in 477 Sparta withdrew from further involvement in the conflict (which continued for many years as Greek cities in Asia Minor rebelled against Persia). Consequently, Athens rapidly became the major force in the Mediterranean, and in return for protecting others it exacted payments and gained other rights which brought it great wealth and power. In effect, Athens ruled an empire during the remainder of the fifth century. Under the leadership of Pericles (c. 460-430 B.C.), Athens built numerous temples and public buildings (among them the Parthenon and portions of the Theatre of Dionysus). Athens' political power was broken in 404, when it was defeated in the Peloponnesian War, but throughout the fifth century it enjoyed a privileged place both politically and artistically.

No doubt the Athenians' confidence in their strength and worth did much to motivate artistic expression during the fifth century. Equally important, however, was the Greek view of people and the gods, never a wholly coherent view since it was composed of diverse elements (some derived from the earlier Helladic civilization, some from more recent times, and others from Egypt and the Near East). For the most part, the Greeks conceived of their gods in human terms. Zeus presided over a number of other deities who were as unpredictable as their human counterparts. If wooed with prayers and sacrifices, the gods might help people, but they were just as apt to take offense and hold grudges. Furthermore, they often differed among themselves, and some assisted and others opposed the same people or undertakings. In addition, the gods themselves were not immune to Fate, which lurked behind all Greek thought and made all destiny, both human and divine, uncertain.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Greek culture, unlike that of any people who preceded them, was its concern with humanity. The Greeks systematically raised and sought answers to almost all issues, including the nature of the gods and the universe. As time went by, they became increasingly skeptical about Greek myths. Before the end of the fifth century B.C. Protagoras proclaimed, "Man is the measure of all things."

Nevertheless, the Greeks never ceased to set limits on what humans can know, even as they acknowledged the unpredictability of fate. Thus, Greek thought is characterized by a tension between belief in human rationality and acknowledgment of unpredictability. That the Greeks established democracy tells much about their faith in humanity although even here they were not wholly consistent, for they did not hesitate to enslave others or severely restrict the role of women. Overall, in Greek thought humans were elevated to a place of great prominence, but happiness still depended on a conjunction of human and superhuman forces; when the two were in harmony, life could be peaceful, but the truce was always fragile and could be broken without warning. Such a view promoted a drama that centers on human struggles, but one in which the supernatural element is always strong.

THE ORIGIN OF TRAGEDY
As in all emerging societies, in Greece records relating to the beginnings of theatre and drama are scarce. The Greeks learned to write sometime after 700 B.C., when they borrowed the alphabet from their Near Eastern Phoenician neighbors and adapted it to their own use. Thereafter, written records increased, but those relating to performative activities continued to be rare until the Athenian government accorded official sanction and financial support to theatre. This connection between theatre and state began in 534 B.C. when Athens instituted a contest for the best tragedy presented at the City Dionysia, a major religious festival.

Although tradition credits Thespis (winner in 534 of the first contest) with the invention of drama, some ancient accounts place him as late as sixteenth in the line of tragic poets. The disparity is probably owing to impreciseness in the original meaning of tragedy (literally, "goat song"), a term now thought to date from a time when the chorus danced either for a goat as a prize or around a goat that was then sacrificed. Unfortunately, none of the theories about how the term tragedy originated (and there are many) provides important clues as to how the dramatic form we call tragedy developed.

The earliest still-extant account of how Greek drama originated-a chapter in Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335-323 B.C.)-states that tragedy emerged out of improvisations by the leaders of dithyrambs. Consequently, it may be helpful to look briefly at the dithyrambic form, a hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility. Originally the dithyramb probably consisted of an im-provised story (sung by a choral leader) and a traditional refrain (sung by the chorus). It was transformed into a literary composition by Anon (c. 625-585 B.C.), allegedly the first to record (in writing) dithyrambs on well-defined, heroic subjects and to give them titles. Anon is sometimes associated with the beginnings of tragedy because his performers were called tragoidoi and their songs tragikon drama. Furthermore, Anon lived at Corinth, a major center of the Dorian Greeks, who later claimed to have invented tragedy. Although this claim is unjustified (insofar as a dramatic form is concerned), the Dorians did develop to a high degree certain elements-lyric poetry, choral singing and dancing, and mythological subjects-that were later emphasized in dramatic tragedy. That the Dorians considered Anon's compositions to be tragedy probably explains why some ancient writers placed Thespis so late in the line of tragic writers.

Exactly how dithyrambic improvisations led to tragedy or over how long a period is unclear, but the final step is now usually attributed to Thespis. His innovation probably involved the addition of a prologue and lines (spoken by an actor impersonating characters) to what had previously been a wholly narrative work sung and danced by a chorus and its leader. This change did not come about by enlarging the role of the chorus leader (the coryphaios), for he continued his original function after the introduction of an actor (the Greek term for which was hypokrites or "answerer"). Virtually nothing is known of Thespis. It is possible that as early as 560 B.C. he was performing in Icaria, a subdivision of Attica. Horace, writing some 500 years later, declares that Thespis traveled about on a cart with plays. If that is true, Thespis probably performed in several Greek towns other than Athens.

Not all scholars believe that Greek drama developed out of dithyramb. Alternate theories are too numerous to summarize here. One theory argues that drama evolved from rites performed at the tombs of heroes, and almost all depict drama as having emerged gradually out of rituals of one kind or another. In a quite different vein, Gerald Else has advanced the theory that drama was a deliberate rather than a gradual creation. As he sees it, for some time prior to 534 B.C. religious festivals had featured oral readers (or rhapsodes) in recitations of passages from such epic poems as the Iliad and Odyssey. In addition, Athenian poets (especially Solon) had written verse in which characters were impersonated. In 534 then, according to Else, Thespis merely joined these elements with a chorus to create a primitive drama that could be developed fully only after Aeschylus' addition of a second actor (around 500 B.C.) permitted face-to-face conflict on stage. Else more or less reverses the dithyrambic theory, for he believes that the individual performer (the rhapsode) linked his work to a chorus rather than emerged from it. But all of the theories must remain conjectural, since evidence to substantiate any of them is missing. Whatever its origin, the major step toward drama was taken by 534 B.C., when it was accorded official recognition. At this time an association with Dionysus was also established, one which was to continue, for thereafter all state-sponsored dramatic productions in Athens were given at festivals in honor of that god.

THE CITY DIONYSIA IN THE SIXTH CENTURY
The worship of Dionysus probably originated in the Near East and was only later imported into Greece, perhaps as early as the thirteenth century B.C. At first the cult met considerable resistance because of its ecstatic nature: its celebrations often involved intoxication, sexual orgy, and the rending and devouring of sacrificial victims (including humans). In spite of all resistance, however, worship of Dionysus was eventually accepted throughout Greece. In some places he displaced other gods, whose attributes were then as-signed to him. The orgiastic aspects of the Dionysian rites abated and by the sixth century had largely disappeared.

According to myth, Dionysus was the son of Zeus (the greatest of Greek gods) and Semele (a mortal). Reared by satyrs (who are often associated with him in dithyramb, drama, and art), he was killed, dismembered, and resurrected. As a god, he was associated with fertility, wine, and revelry, while the events of his life linked him with the year-spirit found in other early religions-that is, the cycle of the seasons and the recurring pattern of birth, maturity, death, and re-birth. Through their rites, Dionysian worshippers sought a mystical union with the primal creative urge. On a more practical level, they sought to promote fertility: to guarantee the return of spring, the productivity of both human beings and the land, and ample harvests. The rites were also intended to ward off evil.

The Greeks honored each of their gods through one or more annual festivals. In Attica, where Athens was the principal town, four festivals were held each year in honor of Dionysus, and it was at one of these-the City Dionysia-that drama was first presented. Although the City Dionysia was the last of the four festivals to be inaugurated, it rapidly became the most important after it was reorganized in 534, the year in which tragedy was recognized.

From time to time the events that made up the City Dionysia were altered to meet changing conditions. Around 508 Athenian democracy was created and, in order to break up the family loyalties which had been at the root of past rivalries, all the inhabitants of Attica were divided into ten tribes. It may have been out of the desire to stimulate loyalty to the recently created tribes that about this time a new contest-for dithyrambic performance-was inaugurated at the City Dionysia. Thereafter, each tribe, in competition with the other nine, presented two dithyrambs each year, one for men and one for boys. Around 501 another innovation in the City Dionysia added a contest for satyr plays. After this time, each dramatist was required to present three tragedies and a satyr play each time he entered the competition. Thus, by 500 the City Dionysia had become relatively complex. . .

TRAGEDY IN THE FIFTH CENTURY
Our knowledge of Greek tragedy is based almost entirely on the work of three playwrights of the fifth century: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Historians usually assume that the surviving plays are representative, but it is perhaps well to remember that only thirty-one tragedies by three authors remain from the more than 1,000 that were written by numerous playwrights between 500 and 400 B.C.

The surviving plays use a number of recurring structural features. Most of the tragedies begin with a prologue which provides information about events that have occurred prior to the opening of the play Next comes the parodos, or entrance of the chorus; if there is no prologue, the parodos begins the play. The parodoi of extant plays vary in length from twenty to two hundred lines; they introduce the chorus, give exposition, and establish the proper mood. Following the parodos, a series of episodes, varying in number from three to six and separated by choral songs (or stasima), develop the main action. The exodus, or concluding scene, includes the departure of all the characters and the chorus.

The point of attack in the plays is late-that is, the story is usually taken up just prior to the climactic moment, and only the final part is dramatized. Thus, considerable exposition of earlier events is required. Most of the tragedies but not all (for example, Sophocles' Ajax) place scenes of death and physical violence off-stage: this convention requires the frequent use of messengers to relate what has occurred elsewhere. In most of the plays, the time of the action is continuous, but there are notable exceptions (as in Aeschylus' Again eninon). Similarly, most of the tragedies occur in a single place, but again some works (among them Aeschylus' Euminides) deviate from the typical pattern.

All extant Greek tragedies are based on myth or history. Each writer was free, however, to alter the stories and to invent motivations (which are often not provided in myth) for characters and actions. Thus, though dramatists might have begun with the same basic story, they ended with widely different interpretations of it. Agathon, writing at the end of the fifth century, was the first to invent stories for tragedy, but his example was never widely followed and none of his plays has survived.

Greek dramatists were very economical in the number of events and character traits they included, preferring a few broad strokes to multiplicity of detail. They paid little attention to the physical and sociological aspects of characterization, concentrating in-stead on the psychological and ethical attributes of their personages.

The oldest surviving Greek plays are by Aeschylus (c. 523-456 B.C.), who began competing at the City Dionysia about 499 B.C. Although about eighty titles are known, only seven of his plays have survived: The Persians (472), Seven Against Thebes (467), the Oresteia, a trilogy of plays made up of Agamem non, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides (458), The Suppliants, and Prometheus Bound (exact dates unknown but probably after 468). The major innovation attributed to Aeschylus is the introduction of the second actor. It is usually assumed that this occurred early in his career, but no date can be fixed for it. After about 468, when Sophocles reputedly introduced the third actor, Aeschylus made use of this additional performer.

Most scholars have argued that all of Aeschylus extant plays, with the exception of The Persians, formed parts of trilogies (three plays based on a single story or common theme). That Aeschylus often needed three plays to encompass his tragic idea indicates his interests and method. For example, the Oresteja (the only surviving Greek trilogy) is usually interpreted as showing the evolution of the concept of justice, with the impersonal power of the state eventually replacing personal revenge, which up to the final play creates an endless chain of private guilt and punishment. Reconciling the conflicting claims in an all-encompassing principle allows Aeschylus to resolve the action happily. This pattern (pitting one principle against another and then reconciling them through some larger principle) seems to have characterized several of his works, and seems to indicate that Aeschylus was interested in philosophical issues quite different from those pursued by Sophocles and Euripides.

Because Aeschylus' characters embody cosmic conflicts, they are sometimes said to be superhuman. They usually have a limited number of traits, but these are incisive, powerful, and entirely appropriate to the action. Although Aeschylus is essentially a philosophical and religious dramatist, he is also the most the-atrical of the Greek tragedians, for he makes great demands on the theatre's resources. His plays often call for spectacle on a monumental scale: second choruses and numerous attendants; chariots drawn by horses; picturesque and sometimes frightening mythological characters; and so on. He also makes considerable use of visual symbolism, unusual choral dances, and lavish costumes. If Aeschylus was somewhat primitive in his dramatic technique, the grandeur of his conceptions has seldom been surpassed.

Sophocles (c. 496-406 B.C.) is thought to have written more than 120 plays, but only seven have survived: Ajax (between 450 and 440), Antigone (c. 441), Oedipus Rex (c. 430-425), Electra (c. 418-410), Trachiniae (c. 413), Philoctetes (409), and Oedipus at Colonus (406). A substantial portion of one satyr play, The Trackers, is also extant. Sophocles won twenty-four contests, the first in 468 when he defeated Aeschylus, and he never placed lower than second. He is credited with the introduction of the third actor, with fixing the size of the chorus at fifteen members, and with the first use of scene painting.

In comparison with Aeschylus, Sophocles placed increased emphasis on individual characters and reduced the role of the chorus. His personages are complex and psychologically well motivated. The protagonists, noble but not faultless, are usually subjected to a terrible crisis that leads to suffering and self-understanding, including the perception of a higher than human law behind events.

Sophocles is the most skillful of Greek dramatists in mastery of dramatic structure: his Oedipus Rex is often called the most perfect of Greek tragedies. In his plays, exposition is carefully motivated; scenes are built through suspense to a climax; the action is clear and logical throughout. His poetry has been universally admired for its beauty and clarity of expression. There are no elaborate visual effects; the impact derives almost entirely from the force of the dramatic action itself.

Euripides (c. 480-406 B.C.) wrote about ninety plays, of which eighteen have survived: Alcestis (438), Medea (431.), Hippolytus (428), The Children of Heracles, Andromache, Hecuba, Heracles, The Suppliants, Ion (dates unknown, but probably between 417 and 415), The Trojan Women (415), Electra, Iphigenia in Tauris (dates unknown, but probably between 417 and 408), Helen (412), The Phoenician Women (c. 409), Orestes (408), The Bacchae, Iphigenia in Aulis (produced after Euripides' death), and Cyclops, a satyr play (date unknown). The relatively large number of extant plays by Euripides is explained by his enormous popularity in later periods, although he was not highly appreciated during his lifetime.

There are at least two reasons for the adverse judgment of Euripides by his contemporaries. First, he often introduced subjects thought unsuited to the stage and questioned traditional values. His use of Phaedra's love for her stepson, Medea's murder of her children, and Pasiphae's passion for a bull were denounced for their abnormality, and his realistic exploration of psychological motivations was sometimes thought too undignified for tragedy. Euripides' characters often questioned the gods' sense ofjustice, since they seemed sources of misery as often as of happiness. At times Euripides suggested that chance rules the world, and that human beings are more concerned with moral values than are the gods-at least as depicted in myths. Second, his dramatic method was not always clear.

Because his basic themes are not always readily grasped, the significance of the dramatic action is sometimes obscure. His techniques, growing out of this thematic concern, often seem inadequate when compared with those of Sophocles. For example, many of his plays begin with a monologue-prologue baldly summarizing past events; the episodes are not always causally related and some may even appear superfluous; speeches often resemble forensic ad-dresses; choral passages are at times only tenuously related to the dramatic action; and gods are frequently used to resolve conflicts and to foretell the future. Thus, Euripides was thought dangerous because of his ideas and artistically inferior because of his dramatic techniques. But, if Euripides' techniques call attention to themselves, they are counterbalanced by realistic strokes in characterization, dialogue, and costuming.

Euripides began many dramatic practices that were developed more fully in the fourth century. He often turned to minor myths for his subjects or severely altered the major ones. Such works as Ion, Helen, and Iphigenia in Tauris, which pass over into tragicomedy and melodrama, are often cited as signs that the late fifth-century Greek tragedy was already abandoning profundity for intrigue and startling reversals. As Euripides' popularity rose in succeeding centuries, it was the sentimental and melodramatic aspects of his work that were most often imitated.

THE SATYR PLAY

The tragic dramatist of the fifth century also had to master one kind of comic writing since he was required to supply a satyr play each time he competed at the City Dionysia. As with tragedy, little is known of the origin of the satyr play. Some historians have argued that it was the first form of drama and that gradually both tragedy and comedy emerged from it. But most of the evidence credits Pratinas with having in-vented this form sometime between 534 and 500 B.C.

Out of the hundreds of satyr plays written, the only complete example to survive is Euripides' Cyclops. It is based on an episode from the Odyssey in which Odysseus is captured by and escapes from the Cyclops. In addition, a large part of Sophocles' The Trackers is extant. It tells of Apollo's attempt to find a herd of cattle stolen by Hermes, the god of thieves. Because of the limited evidence available to us, it is difficult to generalize about the form, although we may speculate about its typical features.

The satyr play takes its name from the chorus, which was made up of the half-beast, half-human companions of Dionysus. The leader of the chorus was Silenus, the father of the satyrs. Sometimes the story of a satyr play connected it in theme or subject with the tragedies it accompanied, but more often it was entirely independent. Essentially a burlesque treatment of mythology (often ridiculing gods or heroes and their adventures), the boisterous action occurred in a rural setting and included vigorous dancing, as well as indecent language and gestures. In structure, the plays resembled tragedy, since the action was divided into a series of episodes separated by choral odes. Language and meter deviated from those typical of tragedy by tending toward the everyday and colloquial. Serving as afterpieces to the tragedies, the satyr plays provided a kind of comic relief from the serious plays that had gone before.

GREEK COMEDY IN THE FIFTH CENTURY
Comedy was the last of the major dramatic forms to receive official recognition in Greece, not being accepted into the City Dionysia until 487-486 B.C. Its history prior to that time is largely conjectural.

Aristotle says that comedy grew out of the improvisations of the leaders of phallic songs but, since there were many phallic rites, it is unclear which he had in mind. Some of the predramatic ceremonies were performed by a dancing chorus who at times masqueraded as animals, rode on animals, or carried an animal as a representative; there were also choruses of fat men, satyrs, and men on stilts. The rites often included a procession with a chorus who sang and danced as they carried large phallic symbols (representing male sexual organs) aloft on poles. These ceremonies provided opportunity for considerable byplay and mockery be- tween participants and spectators. All of these elements have their parallels in early comic drama.

None of the phallic rites was dramatic, however, and the process by which they achieved comic form is uncertain. As with tragedy, the Dorians claimed to have invented comedy: Aristotle associates the decisive step with Epicharmus, who lived at Syracuse, a Donan colony on the island of Sicily. Little is known about Epicharmus except that he was certainly writ-ing plays between 485 and 467 B.C. The extant fragments of his works show these characteristics: some scenes have as many as three speakers, but there is no evidence of a chorus; elaborate word play, parody, "patter" speeches, and farcical situations abound. The relationship of these plays to the comedies performed in Athens is unclear, however, since comedy had been recognized at the City Dionysia before the first known work of Epicharmus was written. A direct influence might have been exerted, nevertheless, since Epichar- inns may have been writing long before our records of his work begin, and the first Athenian comedies, the nature or which is unknown, may have been patterned after those of Epicharmus.

Another possible source of Dorian influence on Athenian comedy is the mime, which supposedly first appeared in Megara (a city some twenty-five miles from Athens) shortly after 581 B.C. No mimes from this early period survive, but later ones are short satirical treatments of everyday domestic situations or are burlesqued versions of the myths. It is possible that the Athenians borrowed mimic scenes and combined them with their own phallic choruses. Some of the lively dances in Athenian comedy-such as the kordax and mothon-also were Dorian in origin.

Regardless of its origin and early history, comedy was sufficiently developed by 487 to be accorded a place at the City Dionysia. (It had probably been performed earlier without official sanction or financial aid.) The names of a few early comic dramatists have been recorded: Chionides, who supposedly won the prize at the first contest; Magnes, who won eleven victories with such plays as Birds, Fig:flies, and Frogs; Ecphantides, who is said to have written a more refined comedy than that of his predecessors; Cratinus (fi. 450-422), credited with twenty-one plays and thought to have been the first truly outstanding comic writer; Crates (fi. 449-425), who dropped personal satire, which had previously been typical of comedy, in favor of more general subjects; and Eupolis (fl. 429-411), Aristophenes' chief rival, noted for his witty satire and inventiveness.

All of the extant comedies of the fifth century, however, are by a single author, Aristophenes (c. 448-380 B.C.). He is thought to have written about forty plays, of which eleven survive (including Wasps [422], Birds [414], and Frogs  [405]). . . Probably the most noteworthy characteristic of Aristophanic comedy is its commentary on contemporary society, politics, literature, and above all the Peloponnesian War. The plays are organized around a ruling theme, embodied in a rather far-fetched "happy idea" (such as a private peace with a warring power, or a sex strike to bring an end to war). Although the events of most Old Comedies could not occur in everyday life, parallels with real events are abundantly clear, the fantastic exaggerations serving to point up the absurdity of their real-life counterparts. In addition to fantasy, farcical situations are typical, and considerable emphasis is placed on the pleasures of eating, drinking, sex, wealth, and leisure. Coupled with the comic elements are some of the most beautiful lyrics and some of the most obscene passages in Greek literature.

Although there are many variants, the basic structural pattern of Aristophanic comedy is simple. A prologue establishes the mood and sets forth the "happy idea"; the chorus enters, and there follows a debate (or agon) over the merits of the idea and a decision is reached to try the scheme. A parabasis (or choral ode in which the audience is addressed directly) divides the play into two parts. In the parabasis, some social or po-litical problem is often discussed and a line of action advocated. At times, however, the parabasis is used to praise the author of the play, to plead for the audience's favor, or for similar purposes. The second part of the play shows, in a series of loosely connected scenes, the results of adopting the happy idea. The final scene (or komos) usually concludes with the reconciliation of all the characters and their exit to a feast or revels. These features of comic structure are sometimes rearranged but are almost always present. After 404, when Athens was defeated in the Peloponnesian War, political and social satire largely disap-peared from comedy; and new types evolved. The quality of tragedy also declined after this time. Thus the world's first great age of dramatic writing was largely over by 400 B.C.

THE DRAMATIC FESTIVALS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY Although in Athens four annual festivals (City Dionysia, Lenaia, Anthesteria, and Rural Dionysia) were held in honor of Dionysus, plays were presented only at one-the City Dionysia-prior to 442, almost a century after the first dramatic contests were introduced. At the Anthesteria, entire plays were never produced. But by the late fifth century drama was im-portant at the Lenaia and the Rural Dionysia, although the City Dionysia continued to command the greatest prestige. In Athens, drama was never a part of the festivals held in honor of other gods.

The City Dionysia, which commemorated the coming of Dionysus to Athens, was held each year at the end of March and extended over several days. Both a civic and religious festival, it was open to the whole Greek world and served as a showcase for Athenian wealth and culture. It was under the general supervi-sion of the archon eponymous, the principal civil magistrate of Athens. A few days before the festival began, each dramatist appeared with his actors at a proagon and announced the subject of his plays. After another preliminary event (the reenactment of Dionysus' coming to Athens), there was a procession, which included public officials, the choregoi (sponsors of the plays), and many others, who carried gifts or escorted sacrificial animals for the god. This procession wound through much of Athens, stopped for dances at various altars, and ended with the presentation of offerings and the sacrifice of a bull at the altar of Dionysus.

During the fifth century; five days were devoted to performances. Precisely what was presented on each day is a matter of some disagreement. At least three days apparently were devoted entirely to plays. On each of these days, one dramatist presented three tragedies and one satyr play. The other two days probably were devoted primarily to dithyrambic contests, one day to ten choruses of adult males, the other to ten choruses of boys (each of Attica's ten tribes supplying one chorus of each type). After 487, each of five comic writers presented a single play (except during the Peloponnesian War, when the number was reduced to three). One comedy may have been presented on each of the five days, but the precise arrangement is uncertain. Until 449, prizes were offered only for plays; after that time prizes were also given to actors. Two days after the festival ended, an assembly was convened to consider the conduct of the officials in charge of it and to receive complaints about misconduct by citizens during the festival.

The Lenaia was celebrated near the end of January under the supervision of the archon basileus, the principal religious official of Athens. It has been suggested that originally the Lenaia was identical with the Rural Dionysia, and that its date and nature were changed only after Athens lost its rural character. No deme (or subdivision) of Attica celebrated both the Lenaia and Rural Dionysia, and the Lenaia was observed only in the city. As the seas were considered unsafe in January, the Lenaia was primarily a local festival. Consequently; more freedom of expression was permitted, and the Lenaia came to be associated especially with comedy, in which Athenian officials and political affairs were often severely ridiculed.

Dramatic activities were not officially recognized at the Lenaia until about 442, although plays may have been presented there on an informal basis before that date. By the late fifth century the plays were being performed in the Theatre of Dionysus (Athens' major theatrical structure) but when they were first given there is unclear. Originally the Lenaia may have been held elsewhere, for Dionysus was worshipped under a number of guises, and each cult had its own sacred area, just as Christian sects do today. The City Dionysia was presented in honor of Dionysus Eleutherios and the Theatre of Dionysus was erected within his sacred precinct, whereas the Lenaia was held in honor of Dionysus Lenaios, whose sanctuary's location is now unknown. Today; many scholars assume that originally there was a performance area in the Agora (or principal marketplace) and that the Lenaia plays were at first performed there. Some historians have suggested that the plays continued to be presented in the Agora until they were given official sanction in 442 and at that time they were transferred to the Theatre of Dionysus.

Contests at the Lenaia were at first only for comic dramatists and actors, but in 432 other competitions were added for tragic playwrights and actors. As at the City Dionysus, five comic writers competed each year (except during the Peloponnesian War), but only two tragic dramatists (who offered two plays each) participated. Satyr plays and dithyrambs were never presented.

The Rural Dionysia was celebrated in December, although not necessarily on the same day in all demes. It was under the supervision of the demarchos (principal magistrate) of each deme. The major feature of the festival was a procession in which a giant phallus was carried aloft on a pole, apparently with the purpose of reviving fertility at a time when the sun was at its weakest. It is unclear when dramatic performances be-came a part of this festival. It is unlikely that all of the more than 100 Attic demes included plays in their celebrations, but drama may have appeared in some of them before it was recognized at the Lenaia. It is certain that plays were being performed in a number of demes before the end of the fifth century; and the custom seems to have been widely adopted during the fourth century. Plato (c. 427-347 B.C.) wrote that in his time the Rural Dionysia was held on different days in different demes so that people might travel from one to the other to see plays presented by troupes of traveling actors. The demes in which dramatic production was most important were Piraeus (where Euripides is said to have presented at least one play), Icaria, Salamis, and Eleusis. Many of the rural demes built their own permanent theatres.

Most of our information about the Rural Dionysia dates from the fourth century or later. By that time actors were reviving works already produced elsewhere, but the source of plays presented in the fifth century is unknown. The Rural Dionysia may have served as a tryout theatre, or as an outlet for plays not accepted for the City Dionysia or Lenaia, or as a place where works already seen in the city were revived. Although the Rural Dionysia probably had little effect on the development of Greek drama, its activities suggest how intense the interest in drama was and show that the theatre was not confined to Athens.

PLAY SELECTION AND FINANCING

Each author wishing to have his plays produced at a festival had to apply to the archon for a chorus. It is not known how this official chose the plays to be presented, but it has been suggested that each dramatist recited parts of his work before a committee. The choices of the next year's plays were made approximately one month after the end of each festival. Although this would have left about eleven months until performance, it is unknown how much of this time was actually used for rehearsals.

After about 501, a large share of the expense of play production was borne by the choregoi, chosen by the archon from wealthy citizens who performed this duty in rotation as a part of civic and religious responsibilities. The choregus (one was appointed for each author and for each dithyrambic chorus) underwrote the training and costuming of the chorus and probably paid the musicians. In addition, he may have supplied properties and supernumerary actors and may have met other demands (such as a second chorus required by some plays) not provided by the state. The responsibility of the state seems to have been restricted to the theatre building, prizes (for authors, choregoi, and actors), and payments to actors and, possibly; to dramatists. Because he bore the major financial burden, a choregus could do much to help or hinder the play-wright. Most choregoi seem to have been liberal, perhaps because prizes for plays were awarded to them and the author jointly;

Nearly all tragic dramatists directed their own works, but it was not unusual for comic playwrights to turn this task over to someone else. In Aeschylus' time, the author acted in his plays, trained the chorus, invented the music and dances, and supervised every aspect of production. Thus the primary source of unity was the playwright-director, whose task was as complex as that of any director today; The playwright's key role in the early years is indicated by the term applied to him, didaskalos (teacher), for he was considered to be the instructor of both the performers (during the process of play production) and the audience (through the finished product).

ACTORS AND ACTING

Originally the actor and the dramatist were one. Separation of the two functions did not begin until early in the fifth century when Aeschylus introduced a second actor. Playwrights continued to act in their own p lays, however, until the time of Sophocles, who abandoned this practice about 468 and introduced a third actor. It seeIfls likely that when the contest for tragic actors xvas inaugurated (around 449), the separation of actor from playwright was complete. Nevertheless, in the fifth century actors were at best semiprofessionals, for there was as yet no demand for full-time performers and they must have supplemented their income through other activities. After about 468, the number of actors available to each tragic playwright was fixed at three, although these few performers might impersonate any number of characters. The "three-actor rule" was softened somewhat by allowing supernumeraries to assume nonspeaking roles or to speak a very limited number of lines. Still, Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus could have been performed by three actors only if the same character was played by different actors in successive scenes. The difficulties presented by this three-actor convention (at least by modern standards) has led many scholars to question whether such a rule ever existed. Nevertheless, there seems to be sufficient evidence to verify that it was observed.

In comedy most scenes could have been acted by three actors, but several required four and at least one would have required five. Some historians have argued that all extant plays could have been acted by three actors if a single role was sometimes divided among more than one actor. Since restrictions were probably established in order to make the contest fair, the rules at the Lenaia may have differed from those at the City Dionysia, since other conditions differed at the two festivals.

Before about 449 (that is, up until the inauguration of contests for actors), each playwright probably selected his own cast, but after that time the leading ac-tors were assigned by lot to the competing dramatists. This procedure was probably adopted to ensure that no xvriter had an unfair advantage over his rivals. The other two actors allotted to each dramatist were prob-ably selected jointly by the playwright and his leading actor. Although all of the actors were paid by the state, only the leading actor could compete for the prize, which could be awarded for a performance in a non-prize-winning play;

The Greeks seem to have placed considerable em-phasis on the voice, for they judged actors above all by beauty of vocal tone and ability to adapt manner of speaking to mood and character. Nevertheless, the de-livery was probably more declamatory than realistic, for actors did not attempt to reproduce the attributes of age or sex so much as to project the appropriate emotional tone. Furthermore, the plays demanded three kinds of delivery: speech, recitative, and song. As the primary means of expression, the voice was trained and exercised by the actor much as it might be by an opera singer today. Although the best actors attained high standards of vocal excellence, others apparently ranted and roared.

Facial expression was of no importance to Greek actors, since they were always masked. In tragedy, gesture and movement appear to have been simplified and broadened; in comedy; everyday actions-running the gamut from the commonplace to the bizarre-were exaggerated in the direction of the farcical and ludicrous. It is sometimes suggested that movement tended toward a set of conventionalized, stylized, or symbolic gestures like those used in mimetic dance. Although it is now impossible to determine precisely the style of acting seen in fifth-century Greece, several of its attributes, all leading away from realism, can be listed: the same actor usually had to play more than one role in a play; men played all roles, including those of women; and the liberal use of song, recitative, choral passages, dance, and masks led to considerable stylization. Still, the extreme stylization that characterized tragic acting in late Greece was probably not typical of the fifth century; Both tragic and comic acting undoubtedly departed from the everyday-tragedy in the direction of idealization, comedy in the direction of burlesque-but they remained sufficiently recognizable to link the dramatic events to the spectator's own world. Several additional elements influenced style: the chorus, music and dance, costumes and masks, and theatre architecture. An examination of these elements should help to clarify the total impression created by productions in the fifth century.

THE CHORUS
In the early tragedies the chorus was dominant, since there was only one actor, who left the stage often to change roles. In Aeschylus' plays, although a second actor was available, the chorus was still given as many as one-half of the lines. Furthermore, in The Suppliants the chorus serves as protagonist, while in The Eumenides it is the antagonist. After Aeschylus' time the role of the chorus diminished progressively until in the plays of Euripides it is often only tenuously related to the dramatic action.

Historians disagree about the size of the tragic chorus. The traditional view holds that the number was originally fifty but that it was reduced to twelve during the career of Aeschylus and was then raised to fifteen by Sophocles. There is no clear evidence to support any of these figures. The arguments for a fifty-member chorus are deduced primarily from two sources. First, there is Aristotle's statement that tragedy developed out of improvisations by leaders of dittyrambic choruses. With this can be grouped the assertions of later classical writers who fix the size of the early tragic chorus at fifty; largely because that was the size of the dithyrambic chorus. Although this early testimony must be respected, it cannot be veri-fled, for we do not know how large the dithyrambic chorus was before its size was fixed at fifty probably around 508 B.C., and thus after tragedy was well established. The second major source of evidence for a fifty-member chorus is Aeschylus' The Suppliants in which the chorus is composed of the Daughters of Danaus, who in mythology numbered fifty. Aeschylus does not state how many daughters there are in his play; Furthermore, evidence discovered in the I 950s has redated this play (formerly thought to have been written c. 490) as having been produced after Sophocles began to compete (that is, after 468) and thus within the period when some scholars maintain that the chorus num-bered only twelve or fifteen. Thus, there is much testimony that the chorus originally numbered fifty but there is also much skepticism about this testimony;

The evidence to support the idea of a twelve-member chorus is based primarily on a twelve-line choral passage in the Agamemnon, which according to some critics, was divided among the individual members of the chorus. That the lines were assigned to individuals, however, is pure conjecture. Those who support the theory of a twelve-member chortis usually argue that at some time during Aesehylus' career the chorus was divided to assign an equal number of the original fifty to each of the four plays an author presented when he competed. The reason given for this change is usually economic-that is, to reduce the expenses of production. The evidence for a chorus of fifteen is found in the coInmentaries of authors writing several centuries after Sophocles' lifetime. They cite no authority for their statements. Nevertheless, it has long been ac-cepted that the probable size of the chorus was fifteen in all the extant plays of Sophocles and Euripides. In later times, the chorus diminished in size, sometimes having no more than three members. Some Greek tragedies require a second chorus, essentially mute though sometimes provided with a few lines. Aesehylus' The Suppliants includes a chorus of attendants on the Daughters of Danaus, while Euripides' Hippolytus has two quite distinct choruses. As a rule, the tragic chorus entered xvith a stately march, but occasionally members came in singly or in small groups from various directions. Most choral pas-sages were sung and danced in unison, but at times the chorus was divided into two groups who performed in turn. Sometimes the chorus exchanged spoken dialogue with a character, and, in rare instances, individual members may have spoken single lines. As for acting, it is assumed that all members responded appropriately to the situations, but it is unknown how they were grouped or placed during episodes or how their formations changed during choral odes. Since satyr plays were presented in conjunction with tragedy; the satyr chorus was probably governed by the same basic conventions as those used for the tragic chorus. Because it was less serious than tragedy; the satyr play permitted many deviations toward the comic. The chorus of Old Comedy was composed of twenty-four members. Sometimes it was divided into two semi-choruses, as in Lysistrata where the two are of opposite sexes. Comedy seems to have enjoyed much more freedom than tragedy; and consequently the entrances, dances, and uses of the chorus were more varied. The texts of the plays suggest that the chorus was extremely active throughout the performance of the play; In each dramatic form, the chorus normally made its entrance after the prologue and remained until the end of the play; In a few instances, however, it was pre-sent at the opening, and occasionally it left and returned during the action. The chorus serves several functions in Greek drama. First, it is a character in the play; it gives ad-vice, expresses opinions, asks questions, and some-times takes an active part in the action. Second, it often establishes the ethical or social framework of the events and sets up a standard against which the action may be judged. Third, it frequently serves as an ideal spectator, reacting to the events and characters as the dramatist might hope the audience would. Fourth, the chorus helps to set the overall mood of the play and of individual scenes and to heighten dramatic effects. Fifth, it adds movement, spectacle, song and dance, and thus contributes much to theatrical effectiveness. Sixth, the choral passages serve an important rhythmical function, creating intervals or retardations during which the audience may reflect upon what has happened and what is to come. In the fifth century; the members of the chorus were amateurs. Nevertheless, they probably were not inexperienced, since choral dancing was so common in Greece and since there were at least one thousand participants each year in the dithyrambic contests at the City Dionysia. Some historians now maintain that the dances were based on military formations, with which all adult male citizens would have been familiar. Because choruses were usually awarded to play-wrights approximately eleven months prior to performance, training was probably spread over a long period. In the beginning, the playwright choreographed and trained the chorus, but these tasks were later taken over by professionals. Most of the information that has survived about choral training concerns dithyrambs, but historians usually assume that the same practices were used with drama. This information suggests that training, similar to that of athletes, was long and arduous, involving diet, exercise, and disciplined practice under the watchful supervision of several persons. It also indicates that choruses were often pampered and given special treatment. Training and outfitting the chorus were the most important and expensive parts of the choregus' duties.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Music was an integral part of Greek drama. It accompanied the passages of recitative and was an inseparable part of the choral odes. Only rarely was it used apart from words, and then only for special effects. In the beginning, the musical accompaniment was probably subordinated to ensure that the words would be understood. By the time of Euripides, however, the accompaniment had become more elaborate, and lengthy trills prolonged some syllables. As a result, some passages were probably unintelligible. Critics have suggested that this may be one reason for the decline in importance of choral odes.

The musical accompaniment for drama was played on a "flute" (aulos) with tonal qualities resembling those of a modern oboe or clarinet. Other instruments, including the lyre, the trumpet, and various fornis of percussion, were used occasionally for special effects. The flute player preceded the chorus into the orchestra, but his placement thereafter is uncertain. Some historians maintain that he wore a wooden shoe with which he marked the beat. Occasionally an actor used the lyre to accompany his own recitative or song.

It is unclear who composed the music. At times the playwright niay have done so, but ordinarily this was probably the responsibility of the flute player. So little Greek music has survived that no accurate reconstruction of it is possible. The Greeks believed that music had ethical qualities. This suggests that they associated particular kinds of music with particular emotions or ideas. They recognized a large number of modes, which differed from each other in tonality and in sequence of intervals. The tones of the various modes were not always equal in value, however, sonic of the intervals being as small as quarter-tones. In quality; Greek music probably resembled Oriental more than modern Western music. The principal niodes were the Dorian, Ionian, Phrygian, Acolian, and Lydian, but there were many variations on these, such as Hyodorian or Mixolydian. Each had qualities that associated it with a particular range of feeling. (The use of niusic in Greek theatre seems analogous to that in twentieth-century film.) Some modes were thought suitable to tragedy; others to comedy; arid sonic unsuited to any form of drama.

Like music, dance was considered to have ethical qualities. The Greeks defined dance as any expressive rhythmical movement; thus dance did not necessarily mean patterns created by footwork, since gestures or pantomime, if rhythmical, might qualify as dance. Most Greek dance was minietic (expressive of a particular kind of character or situation). In theatrical performances, dance seems to have been closely related to the chords through a set of moment-by-moment symbolic gestures (or cheironomia). By the fourth century the dances of tragedy had come to be called emmeleia (a term that signifies harmony, grace, and dignity). This classification obviously was broad, for the choral passages range from religious processions to wedding dances, ecstatic frenzies, and many other types.

The dances of comedy were less dignified than those of tragedy; Many were intentionally ridiculous. Often at the end of plays the chorus exited dancing wildly; Comic choral dances were derived from many sources: animal niovements, religious ceremonies,victory celebrations, and various other activities and rites. The individual actors performed dances that involved kicking the buttocks, slapping the chest or thighs, leaping, performing high kicks, spinning like a top, or beating other actors. The most common term for the comic dances is kordax.

The basic dance of the satyr play was the sikinnis, which probably involved vigorous leaping, horseplay; and lewd pantomine. Often it burlesqued the tragic dances.

COSTUMES AND MASKS

The overall visual style of a Greek theatrical production was greatly influenced by costumes and masks. Several historians have argued that the standard costume for all tragic actors was a sleeved, highly decorated tunic, usually frill-length, although sonietimes shorter. This garment is said either to have been derived from the robes of the Dionysian priests (thus indicating the actor's sacred and ceremonial function) or to have been invented by Aeschylus early in the fifth century; that the actor wore a standardized garment, however, is far from certain. Its presumed appearance is derived almost entirely from figures depicted on vase paintings. But this evidence is open to doubt for several reasons: (1) most of the vases are from a period later than the fifth century; (2) the relation of the paintings to actual theatrical practice is unclear; (3) most important, other vase paintings, usually ignored by those who argue for a standardized garment, show actors in quite different costumes, and even those vases showing the presumed standard often depict deviations from it, including complete nudity. Other evidence cited for a conventionalized garment is the statement of several ancient commentators (writing long after the fifth century) that robes designed by Aeschylus for his actors were later adopted by the priests at Eleusis. Aristophanes' Frogs, on the other hand, merely credits Aesehylus with clothing tragic actors in garments more dignified thaii those worn by ordinary persons. Thus, though the sleeved, decorated tunic apparently was used, there are many reasons for questioning whether it was standardized and worn by all actors.

The plays surviving from this period contain few references to costume. Some indicate that the characters are in mourning, for which black was the usual color in Greek daily life. In Euripides' Alcestis, Death is said to be clothed in a black and "terrifying" garment. . . The costume, shown in much of the extant pictorial evidence was probably that of the comic slaves and ridiculous old men. But it was not likely to have been the universal costume, for the plays also include many young men who are ridiculed only slightly. Probably the comically grotesque costume was considerably modified toward typical daily dress for these characters. Similarly, there is a wide range of female characters, whose sexual attributes were also emphasized through costume. Since some comedies parodied scenes from well-known tragedies, it may be that tragic costume was sometimes adapted and ridiculed. Relatively little attention has been paid by historians to the costuming of satyr plays. The satyrs are thought to have worn goatskin loincloths, to which were attached the phallus in front and a horse-like tail in the rear; other parts of the body appeared to be nude, but in the theatre this probably meant some kind of flesh-colored garment.

Silenus, the leader of the chorus, is usually depicted as wearing shaggy or fleecy tights under an animal-skin cloak. Since the characters in satyr plays are usually mythological personages, the costumes probably were somewhat ridiculous variations on tragic costumes. All performers during the fifth century; with the possible exception of flute players, wore masks. This practice seems to have evolved during the sixth century; for in the rituals which predate tragedy masks were sometimes but not always worn. Consequently; Thespis had two traditions to draw upon and, according to ancient commentators, he experimented with several types of disguise for the face-such as smearing it with wine dregs and dangling leaves in front of it-before adopting the mask.

Tradition has it that Phrynichus was the first to introduce female masks and that Aeschylus was the first to use painted masks. No masks used by actors have survived since they were made of perishable linen, cork, or lightweight wood. Masks covered the entire head and thus included the appropriate hairstyle, beard, ornaments, and other features. Although in later periods the masks seem to have been considerably larger than the face and to have had exaggerated features, in the fifth century neither the size nor the expression seems to have been unduly enlarged.

It is impossible to determine whether masks for tragedy were restricted to a few conventionalized types during the fifth century. Some historians have argued that they were, but others have suggested that experimentation was encouraged. The masks for the characters of a single play must have been sufficiently differentiated to make the frequent change of roles readily apparent. On the other hand, chorus members in tragedy were always identical in appearance. The masks for comedy were extremely varied. The choruses often represented birds, animals, or insects, all of which were identified by appropriate, though not necessarily realistic, masks. The masks of human characters often exaggerated those attributes, such as baldness or ugliness, considered to be ridiculous. Al-though all of the members of some choruses wore identical masks, others were individualized (as in The Birds). When actors portrayed well-known Athenians, such as Socrates in The Clouds, "portrait masks" were used. Members of the satyr chorus are usually depicted as snub-nosed, with dark, unkempt hair and beards, and pointed, horse-like ears. Sometimes they are shown as partially bald and at others they are given horns. Sihenus is portrayed as having gray hair and beard. The actors probably wore masks similar to those used in tragedy. The great importance of costumes and masks in the Greek theatre means that the costumer and mask maker were crucial. Nevertheless, virtually nothing is known about them or their working methods.

THEATRE ARCHITECTURE

In Greece, places of performance were usually connected with the sacred precincts of the gods. Before dramatic contests were established, there were many of these places. Excavations in the Minoan palaces of Crete have uncovered "theatral areas" with stone seats on two sides of a rectangle approximately 40 by 35 feet in size. These areas are usually thought to have been used for dances, ceremonies, and bull-leaping. An increasing number of archeologists believe that early theatrical spaces on the Greek mainland were square or rectangular. Evidence to support this posi-tion formerly rested almost entirely on the semi-rectangular theatre at Thorikos (perhaps the oldest in Attica), but evidence has now been strengthened con-siderably by recent excavations at other theatres and by reexaminations of previously excavated theatres. Although there were many theatres in Greece, major interest centers on the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, for all the surviving Greek plays were probably first presented there. The earliest feature of the Theatre of Dionysus (located in the precinct of Dionysus Eleutherios on the slope of the hill below the Acropolis) was the orchestra (or dancing place). Originally it was probably the only essential feature, since the audience sat or stood on the hillside to watch the choral perforniances which predated tragedy. Sometime during the sixth century a terrace was formed at the foot of the hill, and on it an orchestra was laid out. Most scholars have accepted the view that this orchestra was circular, approximately 66 feet in diameter, and remained essentially unchanged until the Christian era. In recent years, however, archeologists have reexamined the ruins of this theatre, and many have argued that the original orchestra was rectangular in shape and remained so until the fourth century (that is, throughout the period during which the extant plays were written and performed). Most scholars agree (although this too has been questioned) that an altar (thymele) was located at the center of the orchestra. The scene building, or skene, is probably of later origin than the orchestra. Since skene means "hut" or "tent," the scene house probably developed out of some temporary structure intended originally as a dressing room but later incorporated into the action by some imaginative playwright. In seeking to date the skene as a scenic structure, most scholars turn to the extant plays, of which Aesehylus' Oresteia (produced in 458 B.C.) is seemingly the first to require a building as a background. Since virtually all parts of the early scene house have long since vanished, its appearance cannot be determined. . .

AUDITORIUM AND AUDIENCE

Thus far, only those elements relating to the acting areas and performers have been considered. But the auditorium and audience were also important ingredients of a performance. The spectators, standing or seated on the slope of the Acropolis, commanded a view that included not only the performers but also a panoramic landscape extending to the sea in the distance. The eye was not restricted to the interior of the theatre but rather was situated to see the theatre as part of the larger world whose drama was symbolically played out on the stage.

In Greek theatres, the auditorium and scene house were always separate architectural units. Between the scene house and the auditorium lay the orchestra and the parodoi (or entrances into the orchestra at either end of the stage house). The parodoi were used primarily by the chorus, although actors might enter there as well. The parodoi may also have been used by spectators as auditorium entrances and exits (although not the only ones).

The first theatron (or "seeing place," as the auditorium was termed by the Greeks) of the Theatre of Dionysus was the hillside that sloped down from the Acropolis. Originally, spectators probably stood to watch performances, but stadium-like seating may have been erected during the late sixth century; for the first major remodeling of the auditorium, undertaken shortly after 500, is thought to have been niotivated by the collapse there of wooden seats. At this time, the hillside was regraded to change the slope, and a series of terraces, on which rested wooden benches, was probably laid out. When the Odeion was built in the 440s, the slope was changed again. The seats seem to have remained temporary; for Aristophanes refers to them as ikria, a term normally reserved for wooden benches. Stone seats may have been introduced gradually; but the stone auditorium was not completed until some time between 338 and 326 B.C.

The completed stone auditorium seated 14,000 to 17,000 persons. Nevertheless, only a small portion of the population could have attended the theatre at any one time, since in the second half of the fifth century Attica had about 150,000 to 200,000 residents. Thus, although the theatre may have been open to all, only about one-tenth could have attended any given performance. This may explain the introduction of tickets and an admission fee around the middle of the fifth century (although it is possible that admission was charged from the very beginning). To equalize the opportunity to attend, Pericles established a "theoric fund" around 450 to provide tickets for the poor. He also may have specified the price to be charged, but there is no definite record of admission costs until the late fourth century; when all seats not reserved by the state were sold at a uniform charge (the nominal sum of two obols). This money seems to have gone for the upkeep of the theatre.

Tickets admitted holders to a section of the theatre rather than to specific seats. Each tribe may have had its own section and within these sections one part may have been set aside for women. The central seat in the front row was reserved for the priest of Dionysus. Seats were also reserved for other priests and priestesses, for certain state officials, visiting ambassadors, and persons the state wished to honor. The audience apparently was composed of men, women, boys, and slaves. Officials were responsible for keeping order and for checking tickets to see that their holders sat in the correct section. Violence in the theatre was punishable by death.

Performances probably lasted all day; since a number of plays were presented in sequence. If so, there must have been much coming and going and considerable eating and drinking in the theatre. The audience expressed its opinions noisily and at times hissed actors off the stage; tradition has it that Aesehylus once had to take refuge on the altar to escape the wrath of the spectators. Some ancient writers damned the audience as debased, but others praised it as discriminating. Probably the spectators represented a cross-section of tastes as well as of society One of the high points of each festival was the awarding of prizes. Although not all of the details are clear, these are the probable procedures: at some time prior to the festival, a list of potential judges (one list for each of the ten tribes) was drawn up; all of the names from the same tribe were placed in a single urn; the ten urns were then sealed and placed under guard until the beginning of the contest, when they were brought into the theatre,where the archon drew one name from each urn; these men served as judges for the contest . . .