Greek tragedy (Ancient Greek: τραγῳδία, written in the Roman alphabet as tragōidía) is one of three main types of theater from Ancient Greece and parts of Anatolia, along with comedy and the satyr play. It became most important in Athens during the 5th century BC, and these works are sometimes called Attic tragedy.

Greek tragedy is thought to have developed from ancient religious ceremonies honoring Dionysus, the god of wine and theater. It had a strong influence on Roman theater and the Renaissance. The stories in Greek tragedies often came from myths in ancient oral traditions. However, in theater, these stories were acted out by performers. The most famous Greek tragedians were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. These playwrights explored many ideas about human nature, helping audiences connect with the plays and feel involved in the stories.

Etymology

The word "tragedy" has been studied for a long time, and its origin is still debated. Aristotle’s Poetics is the main source of information about this topic. Aristotle learned about ancient theater performances in Attica, a place that is now hard for scholars to study directly. Because of this, his work is very important for understanding ancient tragedy, even though some parts of his account may be questioned.

Aristotle believed that tragedy came from the satyr dithyramb, a type of ancient Greek hymn that included singing and dancing to honor Dionysus. The Greek word tragōidia (from which "tragedy" comes) combines tragos ("goat") and ōidē ("song"), meaning "song of the goats." This refers to the chorus of satyrs, which were part of the performances. Some scholars think the word came from a competition where the winner received a goat as a prize.

Ancient grammarians from Alexandria believed tragōidia meant "a song for a goat sacrifice" or "a song about a goat," thinking the goat was a prize in a race. This idea is mentioned in Horace’s Ars Poetica:

— Horace, Ars Poetica 220 (Smart & Buckley translation)

Other theories about the word’s origin exist. The Oxford English Dictionary mentions that "tragedy" might also mean "a song about goats." J. Winkler suggested it could come from tragizein, a rare word meaning "adolescent voice change," linking the term to young singers. D’Amico argued that tragōidia might refer not just to "goat songs" but to the characters in the satyr chorus of early Dionysian rituals.

Some scholars have proposed other ideas. Jane Ellen Harrison noted that Dionysus, the god of wine, was originally associated with beer, a drink of the working class. Athenian beer was made from barley, which in Greek is tragos. She believed the term might have originally meant "songs about spelt," a type of grain, and later came to mean "tragedy." She wrote: "Tragedy, I believe, is not the 'goat-song,' but the 'harvest-song' of the cereal tragos, the form of spelt known as 'the goat.'"

Evolution

The origin of Greek tragedy is a mystery that scholars have not yet solved. Ruth Scodel explains that there is little evidence and many sources are not reliable, so we know very little about how tragedy began. However, R.P. Winnington-Ingram says that we can see influences from other types of writing. The stories in tragedies come from epic and lyric poetry. The meter used in tragedies, called iambic trimeter, was influenced by the political speeches of Solon. The choral songs in tragedies also share features with choral lyric poetry, such as their language, rhythm, and vocabulary. How these elements came to be connected is still unknown.

Scodel writes that Aristotle, in his book Poetics, suggests that tragedy began as an improvisation by people who led the dithyramb, a hymn to Dionysus. This early form of tragedy was short and had a humorous or exaggerated tone because it included elements of the satyr play. Over time, the language became more serious, and the meter changed from trochaic tetrameter to iambic trimeter. According to later sources, the lyric poet Arion of Methymna is said to have invented the dithyramb. The dithyramb started as an improvised song but was later written down for performances. The Greek chorus, which included up to 50 men and boys, danced and sang in a circle, likely accompanied by an aulos, a musical instrument, and told stories about Dionysus.

Scholars have suggested different ways the dithyramb evolved into tragedy. One idea is that someone, possibly Thespis, combined spoken verse with choral singing. As tragedy developed, actors began interacting more with each other, and the chorus became less central. Scodel notes that:

Also, Easterling says:

Tradition says Thespis was the first person to act as a character in a play. This happened in 534 B.C. during a festival called the Dionysia, which was organized by Peisistratus. Little is known about Thespis’s tragedies except that the chorus was made up of satyrs, and Aristotle says he was the first to win a dramatic contest and the first actor who portrayed a character instead of speaking as himself. Themistius, a writer from the 4th century A.D., claims Thespis also invented the prologue and the spoken parts of a play. Other playwrights of the time included Choerilus, who wrote about 160 tragedies, and Pratinas of Phlius, who wrote 50 works, 32 of which were satyr plays. Few details about their works remain, only their titles. At this time, satyr plays were performed alongside tragedies. Pratinas competed with Aeschylus, who worked from 499 B.C.

Another playwright was Phrynichus. Aristophanes, a comic writer, praised him in his plays, such as The Wasps, where he is described as a supporter of democracy. Phrynichus introduced dialogues in iambic trimeter and included female characters for the first time. He also added historical events to tragedies, such as the Capture of Miletus. His first contest win was in 510 B.C., when plays were first organized into groups of three, called trilogies.

Aeschylus helped shape the rules of tragic drama. He is credited with creating the trilogy, a set of three connected tragedies that tell one long story, and introduced a second actor, allowing for more dramatic conflict. Trilogies were performed over a full day, from sunrise to sunset. After the final play, a satyr play was performed to cheer the audience.

In Aeschylus’s works, there is a clear improvement in the elements of tragedy, such as dialogue, contrasts, and stage effects. This happened because Aeschylus competed with other playwrights, especially Sophocles, who added a third actor, made plots more complex, and created more relatable characters.

Aeschylus respected traditional values and religious beliefs. For example, Zeus was often shown as the source of moral decisions. His music stayed connected to the nomoi, rhythmic and melodic styles from the Archaic period.

Plutarch, in Life of Cimon, describes how the young Sophocles defeated the famous Aeschylus in a competition. The contest ended without a tie, and Aeschylus left Athens voluntarily. Sophocles introduced many innovations, winning at least 20 contests. He added a third actor, increased the chorus to 15 members, and used scenery for the first time.

Compared to Aeschylus, the chorus became less important in explaining the story, and more focus was placed on character development and conflict. In Oedipus at Colonus, the chorus says, “Not to be born is best.” The events in the plays often leave the audience questioning the meaning of life, a theme still relevant today.

Euripides’s tragedies differ from those of Aeschylus and Sophocles in their focus on experimentation and emotional depth. He changed the prologue into a monologue that explained the story’s background, introduced the deus ex machina (a god appearing to solve a problem), and reduced the chorus’s role. His characters often showed inner conflict and psychological struggles, unlike the strong, decisive heroes in earlier plays. Euripides also used female characters, such as Andromache, Phaedra, and Medea, to explore themes of emotion and irrational behavior.

Structure

Greek tragedy follows a specific structure with several parts. It usually begins with a prologue, which is an introduction where one or more characters explain the story's background. After the prologue comes the parodos, which is when the chorus enters the stage. The story then continues through three or more episodes, which are parts of the play where characters interact and the plot develops. Between these episodes are the stasima, which are songs or performances by the chorus that describe or reflect on the events happening in the play. The tragedy ends with the exodus, which concludes the story. Some plays do not follow this structure completely. For example, Aeschylus' plays The Persians and Seven Against Thebes do not include a prologue.

Language

The Greek dialects used in the text are the Attic dialect for parts spoken or recited by individual characters, and a type of Doric dialect for the choral odes. For the meter, the spoken parts mainly use iambic trimeter, which Aristotle called the most natural. The choral parts use a variety of meters. Anapaests were used when the chorus or a character moved on or off the stage, and lyric meters were used for the choral odes. These included Dactylo-epitrites and various Aeolic meters, sometimes mixed in with iambics. Dochmiacs were used in parts with very strong emotions.

Greek tragedy in dramatic theory

Aristotle wrote the first critical study of tragedy called Poetics. In this work, he used the ideas of mimesis (imitation) and catharsis (cleansing) to explain the purpose of tragedy. He stated, "Tragedy is an imitation of a noble and complete action […] which through pity and fear produces purification of the emotions." Mimesis refers to the imitation of human events, while catharsis describes the emotional cleansing experienced by the audience. However, the exact meaning of "emotional cleansing" remains unclear in the text. Many scholars have tried to explain this idea, but they do not agree on a single definition.

Gregory suggests that katharsis involves changing pity and fear into pleasurable emotions during a play. Lear believes katharsis teaches people how to feel pity or fear in the right way, by showing them proper objects for these emotions.

The three Aristotelian unities of drama are time, place, and action. Aristotle focused on the unity of action, meaning a play should follow one main story with few or no subplots. The idea of three unities as strict rules for drama appeared later, during the Renaissance.

• Unity of action: A play should focus on one main action, with little or no subplots.
• Unity of place: A play should take place in one physical location and not show multiple places.
• Unity of time: The events of a play should occur within 24 hours.

Aristotle believed a play must be complete, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. He also noted that tragedy is shorter than epic poetry, as tragedy is meant to take place in one day, while epic poetry has no time limit.

These unities were important in theater for many years, though some playwrights, like Shakespeare, Calderón de la Barca, and Molière, did not always follow them.

Friedrich Nietzsche, in the late 19th century, described tragedy as having two main elements: the Dionysian (passionate emotions that overwhelm characters) and the Apollonian (visual imagery in theater). He also mentioned nemesis, the divine punishment that leads to a character’s downfall or death.

Nietzsche explained that in ancient Greek culture, there was a conflict between the Apollonian (plastic arts like visual imagery) and the Dionysian (non-plastic arts like music).

As a mass phenomenon

Greek tragedy, as we know it today, was not simply a performance but a shared religious ceremony in the city-state of Athens. These plays took place in a special, holy area, where the altar of a god was located at the center of the theatre.

The theatre was a place where ideas and problems from Athens’ democracy, politics, and culture were explored. Tragedies often used stories from Greek mythology to represent important issues facing Athenian society at the time. In these plays, the poet might refer to events from the fifth century BC but set them in the past, using myths as a way to discuss current problems. Examples of this include Aeschylus’ plays The Persians and The Oresteia.

Aeschylus’ tragedy The Persians was performed in 472 BC, eight years after the Battle of Salamis, during the ongoing war with Persia. The play tells the story of the Persian navy’s defeat at Salamis and includes the ghost of the former Persian king Darius, who criticizes his son Xerxes for his pride in attacking the Greeks.

Some scholars believe that Aeschylus made the audience view the Battle of Salamis from the perspective of the Persians, which may explain why the play shows sympathy for the Persian side, including for Xerxes.

Other tragedies did not directly reference events from the fifth century BC but still connected the past to the present through their use of mythology.

Greek tragedies were performed in Athens during the Great Dionysia, a festival held in honor of the god Dionysus in the month of Elaphebolion, near the end of March. The State organized the event, and a leader called the eponymous archon selected three wealthy citizens to fund the plays. In Athens’ democracy, wealthy citizens were required to support public services through a practice called liturgy.

During the Dionysia, a competition took place between three plays chosen by the eponymous archon. Each playwright had to submit a group of four plays, including three tragedies and one satyr play. These four plays were performed over one day, with the three tragedies taking up three days of performances. The fourth day was for five comedies. At the end of the three days, a group of ten citizens chosen by lottery judged the performances, selecting the best choir, actor, and author. Judges placed the names of their choices on tablets inside an urn. Five tablets were then randomly selected, and the person with the most votes won. This process combined chance with judgment to determine the winners.

The Greeks had a strong love for tragedy. Critics noted that Athens spent more money on theatre than on its navy. When the cost of performances became a concern, an admission fee was introduced, along with a special fund called the theorikon, used to cover the festival’s expenses.

The surviving tragedies

Out of all the tragedies written, only 32 full-length plays remain from three authors: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. More than 300 plays are known from fragments.

Seventy-nine titles of Aeschylus’s works are known, out of about ninety total works, including both tragedies and satyr plays. Seven of these have survived completely, including the only complete trilogy from ancient times, the Oresteia, and some papyrus fragments:
• The Persians (472 BC);
• Seven Against Thebes (467 BC);
• Suppliants (probably 463 BC);
• Oresteia (458 BC), made up of Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Furies;
• Prometheus Bound (date uncertain, considered spurious by some scholars).

According to Aristophanes of Byzantium, Sophocles wrote 130 plays, 17 of which are spurious. The Suda lexicon counted 123. Only seven of Sophocles’s tragedies remain intact:
• Ajax (around 445 BC);
• Antigone (442 BC);
• Women of Trachis (date unknown);
• Oedipus Rex (around 430 BC);
• Electra (date unknown);
• Philoctetes (409 BC);
• Oedipus at Colonus (406 BC).

In addition to complete plays, a large part of the satyr play Trackers was discovered on a papyrus in the early 20th century. This papyrus contains three-quarters of the work.

According to the Suda, Euripides wrote either 75 or 92 plays. Eighteen of his tragedies and the only complete satyr play, Cyclops, survive. His remaining works include:
• Alcestis (438 BC);
• Medea (431 BC);
• Heracleidae (c. 430 BC);
• Hippolytus (428 BC);
• The Trojan Women (415 BC);
• Andromache (date unknown);
• Hecuba (423 BC);
• Suppliants (414 BC);
• Ion;
• Iphigenia in Tauris;
• Electra;
• Helen (412 BC);
• Heracles;
• The Phoenician Women (circa 408 BC);
• Orestes (408 BC);
• Iphigenia in Aulis (410 BC);
• The Bacchae (406 BC);
• Cyclops (satyr play);
• Rhesus (possibly spurious).

Fragmentary Greek tragedy

Although only 32 complete plays remain, many more works are known only through fragments. Aeschylus, for instance, wrote at least 70 other plays that only exist as fragments.

The demos in Greek tragedy

In Greek tragedies, the audience plays an important role by pretending to be part of the story on stage. The article "The Demos in Greek Tragedy" discusses how the playwright Euripides often included the audience in his plays without making it obvious. This approach helps maintain the story's believability and prevents the audience from questioning what they are seeing. The article explains that the audience was often shown as representing the demos, or the group of citizens in ancient Greece. This was done by having actors or characters sit with the audience, creating a connection between the performers and the viewers.

The article also examines the role of the chorus, a group of singers and dancers in Greek plays, and how it reflected the social positions of the demos. Choruses were often made up of people who shared similar characteristics, such as age, gender, nationality, or class. For example, female choruses existed in some plays, but these groups did not have the same importance as male Greek citizens. People who were not citizens, such as enslaved individuals or foreigners, were not considered part of the demos. The article gives an example from the play "Seven against Thebes" by Aeschylus, where a female chorus is criticized for negatively affecting the morale of citizens.

Additionally, the article notes that male choruses were often named based on their roles or origins within the citizen population. For instance, a chorus of young boys from the city of Argos might be called "Argive boys." Adult male choruses were described with more specific names, such as "jury-service-loving old men" from the play "Wasps," which indicates that the chorus members were older men who served on juries. These choruses were not only identified by their social status but also seen as a part of the demos.

Tragedy as performance

Greek tragedy can be difficult to understand when trying to see it as a drama, an event, a performance, or something that shows a deeper meaning. An article by Mario Frendo discusses how Greek tragedy should be viewed as a performance, focusing on how the meaning of the play differs from the actual story being told. Frendo does not try to study Greek tragedy by looking at its context, such as how it was performed or historical facts. Trying to understand ancient Greek society using modern ideas about plays makes it harder to grasp how these plays were originally created.

Greek tragedy began with song or spoken words, not written scripts. Frendo explains that tragedy, by its nature, was meant to be performed. He supports this idea by referencing earlier research on Greek tragedy. He describes the musical and rhythmic qualities of the plays and how oral traditions influenced their creation. Frendo argues that experiencing tragedy requires a live performance, which separates it from literature. He also says it is important to see Greek tragedy as something that existed before drama, as we understand it today, especially during the Renaissance.

When dialogue was added to the plays, the chorus read fewer lines and had less involvement in the story. This shows that Greek tragedy was performative and suggests that dialogue-based methods may have been used in its development.

Deus ex machina

An article by Thomas Duncan explains how dramatic techniques affect the influence of tragic plays and how they help convey important messages, especially through the use of deus ex machina. This technique involves stopping an action by introducing an unexpected character or a god, which leads to the resolution of the play. An example of this can be found in Euripides' play, Hippolytus. In the play, Hippolytus is cursed with an untimely death by his father, Theseus, because of the supposed rape and suicide of Queen Phaedra, Theseus’s stepmother. However, Queen Phaedra commits suicide due to her unwanted feelings for Hippolytus, which were encouraged by the goddess Aphrodite. She then falsely accuses Hippolytus of her death.

Hippolytus’ death is caused by the goddess Aphrodite, who is angry with Hippolytus for his devotion to Artemis, a goddess associated with chastity. Hippolytus denies the influence of Aphrodite, whose domain is lust, which is the opposite of chastity. The play shows how divine actions drive the theme of revenge and lead to the downfall of a royal family. Only at the end of the play does Artemis intervene to inform King Theseus that he has killed his son by cursing him, revealing that Theseus was manipulated by Aphrodite.

Without divine intervention, Theseus would not have realized his mistakes, and Hippolytus would not have been cursed. If the events had been explained by a human instead of a god, the truths revealed to the audience might not have been as powerful. In this way, the use of deus ex machina is essential in Greek tragedy, helping playwrights convey their stories with deeper meaning beyond just a simple narrative.

Character identification

Character identification is a key element in many plays by Aeschylus, including Prometheus Bound. In this play, Prometheus, a Titan known for wisdom and the gift of fire, takes fire from Hephaestus and gives it to humans. This action provides humans with knowledge of the arts but angers the gods. The play's main idea is that Prometheus is punished by Zeus not only for sharing divine knowledge with humans but also because he believed this act would lead people to view him as a hero who fought for justice and see Zeus as a cruel ruler. The author explains that the play shows how Prometheus is punished not for selfish reasons but to benefit humanity.

Gender and tragedy

In ancient Greek tragedies, even though all actors and choruses were played by men, female main characters and choruses were often included, especially in the works of Euripides. Tragedies frequently explored how men and women acted in society, sometimes showing men as weak or feminine and women as strong or masculine. This focus on gender roles was a major part of the genre. However, the female characters in these plays were often unclear in their actions and values, frequently shown as causing problems in homes and cities. Characters like Medea and Clytemnestra were bold and spoke openly outside their homes, unlike the ideal Athenian woman, who was expected to be quiet and private. In his play Thesmophoriazusae, the playwright Aristophanes mocked Euripides for his portrayal of women as negative or harmful, showing that the strong female characters in tragedies were not always viewed as admirable.