CLAS 430 Lecture Notes - Pheidippides, Dionysia, Lenaia
Document Summary
Pokes fun @ current events for instructional purposes. Attack (insults, physical humor, sophisticated attacks on the target"s language/beliefs/actions: appeal to all people. Some jokes are funny to everyone, some elude to pop culture (a certain sector) highbrow books/politics to appeal to the higher culture. Plays performed twice a year at the festival (city dionysis) 6 days long in spring and festival (lenaia) 4 days long in winter. Plays performed in competition with each other. Typically 5 plays, 3 best plays given 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. Chose 1 name from each urn (1 for each tribe) 10,000 people in the audience (may be exaggerated) male citizens who could afford to pay price of admission. People came with expectations based on other plays they"ve seen. Conventions of athenian comedy: religion, form same structure. Agon (competition or dispute) leading up to a debate, Parabasis (song delivered by the chorus alone, may have more than one) Performed at city dionysia in 423 bce.
