Dionysus and Theatre: Exploring the Connection PDF

Dionysus and Theatre: Exploring the Connection The lecture discusses Dionysus, the Greek god in whose honor tragedies were performed at the city Dionysia, and his connection with theater and possible reasons for this connection. Dionysus is a complex god with domains in...

Dionysus and Theatre: Exploring the Connection The lecture discusses Dionysus, the Greek god in whose honor tragedies were performed at the city Dionysia, and his connection with theater and possible reasons for this connection. Dionysus is a complex god with domains including theater, irrationality, frenzy, fertility of plants, and wine, and is often contrasted with his brother Apollo, a god of reason, moderation, and rationality. The opposition between Apollo (the Apollonian) and Dionysus (the Dionysiac) was famously articulated by Friedrich Nietzsche in his 1872 work, The Birth of Tragedy, where he identified the Apollonian as the spirit of measure, moderation, and control, and the Dionysiac as the spirit of loss of self, intoxication, excess, and union with the world spirit. Nietzsche argued that tragedy is a conflict between the Dionysiac chorus and the Apollonian characters or individual actors, where the Dionysiac is constantly trying to break through the Apollonian. Dionysus in Myth and Cult Dionysus's connection with irrationality and frenzy is represented in myths about him, particularly through his possession of his followers, including his female followers, known as maenads, who are gifted with extraordinary powers. In myth, the maenads are represented as being constantly under the influence of Dionysus, possessing extraordinary strength and powers, such as tearing living animals apart with their bare hands and eating their flesh raw. However, it is essential to note that actual cult practice of Dionysus in Greece did not include such extreme behaviors, and the myths about Dionysus's followers should not be taken as representative of actual worship practices. Dionysus's Nature and Attributes The lecture aims to explore the connection between Dionysus and theater, and how tragedy developed, whether it originated from rituals in honor of Dionysus or had another origin entirely. Dionysus is often represented in myth as a powerful, wild, and frightening god, commonly associated with wine, which unites his connections to rapidly growing nature, intoxication, and frenzy. As a god of nature, Dionysus is linked to plant fertility and certain animals, particularly the lion and the bull, and is sometimes depicted as these animals in myths, showcasing his association with both plant and animal nature. The use of masks in some forms of Dionysus' worship and his appearance as wild animals can be seen as representing his connection to transformative behavior, which may be linked to his connection with theater, as actors engage in transformative behavior by taking on different roles.  Dionysus is an unusual god among the Olympian gods, with a unique birth story: he was born from the thigh of Zeus, his father, after his mother, Semele, a human princess, was incinerated by Zeus' full glory, and this unusual birth may explain his anomalous status as a god with a human mother. Dionysus' birth story also led to his common epithet, "twice born," which can refer to either his birth from Zeus' thigh or a less common variant of his myth, where he was torn into pieces by the titans and later resurrected. Theories on Dionysus's Connection to Theatre Dionysus is the patron god of theater, but the exact reason for his connection with theater is still a matter of scholarly debate, with some theories linking it to his association with transformative behavior and the use of masks in his worship. Dionysus' unique characteristics and mythological stories have been influential in the development of Greek tragedy, with his myth being referenced in early 20th-century theories about the nature of Greek tragedy. Scholars of Greek tragedy are still trying to determine why theater developed as part of a festival in honor of Dionysus, despite the majority of surviving plays not being directly connected to the god. Tragedy and comedy were performed at festivals in honor of Dionysus, but only two surviving plays, Euripides' "Bacchae" and Aristophanes' "Frogs", feature Dionysus as a main character. The disconnection between Dionysus and the performances at festivals in his honor was also noted by ancient Athenians, as evidenced by a fifth-century proverb. Aristotle's Theory and Dithyrambs Aristotle's "Poetics" suggests that tragedy developed from dithyrambs, a type of choral song in honor of Dionysus, but his statement is based on theory rather than certain knowledge or hard evidence. Many scholars take Aristotle's statement as evidence that the origin of tragedy lay in dithyram and Dionysiac ritual, but it is unlikely that he had access to written records or certain knowledge of events that occurred 200 years before his time. Two Main Theories on Tragedy's Origins Modern scholars have attempted to discover the exact nature of tragedy's association with Dionysus by examining its origins, with theories falling into two main groups: one looking for tragedy's origin in religious rituals and the other not. The first group of theories assumes that tragedy is associated with a festival of Dionysus and must have developed from religious ritual, while the second group does not rely on this assumption. The exact reason for tragedy's association with Dionysus remains unclear, with scholars continuing to theorize and debate the topic.  The second main group of theories about the origin of tragedy suggests that it developed from a fusion of epic recitation and choral song, specifically from the recitation of Homeric epics and choral performances like Dithyramb. There are two main groups of theories about the origin of tragedy: one that it originated in religious ritual and another that it developed from a fusion of epic recitation and choral song. The Ritual Theory and Its Challenges The theory that tragedy originated in religious ritual is more popular and has been influential throughout the 20th century, tracing its origins back to Aristotle's statement that tragedy developed out of Dithyramb. However, very little is known about Dithyramb, making it difficult to understand the origins of tragedy even if Aristotle's statement is correct. A popular theory in the 20th century, influenced by Nietzsche's discussion of tragedy, suggests that tragedy, comedy, and Dithyramb developed from earlier rituals in honor of Dionysus. Nietzsche stated that until Euripides, Dionysus was always the protagonist of tragedy, and the heroes in tragedy were "masks of Dionysus." The Cambridge School, also known as the Cambridge Ritualists, built upon Nietzsche's views and assumed that tragedy originated in rituals in honor of Dionysus, trying to discover a ritual pattern behind extant tragedies. The Cambridge Ritualists believed that tragedies preserved traces of their origin in their form and that the pattern reflected in all tragedies had to do with the death and rebirth of Dionysus, which they linked to the annual death and rebirth of the grain in planting and harvest. They saw Dionysus as the embodiment of an "ineautos daimon," or year spirit, a term they coined, which is not attested in ancient literature. The Cambridge Ritualists, including influential scholar Gilbert Murray, reconstructed the presumed pattern of the ritual drama from which tragedy developed, which began with an agon or contest between the year god and its enemy, followed by the god's pathos or suffering, in which the god was killed. The Cambridge ritualists, led by Murray, proposed a theory that Greek tragedies originated from a ritual pattern involving the death and resurrection of a god or daimon. According to Murray, this pattern consisted of an agon (struggle) between the year spirit and its enemy, the death of the year spirit, a messenger speech, a lamentation by the chorus, and the resurrection and epiphany (theophany) of the god. Murray claimed that all tragedies repeated this basic pattern, but he faced objections, including the fact that Dionysus, the supposed subject of the ritual, was rarely the subject of tragedy. Murray addressed this objection by suggesting that the heroes in tragedy were displacements or reflections of Dionysus, but this explanation is not universally accepted. A more significant problem with Murray's theory is that the extant tragedies show little to no trace of his proposed pattern, with the dying character and the god who appears at the end of the play often being different characters.  This discrepancy requires special pleading to reconcile with Murray's theory, and the tragedies themselves do not provide evidence to support his claims. Another objection to Murray's theory is the conflation of ritual and drama, with ritual involving the precise repetition of actions and words, whereas drama is a more flexible and creative form of performance. The ritualists' explanation of the origins of theater was influential in the early 20th century, but it has been widely criticized for its lack of evidence and its failure to account for the complexities of Greek tragedy. The primary purpose of a ritual is to change the spiritual or civic status of the participants through repetition of the same words and actions, reaffirming societal truths. In contrast, Greek tragedy does not involve repetition and instead changes details of the story, adding twists and unexpected changes to examine and question societal truths. Tragedies were written to be performed only once, unlike rituals which are performed over and over again in exactly the same way. Although tragedies contain references to and reproductions of rituals, reproducing ritual is not the same as being a ritual. Alternative Theories on Tragedy's Origins There are multiple theories about the origins of tragedy, including the theory that it developed out of ritual drama celebrating the death and resurrection of Dionysus. Another theory suggests that tragedy originated from stories about and rituals performed at the tombs of heroes, which would explain why most tragedies deal with hero myths rather than Dionysus. A third theory proposes that tragedy developed from the recitation of Homer by individual reciters and choral performances of poetry, which is a plausible explanation given the existence of trained reciters of Homer called Rhapsodes. Modern Interpretations of the Ritual Theory The ritual theory of tragedy's origins is still the most common one, but modern scholars have modified it to suggest that tragedy's origins lie in Dionysiac ritual, but its form in extant tragedies is not fully determined by those origins. Modern scholars, often referred to as "ritualists," believe that the defining moment when tragedy came into existence was the point at which it moved away from its ritual origins, while still acknowledging its roots in ritual. Many modern scholars believe that although Murray's pattern drama is not accepted, there are still subtle ways in which Dionysian origin can be seen in tragedy, such as Dionysus being present as a structuring principle even when not explicitly present as a character. Characters in tragedy often undergo episodes of madness or frenzy described as Dionysiac or Dionysian, and Dionysus's anomalous character and transformative nature are seen as essential elements connecting him to theater.  One influential work argues that Dionysus's cult gave tragedy a basic pattern of action involving the destruction of a ruling family that benefits the polis, with Dionysus's own myth being a primary example of this pattern. The questions of tragedy's origins and connection to Dionysus are complicated and not easily answerable, but have important implications for understanding tragedy and its discussion. Implications of the Ritual Theory If a ritual origin for tragedy is posited, there is a tendency to see tragic performances as religious ceremonies, but this is misleading as tragedy does not necessarily uphold the standard version of a god or hero's stories and often portrays religious figures in a negative light. The ritual theory of tragedy's origins also has implications for staging, which will be explored in the next lecture, focusing on the actual staging of tragedies in the theater of Dionysus in Athens.