Aeschylus
Monarch Notes
01-01-1963
The Development Of Greek Drama
The beginnings of drama, in virtually all places and times, have been
closely bound up with religion and ritual. This was particularly true of Greek
drama, which almost literally developed out of ritual into art. Songs and
dances in honor of Dionysus, god of wine and vegetation and symbol of creative
power, were performed quite early in Greece, as a part of an annual religious
ceremony in honor of the god. There were five major aspects to the ceremony:
prayer, procession, phallic symbol, dithyramb, and sacrifice.
The Procession:
The entire ceremony centered on the offering of the sacrifice.
Originally a human being was the ...