Page:The Tragic Drama of the Greeks (1896).djvu/36

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EARLY HISTORY OF GREEK TRAGEDY.

[CH.

'tragedy' first came into existence. The terms had not as yet acquired any of their later connotation, but were used to describe the dithyrambs of Arion and his successors. Thus Arion was said to have been the inventor of the 'tragic style,' his choral odes were called 'tragedies,' and he and Epigenes were both classed among the 'tragic poets^[1].' The word 'tragedy' means literally a 'goat-song,' and the origin of the expression, as applied to the dithyramb, is open to doubt. It may have arisen from the fact that the dithyramb was performed at the sacrifice of the goat, or from the fact that a goat was the prize for the successful poet^[2]. But according to the view now most generally adopted, the name was derived from the chorus of satyrs, who were frequently called 'goats' on account of their appearance and licentious character^[3]. This explanation has the advantage of assimilating the etymology of tragedy to -that of comedy. As comedy was the song of the 'comus' or band of revellers, so tragedy was the song of the 'tragi,' or goat-like satyrs.

↑ Suidas (v. (Greek characters)), (Greek characters) Tzetzes ad Lycoph. p. 256 (M{{subst:u:}}ller) (Greek characters) Suidas (v. (Greek characters)) (Greek characters) Herod. 5. 67 (of the dithjTambs at Sicyon in honour of Adrastus) (Greek characters) Of course it may be maintained that the words (Greek characters) and (Greek characters) were of later date than Arion and Epigenes, and were only applied retrospectively to their compositions. Rut the words must have originated while tragedy was still a mere 'goat-song,' and therefore within about sixty years of Arion's death. On the whole it seems most probable that the terms for this new style of choral poetry were as old as Arion, who first brought it into general prominence.
↑ The former of these two explanations is given by M{{subst:u:}}ller, Greek Literature, p. 291. The latter was the one generally preferred by the ancients themselves: cp. Etym. Magn. v. (Greek characters) Diomed. Gramm. 3, p. 484; Euseb. Chron. 2, Olymp. 48, &c. It appears that in the dithyrambic contests of the sixth century the first prize was a bull, the second a jar of wine, the third a goat (Schol. Plat. Rep. 394 C.; Anthol. Pal. 6. 213). At Athens, in the early tragic contests, the prize is said to have been a goat (Marmor Par. ep. 43; Anthol. Pal. 7. 410).
↑ This is one of the explanations given in Elym. Magn. v. (Greek characters). For this use of (Greek characters) cp. Hesych. (Greek characters) and Aesch. frag. 207 (Nauck) (Greek characters).

[1] Suidas (v. (Greek characters)), (Greek characters) Tzetzes ad Lycoph. p. 256 (M{{subst:u:}}ller) (Greek characters) Suidas (v. (Greek characters)) (Greek characters) Herod. 5. 67 (of the dithjTambs at Sicyon in honour of Adrastus) (Greek characters) Of course it may be maintained that the words (Greek characters) and (Greek characters) were of later date than Arion and Epigenes, and were only applied retrospectively to their compositions. Rut the words must have originated while tragedy was still a mere 'goat-song,' and therefore within about sixty years of Arion's death. On the whole it seems most probable that the terms for this new style of choral poetry were as old as Arion, who first brought it into general prominence.

[2] The former of these two explanations is given by M{{subst:u:}}ller, Greek Literature, p. 291. The latter was the one generally preferred by the ancients themselves: cp. Etym. Magn. v. (Greek characters) Diomed. Gramm. 3, p. 484; Euseb. Chron. 2, Olymp. 48, &c. It appears that in the dithyrambic contests of the sixth century the first prize was a bull, the second a jar of wine, the third a goat (Schol. Plat. Rep. 394 C.; Anthol. Pal. 6. 213). At Athens, in the early tragic contests, the prize is said to have been a goat (Marmor Par. ep. 43; Anthol. Pal. 7. 410).

[3] This is one of the explanations given in Elym. Magn. v. (Greek characters). For this use of (Greek characters) cp. Hesych. (Greek characters) and Aesch. frag. 207 (Nauck) (Greek characters).

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