Types Of Sources Exist To Tell Us About The Drama And/Or Music Of Ancient Society?

Greek Music and Drama

To what extent were drama and/or music accessible by all classes? In what ways does the drama and/or music of ancient society reflect or reveal what was important to that society? What types of sources exist to tell us about the drama and/or music of ancient society?

Ancient drama was a product of democracy, because it encouraged public debate and political criticism, and focussed on free speech. The tragic poets Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides as well as the comedian Aristophanes elevated public debate and political criticism to a level of artistic achievement. Kathryn Welch, (1998) “Fertility rituals included ritualised dances which were eventually to become choruses. To the choruses were added actors and words.

The same conceptions, issues and values are explored in many texts by different writers, which is how we know that they were vital to the society in which these stories were told. Sophocles is considered one of the great Classical Greek tragedians. Oedipus the King taken from popular mythology (Goldhill S, 2004) was written by Sophocles, around 440 BCE however, it wasn't until about 430- 420 BCE that Sophocles produced the play. The main conceptions, issues and values explored in this tragedy include the relationship between gods and mortals, the consequentiality of good kingship, the guiding forces of fate and the valiant search for truth. All of these conceptions revolve around the tragic hero, Oedipus. At the time of engenderment, 430 BCE Athens was is a state of plague, threatening the lives of thousands. In the play the city of Thebes ruled by Oedipus, was additionally in a state of plague, which is later found that the plague was cause by the wraith of the gods which is seen as a “Moral plague” because of Oedipus fortuitously committing incest with his mother, who was his queen. (Goldhill 2004) tells us that a “tragedy's stories of disaster can be seen as the grim warnings of what happens if things do go wrong.” Thus inculcates the Greeks that incest does not please the gods, and is a warning to all Athenians

Like Tragedy, Comedy was intended as an educational tool for the masses. However, Comedy was intrinsically political by nature, whereas Tragedy was mythological. They both serve a similar purpose, however, just that one does it openly and the other does it subtly. Aristophanes, the only lasting Greek comedic playwright in our time did this by applying different methods as he would utilise laughter to reel in the people persuading them to take his side, which is a remarkable concept to see being used in such an early time of Greece. One of Aristophanes most famous plays The Frogs has an underlying theme of how the old Athens is good and the new, bad and that Athens should turn back to men of keen integrity who were brought up in the style of noble and affluent families, a dominant exhortation in Aristophanes’ plays. The one of many techniques used in this play is satire, Johnston (1998) states that “humour for overtly moral purposes.” In terms of politics, The Frogs is not considered one of Aristophanes’ “peace plays” whereas several of his earlier plays call for an end to the Peloponnesian War, virtually at any cost (Pomeroy et al. 2012). The play is overtly political in nature, it comments heavily on the political milieu in Athens, and on the terrible state that bad politicians have left the city in. Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan, Roberts and