Drama had many bases and factors to its birth, but one thing is certain: drama came from the ancient, sacred rituals, and was patronized by the gods Dionysus and Apollo, along with many humans. It began with the rituals; the dancing, the drumming, the music and mime, all the same throughout the years. Later, as Dionysus discovered these rituals and started working with them, the participants became inspired for new and wild rituals. Apollo, balanced and formalized, made these new types of rituals, using his balance and moderation, into the drama we know it today.

The ancient, sacred rituals were of great importance to this. Humans have always practiced religions and celebrated rituals. The purpose of rituals is mostly to show and express the passage of time, and connecting with the spiritual “godly” world to bless that change. That change may be the passage of seasons, of time in one’s life, or rain and harvest. For rituals, there is a need for a leader and for participants. The leader makes sure that the ritual is done the same way it has been done ever since. The participants, aside from the active doing of the ritual, have to believe in the god. If the participants do not believe in the god, the power of the ritual is lost. This is the main difference between drama and rituals. 

There are three types of rituals – magic, worship and celebration, and conservation of values. Magic usually transfiguration, rain showers, or rain stopping. Worship is done for gratitude, such as for birth, or surviving a winter, or for celebrations, such as a wedding. Rituals that conserve values can be initiation ceremonies, or rituals of holidays that have to do with the history of the religion celebrating the holiday(christmas, passover).

Many features of rituals also appear in drama. These include dancing, singing, costumes, masks, words, and most importantly – trance, an altered state of time, space and awareness. However many features changed. Although there are participants, their attitude has changed. In a ritual, the participants have to believe in the ritual, while the audience of a play clearly comes with the attitude of “show me.” Although there is usually a leader(director) personal creativity is allowed and even welcomed, but the leader in a ritual makes sure that no personal creativity is intruding. There is also non of the serious feeling of connecting with the gods. During drama, though, the audience can be so engaged that they feel something greater than themselves is present. Such “greater beings” may be Dionysus.

Dionysus, the god of wine, was the son of Zeus(the head of the gods) and Semele(princess of Thebes to whom Zeus took a fancy). While Semele was pregnant with Dionysus, Hera, Zeus’ right and jealous wife, placed a thought in Semele’s head. “How wonderful would that be, if I made Zeus swear on the River Styx, that he will fulfill all my request?” thought Semele, and soon asked Zeus to take the oath which non can break. After he did, Semele asked to see his full glory. But the glory of the King of the Gods killed her. Zeus did not let the baby die. He took him out of him mother’s womb and put him in his thigh. A couple of months later, Dionysus was born and sent to the Nyssa nymphs of Asia Minor for him childhood, where he learned Viticulture, the growing of vines. These were Dionysus’ two births, resulting in his two sides,which made him much closer to humans. One side was the cruel vengeful side, expressed mainly on two occasions; when he was caught by pirates on his journey from Asia-Minor to Greece and was tied to the mast, he quickly got out of his bonds(as you cannot bind Dionysus!) and flooded the ship with wine, causing all the pirates to was away to the sea and die as penalty for recognizing his divinity. Only one was spared, as he recognized Dionysus to be a god. This man was turned into a dolphin.

When he came to Thebes, he was put in prison by Pentheos, his cousin and the current ruler of Thebes. At Pentheos’ palace there were also some bad rumors about Semele(and thus about Dionysus) and that was more than enough to make him angry. He put a spell on Pentheos and his mother, who suddenly felt a need to go to worship Dionysus in the forest with the other maenads. The maenads used to tear apart wild animals during their even-wilder festivals. When Pentheos’ mother saw Pentheos, she thought he was a lion and killed him, proudly carrying his head back to town. Only then was the spell lifted, and she saw the terrible thing she had done. 

But Dionysus also had the god. merciful side like any human. On one of his travels he rescued Ariadne, Theseus’s forgotten love, from her island and married her. When she died, he made her a constellation. He also took the dangerous trip down to Hades, and saved his mother, Semele, bringing her to the Olympus and demanding that she become a goddess.

Because of this two “human like” sides, Dionysus became the favorite god in Greece. Since Hera, who still hated him, ordered Titans to tear him apart each fall, though each spring he is reborn again. Through that experience, he could understand human experience, such as the inner conflict, and the idea of suffering, better than any other god. Since he was only half a god, but still immortal, and is reborn again every spring, he also offered hope of immortality, and of overcoming death. His worship was often wild, including a lot of trance, madness and intoxication. This is the reason he is called “the Liberator” as he liberates one’s mind from itself. The early Dionysian worship consisted mostly of wild celebrations in the forest. The maenads, Dionysus’ women follower, entered a trance through wine, music and dance. In this trance, they tore up animals and dresses in their skins. This ritual, among others, was to enable individualism and to help followers find the god within. 

When Dionysus came from Asia Minor, the rituals in Greece were mostly folk rituals, such as harvest dances. Later, around the 9th century B.C, there were big temples to the gods(such as the pantheon in Athens), and rituals became more orderly, with priests and sacrifices. In the 6th century B.C the “mystery religions” came to be. To honor the gods in this way, one had to pass long, arduous and very secret initiations, so secret, that the person who was found guilty of telling these secrets would have to face the pain of death. The most widespread of these mystery religions were Apollo’s religion, which was based in Delphi, and Demeter’s which was based in the town of Eleusis, about an hour away from Athens. Apollo’s religion was based on moderation and balance, while Demeter’s was more Earthy. Eventually, Demeter’s religion died out, and Dionysian religion took over the temple of Eleusis. With the addition of a temple, Dionysian religion became much more formal. Women did not take a big role now. Men and boys gathered every spring to sing Dithyrambs(ode of two births), songs and dances to Dionysus. these choruses were composed of 50 men and boys, usually with a leader, who came every spring to compete in the Dithyramb singing.

The celebration of the year 534 B.C was extremely unique. The chorus of a man named Thispus came to Eleusis to sing. In the middle of the song, Thispus, dressed in costume and a mask resembling Dionysus(which no-one dared to wear before), stepped out of the chorus and spoke out and original speech in which he spoke about himself as Dionysus. The crowd was shocked. Thispus, in the year 534 B.C, not only won 1st prize, but also created drama. This is why his followers, the people who work with drama, are called Thespians. 

50 years after Thispus’ chorus had competed in the Dithyramb contests, Pisistratus, the tyrant of Athens at the time, decided to use that powerful idea of drama to unite the tribes of Athens. He decided to celebrate, every march, a City Dionysia, which is a celebration to Dionysus not unlike the celebration they held every march in the countryside of Eleusis. Through the common experience of drama will be the tribes of Athens unite. Since everyone was required to go, all people shared these feelings, including the prisoners and slaves.

On the first day, a procession went out to Eleusis to bring Dionysus’ statue to Athens. This day was also a lot like the old Dionysian worship; the new wine was opened, there was music and dancing, and a bull was sacrificed. The second day was more like the newer worship; Dithyramb contests between teams of different tribes were held for a friendly competition. On the third, fourth and fifth day, each playwright, on his own day, presented a trilogy of tragedies and a Satyr play, which was to make fun of the tragedies. However, it was not allowed for a tragedy to make the audience cry. If that happened, the playwright would be heavily fined and his plays would not be performed ever again. 

For a while there was a sixth “comedy day” but when the war with Sparta broke out, money problems occurred, so people had to be satisfied with the Satyr plays.

There were many rules about seating. The priest got  big “seat of honor” and the judges(one of each tribe) also got special seats close to the stage. The new army recruits(18 year olds) also got special seats so they would be loyal to Athens. Services, such as fanning and perfume, and light food would be served to the audience, for payment.

Among the famous playwrights is Aeschylus(524-456 B.C) was a soldier from the battle of Marathon, who got thirteen 1st prizes for his plays. Only seven of these survive today. he added a second person, allowing face to face dialogue. As a monotheist, he celebrated the invincible spirit. He didn’t only write the plays, he also designed the costume, scenery, dances and music. He lowered the chorus to twelve people. Aeschylus was also a great philosopher. He was exiled from Greek because he was accused of revealing mystery secrets in his plays.

Sophocles(496-406 B.C) was an aristocrat who lived to be ninety years old. He won eighteen prizes(though not all 1st prizes) for his 123 plays, seven of which survive today. He added the third actor, allowing more complex conflict. He adjusted the chorus to fifteen people. He was also a great poet, and in his plays he talked about the complex relationships between gods and men.

Euripides(484-406 B.C) was the playwright least performed in ancient Athens out of these three. Eighteen out of his eighty-eight plays survive, including the only Satyr play we have. He won only five prizes. The reason for this is probably because he thought the chorus less important, but mostly because he asked modern questions about how humans shape their destiny. Because of this, he is the most commonly performed Greek playwright today.

If these playwrights followed only dionysus or only Apollo, drama would not have been born. Dionysus is too wild to create drama on his own, and Apollo is too formalized. Only the two gods together could make     drama; while Apollo’s gifts were poetry, scenery, painting, masks, music, architecture, form, harmony and dance(which is also Dionysus’ gift), Dionysus brought inspiration, actors, freedom, costume, mime, and illusion. However, even today, audience and actors get into trance, the altered state of time and space. Even though the audience are not true believers, and even though the actors have their freedom.