Page:The Tragic Drama of the Greeks (1896).djvu/33

1.] vation as that suggested. Moreover, Aristotle describes the attempt of Philoxenus, in the fifth century, to write a dithyramb in the Dorian style, as a novel experiment which was foredoomed to failure because of its inherent impracticability.

From the dramatic point of view by far the most important of the changes ascribed to Arion is the insertion of 'spoken verses' in the midst of the choral odes. The nature of these interludes is not further defined by the author of the statement, but may be gathered from other sources. We are told by Aristotle that the germ of tragedy was to be found in the speeches delivered by the leader of the dithyramb  We also know that in the period of which we are now treating it was  customary for the conductor of the dithyramb to occasionally