Page:The Tragic Drama of the Greeks (1896).djvu/37

 1.] LATER HISTORY OF THE DITHYRAMB. 23 § 5. Later History of the Dithyramb. Hitherto the progress of the dithyramb has been uniform and straightforward. But we now reach that point where its course begins to part asunder. The main stream of dithyrambic poetry gradually diverges into two distinct branches, the one choral, the other dramatic. The names 'tragedy' and 'dithyramb,' which had previously been used as convertible terms, and applied to the whole class of poetry without distinction, are now employed to discriminate the separate species. The choral branch is henceforth known as the 'dithyramb,' while the dramatic branch appropriates the title of ' tragedy.' As the dithyramb proper now ceases to have any further connexion with the advancement of the drama, it may be interesting at this point to sketch briefly its subsequent career. It appears, then, at an early period to have dispensed with those spoken dialogues which had been inserted by Arion, and to have become once more exclusively choral. It likewise pro- ceeded to extend its range beyond the legends of Dionysus, and to choose its subjects from every part of the Greek mythology' ; and as a consequence the chorus of satyrs, being no longer appropriate, were replaced by singers in ordinary costume'. Many improvements were introduced by Lasus, towards the end of the sixth centur}', at which period public competitions in dithyrambic poetry began to be established at various festivals'. At Athens the institution of such contests dates from the year 508*. During the earlier part of the succeeding century the dithyramb reached its highest perl'ec- tion in the hands of Pindar and Simonides ; but after their death it soon began to deteriorate. The antistrophic arrange- ' 2^nobius, 5. ^o. Thus Simonides Clcisthcnts (Ilerod. 5. 67). wrote a Mcmnon (frag. 28 bergk), ' The cusUime might be very in.ngni- Praxilla an Achilles frag. 1). The liccnt, if the chorcgus cared to meet the earliest known instance of the practice expense. Demosthenes provi(lc<l gold was at Sic)on, where it was customary, crowns for his dithyrambic chorus (Meld, even in the seventh century n.c, to § U. sing dithyrambs or 'tragic choruses' in ' .Suidas, v. A<i<Tot. honour of Adrastus. These dithyrambs ' Marmor I'ar. ep. 46. were restored to Dionysus by the tyrant