What's Wrong with Diet? What's the Role of Aesthetics?

Chapter 22. Authenticity in the Theater

What we will explore: What is the role of the Theater of Dionysus in the festival of Lenaea?

What's new: What does Aristophanes' comedy "Frogs" expose?

What we will learn: How did Euripides' dramas influence young people and why?

1. According to Aristophanes, kalokagathia as an image was blurred and distorted by the dramas of Euripides. This became the basis for developing deeply hidden passions (vices) of the soul. Therefore, it is inaccessible to awareness of them as vices and the harm they cause to the young generation of Athens (Author).

2. The culmination of the holiday is productions by playwrights and comedians. Half a year later (last days of January, beginning of February) 405 BC. The second most important national festival in Athens, Lenaia, dedicated to the cult of Dionysus*, takes place. The event takes place against the backdrop of the political crisis caused by the Peloponnesian War. A lot of people gathered in the Theater of Dionysus - about 17 thousand spectators [1]. Performances were usually staged only once (in rare exceptions, twice), so the production was a festive surprise. The audience was in a state of anticipation. The culmination of the holiday is a competition between ancient Greek playwrights and comedians in honor of the patron saint of poetry and theater, the god Dionysus. Among other productions by playwrights and comedy writers, the comedy "Frogs" by Aristophanes ** reveals the cause of the corruption of youth.

* Dionysius (Greek: Dionysos), the Greek god of viticulture and winemaking, also called Bacchus (Latin: Bacchus), corresponded to the Roman Liber. In honor of Dionysius, Dionysia, Lenaea, and Anthesteria were celebrated in Attica. The apogee of the festivities were phallic processions [a plastic image of the male member as a symbol of fertility, ed. author]. From the cult songs of Dionysius and dithyrambs, drama gradually developed. In the literature and art of antiquity, Dionysius initially looks like an elderly, bearded man, and later - like a beautiful young man [2].

** Aristophanes (lat. Aristophanes, born around 445 BC, died around 386 in Athens) was a Greek poet, an outstanding representative of ancient Greek comedy. In contrast to the new Greek comedy of the Hellenistic era, the comedies of Aristophanes, full of humor and satire, raised the political, social, pedagogical, and literary problems of their time. Aristophanes' work was distinguished by a high sense of personal responsibility for solving the political, educational, and moral problems of his time, as well as bright expressive language, sparkling humor, rich imagination, and the use of various stage effects (for example, bright costumes of choirs accompanying comedies). The play "Frogs" (405 BC), which was the most striking stage success of Aristophanes, is dedicated to the fight against the innovations of Euripides [ibid.].

3. The reason for the corruption of youth. It was Aristophanes' turn to present his comedy "Frogs". Through the mouth of the playwright Aeschylus, Aristophanes condemns the playwright Euripides * for undermining faith in the viability of the democratic structure of the Athenian polis. Euripides was, according to Aristophanes, responsible for the corruption of citizens who never tired of criticizing the existing government without offering anything better in return. This example of the older generation had a bad influence on the younger generation.

You taught the whole city to chatter uselessly,

gossip and argue incessantly.

You made the playing field of the palaestra deserted, a

Turned the most beautiful young people into talkative and contentious braggarts

(Aristophanes. Comedies. Fragments. 2000. Frogs. 1069‒1071) [3].

Instead of aretés on the palaestre grounds, young men practiced verbal competitions. The mobility and strength characteristic of youth was not directed towards learning the art of gymnastics, but into groundless disputes about who would be the winner at the next games. They no longer strived for the ideal of beauty - kalokagathia. According to Aristophanes, the dramas of Euripides were written under the influence of the teachings of the sophists, as a result of which kalokagathia as an image was blurred and distorted.

* Euripides (Greek Euripides, Latin Euripides), born 485/84 or 480 BC. e. at Salamis, died in 406 BC. e. in Pella, the youngest of the 3 classical Greek tragic poets, came from a wealthy family. Euripides was influenced by the Sophists (III fr. 18.5); to some extent, the fate of the characters was reflected in his critical position in relation to the past, the desire to "evaluate from the standpoint of reason" [2].

4. Summary (chapters 18–22). The distortion of the image of kalokagathia became the basis for developing deeply hidden passions (vices) of the soul, and therefore inaccessible to awareness of them as a vice and the harm they cause.

What could correct the situation?

Next Chapter: Authenticity of Feelings

What we are exploring: How was the state of pathos achieved and why?

What's new: How did catharsis cleanse the soul of vices?

What we will learn: What is the role of ecstasy in purifying the perverted image of beauty?

References

1. Kulishova O.V. Athenian democracy and theater / O.V. Kulishova. //Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Series 2. History. – 2010. – No. 1. – P. 32–38

2. Dictionary of Antiquity: Translation from German; Rep. ed. V. I. Kuzishchin / Comp. Johannes Irmscher et al. with Renate Jone. – M.: Progress, 1989. – 704 p.

3. Aristophanes. Comedy. Fragments / Translation by A. Piotrovsky; Ed. prepared V.N. Yarho; Rep. ed. M.L. Gasparov; [The editors of the publishing house and the artist are not indicated]. – M.: Scientific-ed. Center "Ladomir": Science, 2000. – 1033 p.