Changing Choral Worlds: Song-Dance and Society in Athens and Beyond

Abstract

Abstract This chapter is concerned with the changes in choral performance between the archaic world and that of classical Athens. It notes the paradox that whereas democracy brought with it a widening in the social background of choric performers, the chorus itself became increasingly associated with Dionysus. Such exclusivity seems to be at odds with traditional Greek polytheism and the system whereby each god is worshipped individually. Plato's Laws — a fundamental text for our understanding of the relationship between mousike, religion, and society — offers an image of a world in which different gods were worshipped with different types of choral practice. But it does not reflect the reality of contemporary Athens. We are left with a curious contradiction: Dionysus is the democratic god whose worship is open to all, but the Athenian democratic polis dances only for Dionysus.

Cite this

Barbara Kowalzig (2004). Changing Choral Worlds: Song-Dance and Society in Athens and Beyond. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242399.003.0003

@article{barbara2004changing,
  title  = {Changing Choral Worlds: Song-Dance and Society in Athens and Beyond},
  author = {Kowalzig, Barbara},
  year   = {2004},
  doi    = {10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242399.003.0003}
}

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