§ 2 Earliest History of Dramatic Competitions
The establishment of these dramatic contests under State management dates, not from the earliest period of the drama, but from the time when it had begun to assume a fixed and definite shape. Originally there were no public competitions. The various innovations upon the old hymns to Dionysus, out of which the drama was evolved, were carried out at first by voluntary effort. Thespis is said to have introduced tragedy into Athens. But his earliest exhibitions were given on his own responsibility, and as a private speculation.9 The development of comedy was also the result of individual enterprise. The performance was for a long time left to amateurs, and regarded as of no importance. It was only when the drama had attained a certain pitch of excellence, and become widely popular, that it was taken in hand by the State, and annual contests introduced.10 The date of their institution cannot always be determined exactly. It differed in the case of different festivals, and in the case of tragedy as compared with comedy. But there is sufficient evidence to show that no contest was earlier in date than the latter half of the sixth century.
All these competitions, as we have seen, were confined to the festivals of Dionysus.11 In Attica these were of four kinds. There were the Rural Dionysia, celebrated in the various Attic denies; and there were the feasts held in Athens itself, the Anthesteria, the City Dionysia, and the Lenaea.12 The importance of these gatherings from the theatrical point of view varied considerably. The Anthesteria seems at no time to have had much connexion with the drama. The Rural Dionysia were merely provincial celebrations, and depended almost entirely for their supply of plays upon the Athenian theatre. The City Dionysia and the Lenaea were the really significant festivals in the history of the ancient stage. It was here that the great Attic poets exhibited their works, and it was here that the drama was first brought to perfection. Each festival had its peculiar character. At the City Dionysia tragedy held the chief place; at the Lenaea comedy was of most importance. Various indications show that this was the case. In the list of proceedings at the City Dionysia tragedy is placed last of all, as being the chief attraction; while in the list referring to the Lenaea the same place is assigned to comedy, and for the same reason.13 Again, the dithyramb, the original source of tragedy, was from the first a prominent feature at the City Dionysia, though unknown at the Lenaea till a late period.14 On the other hand the comic actors’ contest was introduced into the Lenaea long before it was extended to the City Dionysia. This difference between the two festivals, as regards the type of drama preferred by each, was probably due to some original difference in the cult of the two deities, Dionysus Eleuthereus and Dionysus Lenaeus, to whom they were respectively consecrated.15