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dithyramb

(Encyclopedia)dithyramb dĭthˈĭrăm [key], in ancient Greece, hymn to the god Dionysus, choral lyric with exchanges between the leader and the chorus. It arose, probably, in the extemporaneous songs of the Dionys...

Arion

(Encyclopedia)Arion ərĭˈən [key], Greek poet, inventor of the dithyramb. He is said to have lived at Periander's court in Corinth in the late 7th cent. b.c. A legend repeated by Herodotus tells how, having been...

Epicharmus

(Encyclopedia)Epicharmus ĕpĭkärˈməs [key], c.550–c.460 b.c., Sicilian Greek comic dramatist. He was the first to write a coherent artistic comedy, and he dealt with forms other than personal satire such as m...

Lasus

(Encyclopedia)Lasus lāˈsəs [key], fl. 6th cent. b.c., Greek poet from the town of Hermione in Argolis. He is said to have been Pindar's teacher. Lasus contributed to the development of the dithyramb. ...

Philoxenus

(Encyclopedia)Philoxenus fĭlŏkˈsənəs [key], c.436–c.380 b.c., Greek dithyrambic poet, b. Cythera. Having fallen out of grace with the emperor Dionysius, he was imprisoned in Syracuse. There he wrote his Cycl...

Thespis

(Encyclopedia)Thespis thĕsˈpĭs [key], fl. 534 b.c., of Icaria in Attica. In Greek tradition, he was the inventor of tragedy. Almost nothing is known of his life or works. He is supposed to have modified the dith...

chorus, in Greek drama

(Encyclopedia)chorus, in the drama of ancient Greece. Originally the chorus seems to have arisen from the singing of the dithyramb, and the dithyrambic chorus allegedly became a true dramatic chorus when Thespis in...

Dionysus

(Encyclopedia)Dionysus dīənīˈsəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, god of fertility and wine. Legends concerning him are profuse and contradictory. However, he was one of the most important gods of the G...

drama, Western

(Encyclopedia)drama, Western, plays produced in the Western world. This article discusses the development of Western drama in general; for further information see the various national literature articles. During ...

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