Political theater and athenian democracy

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between tragedy, politics, democracy, and the social context of Athens in the 5th century. The idea of ​​the text is to discuss how tragedy resonated with important issues in Athenian society. In the first part of the text, we present a very brief summary of the original context of the tragedies, namely the rituals in honor of the god Dionysus, celebrating fertility and the harvest. In the second part, the text presents a broader approach to the relationship between tragedy and Athenian politics, attempting to contrast the religious rites of the early period with the tragic theater that was practiced in the city. In this context, the issue of the polis becomes a fundamental element for tragedies. In the third part of the text, we focus on Euripides as a guide for our approach. Through Euripidean tragedy, we try to emphasize how political themes were present in Greek theater.