Product Description

This book is the first major study of the means by which the classical Athenians organised and funded their many festival choruses. It explores the mechanics of the institution by which a minority of rich citizens were required to arrange and pay for a festival chorus, including choruses for tragic and comic drama, and situates this duty within the range of occasions for elite leadership in Athens’ elaborate festival calendar. Peter Wilson goes on to show the importance of the khoregia to our understanding of the workings of Athenian democracy itself, and to demonstrate the degree to which the institution was itself a highly performative occasion, an opportunity for elite display in the democratic environment. The post-classical history of the khoregia and its appearance in a wide range of other Greek communities are also examined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #542784 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-18
• Released on: 2008-08-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 452 pages

Review
''This is the first major modern account of the Athenian khoregia … The author has reflected deeply on his subject and has given us a stimulating book.' Journal of Hellenic Studies

Customer Reviews

Standard reference
This book is the first full-scale study of the history of the very institution that practically brought Athenian theatre to fruition. The author displays an unusual command of the multifarious material involved in this study (monumental, epigraphic, archaeological, literary, nonliterary) combined with sound and moderate judgement. Recommended.