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Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of tragicomedy, similar in spirit to the bawdy satire of burlesque. They featured choruses of satyrs, were based on Greek mythology, and were rife with mock drunkenness, brazen sexuality (including phallic props), pranks, sight gags, and general merriment. Satyric drama was one of the three varieties of Athenian drama, the other two being tragedy and comedy. It can be traced back to Pratinas of Phlius, c. 500 BC. After settling in Athens, he probably adapted the dithyramb, customary in his native home, with its chorus of satyrs, to complement the form of tragedy which had been recently invented in Athens. It met with approval and was further developed by his son Aristeas, by Choerilus, by Aeschylus, and others. In the Athenian Dionysia, each playwright customarily entered four plays into the competition: three tragedies and one satyr play to be performed either at the end of the festival or between the second and third tragedies of a trilogy, as a spirited entertainment, a comic relief to break the oppression of hours of gloomy and fatalistic tragedy. They were short, half the duration of a tragedy. The general theme of heaven, fate, and the gods affecting human affairs in the tragedies was carried through into the festivities of the chorus of satyrs and Sileni, companions of Dionysus. ==Origins== The origins of performance culture and the emergence of the satyr play can be traced to ancient rural celebrations in honour of the god Dionysus. Rush Rehm argues that these inaugurated the "agricultural cycle of planting and harvesting" closely associated with Dionysus, who represented the embodiment of "a fundamental paradox inherent to the world, life-giving but potentially destructive."〔Rehm (1992, 12–13)〕 The dramatic festivities at the City Dionysia in Athens, similarly dedicated to Dionysus, required each playwright to submit three tragedies and a satyr play, which functioned as the last piece performed at the festival.〔Rehm (1992, 39) and Lancelyn Green (1957, 11)〕 The accurate emergence of the satyr play is debatable; however, Brockett argues that most evidence “credits Pratinas with having invented this form sometime before 501 BC”,〔Brockett (1999, 17)〕 which is supported by P. E. Easterling’s argument that by the 5th century the satyr play was considered an integral component of the tragike didaskalia.〔Easterling(1997, 40)〕 Brockett also suggests the possibility that the satyr play was the first form of drama from which both tragedy and comedy gradually emerged.〔Brockett (1999, 17)〕 A. E. Haigh however maintained that the satyr play is a survival from “the primitive period of Bacchic worship”.〔Haigh (1907, 16)〕 Haigh lists several examples of recorded entries to the City Dionysia: thus, in 472 BC Aeschylus won the first prize with ''Phineaus'', ''Persae'', ''Glaucus'' and the satyr play ''Prometheus''. Among Euripides’ entries, Haigh underlines ''Theristae'' (431 BC), ''Sisyphus'' (415 BC) and ''Alcestis'' which Euripides was allowed to present as a replacement of the traditional satyr play.〔Haigh (1907, 17)〕 The mythological origins of the satyrs are closely linked to the advent of Dionysus into Hellenic culture. The satyrs and their female counterpart, the maenads, were followers of Dionysus, a “late-comer to Olympus and probably of Asiatic origin”.〔Lancelyn Green (1957, 9)〕 According to Roger Lancelyn Green, the satyrs probably began as minor nature deities, while their designated leader Silenus originated as a water spirit, a maker of springs and fountains.〔Lancelyn Green (1957, 10)〕 Silenus was already an attendant to Dionysus when the satyrs joined the god’s following, and was subsequently proclaimed their father.〔Lancelyn Green. (1957, 10)〕 The satyrs characterised themselves by amorality, excessive drinking and the breaking down of traditional values and barriers.〔Lancelyn Green (1957, 10)〕 Eric Csapo and Margaret C. Miller further argue that satyrs have a strong connection with music and dance and consider them to be “archetypal musicians and dancers”,〔Csapo and Miller (2007, 21)〕 thus linking them to Dionysiac processions and the origins of performance culture.〔Csapo and Miller (2007, 22)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Satyr play」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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