The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City and the Stage

by Peter Wilson

Overview

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

ISBN-13:	9780521542135
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/18/2003
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	452
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. The Institution: 1. Private wealth for public performance; 2. Organisation and operation; Part II. The Khoregia in Action: Social Performance and Symbolic Practice: 3. Aristocratic style; 4. Khoregia and democracy; 5. Monumentalising victory; Part III. Beyond Classical Athens: 6. Challenge, change, diffusion.

Editorial Reviews

''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

From the Publisher