Word: dithyrambics
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Dates: during 1889-1889
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...White gave his second lecture on the Greek Theatre and Drama. He said that the Greek drama was a development; it grew from the songs which were sung in worship of Dionysus at the festival of that god. The choral hymn sung on these occasions was called the dithyramb, and from it sprang both tragedy and comedy. The simple choral hymn soon took the form of a dialogue between the leader of the chorus and the chorus; then the chorus was improved in organization; next the number of principals in the dialogue was increased to three, and thus the complete...