Lenaia
Encyclopedia
The Lenaia was an annual festival
with a drama
tic competition
. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens
and Ionia
in ancient Greece
. The Lenaia took place in Athens in the month of Gamelion
, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in honour of Dionysos Lenaios
. "Lenaia" probably comes from "lenai", which is another name for the Maenad
s (the female worshippers of Dionysos).
The Lenaia is depicted on numerous vases, which show both typical Maenad scenes and those of aristocrats and wine
-mixing rituals. It is unknown exactly what kind of worship occurred at the festival, but it may have been in honour of Dionysos as a youth or the rebirth of Dionysos after his murder by the Cyclopes
. It may have also had some connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries
, as some of the same religious officials were involved (such as the archon
basileus
and the epimeletai). These officials led the procession (pompe - πομπή), which probably ended with a sacrifice
of some kind.
In Athens, the festival was held in the Lenaion (possibly a theatre outside the city or a section of the Agora
). Beginning in the second half of the 5th century BCE, plays were performed (as they were at the City Dionysia
festival later in the year). The audiences for the Lenaia were usually limited to local citizens, since travel by sea at that time of year was considered unsafe. Around 442 BCE, new comic contests were officially included in the Lenaia, though plays may have been performed there earlier on an informal basis. At first, the festival held dramatic competitions only for comedy
, but in 432 BCE a tragic
contest was introduced. Many of Aristophanes
' plays were first performed there. As with the competition at the City Dionysia, five comedies usually competed (except during the Peloponnesian War
when only three were staged). When the contest for tragedy was introduced, two tragedians competed, each presenting two plays. No contests for satyr play
s, nor for the singing and dancing of dithyramb
s, were included. Towards the end of the century, the festival's plays were performed in the Theatre of Dionysus
(though it is unclear when this location was first used). It is unknown when the Lenaia was abandoned, but contests of some sort continued into the 2nd century BCE.
Athenian festivals
The festival calendar of city-state of classical Athens involved the staging of a large number of festivals each year. These Athenian festivals included:-Athena:...
with a drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic competition
Agon
Agon is an ancient Greek word with several meanings:*In one sense, it meant a contest, competition, especially the Olympic Games , or challenge that was held in connection with religious festivals....
. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
. The Lenaia took place in Athens in the month of Gamelion
Attic calendar
The Attic calendar is a hellenic calendar that was in use in ancient Attica, the ancestral territory of the Athenian polis. This article focuses on the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the classical period that produced some of the most significant works of ancient Greek literature. Because of the...
, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in honour of Dionysos Lenaios
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
. "Lenaia" probably comes from "lenai", which is another name for the Maenad
Maenad
In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus , the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones"...
s (the female worshippers of Dionysos).
The Lenaia is depicted on numerous vases, which show both typical Maenad scenes and those of aristocrats and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
-mixing rituals. It is unknown exactly what kind of worship occurred at the festival, but it may have been in honour of Dionysos as a youth or the rebirth of Dionysos after his murder by the Cyclopes
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
. It may have also had some connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance...
, as some of the same religious officials were involved (such as the archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
basileus
Basileus
Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by the Byzantine Emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority and sovereigns in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of...
and the epimeletai). These officials led the procession (pompe - πομπή), which probably ended with a sacrifice
Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...
of some kind.
In Athens, the festival was held in the Lenaion (possibly a theatre outside the city or a section of the Agora
Ancient Agora of Athens
The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and is bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Colonus Agoraeus.-History:The agora in Athens had private housing, until it...
). Beginning in the second half of the 5th century BCE, plays were performed (as they were at the City Dionysia
Dionysia
The Dionysia[p] was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the second-most important festival after the Panathenaia...
festival later in the year). The audiences for the Lenaia were usually limited to local citizens, since travel by sea at that time of year was considered unsafe. Around 442 BCE, new comic contests were officially included in the Lenaia, though plays may have been performed there earlier on an informal basis. At first, the festival held dramatic competitions only for comedy
Ancient Greek comedy
Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece . Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy...
, but in 432 BCE a tragic
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
contest was introduced. Many of Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' plays were first performed there. As with the competition at the City Dionysia, five comedies usually competed (except during the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
when only three were staged). When the contest for tragedy was introduced, two tragedians competed, each presenting two plays. No contests for satyr play
Satyr play
Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of tragicomedy, similar in spirit to burlesque. They featured choruses of satyrs, were based on Greek mythology, and were rife with mock drunkenness, brazen sexuality , pranks, sight gags, and general merriment.Satyric drama was one of the three varieties of...
s, nor for the singing and dancing of dithyramb
Dithyramb
The dithyramb was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god: Plato, in The Laws, while discussing various kinds of music mentions "the birth of Dionysos, called, I think, the dithyramb." Plato also...
s, were included. Towards the end of the century, the festival's plays were performed in the Theatre of Dionysus
Theatre of Dionysus
The Theatre of Dionysus is a major open-air theatre and one of the earliest preserved in Athens. It was used for festivals in honor of the god Dionysus...
(though it is unclear when this location was first used). It is unknown when the Lenaia was abandoned, but contests of some sort continued into the 2nd century BCE.
Sources
- Brockett, Oscar G. and Franklin J. Hildy. 2003. History of the Theatre. Ninth edition, International edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0205410502.
- Pickard-Cambridge, Sir Arthur. 1953. The Dramatic Festivals of Athens. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1968. ISBN 0-19-814258-7