What is a Tragedy?

Tragedy refers to a form of performance art that is centered on human suffering, and it usually features a superior being who has to overcome certain hardships to achieve his goals. This art form was created by the Greeks about 2,500 years ago, and it was known as “trag?ida”, which was a Greek word that meant “goat song”. Greek tragedy was presented in various theaters in Athens as well as during festivals that were dedicated to the Greek god Dionysus. It was said that tragedy originated from hymns that were sung to honor Dionysus, and it evolved into its natural form as tragedians added new elements to it later on.

The Dionysus festival was held during the month of March every year, and well-known tragedians were invited to present a trilogy of tragedies as well as one satyr play as part of the festival competition. The plays were presented at the open-air Dionysus theater, which had a seating capacity of 12,000. At that time, most of the performers were men, and they had to wear costumes and masks during the performances. Most Greek tragedies were composed in a number of verse meters, and the singing of the choral parts was accompanied by flutes. Typically, there were three choral sections in each play, and they were strophe, which referred to the act of turning and circling; antistrophe, which was counter-turning and circling; and epode, the end song.

When the Romans conquered a number of Greek territories from 270 BC to 240 BC, they were introduced to Greek tragedy. Roman tragedy began around 240 BC when Livius Andronicus wrote tragedies that were based on Roman culture. His tragedies were some of the most important literary works in Roman history, but none of them survived. Several other tragedians, including Gnaeus Naevius, Marcus Pacuvius, Quintus Ennius, and Lucius Accius, made significant contributions to early Roman tragedy as well. Only the works of two tragedians from the time of the Roman Empire survived, and they were Lucius Seneca and an unknown playwright.

Although the ancient Greeks produced thousands of tragedies, only about 30 of them have survived until the present day. The oldest surviving tragedy is The Persians, which was written by renowned tragedian Aeschylus, who is often called the father of tragedy. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were the most prominent tragedians in ancient Greece. Some of Aeschylus’ most famous tragedies are Seven against Thebes, The Suppliants, the Oresteia trilogy, and Prometheus Bound. Sophocles produced more than 100 tragedies during his lifetime, and his characters were more developed than Aeschylus’. His works include the Theban trilogy of Oedipus the King, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus; Ajax; Electra; The Trachiniae; and Philoctetes. Euripedes was the last great tragedian in ancient Greece, and he wrote well-known tragedies such as Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, Heracles, The Trojan Women, Bacchae, and Orestes. Many of Roman tragedian Seneca’s plays were based on supernatural and occult themes, and his popular tragedies include Hercules Furens, Troades, Phaedra, Medea, and Oedipus.

Around the beginning of the 16^th century, Greek and Roman tragedies were translated into several different European languages, and soon, countries such as France and England were creating their own versions of tragedy. The plays of Seneca were particularly admired by those who were creating a new form of tragedy called humanist tragedy. In England, tragedy was popularized by Christopher Marlowe, John Webster, and William Shakespeare, who would become the most successful and well-known playwright in history. Towards the end of the 16^th century, a whole new breed of tragedians were gaining popularity in France, including Robert Garnier, Alexandre Hardy, Jean Mairet, Antoine, de Montchrestien, Theophile de Viau, and Tristan L’Hermite. Later on, tragedy developed into many different forms, including opera tragedy, neo-classical tragedy, bourgeois tragedy, and modern tragedy.