Like stories and poetry, drama originates from preliterate folk traditions, such as song, dance and religious ceremonies. Body painting (make-up), masks and other devices also have ancient antecedents. According to Aristotle, Greek tragedy originated from the dithyramb, a choral hymn to the god of wine, Dionysus. The legend is that in 534 BC, the lead singer at the Festival of Dionysus, a man named Thespis, added an actor to the chorus and carried on a dialogue, creating the possibility for dramatic action. The great playwright Aeschylus (525-456 BC) added a second actor, and his younger rival, Sophocles, a third. Sophocles triumphed over Aeschylus at the festival in 468 BC. Sophocles won first prize over twenty times and never finished lower than second. The dramatic Festival of Dionysus in Athens compared in prestige with the athletic games at Olympia, another city in ancient Greece. The plays were staged in an amphitheater, like those in Lakewood or Chastain Park in Atlanta, which have excellent natural acoustics (no electricity – so the plays were performed in the afternoon). Nine speaking characters are listed, but no more than three appear on stage at one time. So each actor, wearing masks, could play multiple characters. Sophocles makes good use of this feature of ancient drama with the horrific, gory mask Oedipus wears at the end. Sophocles was also a wealthy man, a general considered a hero long after his death, and a priest.
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