EBOOK Hidden Chorus:Echoes of Genre in Tragic Lyric

The Hidden Chorus investigates the relationship between the chorus of Greek        tragedy and other types of choral song in Greek society. Choruses performed on a        range of occasions in Greek culture, ranging from private weddings and funerals to        large-scale religious festivals, yet the relationship between these everyday or        'ritual' choruses and the choruses of tragedy has never been systematically        examined. L. A. Swift discusses choruses from five ritual genres: paian(religious        songs of celebration or healing), epinikion (songs for athletic victors), partheneia        (songs for the transitions of young girls), hymenaios (wedding song), and        thrnos (funerary song), and explores how these choral forms are evoked in        tragedy. By examining the relationship between tragic and non-tragicchoral song, she        not only provides new insights into individual plays, but also enriches our        understanding of the role poetry and song played in Greek life.