Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[tlc]

re..Junior's reading..

My Pet Goat


How Fitting..........

In ancient times, tragoidia or tragedy was explained as a song for the prize of a goat or song at the sacrifice of a goat. These need not be two separate explanations because it was customary for someone who had won an animal prize in a song-contest to sacrifice that animal. This can be seen in another song contest that took place in the same Dionysiac festival in which tragedy was performed. Choruses sang and danced the dithyramb, a song in honor of Dionysus, and the winning poet was awarded a bull, an animal associated with Dionysus. The poet then sacrificed the bull to the god. The goat was another animal connected with Dionysus, the god of tragedy,