ourneyed into the underworld to find her. He faced down Thanatos and brought her back to Mount Olympus.In Greeks world, Dionysus appeared almost everywhere. You could see him in the art, drama and comedy. Greeks even build a theater after him. Honor was paid to Dionysus, the peasant god of Eleftheres, with a circular religious dithyrambic dance performed by dancers dressed in billy goats (tragos) (Frazer 20). Thus, tragedy was born at first in the Orchestra of the Agora (ancient market place), and on the northern slope of Acropolis, in an area of 25 m. diameter, near the gods sanctuary which was flattened for this purpose.When tragedy was separated from religion, wooden and later stone scaffoldings were placed for the spectators in 330 BC. The auditorium developed to have two landings which separated the 88 rows of seats into the three sections and 65 tiers with a seating capacity of 15000-16000 spectators. The ancient circular orchestra was paved with marble, while marble thrones and honorary seats were installed in the 1st century AC. After that time, theater was used as an arena. The simple construction of the stage in the 5th century BC changed into a rectangular building with wings and proscenia in the 4th century BC. Also, all profiles of Dionysus life done in bas relief have survived.Dionysus also appeared in drama. An orchestra, or a dancing ground of Dionysus with an arrangement for spectators (theatron) was built in Athens, in the early sixth century. It became the great center for drama where plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were performed. Drama was produced at festivals, honoring Dionysus in his theater under the presidency of his priest, by performers wearing masks and special dress. That is how tragedy (which originally meant goat song for Dionysus) began and quickly reached heights never surpassed. Any formal tragedy involves disaster: physical, mortal, or spiritual. The hero is doomed. Tragedy deals with hu...
