HELENE FOLEY the chorus. At Ecclesiazusae 1154-62 the chorus asks the judges not to per- jure themselves but to judge choruses fairly. At Birds 445-47, the chorus swears to abide by its pact with Pisthetairos. If it keeps its oath, the chorus shall win by verdict of all the judges and the whole audience. but if it breaks its oath, it hopes to win by just one vote. The poets themselves, who at least originally served as composers, choreographers, and trainers of their own choruses, were also deeply involved in choral success despite their for mal independence from the choregos during the initial selection process. As comic poet, Aristophanes may also hope, usually in his parabases, for his own victory and preen himself on his clever artistry, but in fact, as these same parabases indicate, the victory also depends on the chorus. 8 In short, both the choregoi and the choreutai (chorus members)had every incentive to make their performance compete with that of actors and poets in the eyes and minds of the audience. The size of the choral group(twelve, later fifteen), its close proximity to the audience in the orchestra, and its opportunity to sing and dance give it some critical advantages in this re- spect. We find choruses difficult, and our students often read them lightly if at all. Yet from the archaic period on, choruses that are challenging for us to interpret were central to Greek civic life. Sources that discuss tragedy em- phasize the critical function of the chorus in civic education, and laws as- sisted choregoi in recruiting participants. Plato (Leg. 654b)pronounce those without experience of choral performance (achoreutos)to be unedr cated (apaideutos) and states that"choral dance is the whole of education (672e: see also Leg. 653c). At Aristophanes Frogs 1419, Dionysus claims that he came to Hades to find a poet"so that the city may be saved and stage (agei) its choruses. 20 Moreover, Athenians themselves almost certainly did not share Aristotle's relative privileging of action over spectacle(opsis) or performance(Poet 6. 1450b16-20). Most of us are used to seeing Greek tragedies with a chorus consisting of a few actors who neither sing nor dance and often look some- what extraneous. Yet anyone who has had the opportunity to see a modern performance that presented a large chorus with brilliant and exotic costumes dancing to electrifying music such as those created by the French director Ariane Mnouchkine in her 1991-92 Les Atrides(a tetralogy including Euri- pides Iphigenia at Aulis before Aeschylus'Oresteia)would have no diffi- culty understanding that a chorus can easily compete with or even overshadow The choregoi for the ten dithyrambic contests at the City Dionysia some lected a group of fifty men or boys from a particular phyle, or tribe. At so Bo swas won with th pigram(G 22 3101 from the theater region of Anagyrous)reports that a choregos'vic- 17. One"comi wetly laughing chorus, whereas actors and poet receive no mention(Wilson 2000, 18. E-g. Ar Ach,64-58 4. 545-50 Vesp 104- 9, ar 736-74 Nub: 519-62 Wilson 2000. 83 stitutions of the young. See He on 1985 on the emergence of song culture in archaic Greece in ain. form in tragedy. This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms4 Helene Foley the chorus. At Ecclesiazusae 1154–62 the chorus asks the judges not to per￾jure themselves but to judge choruses fairly. At Birds 445–47, the chorus swears to abide by its pact with Pisthetairos. If it keeps its oath, the chorus shall win by verdict of all the judges and the whole audience . . . but if it breaks its oath, it hopes to win by just one vote.17 The poets themselves, who at least originally served as composers, choreographers, and trainers of their own choruses, were also deeply involved in choral success despite their for￾mal independence from the choregos during the initial selection process. As comic poet, Aristophanes may also hope, usually in his parabases, for his own victory and preen himself on his clever artistry, but in fact, as these same parabases indicate, the victory also depends on the chorus.18 In short, both the choregoi and the choreutai (chorus members) had every incentive to make their performance compete with that of actors and poets in the eyes and minds of the audience. The size of the choral group (twelve, later fifteen), its close proximity to the audience in the orchestra, and its opportunity to sing and dance give it some critical advantages in this re￾spect. We find choruses difficult, and our students often read them lightly if at all. Yet from the archaic period on, choruses that are challenging for us to interpret were central to Greek civic life. Sources that discuss tragedy em￾phasize the critical function of the chorus in civic education, and laws as￾sisted choregoi in recruiting participants.19 Plato (Leg. 654b) pronounces those without experience of choral performance (achoreutos) to be unedu￾cated (apaideutos) and states that “choral dance is the whole of education” (672e; see also Leg. 653c). At Aristophanes Frogs 1419, Dionysus claims that he came to Hades to find a poet “so that the city may be saved and stage (agei) its choruses.”20 Moreover, Athenians themselves almost certainly did not share Aristotle’s relative privileging of action over spectacle (opsis) or performance (Poet. 6.1450b16–20). Most of us are used to seeing Greek tragedies with a chorus consisting of a few actors who neither sing nor dance and often look some￾what extraneous. Yet anyone who has had the opportunity to see a modern performance that presented a large chorus with brilliant and exotic costumes dancing to electrifying music such as those created by the French director Ariane Mnouchkine in her 1991–92 Les Atrides (a tetralogy including Euri￾pides’ Iphigenia at Aulis before Aeschylus’ Oresteia) would have no diffi- culty understanding that a chorus can easily compete with or even overshadow actors and action. The choregoi for the ten dithyrambic contests at the City Dionysia se￾lected a group of fifty men or boys from a particular phyle, or tribe. At some 17. One “comic” epigram (IG 22.3101 from the theater region of Anagyrous) reports that a choregos’ vic￾tory was won with the sweetly laughing chorus, whereas actors and poet receive no mention (Wilson 2000, 246). 18. E.g., Ar. Ach. 641–58, Eq. 545–50, Vesp. 1048–59, Pax 736–74, Nub. 519–62. 19. See e.g,, [Andoc.] 4.20; Antiph. 6.11; Dem. Meid. 15, and Against Biotus 1.16; Xen. Hier. 9.4; and Wilson 2000, 83. 20. Wilson (2000, 3) stresses that the term choros was used in many Greek cities for the educational in￾stitutions of the young. See Herington 1985 on the emergence of song culture in archaic Greece in a new form in tragedy. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms