The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia
The Chorus, the City and the Stage

The first major study of a central cultural institution of classical Athens.

Peter Wilson (Author)

9780521542135, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 18 September 2003

452 pages, 31 b/w illus.
24.6 x 19 x 2.4 cm, 0.807 kg

''This is the first major modern account of the Athenian khoregia … The author has reflected deeply on his subject and has given us a stimulating book.' Journal of Hellenic Studies

This book is the first major study of the means by which the classical Athenians organised and funded their many festival choruses. It explores the mechanics of the institution by which a minority of rich citizens were required to arrange and pay for a festival chorus, including choruses for tragic and comic drama, and situates this duty within the range of occasions for elite leadership in Athens' elaborate festival calendar. Peter Wilson goes on to show the importance of the khoregia to our understanding of the workings of Athenian democracy itself, and to demonstrate the degree to which the institution was itself a highly performative occasion, an opportunity for elite display in the democratic environment. The post-classical history of the khoregia and its appearance in a wide range of other Greek communities are also examined.

Introduction
Part I. The Institution: 1. Private wealth for public performance
2. Organisation and operation
Part II. The Khoregia in Action: Social Performance and Symbolic Practice: 3. Aristocratic style
4. Khoregia and democracy
5. Monumentalising victory
Part III. Beyond Classical Athens: 6. Challenge, change, diffusion.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], General & world history [HBG], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]