Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander, Athenian Religious and Cultural Life in the Golden Age, The Development of Athenian Tragedy, The Nature of Tragedy

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The Nature of Tragedy

The term tragedy¹—derived, for reasons now lost, from the Greek words for goat and song—referred to plays with plots that involved fierce conflict and characters that represented powerful forces, both divine and human. Tragedies were written in verse in elevated, solemn language and often based on stories about the violent consequences of the interaction between gods and humans and of conflict among human beings. Tragic plots frequently were mainly constructed from myths, although a few tragedies dealt with contemporary historical events². The plot of a tragedy often ended with a resolution to the trouble, but only after considerable suffering.

1 Greek dictionary entry for tragoedia, Aristot. Poet. 1449b

2 Aesch. Pers. 1 ff.

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Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander

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The Nature of Tragedy