The Rise of Theatre and Democracy

As a democratic country we might tend to take our form of government for granted since it is the way we live in our everyday life. We might not think about how democracy actually came to be. So how did democracy start?

The foundation of democracy dates back to the 6th century BCE. It started in Athens, Greece and it happened through the theatres of the Athenian society, especially through their annual theatre festival. Before democracy came to be, “Athens was a city-state divided among four warring tribes” (online 2010)

Back than, theatres were not like the ones that we have pictured in our heads. Theatrical events happened throughout the city and shows were played separately according to the tribe in the audience. The dictator of the time (560 BCE), Pisistratus, was not pleased with the division amongst the citizens and so, to start a sort of ‘get together’ between the tribes, he came up with the great invention of the annual theatre festival. For the first time, all of the four tribes came together at the same place and at the same time to share a mutual experience. “The result was nothing short of revolutionary. Athenian consciousness changed. Within a generation, in 508 BCE, democracy began.” (on-line 2010)

The aristocrat, Cleisthenes, reformed the constitution of Athens. He created a system were the members of the legislature were chosen by the common men in a form of lottery instead of by clan or heredity. This led to the ‘golden age’ in Athens that lasted for 104 years. The theatre and the democratic form of government were a great success amongst the citizens. “Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides all wrote their plays during this period, and competed with each other at the annual festival.” (online 2010) Thanks to this change, everything felt better in Greece.

After Athens was defeated by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (404 BC) that lasted 27 years, the great age of theatre was over. Democracy crumbled down in Athens when the Spartans...