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ation of technitai 'from the whole world', presumably embracing the older regional guilds, though at least some of them evidently maintained their identity within the larger organization. |
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The guilds generally called themselves Commonalty (koinon), or later Convention (synodos), of the Artists concerned with Dionysus, reflecting the traditional (Athenian) association of drama and dithyramb with the Dionysiac festivals. Much of their activity was concerned with honouring the gods with hymns, paeans, etc., at festivals, and they also took part in the sacrifices and processions there. They prided themselves on their piety, and conducted their own internal religious ceremonies at regular intervals. Their premises contained a shrine and sometimes a sacred precinct. In some cases a priest of Dionysus was the chief official of the guild. |
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The membership typically included rhapsodes, citharists, citharodes, auletes; tragic and comic poets, directors, and actors; choral singers and dancers for dithyrambs (boys' and men's), tragedy, and comedy; and costumiers. The dithyrambic and dramatic choruses were considerably smaller than those of fifth-century Athens, but no doubt just as effective, being composed of professionals instead of laymen (some of whom, as we know, only pretended to sing). In the inscriptions listing those who took part in the Delphic Soteria in the years from c. 262 to c. 252, the dithyrambic choruses do not exceed fifteen members, while the comic choruses have only seven or eight.78 |
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We are well informed about three expeditions which the Athenian guild made to Delphi to celebrate the Pythaid festival in 127, 105, and 97 BC.79 The Pythaid, nothing to do with the Pythian Games, was a pilgrimage from Athens held at irregular intervals and involving a substantial delegation of Athenians apart from the technitai who participated on these three occasions. In 127 some fifty-eight technitai took part; thirty-nine of them were singers, who formed a large choir to sing the paean to Apollo. We have most of the citharist Limenius' 'Paean and processional' and of the similar composition by Athenaeus sung at this festival (12, 13). There were various dramatic productions and concert performances (akroamata) after the days of ceremonial. In 105 and 97 there were about a hundred |
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78 Sifakis, 73f. The tragic choruses were apparently drawn from the same personnel as the men's dithyrambic. |
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79SIG 698, 728 K, 711 L + BCH 62 (1938) 362ff.; see Pohlmann, Griechische Musikfragmente, 59-61, Sifakis, 86-94. |
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