Greek Tragedy: The Role of Gods, Religion, Rituals, and Myths. And Their Equivalent Features in Silappathikaram in Tamil Literature

Abstract

In Greek tragedies ancient gods, religion, rituals and myths play a very important role. They are the essential component elements that the tragedians used them to create suitable situations in plot construction and characterization. The production of tragic drama in the Greek theatre was the later development. The forerunner of dramatic presentation was in the form of a narrative. The adventure, heroism and valour of legendary heroes had been sung as a dramatic lyric which later had been transformed into lyric drama. “Early drama was sacred, having to do with the cult of divinities and particularly with the cult of Dionysus: on the formal side, it was performed to the end on the ground devoted to that god and before his priest; but developed tragedy did not have to be about Dionysus and seldom was.”