It is obvious that the great triumvirate of Greek tragedy--Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides--did not, like Minerva, spring full-armed
from the head of Zeus, but were the end products of a long line of de-
velopment. Several reputable scholars have pointed out that Egyp-
tian culture was greatly admired by the Greeks, among other reasons
for its religious development. Even Herodotus, Greek historian liv-
ing in the fifth century B.C., held that the Greek Dionysus was but
a slightly disguised Egyptian Osiris, whose suffering, death, and
resurrection made him the symbol of the renewal of life and the
yearly round of the seasons. It has been suggested that the accept-
ance of the Egyptian deity and his "naturalization" into Greek leg-
end brought ceremonies to Greece which, for the first time, can truly
be called dramatic.

Dionysus was the god of fertility whose powers applied especially
to wine, the wealth of Greece. Four festivals were held throughout
the year in his honor. The first of these was the Festival of Vintage,
sometimes called the Country or Rural Dionysia; it was held in late
December and early January. The second was the Festival of the
Winepress, the Lenaea, held in late January and early February.
The third was the Festival of Tasting, the Anthesteria, held in late
February and early March. The fourth and last was the great

-21-