Pratinas facts for kids

Pratinas was an important ancient Greek playwright. He lived in Athens, a famous city in ancient Greece, around 500 BCE (Before Common Era). He was one of the first writers of tragedies, a type of serious play. Many people believed that playwrights like Pratinas helped make Greek theater perfect.

Early Life and Beginnings

Pratinas came from a place called Phlius in Peloponnese, which was a region in ancient Greece. This meant he was a Dorian by birth. His father's name was Pyrrhonides or Encomius. We don't know exactly when he moved to Athens. However, we know he was competing there with other famous playwrights like Choerilus and Aeschylus around 500-499 BCE. This was the same year Aeschylus first showed his plays.

Inventing a New Kind of Play

Pratinas is famous for a big change he made in Greek theater. He helped separate "satyr plays" from "tragic dramas." Before him, these two types of plays were often mixed together.

What Were Satyr Plays?

Imagine a play that was funny and a bit wild! That's what a satyr play was like. They featured satyrs, who were mythical creatures that were half-human and half-goat. Satyrs were known for being playful and mischievous. These plays kept the fun dances and rustic jokes of the satyrs. They were often connected to the god Dionysus, who was the god of wine and theater.

Why Separate Them?

Originally, the chorus (a group of performers) in tragedies was made up of satyrs. Their jokes and antics were part of the serious story. But over time, tragedies became more serious and focused on heroic myths, not just stories about Dionysus. The funny satyr chorus started to feel out of place.

For example, it's easy to imagine satyrs having fun in a play like Prometheus the Fire-kindler, where a satyr might accidentally singe his beard trying to touch fire. But it would be strange to have a chorus of satyrs in a very serious play like Prometheus Bound, where the hero is chained to a rock.

Pratinas's idea solved this problem. He gave the satyrs their own stage. This way, tragedies could be fully serious, and satyr plays could be fully funny. Both types of plays could tell stories based on myths, but in very different ways. This made audiences happy because it kept a popular, fun part of theater alive.

Some people thought Pratinas focused on satyr plays because he was worried Aeschylus would be better than him at tragedies. But others disagreed. They pointed out that Pratinas's hometown, Phlius, was close to Sicyon, a place known for its "tragic choruses." It was also near Corinth, where satyr choruses had been popular for a long time. So, Pratinas might have simply loved this type of drama.

Pratinas's Fame and Influence

Other playwrights soon copied Pratinas's idea of separating satyr plays. But Pratinas was special because he wrote so many of them. According to an ancient source called the Suda, he wrote fifty plays in total. Thirty-two of these were satyr plays. Some scholars think he wrote fewer satyr plays, perhaps twelve, which would still be a lot.

His satyr plays were considered the best of his time, second only to those written by Aeschylus.

Pratinas was also a talented lyric poet, meaning he wrote poems meant to be sung. He wrote dithyrambs (songs for Dionysus) and choral odes called hyporchemata (dances with songs). A large piece of one of his hyporchemes is still around today. These types of poetry were often humorous and sometimes featured satyrs. Pratinas is thought to have helped start the Athenian style of dithyrambic poetry, along with his friend Lasus of Hermione.

One of his surviving poems talks about a competition between poetry and music. He complained that the sound of the flutes was too loud and drowned out the singers' voices. He also wanted to use the Dorian musical style instead of the popular Phrygian style. This shows how important music and dance were in his plays. He was even called "orchestikoi," meaning someone who focused a lot on choral dances in his dramas.

His Family's Legacy

Pratinas's son, Aristias, also became a famous playwright, especially for his satyr plays. The people of Phlius even built a monument to honor Aristias.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, Philip (1870). "Pratinas". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology 3.  

See also

In Spanish: Pratinas para niños