What was the play writing competition in ancient athens?
It wasn’t a play writing competition – it was a drama festival, with a prize for the best produced play, not just a script. Actually there were two: the Lenaea in early spring, and the Dionysia in early summer, of which the Dionysia was the more important. In each case both comedies and tragedies were presented, the tragedies coming in the shape of three plays linked chronologically (episodes of the same story) plus a satyr play, or rough farce to end the day. Comedies seem to have been presented as single plays. Tragedies were defined as serious plays, not always with an unhappy ending, while comedies were for a long time full of rough, often obscene jokes at the expense of public figures and politicians. The producer and financer of the winning play in each category, known as the choregos, (not the author) got a crown, as did the best actor (not necessarily from the best play). The whole competition must have been a bit like an Oscar ceremony. Hope this helps.
