THE POLITICAL a r t OF THE GREEK TRAGEDY (OR WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY WANT)

The question of structure and surface of a something is always connected with the question of what we actually want (in a non-physical matter of concern). All man-made systems, rules and so on are not physical laws, although subconsciously we often act like they are. In order to recognize this, however, we need to be willing to look, to reflect, to analyze and not simply take everything for granted. "Pecunia non olet" (money doesn't stink) is what the Roman Emperor Vespasian said about the latrine tax he introduced. But if you take a closer look sometimes, unfortunately it definitely stinks. This little insight does not mean, nontheless, that money or the system are bad per se. Rather, it offers the chance to question things and to be able to formulate what we actually want. And that is what we have to do from time to time - in some times we even have to unmask the ghost that is going around in order to be able to say what we really want.

In classical Athens of the 5th century BC, the city-state (polis) of Athens was the world stage on which an archetype of democracy was tested for the first time in world history: The broad citizenry, which of course included only Athenian-born men, "suddenly" had a regular and powerful say. We can only speculate about the feelings that the mostly uneducated, politically inexperienced men must have had about their newly acquired powers and responsibilities. The renowned ancient historian Christian Meier writes in his revolutionary book "Die politische Kunst der griechischen Tragödie" (The Political Art of Greek Tragedy): "Questions upon questions had to arise that could hardly be discussed before the people's assembly, or if they were, then always under the suspicion of political interest, always related to application and under the compulsion to argue as rationally as possible. Could tragedy step in? Maybe not with what it originally was, but with what it then became?.» The tragedy performances in the Dionysus Theatre of classical Athens were eminently political. A visit was not primarily for the sake of amusement and pastime. Rather, fourteen thousand people were seated and were able to observe how topics of great social topicality and relevance were dealt with in the guise of a play. In Attic tragedy, conventional, mystical thinking met with new rationality, popular culture with high culture. Couldn't it have served to play through the myth again and again what concerned the citizens as citizens?» 

On this basis, I would like to ask in principle whether every person acting within a system does not have a certain responsibility? To make sure again and again and to be aware of the political aspect?

Bacuase «the idea that one can speak "apolitically" about art is a political ideology» (above all, this quote applies to the art world in general). Even the voices that claim that there is no political art at all have not yet realised that this is already a political statement (greetings to Rolf Knie) and thus also make their creation, of whatever kind, political.

In my view, the most urgent questions are: What do we want and how do we want to live?