Greek Tragedy in Oedipus Rex

Tragedy is thought to have developed from the ancient “Dithyramb” (An ancient Bacchusia) or the choral lyric which was sung by a male chorus in the honor of Dionysus at the annual festivals.   These performances also included group dancing and probably some brief dialogues between the leader and the chorus. At first the Dithyramb was crude (rough) improvisation based on the myths about Dionysus, and may have taken the form of rough burlesque or satire from which the satire play of classical drama was derived.