page_title: Choregos
section_title: Prizes and recognition
hierarchical_section_title: Choregos / Prizes and recognition
caption_attribution_description: Photograph of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens.
context_page_description: In the theatre of ancient Greece, the chorêgos was a wealthy Athenian citizen who assumed the public duty, or choregiai, of financing the preparation for the chorus and other aspects of dramatic production that were not paid for by the government of the polis or city-state. Modern Anglicized forms of the word include choragus and choregus, with the accepted plurals being the Latin forms choregi and choragi. In modern Greek the word χορηγός is synonymous with the word "grantor".
  Choregoi were appointed by the archon and the tribes of Athenian citizens from among the Athenian citizens of great wealth. Service as a choregos, though an honor, was a duty for wealthy citizens and was part of the liturgical system designed to improve the city-state's economic stability through the use of private wealth to fund public good. Choregoi paid for costumes, rehearsals, expenses of the chorus, scenery, props, special effects and most of the musicians. The choregos also hosted a feast if his chorus proved victorious in competition. The prizes for drama at the Athenian festival competitions were awarded jointly to the playwright and the choregos. Such victories carried prestige for the choregos.
context_section_description: The prizes for drama at the Dionysia were awarded jointly to the playwright and the choregos. Originally the choregos acted on behalf of his tribe, which collectively won the kudos for a successful performance. Gradually the sponsoring choregoi asserted more personal responsibility, and by the fourth century BC the prize for the choregos was a personal award. The winner was expected to display his trophy in a place of honor. Such victories carried prestige for the choregos, and these honors could be an important stepping stone to a successful political career for wealthy young Athenians. Conversely, failure to successfully execute one's role as a choregos could lead to social humiliation.
  Victorious choregoi were honored further with the erection of a monument in honor of their accomplishment. These monuments, which have become an important source of scholarly knowledge about the choregoi, were the final step in the victory celebration, which also involved a parade and a feast. Each monument featured an eloquent inscription that echoed the original victory announcement made at the Dionysia.
caption: Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece
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