Dithyramb

The dithyramb was originally an ancient Greek hymn sung to the god Dionysus. Its wild and ecstatic character was often contrasted with that of the paean: just as Paean was both a hymn to and a title of Apollo, Dithyrambos was also a title of Dionysus as well as a song in his honor. According to Aristotle, the dithyramb was the origin of the Ancient Greek theatre.

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Dithyrambs were sung by a chorus of up to 50 men dancing in circular formation (there is no certain evidence that they may have originally been dressed as satyrs) and probably accompanied by the flute. They would normally relate some incident in the life of Dionysus. The leader of the chorus later became the solo protagonist, with lyrical interchanges taking place between him and the rest of the chorus.

Ancient Greek: Ancient Greek refers to the stage in the history of the Greek language corresponding to Classical Antiquity, which normally applies on two ancient periods of Greek history: Archaic and Classic Greece. The Ancient era of Greek history normally includes also the Hellenistic (post-Classic) age, however...

Dionysus: :The god Dionysus is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius, a theophoric name that simply means " of Dionysus."...

Paean: Paean, in Homer, was the Greek physician of the gods. In other writers the word is a mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god of healing, but it is not known whether Paean was originally a separate Deity or merely an aspect of Apollo....