Editing Protagonist (section)

==Ancient Greece==
The earliest known examples of a protagonist are found in [[Ancient Greece]]. At first, dramatic performances involved merely dancing and recitation by the chorus. Then in ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'', [[Aristotle]] describes how a poet named [[Thespis]] introduced the idea of one actor stepping out and engaging in a dialogue with the chorus. This was the invention of tragedy, and occurred about 536 B.C.<ref>Müller, K.O. ''History of the literature of Ancient Greece''. [Library of Useful Knowledge.] Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London (1840) page 306</ref> Then the poet [[Aeschylus]], in his plays, introduced a second actor, inventing the idea of dialogue between two characters. [[Sophocles]] then wrote plays that included a third actor.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.britannica.com/art/protagonist|title=Protagonist – literature|encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Britannica|date = 1 April 2016}}</ref><ref>Aristotle. ''Poetics''. Oxford University Press (January 20, 2013) {{ISBN|978-0199608362}}</ref><ref>[[William Packard (author)|Packard, William]]. ''The Art of the Playwright''. Thunder's Mouth Press. 1997 {{ISBN|1-56025-117-4}}</ref><ref name = storey84/>

A description of the protagonist's origin cited that during the early period of Greek drama, the protagonist served as the author, the director, and the actor and that these roles were only separated and allocated to different individuals later.<ref>{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0jhjDwAAQBAJ&q=protagonist+definition+classical+greece&pg=PT235|title=Moreno's Personality Theory and its Relationship to Psychodrama: A Philosophical, Developmental and Therapeutic Perspective|last=Telias|first=Rozei|date=2018-07-06|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351021081|language=en}}</ref> There is also a claim that the poet did not assign or create the protagonist as well as other terms for actors such as ''[[deuteragonist]]'' and ''[[tritagonist]]'' primarily because he only gave actors their appropriate part.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgpaDwAAQBAJ&q=protagonist+protagonistes+classical+greece&pg=PT513|title=History of the Literature of Ancient Greece|last=Bart|first=M. P.|date=2018-03-22|publisher=Charles River Editors|isbn=9781632956316|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, these actors were assigned their specific areas at the stage with the protagonist always entering from the middle door or that the dwelling of the deuteragonist (second most important character) should be on the right hand, and the tritagonist (third most important character), the left.<ref name=":0" />

In Ancient Greece, the protagonist is distinguished from the term "hero", which was used to refer to a human who became a semi-divine being in the narrative.<ref name = storey84>{{Cite book|title=A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama|last1=Storey|first1=Ian|last2=Allan|first2=Arlene|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-1405102148|location=Malden, MA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guidetoancientgr0000stor/page/84 84]|url=https://archive.org/details/guidetoancientgr0000stor/page/84}}</ref>