subject of tetralogies. Since there is so much uncertainty as to the number of them written by Aeschylus, and the manner in which he wrote them, it is dangerous to go beyond the limits of direct evidence. Various schemes have been propounded by scholars, in which the titles of the lost plays are all arranged in tetralogic groups. But these systems must be regarded as entirely conjectural. The satyric drama, by which the three tragedies were followed, was a survival from the primitive period of the Bacchic worship. With its strange medley of incongruous elements, of valour and cowardice, passion and merriment, heroic dignity and coarse indecency, it reproduced the various qualities of the ancient dithyramb. The chorus was always composed of satyrs. The leading characters consisted partly of heroes from the tragic stage, partly of semi-ludicrous personages, such as Silenus, Autolycus, and Polyphemus. The presence of the tragic kings and heroes in the midst of these disreputable associates and undignified surroundings was one of the most curious features in the performance. It had to be managed with great tact by the poet. The dignity of the heroes was not to be unduly lowered, and yet they must not seem too exalted for their company.[60] In the case of a tetralogy the awkwardness of the situation would be greatly intensified. Here the satyric drama dealt with the same legend as the preceding tragedies, but from a humorous point of view. It often happened that the very same hero whose disastrous fate had just been exhibited in the trilogy was reintroduced under a sportive aspect. In the satyric play Lycurgus, which concluded the Lycurgean tetralogy, the chief part must have been taken by Lycurgus himself. In the Sphinx, the last play of the Oedipodeia, Oedipus must have appeared in person. This practice of concluding the tragic spectacle with a burlesque representation of the same or similar characters and incidents seems a questionable proceeding to modern taste. It would be difficult to defend it on artistic grounds. It originated not so much in the desire to provide a comic relief after the tragedies as in religious conservatism. The dramatic performances were part of a Bacchic festival. But the Bacchic element had long been discarded by tragedy. The satyric play, which still remained true to the primitive type, was therefore retained in the programme, in order to appease the god and to keep up the religious associations of the drama.