ABSTRACT
The symbol of laughter (geloion) in a religious context is more visible in Ancient Greece than in the ancient cultures of the Near East. 1 This is partly due to better source material, but laughter in Greece was also a primary medium for religious expression, even a god in its own right. 2 Laughter was part of cultic life. It was part of the theatre, where different aspects of the laughter culture were taken up by the dramatic genres and played out in honour of Dionysos. In festivals and comedies, laughter was utilized in the interest of the Polis.
