The ancient Greeks founded the idea of the literary prize. In fact, the Greek calendar was full of formal contests, most of which were either poetic, athletic or some combination of the two; the competitive singing of dithyrambs—choruses of praise to the god Dionysus—was a kind of literary sport, with groups of up to 50 men or boys moving in stately circles and declaiming verse in order to win the honour of coming first. After the classical era, the importance of prizes diminished. Later, in medieval Europe aristocratic patrons and learned societies singled out the most promising writers and commissioned and rewarded them. It was only at the start of the 20th century that the first truly modern literary prize arrived. In 1901, the first Nobel prizes were announced. Crucially, they were awarded not by patrons or clubs, but by impartial and authoritative committees—something as close to an absolute and enduring standard as the modern world could find. Their impact was instant, and the results were reported in over 100 newspapers worldwide.
Nobel imitators soon came thick and fast: the Goncourt and Femina prizes in France, the Pulitzer in America, and many more. However, as the years went by neither the gradual expansion of the universities nor the increasing number of awards seemed to be infusing the general reader with an overwhelming regard for great literary works. For example, in 1955 the recently formed British Crime Writers' Association started an annual prize for the best crime novel. In the same year there was an annual award for Science Fiction. What was emerging was a complex system of patronage whose value was open to dispute.
Questions
1. In ancient Greece, prizes
2. In the post-classical period, literary prizes
3. In medieval Europe, talented writers
4. The first results issued by the Nobel foundation
5. After the establishment of the Nobel prizes, other awards