Greek Theater Study Guide
- Overview of Greek Theater
- Important Facts About Greek Theater and Greek Drama
- Select Greek Theater Bibliography
- Greek Chorus
- Tragedy - Setting the Stage
- Aeschylus
- Sophocles
- Euripides
- Aristophanes
The origins of Greek drama are debated and may never be known for sure, but it is thought that they developed out of a form of ritual worship that involved a chorus of men, possibly dressed as horses, connected with the vegetation god Dionysus. Thespis, from whose name comes the term 'thespian' for someone interested in acting, is supposed to be the man responsible for giving the first speaking role (perhaps to the leader of the chorus).
The three famous Greek tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides made further contributions to the genre of tragedy.
Aristophanes, a writer of comedy, wrote mostly what is known as old comedy. He is the last old comedy writer whose works survive. New comedy, almost a century later, is represented by Menander. We have many fragments of his plays, and one almost complete, prize-winning comedy, Dyskolos.
There is also a tradition of derivative drama in Rome, with Plautus and Terence being the most influential writers of comedy. Shakespeare used some of their plots in his comedies. Plautus was even the inspiration for the 20th century's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. There were also Romans (including Naevius and Ennius) who, adapting the Greek tradition, wrote tragedy in Latin. Unfortunately, their tragedies haven't survived. For extant Roman tragedy we can read Seneca; however, Seneca may have intended his plays for readings rather than performances.
