Greek theatre - Definition and Overview

Greek theatre or Greek Drama came into its own between 600 and 200 BC in the ancient city of Athens. The forms of comedy and tragedy were created and refined.

The basic difference between our modern theatre is that ours is secular, and Greek theatre grew out of religion. The religious association is indicated by the place, and occasion of presentation, and it controls the structure of the plays and the mode of their presentation.

The Theater of Dionysus at Athens, where the plays were presented, was part of the sacred precinct of that divinity.

The theater itself was a large open-air structure consisting of three parts. The orchestra, where the chorus preformed, Outside one arc of the circle there was a large rectangular building where actors would run in and out to change their masks, called the Skene, or tent, eventually the front was covered with simple paintings - whence our word "scenery." Rising from the circle of the orchestra, was an auditorium of many tiers of stone seats.

See also: Greek comedy

Major Greek playwrights

• Aeschylus
• Sophocles
• Euripides
• Aristophanes
• Menander