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Greek Theater and Drama

Type Object Region Greece Time c. -500–1

Ancient Greek drama grew from song and dance in Dionysus worship, developing into tragedy and comedy in 5th-century BCE classical Athens with chorus,…

Timeline

  1. c. -534–-480Athens · AtticaAt the Athenian Dionysia, choruses and actors performed narrative song and dance; Thespis is traditionally regarded as introducing the first separate actor, as drama gradually became an independent art form from religious ritual.
  2. c. -472–-406Theatre of Dionysus · AthensAeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides composed classic tragedies in the Dionysia competitions; chorus, monologue, and themes of fate established the basic paradigm of Western drama.
  3. c. -486–1the Greek world · Eastern MediterraneanOld Comedy writers such as Aristophanes were famed for satirizing contemporary politics; New Comedy in the Hellenistic period turned to manners and everyday life, and theatrical forms spread with Hellenistic culture to Asia Minor and Egypt.

Sources