Greek drama
Athenian stage performance
Greek drama is the theatrical tradition that originated in ancient Athens, encompassing tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays performed at religious festivals honoring Dionysus.
The works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes established conventions—the chorus, dramatic irony, the tragic hero—that shaped Western theater for millennia.
The term sometimes describes any situation with excessive emotion or conflict resembling classical tragedy: Every family dinner turns into Greek drama.
- SophoclesClassical Athenian playwright
- tragedyDisastrous or sorrowful event
- tragic heroCharacter whose flaw causes ruin
- comedyWork meant to amuse
- chorusSingers performing together
Aristophanes · protagonist · strophe · theater · mask · catharsis · Euripides · Athens · skene · buskin · ancient Athens · deus ex machina · ritual · prologue · Medea · Aeschylus · lament · fate
- Greek literature anthologiesepic poetry, lyric poetry, mythological tales
- dramaacting, playwright, character study, acting class, character development
- GreeceAcropolis, Parthenon, Athens, Hellenic, Zeus
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- ClassicalMozart, Beethoven, Haydn, symphony, sonata
- classicsHomer, Iliad, the Iliad, Odyssey, the Odyssey
Greek dramamodern theater
Current era's stage arts
contemporary drama · experimental theater · Broadway · avant-garde theater · West End theater
Greek dramaabsurdist theater
Drama depicting existence as meaningless
epic theater · musical theater · stand-up comedy · sketch comedy · reality television