Drama
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Aeschylus
Although he used familiar stories, the Father of Tragedy brought "plot" out of obscurity.Aristotle on Tragedy
What Aristotle described as the components of tragedy and passages from Poetics.Dionysus
Pentheus' slaughter in Euripides Bacchantes.Euripides' Alcestis
Two heroes emerge from this modern adaptation, by Ted Hughes, of Euripides' drama, Heracles and the best of women, Alcestis, wife of Admetos.House of Thebes
Cadmus' line, the House of Thebes, was cursed not only by the gods but by the incestuous king Oedipus who set his two sons at each other's throats.Greek Plays
Translations of the plays by Euripides, Sophocles, Aeshylus, and Aristophanes from MIT's Internet Classics Archive.Euripides
Most popular of the great tragedians -- but only after he died.A Funny Thing Happened
2200 year old Plautine comedy is still popular today.Golden Age of Roman Drama Timeline
When you watch a Shakespearean comedy where the plot revolves around mistaken identity, you're probably watching a Shakespearean version of a plot written by the great Roman playwright Plautus. A Funny Thing Happened is based on the comedy of Plautus. Classical scholar George E. Duckworth calls the period in which Plautus wrote the Golden Age of Roman drama. While Plautus may be the one whose comedies appeal most to modern audiences, there were several other great Roman dramatists of the period.Greek Mothers From Epic and Drama
Had it not been for the beauty of Helen, Hermione's mother, there would have been no Trojan War. Had it not been for their mothers, Jocasta and Clytemnestra, the heroes Oedipus and Orestes would have remained obscure. Mortal mothers of other legendary heroes had important (if lesser) roles in the ancient Greek epics of Homer and drama of the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.House of Atreus
There was enough misfortune in this family for each of the tragedians to retell a different aspect of their tale.Make Love Not War
In Aristophanes Lysistrata, to end the Peloponnesian War the women of Greece resort to a sex strike.Medea
Smooth-talking Jason was no match for his enraged first wife.Medea by Euripides
The context of Medea's actions in the Euripides tragedy Medea.Megalesia
The Roman festival and birthday celebration for the Phrygian Great Mother goddess included Roman toga-clad dramatic performances.Oedipus
For a smart man Oedipus showed a profound inability to learn from his experiences.The Play Within The Play
Midsummer Night's Dream owes a debt to Ovid.Seneca
Seneca, a strong influence on Shakespeare, is much neglected on the Internet.
Seneca's Oedipus
Shakespeare's Caesar
Michael Rutenberg brings Seneca's version of the Sophoclean tragedy about the incestuous king to life for modern audiences.
How could the political situation have become so strained that a friend's murderer was deemed the noblest Roman of them all?Sophocles
Sophocles concentrated on the human elements to develop a forerunner of what we call the tragic hero.Tragedy: Setting the Stage
Selection of the performers and producer. Stage conventions.Tragic Terminology
The words used to describe a n Ancient Greek performance of tragedy.
