Greek drama
Greek drama First form of drama in Western civilization. It took three forms – tragedy, comedy and satyr plays. Tragedy and comedy were the two main forms. Tragedy developed from religious festivals, at which a chorus sang responses to a leader. Aeschylus introduced a second actor, and Sophocles added a third. The other major tragedian was Euripides. Greek tragedy usually dealt with mythical subjects, but sometimes (as in Aeschylus' The Persians) used recent history for its setting. A tradition of Greek comedy arose in the 5th century bc. It was often highly topical and lampooned politics and the conventions of tragedy; its best-known exponent was Aristophanes. Comedy flourished in the Hellenistic Age (323–27 bc), especially in the work of Menander. Satyr plays were bawdy works written to accompany tragedies.
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Greek drama