The word τραγῳδία, tragoidia, from which the word "tragedy" is derived, is a compound of two Greek words: τράγος, tragos or "goat" and ᾠδή, ode meaning "song", from ἀείδειν, aeidein, 'to sing'.
This etymology … See more

After the Achaemenid destruction of Athens in 480 BC, the town and acropolis were rebuilt, and theatre became formalized and an even greater part of Athenian culture … See more

Most ancient Greek cities lay on or near hills, so seating was generally built into the slope of a hill, producing a natural viewing area known as the theatron (literally "seeing place"). In … See more

Masks
The Ancient Greek term for a mask is prosopon (lit., "face"), and was a significant element … See more

The Greeks valued the power of the spoken word, and it was their main method of communication and storytelling. Bahn and Bahn write, "To Greeks the spoken word was a living thing and infinitely preferable to the dead symbols of a written language." See more

The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. From that time on, the theatre started performing old tragedies again. Although its theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into the See more

• List of ancient Greek playwrights
• List of ancient Greek theatres
• History of theatre
• Representation of women in Athenian tragedy See more