Greek Theater
-----Theater began from myth,ritual and ceremony Western Classical Plays/Opera
------Thearter means “place of seeing”
Ancient theater
A.Greek theater began in ancient Greece. It began around 77 b.c. , with festivals honoring their many gods
The three well known Greek Tragedy playwrights
1.sophocles 2.europides 3.aeschylus
The three types of drama 1. Tragedy – serious play with sad ending 2. Comedy – light and amusing play with happy ending 3. Satyr play- comic play of Ancient Greece burlesquing a mythological subject and having a chorus representing satyr(forests god in greek mythology who have faces and bodies like men and ears , legs ,and tails like goat Tragedy - a compound of two Geek words “tragos” or “goat” and (ode) “meaning “song” referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus (god of wine and fertility )
--the most admired type of play in Greece thespis -- “father of tragedy “, firsyt actor who introduced the use of masks Aristophanes – wrote most of the comedy plays where derived from imitation
*** lysitriata – humorous tale about a strong woman who led female coalition to end war in Greece
**** Cyclops – an adventure comedy by Euripides

Roman theater * Started in 3rd century bc * It had varied interesting art forms ,like festivals performance of street theater , acrobatics , the staging of comedies of Plautus and the high verbally elaborate tragedies of Seneca * Hellenization of roman culture in the 3rd century bc had an intense and energizing effect on roman theater and encouraged the development of latin literature . *
Renaissance theater * Characterized by a return of classical Greeks and roman art culture * During middle ages mystery plays formed a part of a religious festivals in englang and other parts of Europe during the renaissance period . * Morality plays and the university drama were performed o recreate athenian tragedy *