Ridgeway's Theory of the Origin of Tragedy  This document was written by William Ridgeway and originally published in The Dramas and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915. pp. 5-11. The present writer was led in 1904 to the conclusions that (1) Tragedy proper...

Greek Theatre Index  A biographical note on the Greek dramatist Achaeus. Agathon A biographical note on the Greek dramatist Agathon. Aristarchus A biographical note on the Greek dramatist Aristarchus of Tegea. Aristotle A biography of the philosopher and dramatic critic. Aristotle, Classic Technique,...

Ancient Drama  Western drama can be traced to the celebratory music of 6th-century BC Attica, the Greek region centered on Athens. Although accounts of this period are sketchy, it appears that the poet Thespis developed a new musical form in which he...

Greek Drama and Culture  Greek drama and the society that produced it. The course will examine a representative sample of the major plays of the tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, as well as the comic playwright Aristophanes. Among the topics considered will be: the...

Solar Myths, Tree Spirits, and Totems  This document was written by William Ridgeway and originally published in The Dramas and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915. pp. 11-19. For more than half a century three theories have exercised a potent influence on...

Greek Dramatic Criticism  H the exception of the more or less fragmentary Poetics of Aristotle there is very little in Greek literature touching upon the subject of dramatic theory. What we possess are (1) quotations from Greek writers like Theophrastus (in the Ars...

Poems by Greek Dramatists  A very brief biographical note on the Athenian actor and writer of Greek comedies. Euripides A biography of the Greek dramatist and analysis of his works. Followers of the Great Poets A brief overview of those poets who attempted to...