107-149 Greek and Roman Theatre

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

see Prerequisites.

Semester

Subject Description

This subject explores the nature and social significance of the theatre in ancient Greece and Rome through the surviving work of each of the dramatists: the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca; the Old Comedy of Aristophanes; the New Comedy of Menander; and the Roman comedy of Plautus and Terence. Students will also examine the physical, architectural form of Greek and Roman theatres and their development and function within the major urban centres of Athens and Rome. On completion of the subject students should be familiar with a wide range of ancient dramatic genres; be familiar with a number of surviving Greek and Roman plays; and possess an understanding of the significance, function and physical nature of the theatre in the Greek and Roman worlds.