Edith Hall on the theatre of Dionysus

Short on time today, so have a video! A lecture by Edith Hall, Visiting Professor of Classics, on 29 November 2018

"One of the classical Athenians' most important inventions was the theatre. This lecture outlines the origins of Greek drama in this historic setting. 

Medea, Antigone, Oedipus and Lysistrata - these are just some of the characters from ancient Greek drama who still walk our contemporary stages and haunt our imagination. One of the classical Athenians' most important inventions was the medium of theatre. 

From the mid-sixth century BCE they gathered to watch tragedies, and later comedies in their sanctuary of the wine-god Dionysus on the south slope of the Acropolis. This lecture outlines the origins of Greek drama in this historic setting, its architectural development and some of the greatest masterpieces."