Origins of Theatre in Athens

Theatre was popular in Greece between 550 and 220 B.C., and its origins are both religious and political. Greek theatre consisted of mainly tragedies, and only male actors could perform, playing both male and female roles. These tragedies are connected to religion because they were performed at the annual festival to honor the god Dionysus in the city of Dionysia. Three tragedies were presented to the judges, who then chose a winner. Many of the plays were about or included the gods. Because there were only three actors for each tragedy, actors had more than one role and wore masks. After they were used, the masks were offered up to Dionysus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece). Ancient Greek theatre was connected to politics because everything had to be funded by the state, including the actors and the sets and costumes. Theatre was important to the Greeks of ancient times, and it had both religious and political aspects.

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