Literature and history dot come. Oh, Hello and welcome to literature and history.

Episode 26, Ancient Greek Theater.

This show is an introduction, the first of 12 episodes, on the most famous plays of ancient Greece,

the works of Escales, Sophocles, Eurypides, Aristophanes, and the later comedic playwright Menander.

The works of these celebrated dramatists span multiple centuries and generations, but the vast bulk of them were produced during the middle

and later parts of the 400s, B.C. in the city of Athens. And that is great news for us. With the previous show on archaic

Greek poetry, we were hopping all around the Aegean. With the 10 before that on the Old Testament we were

somersaulting through multiple centuries and world empires. But as we move

into the most famous and influential plays of ancient Greece, We will be hanging out in one town over the course of the course of one

town over the course of one century, Athens, a city strategically located in the southeast of mainland Greece and again the 400s

B.C. The extraordinary history of this city during this century is the key to understanding the dramatic works that were produced there

And we're going to learn this history slowly as we move through the plays.

Through the plays of Escales will learn about the city's struggles with the Persian Empire

and its treatment of women and the changes in its judiciary system.

Through the plays of Sophocles,

we'll learn about the beginning and end

of the Peloponnesian War, and the philosophical feuds that involved Socrates, Protegaurus, and many others.

Through Eurypides, we'll learn about the Athenian Empire, the naturalization of citizens, and the religions and cults of ancient Greece.

And through Aristophanes will learn about Athens' culture of social and political satire, a culture that reached a boiling point during the Peloponnesian War.

By the time this sequence of episodes is finished, you'll know the major plays of ancient Greece and have a good sense of

the culture and history of what we call Golden Age Athens or 5th century B.C. Athens. But let's back up for a second. I don't

want to make any assumptions about what you, in terms of ancient Greek history.

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