The Origins and Structure of the Plays

Abstract

Ancient Greece is justly regarded as the birthplace of the drama. It is true that records of some sort of ‘passion play’ survive from Egypt, but it is doubtful whether these religious festivals were dramatic in any strict sense of the word. In the pre-Hellenic civilization of Crete, too, excavations have uncovered large open arenas which may have been used for representations of some sort, but whether for plays, or exhibitions of animals, such as are depicted on Cretan wall-paintings, or simply for processions, can only be a matter of conjecture. The earliest recorded drama as we know it comes from Greece.