46 Powerful Ancient Greek Play Scripts

ByJustin Cash Scripts

Here you will find the full text of the plays of the great classical tragedians Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, plus the works of the comic playwright Aristophanes. The standard texts of ancient Greek play scripts are all in the public domain. It is only certain modern translations that may have some copyright restrictions. If you are looking for an overview of the period in which ancient Greek play scripts were first performed, click here. – Justin Cash

Greek Plays

Ancient Greek Theatre

Aeschylus

Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC – c. 456/455 BC, pronounced eee-skill-us <UK> or eh-skill-us <US>) is often considered the father of Greek tragedy. He wrote over seventy plays, of which only seven survive today. Aeschylus was credited by the Greek philosopher Aristotle for introducing the second actor to collaborate with the chorus.

At the time that Aeschylus first began writing, the theatre had only just begun to evolve in Greece, usually involving just a single actor and a Chorus. Aeschylus added the innovation of a second actor, allowing for greater dramatic variety, and gave the Chorus a less important role. He is also sometimes credited with introducing scene-decoration (although this distinction is sometimes ascribed to Sophocles) and more elaborate and dramatic costuming. In general, though, he continued to write within the very strict bounds of Greek drama: his plays were written in verse, no violence could be performed on stage, and the works had a strong moral and religious emphasis.
Classical Literature

Aristophanes

Aristophanes (c. 446 – c. 386 BC, pronounced aa-ri-stof-an-ees) is often regarded as the father of comedy. He wrote forty plays, of which eleven survive today. Aristophanes was writing during the period known as Old Comedy.

Aristophanes’ greatness lies in the wittiness of his dialogue; in his generally good-humoured though occasionally malevolent satire; in the brilliance of his parody, especially when he mocks the controversial tragedian Euripides; in the ingenuity and inventiveness, not to say the laughable absurdity, of his comic scenes born of imaginative fantasy; in the peculiar charm of his choric songs, whose freshness can still be conveyed in languages other than Greek; and in the licentious frankness of many scenes and allusions in his comedies.
Encyclopaedia britannica
Greek Play Script Oedipus the King

Euripides

Euripides (c.?480 – c.?406 BC, pronounced u-rip-e-dees) was one of the three great tragedians of classical Greece who wrote over ninety plays. Less than twenty of these works survive today.

Euripides was a fruitful writer, producing more than 92 plays in his life. He was awarded five first prizes in festivals, while Sophocles won 24, and Aeschylus 13. Still, more of Euripides’ works were preserved than the other two writers combined, proving his posthumous influence.
Euripides became one of the cornerstones of ancient literary education in the Hellenistic period, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander. Eventually, “It was Euripides, not Aeschylus or Sophocles, whose tragic muse presided over the rebirth of tragedy in Renaissance Europe.”
Classical wisdom

Sophocles

Sophocles (c.?497/6 – c.?406/5 BC, pronounced sof-o-klees) wrote over one hundred and twenty plays, of which only seven survive today. He is attributed by Euripides as being responsible for adding the third actor to the acting area. Sophocles’ Oedipus The King is regarded by many as the greatest tragedy ever written.

The typical Sophoclean drama presents a few characters, impressive in their determination and power and possessing a few strongly drawn qualities or faults that combine with a particular set of circumstances to lead them inevitably to a tragic fate. Sophocles develops his characters’ rush to tragedy with great economy, concentration, and dramatic effectiveness, creating a coherent, suspenseful situation whose sustained and inexorable onrush came to epitomize the tragic form to the classical world.
Encyclopaedia Britannica

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