Western History 33: What were the Greek contributions to Drama and Sport?

Greek thinking was driven by an intense rationalism but they were also great dramatists. The Western play and its initial division into tragedies and comedies derives from a Greek understanding that was reflected in the works of Aeschylus, Phyrnichus, Sophocles and Eurpides (all in the tragedies) and Menader, Plautus and Aristophanes (in the comedies). Comedy itself was divided into the three periods: Old (Satyr), Middle and New. The Thirty Dramatic Situations, outlined by French writer Georges Polti (in the late 19^th century) categorizes all dramatic situations and is derived from an analysis of the Greek texts.

The Olympic games represented the pinnacle of Athletic achievement in the Greek World.  776 BCE is cited at the earliest date for these Games and they continued until 394 CE when the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned them. The games were held in honour of the Greek God Zeus and were shrouded in mythology. A military truce remained in effect for the duration of the Games that were held every four years (the inter-Olympic Time period was known as the Olympiad). Some key events that characterized the games included the foot race, chariot race, discus/javelin throws, jumping, running with armour, wrestling and boxing.