These plays mainly focussed on the myths of Ancient Greece, and dealt with stories of heroes such as Herakles, Odysseus and Oedipus. These often came from Homer and other legends that had been passed down through the oral story-telling technique.

It is extraordinary to think that we have so many plays that have survived from Ancient Greece. The greatest of the playwrights were undoubtedly Aeschylus (512-455 BC,) Sophocles (496-406 BC) and Euripides (484-407 BC).

Perhaps one of the reasons that so many of these tragedies have survived is that drama sprung from religion, and so the plays were written down out of a sacred duty.

Theatre started in Athens as a way of worshipping Dionysus, the god of wine and festivity. There would be performances of public Choral singing and speaking as part of Dionysian celebrations. These then developed into more structured storytelling, with up to three members of the chorus taking on the roles of characters in the stories.

Although there were great comedic writers as well such as Aristophanes, the Tragedians were the most celebrated. This is because the Greeks went to the theatre not just for entertainment, but to feel a great release or purging of emotion. This best happened when you saw a horrific event played out in front of you.