Roman Theatre Vs Greek Theatre

The Roman theatre was a very important aspect of the traditional Ancient Roman lifestyle, every day 7,000 to 50,000 men, women, and children would pack into theatres and amphitheaters to enjoy dramas like Rudens and Mercator (but none you could see today), acrobatics, gladiator fights, athletics, naumachia (sea battles) and infantry battle reenactments, boxing matches, and venationes (animal brawls). Roman theatre first started to bloom in the year 240 BCE during the festival “Ludi Romani” in honor of The King of the Gods, Jupiter. The actors, or histriones of the time were only non-citizens, real citizens could only observe and enjoy. While theatre was still climbing to it’s peak there were two main methods of entertainment, Dramas and Farces (comedical work). These two forms were mostly influenced by Greek ideas, and Fabula- Atellana (Atellan Farces) with small tweaks to “Romanize” their productions. …show more content…
Drama was less philosophical than Greek plays, yet is considered more sophisticated than any other ancient civilizations. One of the greatest contributors to the tragedy plays was Livius Andriocus. Living from 240 to 204 BCE, Livius wrote,translated, and adapted Roman tragedies. Although his life was not a long one, he was considered the greatest tragedy writer of his time. After his death they needed new writers, so the theatre community formed Collegium Poetarum, guild of experienced writers that immortalized Livius’ legacy. By the year one AD dramas went out of style (just like Silly Bands and Pokemon cards), and out of its ashes sprang