Greek and Roman influence in modern philosophy, art, architect and sculpture, and literature is pervasive. Ancient Greece and Hellenistic influence furthered by the Romans is responsible for many of the foundations underlying modern thinking and fine art. The epic, the elegy, drama, the genres of tragedy and comedy, narrative epic poetry and histories all had their origins in Ancient Greece and were developed by the Romans. The scope of these types of literature is too wide to do all of them justice in the space allotted here. As such, this analysis will focus on Greek and Roman drama, namely the Tragedy, as the means of illustrating how classic Greek and Roman tragic drama have greatly influenced modern drama.
During the 5th century BC, art and literature flourished in Greece, particularly Athens. Philosophy, architecture and literature of the period reached a zenith that was seldom matched by a culture between then and now. Even our democratic form of government has its origins in this period. The main playwrights in Athens were the two tragedians, Sophocles and Euripedes, and the comedian Aristophanes, “Tragedy was established in honor of Dionysos, who was celebrated in the spring. Tragedy was religious, its subject matter was mythological” (The Classics 1). In the latter half of the4th century, Rome began to rise as a power. Roman conquest of Sicily and Italy allowed for the introduction of Greek culture, since Greeks occupied these territories. Roman literature included epic poetry, drama and other types of literature fashioned from Greek influence, “Roman literature is very much based on Greek forms and models. The first work of Roman literature was a translation of the works of Homer. Many Roman plays were based on the works of Menander” (The Classic 2).
Perhaps one of the biggest influences on modern tragic drama is Aristotle’s Poetics. In this work, the Greek philosopher gives a greatly detailed...