Powerful and evocative, persuasive, frightening, and inspiring—the comedies and tragedies written in classical antiquity are all of these. In recent years the study of ancient drama has become ever more exciting and controversial. The social context of Greek drama especially has drawn attention, and a new understanding of Roman comedy has arisen.Theater and Society in the Classical World draws together the work of numerous international scholars. Both collectively and individually these works illustrate the continuing power and voice of ancient drama, and they help reveal some of the reasons why these plays still speak to us today.Among the essays are several that investigate the important relations between Greek drama and ritual. A second group examines the value of dramatic texts as sources for social history, while a third looks at the ways in which Roman authors creatively transformed their sources.This volume presents papers delivered at a conference at the University of Michigan, held under the joint auspices of the Institute for the Humanities and the Department of Classical Studies.

Ruth Scodel is Professor of Greek and Latin and Director of the Honors Program, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan. She is the author of two books on Greek drama, and has been editor of Transactions of the American Philological Association.