Greek Theater in the 5th Century BC The ancient Greeks, arguably one of the most fascinating civilizations to study, contributed numerous discoveries and technological advances. We cannot talk about the Greeks without talking about the Greek Theatre. Greek theater in many ways paved the way for literature and art in subsequent history. If it weren't for Greek theater, famous writers like Shakespeare would never have done what they are so famous for. When studying Greek theater it is virtually impossible not to hear about it in the 5th century BC, and that's because the 5th century BC was pretty exciting when it came to Greek theater. The origin of Greek theater in the 5th century BC is not known. There are dozens of hypotheses, but in reality there is no concrete, conclusive proof. What is known however is that the tragedies were first performed in Athens in the 6th century BC and that they were very simple. They only had an actor and a choir. In the 5th century BC, however, the situation changed. A second and third actor were added to the performances, but there were no more than three speaking actors on stage at any one time. Throughout the fifth century BC the average size of the choir was between twelve and fifteen members. Theatrical performances were part of the cult of the god Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine. Of the four cult festivals of Dionysus, two included theatrical performances...