Theatres are among the most spectacular monuments that have survived from ancient Greek times. Dramas honouring the gods were often performed in such places, but it was in Athens at the theatre of Dionysus, the god of wine, that performances first took the shape of plays.
From around 550 BC, plays were performed there as part of the celebrations of the religious spring festival of Dionysus. The celebrations also involved the consumption of a great quantity of wine.
The theatre's dramatic location on the slope of the Acropolis must have heightened the atmosphere of the plays. The theatre could hold more than 10,000 people, with poor Athenians being given money to attend the plays held there. It is uncertain whether women attended the theatre there or not, but there is a story that women were so frightened by what they saw that they gave birth prematurely.
