page_title: Theatre of ancient Rome
section_title: Origins of Roman theatre
hierarchical_section_title: Theatre of ancient Rome / Origins of Roman theatre
caption_attribution_description: Panoramic view of the roman theatre in Orange, south of France, as of 2008. This picture has a FOV of ~180°.
context_page_description: The architectural form of theatre in Rome has been linked to later, more well-known examples from the 1st century B.C.E. to the 3rd Century C.E. The Theatre of ancient Rome referred to as a period of time in which theatrical practice and performance took place in Rome has been linked back even further to the 4th century B.C.E., following the state’s transition from monarchy to republic. Theatre during this era is generally separated into genres of tragedy and comedy, which are represented by a particular style of architecture and stage play, and conveyed to an audience purely as a form of entertainment and control. When it came to the audience, Romans favored entertainment and performance over tragedy and drama, displaying a more modern form of theatre that is still used in contemporary times. 'Spectacle' became an essential part of an everyday Romans expectations when it came to Theatre.
context_section_description: Rome was founded in 753 B.C.E as a monarchy under Etruscan rule, and remained as such throughout the first two and a half centuries of its existence. Following the expulsion of Rome's last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, or "Tarquin the Proud," circa 509 B.C.E., Rome became a republic and was henceforth led by a group of magistrates elected by the Roman people. It is believed that Roman theatre was born during the first two centuries of the Roman Republic, following the spread of Roman rule into a large area of the Italian Peninsula, circa 364 B.C.E.
  Following the devastation of widespread plague in 364 B.C.E, Roman citizens began including theatrical games as a supplement to the Lectisternium ceremonies already being performed, in a stronger effort to pacify the gods. In the years following the establishment of these practices, actors began adapting these dances and games into performances by acting out texts set to music and simultaneous movement.
  As the era of the Roman Republic progressed, citizens began including professionally performed drama in the eclectic offerings of the ludi (celebrations of public holidays) held throughout each year—the largest of these festivals being the Ludi Romani, held each September in honor of the Roman god Jupiter. It was as a part of the Ludi Romani in 240 B.C.E. that author and playwright Livius Adronicus became the first to produce translations of Greek plays to be performed on the Roman stage. 
  Prior to 240 B.C.E, Roman contact with northern and southern Italian cultures began to influence Roman concepts of entertainment. The early Roman stage was dominated by: Phylakes(a form of tragic parody that arose in Italy during the Roman Republic from 500 to 250 B.C.E), Atellan farces (or a type of comedy that depicted the supposed backwards thinking of the southeastern Oscan town of Atella; a form of ethnic humor that arose around 300 B.C.E), and Fescennine verses (originating in southern Etruria). Furthermore, Phylakes scholars have discovered vases depicting productions of Old Comedy (e.g. Aristophanes, a Greek play), leading many to ascertain that such Comedic plays were presented at one point to an Italian, if not "Latin-Speaking" audience as early as the 4th century. This is supported by the fact that Latin was an essential component to Roman Theatre. From 240 B.C.E to 100 B.C.E, Roman theatre had been introduced to a period of literary drama, within which classical and post-classical Greek plays had been adapted to Roman theatre. From 100 B.C.E till 476 C.E, Roman entertainment began to be captured by circus-like performances, spectacles, and miming while remaining allured by theatrical performances.
  The early drama that emerged was very similar to the drama in Greece. Rome had engaged in a number of wars, some of which had taken place in areas of Italy, in which Greek culture had been a great influence. Examples of this include the First Punic War (264-241 B.C.E) in Sicily. Through this came relations between Greece and Rome, starting with the emergence of a Hellenistic world, one in which Hellenistic culture was more widely spread and through political developments via Roman conquests of Mediterranean colonies. Acculturation had become specific to Greco-Roman relations, with Rome mainly adopting aspects of Greek culture, their achievements, and developing those aspects into Roman literature, art, and science. Rome had become one of the first developing European cultures to shape their own culture after another. With the end of the Third Macedonian War (168 B.C.E), Rome had gained greater access to a wealth of Greek art and literature, and an influx of Greek migrants, particularly Stoic philosophers such as Crates of Mallus (168 B.C.E) and even Athenian philosophers (155 B.C.E).This allowed the Romans to develop an interest in a new form of expression, philosophy. The development that occurred was first initiated by playwrights that were Greeks or half-Greeks living in Rome. While Greek literary tradition in drama influenced the Romans, the Romans chose to not fully adopt these 
caption: Ancient Roman Theatre in Orange, South of France, 2008
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