The great tragedies and comedies by the inventors of theatre.
Please note that this chronology lists only complete works, not fragments, and thus reflects only those plays which are still known to us today. There is also some doubling up of titles among these plays – authorship is specified under the title of each play listed to help clarify this. The dates after the author’s names are those of the composition and/or earliest known performance of each play.
Mythic Era
- Dates and events in this order are placed according to this Mythical Chronology of Greece. Please note that all dates are speculative, and relate only to the internal chronology of the myths themselves, not to actual history.
1667 BCE
- Prometheus Bound
- Aeschylus, uncertain date between 479 and 430 BCE
1488 BCE
- The Suppliants
- Aeschylus, 463 BCE
1386 BCE
- The Bacchae
- Euripides, 405 BCE
1330 BCE
- Ion
- Euripides, 413 BCE (approx)
1253 BCE
- Alcestis
- Euripides, 438 BCE
1246 BCE
- Herakles
- Euripides, 416 BCE (approx)
1236 BCE
- Medea
- Euripides, 431 BCE
1226 BCE
- Women of Trachis
- Sophocles, uncertain date between 459 and 424 BCE
- Oedipus Rex
- Sophocles, 429 BCE (approx)
1225 BCE
- Oedipus at Colonus
- Sophocles, 406 BCE
- Seven Against Thebes
- Aeschylus, 467 BCE
- The Suppliants
- Euripides, 423 BCE (approx)
- Antigone
- Sophocles, 441 BCE
- The Phoenician Women
- Euripides, 410 BCE (approx)
1223 BCE
- Heracleidae
- Euripides, 430 BCE (approx)
1206 BCE
- Hippolytus
- Euripides, 428 BCE
1182 BCE
- Ajax
- Sophocles, 442 or 441 BCE
- Philoctetes
- Sophocles, 409 BCE
1203 BCE
- Helen
- Euripides, 412 BCE
1193 BCE
- Iphigenia in Aulis
- Euripides, 414 BCE (approx)
1183 BCE
- The Trojan Women
- Euripides, 415 BCE
- Hecuba
- Euripides, 424 BCE
- Agamemnon
- Aeschylus, 458 BCE
- Rhesusa
- Euripides, date unknown
1184 BCE
- Cyclops
- Euripides, date unknown
1180 BCE
- Electra
- Euripides, 420 BCE (approx)
1175 BCE
- Electra
- Sophocles, uncertain date between 420 and 406 BCE
- Choēphóroi
- Aeschylus, 458 BCE
- Orestes
- Euripides, 408 BCE
- Iphigenia in Tauris
- Euripides, 414 BCE (approx)
1174 BCE
- The Eumenides
- Aeschylus, 458 BCE
1173 BCE
- Andromache
- Euripides, 425 BCE (approx)
Historical Era
480 BCE
- The Persians
- Aeschylus, 472 BCE
420 BCE
- For simplicity’s sake, all the plays of Aristophanes that are set during the Peloponnesian War are placed at this date unless otherwise noted:
- The Acharnians
- Aristophanes, 425 BCE
- The Knights
- Aristophanes, 424 BCE
- The Clouds
- Aristophanes, original 423 BCE, uncompleted revised version from 419-416 BCE survives
- The Wasps
- Aristophanes, 422 BCE
- Peace
- Aristophanes, 421 BCE
- The Birds
- Aristophanes, 414 BCE
- Lysistrata
- Aristophanes, 411 BCE
412 BCE
- Thesmophoriazusae
- Aristophanes, 411 BCE
Parodies the original productions of Euripides’ Helen and Andromeda in this year.
405 BCE
- The Frogs
- Aristophanes, 405 BCE
Must take place after the death of Euripides in 406 BCE.
402 BCE
- The Assemblywomen
- Aristophanes, 392 BCE
Must take place after the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE.
Undated plays
- For simplicity’s sake, all plays in this section are assumed to occur more or less contemporaneously with their original production:
388 BCE
- Wealth
- Aristophanes, 388 BCE
316 BCE
- Dyskolos
- Menander, 316 BCE
