Category: Random

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