Stage Pages
Reading list · 31 plays

Greek Tragedies You Can Read in One Sitting

Greek tragedies are surprisingly compact — most clock in well under two hours of stage time. The list below gathers the surviving tragic literature from the Athenian fifth century in our archive, in a sequence that rewards reading from start to finish.

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  1. Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone

    by Sophocles · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Sophocles's Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (first published -407) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  2. Philoktetes

    by Sophocles · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Sophocles (first published -407), Philoktetes stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  3. The Clouds

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    The Clouds (first published -386) is a stage play by Aristophanes, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  4. Peace

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    Written by Aristophanes (first published -386), Peace stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  5. The Acharnians

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    Aristophanes's The Acharnians (first published -386) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  6. The Birds

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, The Birds by Aristophanes (first published -386) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  7. The Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    The Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides (first published -407) is a stage play by Euripides, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  8. Specimens of Greek Tragedy — Aeschylus and Sophocles

    by Aeschylus · 457 BCE · Tragedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, Specimens of Greek Tragedy — Aeschylus and Sophocles by Aeschylus (first published -457) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  9. Lysistrata

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, Lysistrata by Aristophanes (first published -386) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  10. The Frogs

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, The Frogs by Aristophanes (first published -386) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  11. Hippolytus; The Bacchae

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Hippolytus; The Bacchae (first published -407) is a stage play by Euripides, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  12. The House of Atreus; Being the Agamemnon, the Libation bearers, and the Furies

    by Aeschylus · 457 BCE · Tragedy

    The House of Atreus; Being the Agamemnon, the Libation bearers, and the Furies (first published -457) is a stage play by Aeschylus, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  13. The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    Written by Aristophanes (first published -386), The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  14. The Eleven Comedies, Volume 2

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, The Eleven Comedies, Volume 2 by Aristophanes (first published -386) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  15. The Trojan women of Euripides

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Euripides (first published -407), The Trojan women of Euripides stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  16. Alcestis

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Euripides's Alcestis (first published -407) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  17. The Electra of Euripides Translated into English rhyming verse

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Euripides (first published -407), The Electra of Euripides Translated into English rhyming verse stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  18. The Agamemnon of Aeschylus Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes

    by Aeschylus · 457 BCE · Tragedy

    Aeschylus's The Agamemnon of Aeschylus Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes (first published -457) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight…

  19. The Seven Plays in English Verse

    by Sophocles · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Sophocles (first published -407), The Seven Plays in English Verse stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  20. The Tragedies of Euripides, Volume I.

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Euripides (first published -407), The Tragedies of Euripides, Volume I. stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  21. Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the Seven Against Thebes

    by Aeschylus · 457 BCE · Tragedy

    Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the Seven Against Thebes (first published -457) is a stage play by Aeschylus, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  22. Oedipus King of Thebes Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes

    by Sophocles · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Sophocles's Oedipus King of Thebes Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes (first published -407) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight…

  23. The Rhesus of Euripides

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Euripides (first published -407), The Rhesus of Euripides stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  24. The Bacchae of Euripides

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Euripides (first published -407), The Bacchae of Euripides stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  25. Medea of Euripides

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, Medea of Euripides by Euripides (first published -407) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  26. Æschylos Tragedies and Fragments

    by Aeschylus · 457 BCE · Tragedy

    Æschylos Tragedies and Fragments (first published -457) is a stage play by Aeschylus, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  27. The Lyrical Dramas of Aeschylus Translated into English Verse

    by Aeschylus · 457 BCE · Tragedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, The Lyrical Dramas of Aeschylus Translated into English Verse by Aeschylus (first published -457) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  28. Hecuba and other plays

    by Euripides · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Hecuba and other plays (first published -407) is a stage play by Euripides, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  29. The Philoctetes of Sophocles

    by Sophocles · 407 BCE · Tragedy

    Written by Sophocles (first published -407), The Philoctetes of Sophocles stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  30. Menexenus

    by Plato · 348 BCE · Drama

    Written by Plato (first published -348), Menexenus stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  31. The Captivi and the Mostellaria

    by Titus Maccius Plautus · 185 BCE · Comedy

    Titus Maccius Plautus's The Captivi and the Mostellaria (first published -185) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

How this list was put together

The selections above were drawn from the full Stage Pages archive of 520 public-domain stage plays. Where ranking is implied by the order, that ranking is editorial — defensible, but not unanimous. Where the list is alphabetical or chronological, we say so.

If you have a candidate we missed, the whole library is one click away from the main scripts index; we add titles to lists as the catalogue grows.