This volume explores the relationships between masterworks of Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes and critical events of Athenian history, by bringing together international scholars with expertise on different aspects of ancient theatre. It raises questions about how tragic and comic plays composed in late fifth century mirror the acute political and social crisis unfolding in Athens in the wake of the military catastrophe in 413 BCE and the oligarchic revolution in 411 BCE. It is of particular interest to seasoned classical scholars as well as to those interested in Greek drama and Athenian history.