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This new form of dramatic entertainment demanded a proper setting, and soon every Greek city owned a theatre, cut out of the rock of a nearby hill. The spectators sat upon wooden benches and faced a wide circle (our present orchestra where you pay three dollars and thirty cents for a seat). Upon this half-circle, which was the stage, the actors and the chorus took their stand. Behind them there was a tent where they made up with large clay masks which hid their faces and which showed the spectators whether the actors were supposed to be happy and smiling or unhappy and weeping. The Greek word for tent is "skene" and that is the reason why we talk of the "scenery" of the stage.
這種新穎的戲劇娛樂形式當然需要合適的場所。很快，每個希臘城市都擁有了一座劇院。它開鑿在附近小山的巖壁旁，觀眾們坐在木制的長凳上，面向一個寬闊的圓形場地。這個半圓形場地上，就是舞臺，演員和合唱隊在此表演。他們身后有一座帳篷，供演員們化裝之用。他們在此戴上粘土制的大面具，分別代表幸福、歡笑、悲哀、哭泣等等表情。希臘文稱帳篷為"skene"，這就是"布景"（scenery）一詞的由來。
When once the tragedy had become part of Greek life, the people took it very seriously and never went to the theatre to give their minds a vacation. A new play became as important an event as an election and a successful playwright was received with greater honors than those bestowed upon a general who had just returned from a famous victory.
一旦觀賞悲劇成為古希臘人生活的一部分，人們便非常認真地對待它，絕不僅僅為放松心靈而去劇院。一出新戲的上演與一次選舉同等重要。一個成功的劇作家獲得的榮耀甚至超過一名剛剛凱旋而歸的將軍。
