What Are Livys Stages in the History of Roman Theater

Although Greece is credited with creating drama, and Greek customs heavily influenced the Romans, Rome has a separate history of drama. Livy describes the stages as roughly:

1. Dances to flute music
2. Obscene improvisational verse and dances to flute music
3. Medleys to dances to flute music
4. Comedies with story lines and sections of lyric poetry to be sung
5. Comedies with story lines and song, with an added piece at the end

Learn more about Roman drama in this article: Roman Theater.

_{Image ID: 1624145 [Roman pantomime actors in masks] (1736)NYPL Digital Library}