Mixed Messages in Greek Theatre: an Examination of Vases and Written Histories No one fully understands the nature of ancient Greek theatre. The barriers that stand between the scholars of the Twentieth Century and the truth of the theatrical practices of 5th and 4th centuries B.C. Athens are: 2,500 years of divergent cultures, incomplete collections of plays, vases, figurines, and theatre spaces, and a lack of the proper tools with which the evidence can be …showed first 75 words of 2466 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2466 total…complete body of information is made available to the public, and a fuller understanding of the nature of the Greek theatre is made possible. As Green suggests, perhaps the vases are most valuable to the 20th century as an aid to "modern imagination." Certainly, as long as the authority of the experts is kept in check with new approaches and questions, then the vitality of research into the history of the Greek theatre will continue.