Like many other components of Western civilization, drama and playwriting can be traced back to ancient Greece. Drama was invented during festivals which honored the god Dionysus. Each play had three playwrights and they each presented one part of a trilogy of tragedy dramas. 

One of the most well-known playwrights was Aeschylus (525-456 BC) who wrote more than 80 plays and half a dozen of them are still around today. A deeply religious man, he thought that gods could tempt men into evil and put men into morally impossible predicaments, in which whatever they did there would be punishment. Aeschylus’ play tells one of these situations: the king must defend his city, but his brother is among the attackers. So it is impious for him to flee or to fight. 

Sophocles is most famous for writing the character Oedipus. Similar to many of his other works, Sophecles describes Oedipus trying to escape a horrible fate or prophetically imposed on him by the gods. An entire trilogy of Oedipus describes how he desperately tries to escape his destiny but ends up fulfilling it anyway. 

Euripides was an extremely controversial playwright who was contemptuous and critical of the gods. Loathed by traditionalists, he was a skeptic and often put this into his plays. Many times, Euripides wrote plays disproving Greek myths and traditions. Despite this, Euripides is easier to follow, translates better into English, and his concept of a tragedy is closer to ours than the other playwrights. 

At the time, the most popular playwright was a traditionalist and comic called Aristophanes. He believed in religion and opposed popular rule. Gaining the people’s support, Aristophanes wrote various plays mocking Euripides and satirizing politicians instead of the general public. Hilariously, he won first prize for a play making fun of Euripides. 

In Greek culture, there was a heavy emphasis on buildings, vases, and statues. Although some modern historians say that the Greeks were a progressive and irreligious culture, the vast majority of the population were faithful to the gods and there were few radicals trying to destroy Greek mythology and tradition.

Biblical literature was one of the earliest forms of Western literature. Along with Genesis and Psalms, the Proverbs have been the most impactful on Western civilization. In the Introduction of Proverbs, Solomon speaks to his son, giving him wisdom and trying to teach him to be a better leader. The heart of the entire book stresses again and again the importance of wisdom and knowledge. 

Proverbs is part of a section of the Old Testament called “wisdom literature.” Wisdom is taught by the fear of the Lord, but unlike the Psalms, the fear of God and negative sanctions are in the background instead of being the main point. Continuing on this topic, Proverbs states that wisdom is not hidden and any person can obtain it. However there is a systemic hatred of wisdom, which leads people to sin. 

During the following chapters there is someone referred to as the “strange woman” who hates wisdom and lures people to sin, differing from the introduction where “evil men and criminals” lead people to commit heinous acts. It is continually stressed to not just know the right thing to do, but to act on it. 

The focus in Proverbs is overwhelmingly ethical, meaning it is concentrated on correct behavior. It describes a bread of wickedness, wine, and violence: if you partake in evil it will cause suicide. “Evil men swallow men as the grave, but wisdom is like marrow to thy bones and is more precious than rubies.” 

Recapping biblical literature, there are five fundamental themes which persist in Genesis, Psalms, and Proverbs. They are the Sovereignty of God, man as God’s agent over creation, God’s law as a test for man, the law’s two-fold sanctions as predictable, and inheritance and disinheritance. Because of the immense influence of biblical literature, these themes are continued on in other forms of literature as well. 

Hierarchy is established in Genesis when God is designated as the creator and man as a steward of the earth, while sanctions are shown when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit and are expelled from creation. Later in the creation story there is widespread evil in the world and men try to become like God by building a tower to heaven. In contrast, God is in control and David is obedient and acts as God’s agent in Psalms. All of these stories reinforce the basic themes which laid the groundwork for Western principles. 

 Following his father David, King Solomon, wrote the vast majority of the book of Proverbs. Unlike the Psalms, Solomon asks not God for forgiveness for his actions but instead gives wisdom to his own son, Rehoboam. Like the Psalms, however, Solomon discusses ethics and God’s sanctions in history.

Interestingly, what is known as “the intro” to Proverbs is nine chapters long, despite the book being only 31 chapters in total. In this, Solomon provides an overall view of his goal: wise moral instruction. Solomon was widely regarded as an extremely wise man in Israel, so Proverbs presents the battle between wisdom and foolishness, righteousness and sin, which compete for the affections of men. Solomon uses analogies to illustrate these conflicts. One such example is people in a public space fighting over competing ideas. Portraying “wisdom” as a woman, she tries to turn wise “simpletons” who are not just people leading simple lives but they are foolish due to their regular sin. “A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. Those who follow the right path fear the Lord; those who take the wrong path despise him. A fool’s proud talk becomes a rod that beats him, but the words of the wise keep them safe.”

While urging his son to practice wisdom, Solomon says that wisdom is ignored by the people and also uses real-life examples of temptation. For instance, he tells his Rehoboam that thieves will entice him to join their evil ways, but he must avoid them and pursue righteousness. “Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them. For their heart desires violence, and their lips speak of troublemaking.”