It will be seen that many of the authorities mentioned in the preface to the first edition have been superseded, at any rate in part, by these more recent investigations. But I have thought it best to reprint the earlier list, since there are few of the old authorities which are not still worth consulting on some point or another. I gladly take this opportunity of expressing my obligations to various friends for the corrections and suggestions which they have sent to me. I have derived many valuable hints from the reviews and notices of the first edition, and especially from the very friendly and useful criticism by Mr. L. C. Purser in _Hermathena_, and from that by Mr. H. Richards in the _Academy_. I am greatly indebted to Professor E. Gardner for the photograph of the Epidaurian theatre which is reproduced in Fig. 7; and to the Council of the Hellenic Society for their permission to copy from the _Hellenic Journal_ the illustration of a satyric chorus. I have to thank the Provost of Oriel, Professor P. Gardner, Mr. F. Madan, Rev. G. C. Richards, and other friends for their help and advice in various matters; and Dr. Albert Müller, Professor White, and Mr. Capps for their kindness in sending me writings of theirs on the subject of the Greek stage which have proved of very great service. OXFORD, _July, 1898_. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION After the lamented death of Mr. Haigh, the Delegates of the Clarendon Press entrusted me with the revision of his book for a third edition, and his relatives kindly supplied me with the materials which he had collected for a revision. I have tried to follow as far as possible such indications as I could find of his own intentions in regard to the new edition. He had re-written parts of Chapters I and II, and his review of Puchstein’s _Die griechische Bühne_ showed sufficiently what view he took of that work. He also left careful analyses of many papers which had appeared in periodicals since the second edition, with occasional criticisms. It is clear from the manner in which the portions of the book referred to were re-written that he intended to cut out many of the repetitions, both of matter and expression, which had been allowed to remain in the second edition. I have therefore felt at liberty to follow him in this respect; but the space gained has been almost all filled by the new matter which it has been necessary to insert, either at the suggestion of his own notes, or in consequence of important writings on the subject since the last edition.