Erika Fischer-Lichte reconstructs the history of European drama from Greek tragedy to Heiner Müller. Each chapter begins with a section on the state of development, the situation, and the function of theater in the respective society. Following a brief overview, exemplary analyses of plays by representative authors are presented. Volume 1, which includes a new introduction, covers the cultic theater of antiquity up to the dramatic forms of German classicism; Volume 2 spans the period from Romanticism to contemporary drama. Fischer-Lichte's history of drama gains its added value as theater practice is always depicted in its intertwining with cultural history: through her examination of theater history, she consistently provides the reader with a key to the epochs. The volume is rightly regarded as a standard work.