<P> The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years . While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and theatrical or performative elements in other activities . The history of theatre is primarily concerned with the origin and subsequent development of the theatre as an autonomous activity . Since classical Athens in the 6th century BC, vibrant traditions of theatre have flourished in cultures across the world . </P> <P> Theatre arose as a performance of ritual activities that did not require initiation on the part of the spectator . This similarity of early theatre to ritual is negatively attested by Aristotle, who in his Poetics defined theatre in contrast to the performances of sacred mysteries: theatre did not require the spectator to fast, drink the kykeon, or march in a procession; however theatre did resemble the sacred mysteries in the sense that it brought purification and healing to the spectator by means of a vision, the theama . The physical location of such performances was accordingly named theatron . </P> <P> According to the historians Oscar Brockett and Franklin Hildy, rituals typically include elements that entertain or give pleasure, such as costumes and masks as well as skilled performers . As societies grew more complex, these spectacular elements began to be acted out under non-ritualistic conditions . As this occurred, the first steps towards theatre as an autonomous activity were being taken . </P> <P> Greek theatre, most developed in Athens, is the root of the Western tradition; theatre is in origin a Greek word . It was part of a broader culture of theatricality and performance in classical Greece that included festivals, religious rituals, politics, law, athletics and gymnastics, music, poetry, weddings, funerals, and symposia . Participation in the city - state's many festivals--and attendance at the City Dionysia as an audience member (or even as a participant in the theatrical productions) in particular--was an important part of citizenship . Civic participation also involved the evaluation of the rhetoric of orators evidenced in performances in the law - court or political assembly, both of which were understood as analogous to the theatre and increasingly came to absorb its dramatic vocabulary . The theatre of ancient Greece consisted of three types of drama: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play . </P>

What is not typically present in works of the theatre of the absurd