One of the things that needs to be understood is that of the performing arts, probably one of the first to appear during first Greek and then Roman times, was the theater. Theater began as a tradition in Greek society and as the Romans came into contact with Greek culture, and as Romans adopted a Greek-like lifestyle, theater also became a part of Roman society. Intended as a way to entertain the masses, the first genre to emerge first in Greece and then in Rome was the genre of tragedy (or melodrama) and then comedy. Although the initiation of theater as a whole dates to 534 BC in Greece, in Rome, both tragedy and comedy began around the year 240 BC with melodrama being the most common and better known of the two. As for actors, because both Romans and Greeks believed in the inferiority of women, and also believed that putting a woman on stage was endangering the reputation of women, at first, women were not allowed to participate in theater of any type. However, at some point, women were allowed to perform in theater, particularly in melodramas, although their roles were always silent. It was not until 1660 in England that women were given the right to perform fully in any play. This is why the correct answer is A, simply because melodrama was the first and better known genre of theater.
