Around 1800, the concept of "antiquity" began to take on plural meanings, and as a result, Classical antiquity was juxtaposed against Nordic and Oriental antiquity. For the first time, this study examines the effects of this new differentiation in three areas of 19th-century drama: genre theory (Hegel and Herder), stage equipment (von Brühl and Schinkel), and drama (Alexander romances and Hebbel’s tragedies).