This article deals with depictions of ‘nature’ in the Athenian drama of the 5th century BC. For this purpose four different plays, namely the tragedies Philoctetes and Oedipus Coloneus by Sophocles, the satyr play Cyclops by Euripides, and the comedy Birds by Aristophanes are examined in detail. All these plays are set in a natural environment, more or less undisturbed and untouched by human beings and their civilization. A first question the study wants to address is how this natural setting is represented, and which elements (e.g. trees, rocks, rivers, and animals) could be considered as typical markers for a natural environment. The possible realization on stage and the usage of props to represent different elements will also be discussed in this context. Since ancient dramas did not feature any stage directions, this question is not always easy to answer. Descriptions of the surroundings by dramatis personae - the so called ‘verbal scene painting’ - can give us hints, how the setting was imagined. The relation between man and nature as it is shown in the four plays mentioned is another important topic. Often, there seems to be a sharp distinction between the ‘wild nature’, which is sometimes linked to the divine, and the human civilization. When these two spheres collide, both, man and nature, undergo a certain ‘transformation’ and adapt to each other.