The Parnassus plays are three satiric comedies, or full-length academic dramas each divided into five acts. They date from between 1598 and 1602. They were performed in London by students for an audience of students as part of the Christmas festivities of St John's College at Cambridge University. It is not known who wrote them. The titles of the three plays are * The Pilgrimage to Parnassus * The Return from Parnassus * The Return from Parnassus: Or the Scourge of Simony The second and third plays are sometimes referred to as Part One and Part Two of The Return from Parnassus.