Greek Tragedy

Greek Tragedy sets ancient tragedy into its original theatrical, political and ritual context and applies modern critical approaches to understanding why tragedy continues to interest modern audiences. An engaging introduction to Greek tragedy, its history, and its reception in the contemporary world with suggested readings for further study Examines tragedy’s relationship to democracy, religion, and myth Explores contemporary approaches to scholarship, including structuralist, psychoanalytic, and feminist theory Provides a thorough examination of contemporary performance practices Includes detailed readings of selected plays

List of Figures. Preface. Introduction. Part I Tragedy in Its Athenian Context. 1 What Was Tragedy?. Definitions of Tragedy. What Did It Do?. Where Did It Come From?. How Were the Plays Performed?. 2 Tragedy and the Polis. Democracy. Empire and Hegemony. Performance Setting. Rhetoric. Referentiality. Ideology. Nothing to Do with the City?. 3 Tragedy and Greek Religion. Dionysos. Sacred Time and Space. Ritual Practices. Ritual Practice in Tragedy. Greek Gods and Mortals. Tragedy and Myth. Euripides’ Bacchai. Part II Thematic Approaches. 4 War and Empire. Aeschylus’ Persians. Aeschylus’ Oresteia. Euripides’ Iphigeneia at Aulis. 5 Family Romance and Revenge in the House of Atreus. Euripides’ Elektra. Sophocles’ Elektra. 6 Victims and Victimizers. Euripides’ Trojan Women. Euripides’ Hekabe. Euripides’ Medea. 7 The King and I. Sophocles’ Antigone. Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos. 8 Epilogue: Modern Performances (with Sue Blundell). References. Index