A Companion to Greek Tragedy

The Blackwell Companion to Greek Tragedy provides readers with a fundamental grounding in Greek tragedy, and also introduces them to the various methodologies and the lively critical dialogue that characterize the study of Greek tragedy today.

• Comprises 31 original essays by an international cast of contributors, including up-and-coming as well as distinguished senior scholars
• Pays attention to socio-political, textual, and performance aspects of Greek tragedy
• All ancient Greek is transliterated and translated, and technical terms are explained as they appear
• Includes suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, and a generous and informative combined bibliography

List of Illustrations x

Note on Contributors xi

Preface and Acknowledgments xvi

Abbreviations and Editions xvii

PART I CONTEXTS 1

1 Fifth-Century Athenian History and Tragedy 3
Paula Debnar

2 Tragedy and Religion: The Problem of Origins 23
Scott Scullion

3 Dithyramb, Comedy, and Satyr-Play 38
Bernd Seidensticker

4 Tragedy’s Teaching 55
Neil Croally

5 Tragedy and the Early Greek Philosophical Tradition 71
William Allan

6 Tragedy, Rhetoric, and Performance Culture 83
Christopher Pelling

7 Pictures of Tragedy? 103
Jocelyn Penny Small

PART II ELEMENTS 119

8 Myth 121
Michael J. Anderson

9 Beginnings and Endings 136
Deborah H. Roberts

10 Lyric 149
Luigi Battezzato

11 Episodes 167
Michael R. Halleran

12 Music 183
Peter Wilson

13 Theatrical Production 194
John Davidson

PART III APPROACHES 213

14 Aeschylean Tragedy 215
Suzanne Saïd

15 Sophoclean Tragedy 233
Ruth Scodel

16 Euripidean Tragedy 251
Justina Gregory

17 Lost Tragedies: A Survey 271
Martin Cropp

18 Tragedy and Anthropology 293
Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood

19 Values 305
Douglas Cairns

20 The Gods 321
Donald Mastronarde

21 Authority Figures 333
Mark Griffith

22 Women’s Voices 352
Judith Mossman

23 Marginal Figures 366
Mary Ebbott

PART IV RECEPTION 377

24 Text and Transmission 379
David Kovacs

25 Learning from Suffering: Ancient Responses to Tragedy 394
Stephen Halliwell

26 Polis and Empire: Greek Tragedy in Rome 413
Vassiliki Panoussi

27 Italian Reception of Greek Tragedy 428
Salvatore Di Maria

28 Nietzsche on Greek Tragedy and the Tragic 444
Albert Henrichs

29 Greek Tragedy and Western Perceptions of Actors and Acting 459
Ismene Lada-Richards

30 The Theater of Innumerable Faces 472
Herman Altena

31 Justice in Translation: Rendering Ancient Greek Tragedy 490
Paul Woodruff

Bibliography 505

Index 541

?This is a good guide to Greek tragedy. It makes agreeable reading during which one can learn a lot from the various aspects of this genre.? (SHT Reviews, October 2009)

"This book is an impressive achievement, and will be of permanent value to everyone interested in Greek drama. The editor has done an excellent job in finding exactly the right scholar for each topic, including many leading experts from all over the world. Every chapter is lucid and informative, and each has a valuable guide to further reading."
Michael Lloyd, University College Dublin

?This book should earn itself a place as a principal reference tool for a wide range of courses in Greek tragedy; it offers a solid synthesis for specialist and nonspecialist alike of the many and vexed issues the subject presents.?
Choice

"This new volume, like others in the excellent Blackwell's 'Companion' series, stands apart from the crowd. It is not just a boring re-hash of well-known material but a superb, lively, genuinely stimulating collection of essays which make the plays come alive. Reading this book is rather like listening to a series of cracking lectures by some of the best scholars in the business ... This Companion will surely become required reading for university students who want an accessible but learned introduction to the texts. The essays are (without exception) so well written and entertaining that they can also be recommended to actors, producers, audience members, and general readers. It is well edited and attractively produced."
Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"There is no lack of good reference works on Greek tragedy. None the less, Gregory?s Blackwell companion is a very welcome addition ? There can be no doubt that the volume will establish itself as extremely useful for many students of Greek Tragedy. Most school and university libraries will want a copy." Journal of Classics Teaching

"This is a substancial and well-planned collection ... most chapters are heavily referenced, and so provide a good point of entry to the scholarly literature." Greece and Rome

"The Companion is obviously intended as a reference work and will be a very valuable addition to library shelves of universities with students of Classical Civilisation. In fact, several contributions are truly excellent and will undoubtedly serve as introductory reference points for a long time"
Scholia Reviews

Justina Gregory is Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures at Smith College. Her books include Euripides and the Instruction of the Athenians (1991), a commentary on Euripides’ Hecuba (1999), and a translation of Aesop’s Fables (1975). A Companion to Greek Tragedy provides readers with a fundamental grounding in Greek tragedy and also introduces them to the various methodologies and the lively critical dialogue that characterize the study of Greek tragedy today.

The volume comprises 31 essays written by an international cohort of scholars. The essays are organized into four sections. The opening section on Contexts surveys Greek tragedy’s historical, religious, political, and artistic background. A section on Elements follows, examining the genre’s structural components. A section on Approaches presents a series of essays exemplifying particular lines of enquiry; and the final section on Reception traces the interpretative tradition from ancient to modern times.

Throughout the volume, all ancient Greek is transliterated and translated, and technical terms are explained as they appear, making the Companion accessible to those without detailed knowledge of the language or the genre.