A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama

A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama offers a series of original essays that represent a comprehensive overview of the global reception of ancient Greek tragedies and comedies from antiquity to the present day.

• Represents the first volume to offer a complete overview of the reception of ancient drama from antiquity to the present
• Covers the translation, transmission, performance, production, and adaptation of Greek tragedy from the time the plays were first created in ancient Athens through the 21st century
• Features overviews of the history of the reception of Greek drama in most countries of the world
• Includes chapters covering the reception of Greek drama in modern opera and film

Foreword x

List of Illustrations xi

Notes on Contributors xiii

Note on Nomenclature and Spelling xviii

Introduction 1
Betine van Zyl Smit

Part I The Ancient World 11

1 The Reception of Greek Tragedy from 500 to 323 BC 13
Martin Revermann

2 Greek Comedy and its Reception, c. 500–323 BC 29
Alan H. Sommerstein

3 Greek Drama in the Hellenistic World 45
Sarah Miles

4 Greek Comedy at Rome 63
Peter Brown

5 Roman Tragedy 78
Gesine Manuwald

Part II Transition 95

6 Ancient Drama in the Medieval World 97
Carol Symes

Part III The Renewal of Ancient Drama 131

7 The Reception of Ancient Drama in Renaissance Italy 133
Francesca Schironi

8 Ancient Drama in the French Renaissance and up to Louis XIV 154
Rosie Wyles

9 The Reception of Greek Drama in Early Modern England 173
Claire Kenward

Part IV The Modern and Contemporary World 199

10 Greece: A History of Turns, Traditions, and Transformations 201
Gonda Van Steen

11 The History of Ancient Drama in Modern Italy 221
Martina Treu

12 The Reception of Greek Theater in France since 1700 238
Cécile Dudouyt

13 Germany, Austria, and Switzerland 257
Anton Bierl

14 The Reception of Greek Drama in Belgium and the Netherlands 283
Thomas Crombez

15 The Reception of Greek Drama in England from the Seventeenth to the Twenty]First Century 304
Betine van Zyl Smit

16 Conquering England: Ireland and Greek Tragedy 323
Fiona Macintosh

17 The Reception of Greek Drama in the Czech Republic 337
Eva Stehlíková

18 Antigone, Medea, and Civilization and Barbarism in Spanish American History 348
Aníbal A. Biglieri

19 Greek Drama in the Arab World 364
Mohammad Almohanna

20 The Reception of Greek Tragedy in Japan 382
Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.

21 Greek Drama in North America 397
Peter Meineck

22 Greek Drama in Australia 422
Paul Monaghan

23 The Reception of Greek Drama in Africa: “A Tradition That Intends to Be Established” 446
Barbara Goff

24 Greek Drama in Opera 464
Michael Ewans

25 Filmed Tragedy 486
Kenneth MacKinnon

References 506

Index 552

Betine van Zyl Smit is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Nottingham. She has published extensively on the reception of ancient literature in modern literature and on the reception of Greek drama in South Africa. A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama presents a comprehensive overview of the global reception of ancient Greek tragedies and comedies from antiquity to the present day. Featuring contributions from a variety of international scholars and top experts in the field, essays cover the evolution of Greek drama and its translation, transmission, and adaptation across the centuries and throughout the world. Chapters cover Greek drama’s reception across cultures and continents, featuring sections on Europe; the Middle East and North Africa; North America; South America; and the South Pacific. A series of essays also cover the rediscovery of the great works of the ancient Greeks in Italy, France, and England between the 15th and 17th centuries. Chapters go on to discuss the global spread of Greek drama from the 18th century to the present, exploring the myriad ways the tragedies, dramas, and comedies of the ancient Greeks have been staged, translated, and adapted throughout the modern world. A final set of essays look at operas adapted from Greek drama, along with films around the world based on plays of the ancient Greeks. Illuminating and thought-provoking, A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama offers insights into the contributions of an ancient civilization with an enduring legacy.