Euripides: Cyclops: A Satyr Play Contributor(s): Shaw, Carl A. (Author) |
|
ISBN: 1474245803 ISBN-13: 9781474245807 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC OUR PRICE: $30.64 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2019 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical - Drama | Ancient & Classical - Literary Collections | Ancient, Classical & Medieval |
Dewey: 882.01 |
Series: Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy |
Physical Information: 0.37" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (0.46 lbs) 176 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: With its ribald chorus of ithyphallic, half-man / half-horse creatures, satyr drama was a peculiar part of the Athenian theatrical experience. Performed three times each year after a trilogy of tragedies, it was an integral part of the 5th- and 4th-century City Dionysia, a large festival in honour of the god Dionysus. Euripides: Cyclops is the first book-length study of this fascinating genre's only complete, extant play, a theatrical version of Odysseus' encounter with the monster Polyphemus. Shaw begins with a look at the history of the genre, following its development from early 6th-century religious processions up to the Hellenistic era. He then offers a comprehensive analysis of the Cyclops' plot and performance, using the text (alongside ancient literary fragments and visual evidence) to determine the original viewing experience: the stage, masks, costumes, actions and emotions. A detailed examination of the text reveals that Euripides associates and distinguishes his version of the story from previous iterations of the myth, especially book nine of Homer's Odyssey. Euripides handles many of the same themes as his predecessors, but he updates the Cyclops for the Athenian stage, adapting his work to reflect and comment upon contemporary religious, philosophical and literary-musical trends. |
Contributor Bio(s): Harrison, Thomas: - Thomas Harrison is Rathbone Professor of Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the University of Liverpool, UK. His publications include Divinity and History: the religion of Herodotus (2000), The Emptiness of Asia: Aeschylus' Persians and the history of the fifth century (2000); as editor Greeks and Barbarians (2002) and the Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome (2006). |