Reading Greek Tragedy

Revised edition of a pioneering critical introduction to Greek tragedy which helps readers appreciate the plays in all their complexity.

Simon Goldhill (Author)

9781009183048, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 November 2023

380 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.6 cm, 0.69 kg

'Required reading for anyone who has a serious interest in ancient Greek tragedy and is unfamiliar with the first edition … Highly recommended.' P. Nieto, CHOICE

This book is an advanced critical introduction to Greek tragedy. It is written specifically for the reader who does not know Greek and who may be unfamiliar with the context of the Athenian drama festival but who nevertheless wants to appreciate the plays in all their complexity. Simon Goldhill aims to combine the best contemporary scholarly criticism in classics with a wide knowledge of modern literary studies in other fields. He discusses the masterpieces of Athenian drama in the light of contemporary critical controversies in such a way as to enable the student or scholar not only to understand and appreciate the texts of the most commonly read plays, but also to evaluate and utilize the range of approaches to the problems of ancient drama. This revised edition contains a substantial new Introduction which engages with critical and scholarly developments in Greek tragedy since the original publication.

Preface
1. The drama of logos
2. The language of appropriation
3. The city of words
4. Relations and relationships
5. Sexuality and difference
6. Text and tradition
7. Mind and madness
8. Blindness and insight
9. Sophistry, philosophy, rhetoric
10. Genre and transgression
11. Performance and performability
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]