Euripides: Bacchae (Duckworth Companions to Greek & Roman Tragedy) (Duckworth Companions to Greek & Roman Tragedy)

"Accessible introductions to ancient tragedies discuss the main themes of a play and the central developments in modern criticism, while also addressing the play's historical context and the history of its performance and adaptation. References to Dionysus in popular culture focus on the god as the incarnation of wild and decadent behaviour, by which humans are intrigued and appalled. The god as he is portrayed in Euripides' Bacchae is, however, more complex, paradoxically transcending straightforward notions of the Dionysiac. Euripides' Dionysus blurs the dividing line between many of the fundamental categories of ancient Greek life - male and female, Greek and barbarian, divine and human. This book explores his place in Athenian religion, what Euripides makes of him in the play, and the views of later writers and scholars."--Bloomsbury Publishing This is an accessible introduction to the ancient tragedy of discuss the main themes of Euripides' Bacchae, and the central developments in modern criticism, whilst also addressing the play's historical context and the history of its performance and adaptation. References to Dionysus in popular culture focus on the god as the incarnation of wild and decadent behaviour, by which humans are intrigued and appalled. The god as he is portrayed in Euripides' Bacchae is, however, more complex, paradoxically transcending straightforward notions of the Dionysiac. Euripides' Dionysus blurs the dividing line between many of the fundamental categories of ancient Greek life - male and female, Greek and barbarian, divine and human. This book explores his place in Athenian religion, what Euripides makes of him in the play, and the views of later writers and scholars More complex than straightforward notions of the Dionsyiac, Euripides' Dionysus blurs the dividing line between many of the fundamental categories of Greek life - male and female, Greek and barbarian, divine and human. This text explores his place in Athenian religion, detailing what Euripides makes of him in the play Euripides was born in Athens somewhere between 485 and 480 BCE, and his life-span coincides almost exactly with the growth and relatively swift decline of his city's power in the Greek world. Sophie Mills. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 152-167) And Index.