The Tangled Ways of Zeus : And Other Studies In and Around Greek Tragedy

The Tangled Ways of Zeus is a collection of studies written over the last twenty years by the distinguished classicist Alan Sommerstein about various aspects of ancient Greek tragedy (and, in some cases, other related genres). It complements his recent collection of studies in Greek comedy, Talking about Laughter (OUP, 2009). Some of the essays have not been published previously, others have appeared in books or journals hard to find outside major academic libraries. Each chapter deals with its own topic, but between them they build up a multifaceted picture of the dramatists (especially Aeschylus and Sophocles), the genre, and its interactions with the society, culture, and religion of classical Athens. This Book Brings Together Nineteen Studies By Alan Sommerstein On Ancient Athenian Drama, Especially Tragedy; Five Of These Have Not Previously Appeared In Print, And Almost All The Others Were First Published (between 1992 And 2(106) In Out-of-the-way Journals, Collections, Or Conference Volumes. These Appear Here As Originally Written, But Are Accompanied By Updating Addenda. Though They Cover A Wide Range Of Topics From The Presentation Of Violence In Drama To The Socialization Of The Adolescent Male, From The Authenticity Of Play Titles To The Significance Of One Character Calling Another 'dearest, ' Most Of Them Focus On Four Or Five Themes: The Dramatists' Exploitation And Modification Of Myth; How Much Their Audiences Could Know Or Guess In Advance About The Content Of A Play; Connected Suites Of Plays That Were Produced Together (trilogies And Tetralogies); The Information That Can Be Gleaned From Our Fragmentary Evidence About Plays That Have Not Survived; And Some Of The Multifarious Connections Between Athenian Tragic Drama And Athenian Society, Including The Socioeconomic Composition Of Audiences, The Relationship Between Aeschylus' Oresicia And The Politics Of Its Day, And Evidence Supporting The Tradition That Aeschylus Desired To Be Commemorated On His Tomb Not As A Poet But As A Soldier. All Are Informed By The Conviction That 'the Study Of Ancient, Or Any Other, Literature Is A Branch Of History'.--jacket. The Titles Of Greek Dramas -- Violence In Greek Drama -- Adolescence, Ephebeia, And Athenian Drama -- Sherlockismus And The Study Of Fragmentary Tragedies -- The Seniority Of Polyneikes In Aeschylus' Seven -- The Beginning And The End Of Aeschylus' Danaid Trilogy -- The Theatre Audience, The Demos, And The Suppliants Of Aeschylus -- Sleeping Safe In Our Beds : Stasis, Assassination, And Oresteia -- The Tangled Ways Of Zeus -- The Omen Of Aulis Or The Omen Of Argos? -- Pathos And Mathos Before Zeus -- Oresteia Act Ii : Two Misconceptions -- Aeschylus' Epitaph -- Dearest Haimon -- They All Knew How It Was Going To End : Tragedy, Myth, And The Spectator -- Alternative Scenarios In Sophocles' Electra -- Sophocles' Palmedes And Nauplius Plays : No Trilogy Here -- The Rugged Pyrrhus : The Son Of Achilles In Tragedy -- What Ought The Thebans To Have Done? Alan H. Sommerstein. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Contents......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. The titles of Greek dramas......Page 22 2. Violence in Greek drama......Page 41 3. Adolescence, ephebeia, and Athenian drama......Page 58 4. Sherlockismus and the study of fragmentary tragedies......Page 72 5. The seniority of Polyneikes in Aeschylus’ Seven......Page 93 6. The beginning and the end of Aeschylus’ Danaid trilogy......Page 100 7. The theatre audience, the Demos, and the Suppliants of Aeschylus......Page 129 8. Sleeping safe in our beds: stasis, assassination, and the Oresteia......Page 154 9. The tangled ways of Zeus......Page 175 10. The omen of Aulis or the omen of Argos?......Page 182 11. Pathos and mathos before Zeus......Page 189 12. Oresteia Act II: two misconceptions......Page 200 13. Aeschylus’ epitaph......Page 206 14. Dearest Haimon......Page 213 15. ‘They all knew how it was going to end’: tragedy, myth, and the spectator......Page 220 16. Alternative scenarios in Sophocles’ Electra......Page 235 17. Sophocles’ Palamedes and Nauplius plays: no trilogy here......Page 261 18. ‘The rugged Pyrrhus’: the son of Achilles in tragedy......Page 270 19. What ought the Thebans to have done?......Page 288 References......Page 299 Index locorum......Page 318 A......Page 342 C......Page 344 D......Page 345 E......Page 346 H......Page 347 M......Page 348 P......Page 349 S......Page 350 T......Page 351 Z......Page 352 This book brings together nineteen studies on ancient Athenian drama, especially tragedy; five of these have not previously appeared in print, and almost all the others were first published (between 1992 and 2006) in out-of-the-way journals, collections, or conference volumes. These appear here as originally written, but are accompanied by updating addenda. Though they cover a wide range of topics—from the presentation of violence in drama to the socialization of the adolescent male, from the authenticity of play titles to the significance of one character calling another ‘dearest’—most of them focus on four or five themes: the dramatists' exploitation and modification of myth; how much their audiences could know or guess in advance about the content of a play; connected suites of plays that were produced together (trilogies and tetralogies); the information that can be gleaned from our fragmentary evidence about plays that have not survived; and some of the multifarious connections between Athenian tragic drama and Athenian society, including the socioeconomic composition of audiences, the relationship between Aeschylus' Oresteia and the politics of its day, and evidence supporting the tradition that Aeschylus desired to be commemorated on his tomb not as a poet but as a soldier. All are informed by the conviction that ‘the study of ancient, or any other, literature is a branch of history’