Why Athens?

A Reappraisal of Tragic Politics

Edited by D. M. Carter

A major contribution to the current debate about the political aspects of Greek tragedy
Explores the intriguing question of why tragedy was a specifically Athenian cultural product

Why Athens?

A Reappraisal of Tragic Politics

Edited by D. M. Carter

Description

This collection of fourteen essays and six short responses reconsiders Greek tragedy as a reflection of Athenian political culture. The contributors try to avoid making the controversial assumption that the politics of tragedy were of simple relevance to the Athenian democracy. Instead, they look for other ways to explain the Athenianness of tragedy. These include: the polyphonic discourse of tragedy; the presentation of Athens in some plays (and the representation of foreigners too); tragedy as an Athenian form of choral performance; and the ways in which family matters are presented, for example marriage alliances or inheritance law. Why Athens? opens up important new ways of considering tragedy as a political art form.

Why Athens?

A Reappraisal of Tragic Politics

Edited by D. M. Carter

Introduction, Mark Griffith & D. M. Carter
I. Context
1. The glue of democracy? Tragedy, structure and finance, Peter Wilson
2. Plato, drama, and rhetoric, D. M. Carter
3. Nothing to do with Athens? Tragedians at the courts of tyrants, Anne Duncan
Response, Richard Seaford
II. Discourse
4. Athenian tragedy as democratic discourse, Peter Burian
5. Euripidean euboulia and the problem of 'tragic politics', Jon Hesk
6. 'Possessing an unbridled tongue': frank speech and speaking back in Euripides' Orestes, Elton T. E. Barker
Response, Malcolm Heath
III. Families Mark Griffith
7. Extended families, marriage, and inter-city relations in (later) Athenian tragedy: Dynasts II, Mark Griffith
8. Inheritance and the Athenian nature of Sophoclean tragedy, Eleanor OKell
Response, Peter Rhodes
IV. Choruses
9. Choroi achoroi: the Athenian politics of tragic choral identity, Sheila Murnaghan
10. Pity and panhellenic politics: choral emotion in Euripides' Hecuba and Trojan Women, Eirene Visvardi
Response, Ian Ruffell
V. Suppliants
11. Supplication and empire in Athenian tragedy, Angeliki Tzanetou
12. Athens in Euripides' Suppliants: ritual, politics, and theatre, Graziella Vinh
Response, Barbara Goff
VI. Athens and Greece
13. The panhellenism of Athenian tragedy, David Rosenbloom
14. Hellenicity in later Euripidean tragedy, John Gibert
Response, Anthony J. Podlecki

Why Athens?

A Reappraisal of Tragic Politics

Edited by D. M. Carter

Author Information

D. M. Carter is Lecturer in Greek, University of Reading

Contributors:

Elton T. E. Barker, The Open University
Peter Burian, Duke University
D. M. Carter, University of Reading
Anne Duncan, Center for Hellenic Studies
John Gibert, University of Colorado
Barbara Goff, University of Reading
Mark Griffith, University of Oxford
Malcolm Heath, University of Leeds
Jon Hesk, University of St Andrews
Sheila Murnaghan, University of Pennsylvania
Eleanor OKell, Durham University
Anthony J. Podlecki, University of British Columbia
Peter Rhodes, Durham University
David Rosenbloom, University of Washington
Ian Ruffell, University of Glasgow
Richard Seaford, University of Exeter
Angeliki Tzanetou, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graziella Vinh, Universite Paris VII-Jussieu
Eirene Visvardi, Stanford University
Peter Wilson, University of Sydney

Why Athens?

A Reappraisal of Tragic Politics

Edited by D. M. Carter

Reviews and Awards

"Overall, the essays in this volume are uniformly high-quality. Scholars working on the topics and plays covered will certainly want to consult them. It is uncommon to find a set of conference proceedings this well-integrated. The essays frequently refer to each other not only in the footnotes but in the body as well, suggesting that the original conference must have sparked lively and fruitful scholarly exchange, which has been carried over into publication."--Alex Gottesman, Bryn Mawr Classical Review