Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Greek drama (Tragedy)'

This thesis investigates the significance of ritual movements in theatre and society of fifth-century Athens. The focus falls on processional movement, the definitive characteristics of which are drawn from the ancient Greek concept of pompe, i.e. a movement towards a defined destination, involving the conveyance of a ritual symbol (or an object or a person) between specific points of departure and arrival. The social contexts of divine and heroic cult, funerals and weddings prove to be the main occasions for the performance of such processional movements. In the world outside the theatre, processions are shown to be crucial in defining transitions, shaping social relations, and manifesting the action and inviting the attention of the divine. The socio-religious significance of processions is fully appropriated and explored by tragedy. Processional action, recurrently evoked in the tragic plays, proves to be crucial for the articulation of the tragic δρώμενα. This is argued in the collection and analysis of a number of scenes from extant fifth-century tragedy in which processional resonances permeate the action. The interpretation of the scenes in the light of the ritual background which shapes them considerably enhances the understanding and appreciation of the plays as theatrical experience - experience which explores the potential of spatial configurations and visual symbolism, in a context of symbolic communication which is largely defined by participation in the rituals of the community. The thesis argues that the importance of processions in the theatre is inextricably connected with their power - as manifested in the ritual life of the polis - to gather the community and to initiate the process of θεάσασθαι, implicating both active participants and θεαταί in the performed action. Greek tragic theatre builds upon this basic function of processions and activates their power. Thus it also combines their potential to define transitions with the significance of tragic μετάβασις; and with the importance of demarcation of space and transformation of time in the theatre. Ritual experience is activated, reshaped and enlarged, enabling the re-creation and transformation of the experience of the audience. Processions can illuminate the nature of tragedy itself.

Although mythological monsters have rarely been examined in any collective and comprehensive manner, they constitute an important cosmic presence in archaic and classical Greek poetry. This thesis brings together insights from the scholarly areas of 'monster studies' and the 'sensory turn' in order to offer readings of the sounds made by monsters. I argue that the figure of the monster in Greek poetry, although it has positive attributes, does not have a fixed definition or position within the cosmos. Instead of using definitions of monstrosity to think about the role and status of Greek monsters, this thesis demonstrates that by listening to the sounds of the monster's voice, it is possible to chart its position in the cosmos. Monsters with incomprehensible, cacophonous, or dangerous voices pose greater threats to cosmic order; those whose voices are semiotic and anthropomorphic typically pose less serious threats. The thesis explores the shifting depictions of monsters according to genre and author. In Chapter 1, 'Hesiod's Theogony: The Role of Monstrosity in the Cosmos', I consider Hesiod's genealogies of monsters that circulate and threaten in the nonhuman realm, while the universe is still undergoing processes of organisation. Chapter 2, 'Homer's Odyssey: Mingling with Monsters', discusses the monster whom Odysseus encounters and even imitates in order to survive his exchanges with them. In Chapter 3, 'Monsters in Greek Lyric Poetry: Voices of Defeat', I examine Stesichorus' Geryoneis and the presence of Centaurs, Typhon, and Gorgons in Pindar's Pythian 1, 2, 3, and 12. In lyric, we find that these monsters are typically presented in terms of the monster's experience of defeat at the hands of a hero or a god. This discussion is followed by two chapters that explore the presence of the monster in Greek tragedy, entitled 'Centripetal Monsters in Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Oresteia' and 'Centrifugal Monsters in Greek Tragedy: Euripides and Sophocles.' Here, I argue that in tragedy the monster, or the abstractly 'monstrous', is located within the figure of the human being and within the polis. The coda, 'Monstrous Mimesis and the Power of Sound', considers not only monstrous voices, but monstrous music, examining the mythology surrounding the aulos and looking at the sonic developments generated by the New Musicians.

Researchers are asking what drama teachers do in the classroom that promotes effective learning. Educational drama practitioner researchers O'Neill (1995) and Taylor (2006) suggest that theory informs practice and practice informs theory. This qualitative retrospective study examines a teacher's and students' reflections on a process-drama approach to Greek tragedy. Drawing on Schon's (1983, 1987) theory of reflective practice, my study examines my "reflections-in-action" with five secondary 5 adolescent students between 1997 and 2004, and "reflections-on-action" with the same adult students between 2009 and 2010. An hourglass serves as a visual metaphor for reflection on three phases of the learning process: collaboration, transformation and performance. Synopses of Agamemnon and Antigone initiate group discussion, improvisation and scriptwriting. Journal entries, mask designs, transcriptions of videotaped performances, screenshots of performances, email correspondence and interviews provide original data for the adults' reflections on their process of learning through drama. The findings of this study indicate that educational drama is essential to the development of creativity, collaboration and empathy among the youth, our future world leaders.
Les chercheurs s'interrogent sur les moyens utilisés par les enseignants d'art dramatique pour favoriser l'apprentissage efficace. Selon O'Neill (1995) et Taylor (2006), professeurs chercheurs en théâtre éducatif, la théorie éclaire la pratique et la pratique éclaire la théorie. Dans cette étude rétrospective qualitative, on examine les réflexions d'une enseignante et d'élèves quant à l'approche processus-théâtre propre à la tragédie grecque. S'inspirant de la théorie sur la pratique réflexive de Schon (1983, 1987), cette étude examine les « réflexions-dans-l'action » d'une enseignante et de cinq adolescentes du 5e secondaire entre 1997 et 2004 et les « réflexions-sur-l'action » des mêmes étudiantes adultes entre 2009 et 2010. Un sablier est utilisé comme métaphore visuelle quant à la réflexion pour trois phases du processus d'apprentissage : collaboration, transformation et performance. Les synopsis d'Agamemnon et d'Antigone ont alimenté la discussion de groupe, l'improvisation et l'écriture de scénarios. La tenue d'un journal, la conception de masques, la transcription de performances sur vidéo, la capture sur écran de performances, la correspondance électronique et les entrevues ont fourni des données inédites pour enrichir la réflexion des adultes quant à leur processus d'apprentissage par le théâtre. Les constatations de cette étude révèlent que le théâtre éducatif est essentiel au développement de la créativité, à la collaboration et à l'empathie des jeunes, nos futurs dirigeants du monde.

In this thesis, I argue that Sophoclean characters take shape through a number of different kinds of interaction. On the most basic level, interaction occurs between characters; interactions between characters, however, provide a framework for interactions between those characters and a variety of more abstract concepts. These interactions, by allowing characters to situate themselves with respect to concepts such as, for example, the social roles which shape the society of the play, provide a more complex picture of the personalities depicted onstage; a fuller view of Antigone’s personality, for example, emerges both from her own interactions with the concept of sisterhood and from the differences between her interactions with that concept and Ismene’s. At the same time, these interactions involve the audience in both the construction and the interpretation of Sophoclean characters; as they watch figures interact with each other onstage, the audience, in turn, interact with their own prior knowledge of the concepts which drive the characters of a play. In my five chapters, I discuss five different areas of interaction. In my first chapter, I look at interactions between characters and myth, arguing that Sophoclean characters emerge out of a tension between novelty and familiarity. In my second chapter, I discuss the interactions between characters and their social roles, looking at the problem of appropriate role performance as it applies to Sophoclean characters. My third chapter deals with characters and their memories; I argue that Sophoclean characters shape and are shaped by their memories of past events depending on shifting present circumstances. In my fourth chapter, I discuss the interactions between characters and the passage of time and suggest that Sophoclean figures are characterized by the ways in which they move through time and respond to its passage. In my final chapter, I look at the use of general statements by Sophoclean characters, arguing that the ability of characters to generalize successfully provides a useful measure of their ability to function in the world of the play.

Orientador: Flavio Ribeiro de Oliveira
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T13:28:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Salvador_EvandroLuis_D.pdf: 724657 bytes, checksum: 33f856b8879463095c8d1581fd848ecc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010
Resumo: Destinada ao público não especializado na questão da poesia dramática grega, a pesquisa de doutorado tem como foco principal a tradução em prosa da tragédia As Fenícias, de Eurípides. Apresenta-se, também, um ensaio sobre o prólogo e o primeiro episódio, possibilitando aos leitores da tragédia compreender um aspecto por vezes esquecido, mas que é fundamental para a sua dramatização: a audiência teatral. Desse modo, pretende-se construir uma ponte entre o mundo grego antigo e o mundo do leitor moderno
Abstract: Not specialized for the public on the issue of Greek dramatic poetry, the doctoral research is focused on the translation in prose of the Euripides' tragedy Phoenissae. It presents also an essay on the prologue and the first episode, which enable readers to understand an aspect of tragedy that is sometimes forgotten, but that is essencial for its enactment: the theatrical audience. Thus, we intend to build a bridge between the ancient Greek world and the world of the modern reader
Doutorado
Linguistica
Doutor em Linguística

The study of old age in the humanities has developed significantly in the last few decades, but there is still much scope for progress. This thesis, therefore, seeks to contribute to the growing academic discourse in this area by considering ageing as it is represented in ancient Greek theatre. At the same time, it seeks to take its place within Classical Studies by developing new readings of the plays. To develop a context for its analysis, this study begins with consideration of the contemporary demographics, social position, and stage portrayal of old age, and following this dedicates a chapter to each of the four surviving fifth century dramatists. In Aiskhylos’ Agamemnon, old age emerges as a crucial element in choral self-identity, and an important component of the authority that they display. Following this, the thesis considers the chorus of Euripides’ Herakles, in particular its use of metadramatic language, and the impact this has on plot-development and the representation of their age. The next chapter, on Oidipous Koloneus, shifts to consideration of the protagonist. The old age of Oidipous emerges as a powerful driver of his mental and spiritual power, and forms a striking background to the exploration of his character. The final chapter of the thesis examines how mechanisms of renewal that old men undergo in Aristophanes’ comedies (Knights, Akharnians, Peace, Wasps, Birds) differ across the dramas, and the impact this difference has on their interpretations. Such reassessments of ancient dramatic texts through the lens of old age can provide significant insight into the complexity of old men’s characterisations and of their involvement in the dramas. At the same time (from a gerontological perspective), this thesis’ analysis contributes to the developing discussion of the history of ageing, and highlights the differences between the ancient and modern worlds in this respect.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.
Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 204 p.; contains ills., map. Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204). Abstract available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2006 May 19.

In this dissertation, I investigate the textual tradition of the Cretan tragedy Erofili by Georgios Chortatsis (16th century). The play, accompanied by a set of four Interludes, has survived in three manuscripts and two editions, all originating from the 17th century. All the witnesses are examined and presented thoroughly, both as autonomous texts and in comparison to each other. The examination of each witness separately sheds light not only on the history of the transmission of Erofili, but also to the production of manuscripts and printed books in Crete, the Heptanese and Venice in general. As far as the condition of the text is concerned, three witnesses preserve the most reliable texts: the second edition and the two manuscripts originating from Crete. The investigation of their relationship shows that two groups can be identified: one includes the two Cretan manuscripts and another one the three other witnesses. Νo important alterations in the plot and the sequence of events are found, so the textual variation concerns mainly the phrasing. There are indications that variation among the witnesses might have resulted from revisions by the playwright himself. The evaluation of the two groups of witnesses shows that it is not possible to consider one of them as superior, and this leads to the question which would be the most appropriate editorial method. Previous editors have followed the eclectic approach, which has many positive aspects, but cannot help the readers to realize all the stages of the transmission of the play. Since various theoretical approaches have appeared during the last decades, it has been understood that no edition can be called “definitive” and that editions following different methods can address different questions and achieve different aims. Erofili, and other texts with a rich and complicated textual tradition, can be edited in various ways and each edition can offer new insight in the history of the production, transmission and reception of the work.

Aquest treball s’insereix en una línia d’investigació en què la reflexió sorgeix de la confrontació amb el text, per aquesta raó els problemes de comprensió que han sorgit en el moment de posar-nos a llegir la tragèdia de les Eumènides han estat els que ens han permès una nova aproximació al que podria significar que quelcom fos tràgic, i per tant, a allò que podria ser una tragèdia. El treball d’exegesi del text grec, així com les dificultats de la seva traducció han posat de manifest la distància que separa Grècia de la Modernitat, en la mesura que el text només s’ha obert a la comprensió quan hem estat capaços de deixar endarrere els supòsits que ens conformen en tant que moderns i hem intentat una interpretació que busqués la coherència interna del text més enllà de preconcepcions tradicionals. D’aquesta manera hem intentat donar cobertura a diferents escenes de les Eumènides i assajar algun tipus de solució als diversos problemes que ens havien impulsat a fer d’aquest treball la lectura d’una tragèdia, entre ells la importància de la figura de Dionís com a déu de la tragèdia, la irrenunciabilitat a l’oposició entre el cor i els personatges, la possibilitat de la tragèdia com a festa en què la pólis es detenia per anar al teatre o la relació d’aquesta amb la mort. En el curs de la investigació la tragèdia s’ha revelat com a obra radicalment grega, i per tant, com l’expressió del que nosaltres des de la nostra posició moderna no podem deixar de percebre com la seva estructura. En aquest moment es feia rellevant Grècia com allò altre, i per tant, com el més necessari per entendre qui érem nosaltres.
This work fits with research in that reflection arises from the confrontation with the text, which is why understanding the problems that have arisen in the moment we read the tragedy of the Eumenides have been those that have allowed us a new approach to what it might mean something to be tragic, and therefore what could be a tragedy. The work of exegesis of the Greek text and translation difficulties have highlighted the gap between Modernity and Greece, because the text has only been open to understanding when we were able to leave behind the assumptions that shape us as a moderns and tried an interpretation to look for internal coherence of the text beyond traditional preconceptions. In this way we tried to cover different scenes in the Eumenides and try some kind of solution to various problems that had driven to make this work the reading of a tragedy, including the importance of the figure of Dionysus as the god of tragedy, the indispensability of opposition between the chorus and the characters, the possibility of tragedy as the polis party that stops the activity for going to the theatre and its relationship with death. The course of the investigation has revealed tragedy as a work radically Greek and therefore, as an expression of what, our modern position cannot fail to perceive as its structure. At this time, Greece became relevant as the other, and therefore, as the most necessary to understand who we were.

This thesis analyses the reception of Sophocles’ Antigone in early modern English drama in the form of translation and adaptation. It focusses on the only two extant texts that can be defined as a translation or an adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone by English authors in the early modern period: "Sophoclis Antigone" (1581), a Latin translation by Thomas Watson, and "The Tragedy of Antigone, The Theban Princesse" (1631), an English adaptation by Thomas May. Opting for the historicist strand within reception studies, I argue that these two English Antigones intersect at a crossroads of contexts – theoretical, cultural, literary, and political. Only within these perspectives can these plays be fully understood and their value reassessed. Combining Sophocles’ tragedy both with other classical sources and contemporary models, the two texts challenge the traditional understanding of the early modern compositional approaches of "translation" and "adaptation". Moreover, by potentially alluding to contemporary events, Watson’s and May’s versions of Antigone partly align with, partly destabilize modern interpretations of the Sophoclean original. As direct and declared engagements with the Sophoclean play, Watson’s and May’s "Antigones" are ideal case studies for the flexible conception of the practices of translation and adaptation and for the close relationship between politics and drama in the early modern period.

Esta investigación trata de cómo Sófocles, a través de su magna obra Antígona, nos mostró que el hombre es pantopóros, es decir, un ser que dispone de todos los recursos, industrioso, pero que no posee ninguno, es áporos, pudiendo optar por todos los caminos aunque estos le sean impracticables. Sófocles, aquel que nos señaló que el sabio no puede conformarse con un solo camino, únicamente lo pronunciaría una vez a lo largo de su magna y extensa obra: pantopóros áporos. El carácter indigente del hombre quedaba así señalado a través de un hápax apórico que el Coro de Antígona iba a inmortalizar como un verdadero oxímoron vital en una Oda al hombre, perteneciente a ese primer estásimo que contiene la esencia de la cultura occidental. Cabría preguntarse entonces hasta qué punto la obra sofoclea ha podido proporcionarnos a lo largo de la historia hasta nuestros días un saber primero del fenómeno trágico. Cabría advertir también el hecho de no caer en un mero formulario de las numerosas Antígonas posteriores, sino ahondar en el estudio hermenéutico, con una cuestión trascendente como telón de fondo: ¿A qué se debe la inquebrantable autoridad que los mitos griegos sobre nuestra imaginación y por qué un puñado de éstos, Antígona entre ellos, reaparece en el arte del siglo XX, casi obsesivamente, sin relegarlos a la mera arqueología? El ser humano, al perder su capacidad animal de respuesta automática, deriva hacia una pulsión de muerte, dando paso a un animal simbólico capaz de transformar la cultura en tragedia. El hápax sofocleo se transformaba así en una simbología que caracterizaba la indigencia del hombre, sublimando una aporía que le facilitaba el depender del otro, el temer a todo y a todos. Ora travesía de mito universal, ora poética, ora filosofía de la lectura, las diferentes interpretaciones de Antígona serán de paso obligado en esta investigación, apareciendo el hápax sofocleo como catalizador de las mismas.

La mia ricerca verte essenzialmente sul ruolo dell'oracolo di Delfi, dal punto di vista della lingua e delle sue funzioni, all'interno dei drammi di Eschilo, Sofocle ed Euripide: attraverso l'analisi provo a dimostrare come la presenza oracolare nella tragedia rappresenti non tanto un espediente drammaturgico quanto un elemento essenziale nella strutturazione della trama e nello sviluppo della stessa. Alla luce dell analisi condotta sui drammi dei tre poeti tragici, definisco quello di Delfi come oracolo tragico dal momento che esso nei testi drammatici assume caratteri talmente peculiari da rendere possibile individuarne una specificità ben precisa rispetto alla sua esistenza storica (come ci è tramandato dalle iscrizioni rinvenute a Delfi e a Dodona).

My PhD thesis, The Flower of Suffering, offers a philosophical evaluation of Aeschylus' Oresteia in light of Presocratic ideas. By examining several aspects of the tragic trilogy in relation to some of Aeschylus' near-contemporary thinkers, it aims to unravel the overarching theological ideas and the metaphysical and epistemological assumptions underpinning the Oresteia's dramatic narrative. My aim is to bring to relief those aspects of the Oresteia which I believe will benefit from a comparison with some ideas, or modes of thought, which circulated among the Presocratic philosophers. I will explore how reading some of this tragedy's themes in relation to Presocratic debates about theology and cosmic justice may affect and enhance our understanding of the theological ‘tension' and metaphysical assumptions in Aeschylus' work. In particular, it is my contention that Aeschylus' explicit theology, which has been often misinterpreted as a form of theodicy where the justice of heaven is praised and a faith in the rule of the gods is encouraged, is presented in these terms only to create a stronger collision with the painful reality dramatized from a human perspective. By setting these premises, it is my intention to confer on Greek tragedy a prominent position in the history of early Greek philosophical thought. If the exclusion of Presocratic material from debates about tragedy runs the risk of obscuring a thorough understanding of the broader cultural backdrop against which tragedy was born, the opposite is also true. Greek tragedy represents, in its own dramatic language, a fundamental contribution to early philosophical speculation about the divine, human attitudes towards it, indeed, the human place in relation to the cosmic forces which govern the universe.

En Colombia, un país entre dos océanos en el norte de la América del Sur, ha habido diversas manifestaciones del arte y la cultura en las que la presencia de la tragedia griega sigue siendo un recurso pertinente para hablar de las heridas de su realidad. Género y destino: la tragedia griega en Colombia es una reflexión enmarcada en sesenta años (entre 1954 y 2014) en los que las obras de Esquilo, Sófocles y Eurípides han estado presentes en sus escenarios, en sus letras o en sus nuevas tendencias audiovisuales. Por un lado, se estudian aquí los tres ejes a partir de los cuales el concepto de lo trágico hace presencia en sus distintas disciplinas artísticas. A saber: la tragedia, desde la perspectiva de la soledad del ser humano. Por otro lado, la tragedia de una sociedad inmersa en una espiral de violencia que no cesa. Y, en tercer lugar, la tragedia como género teatral. Estas tres líneas indican, a su vez, tres modelos de representación en los distintos escenarios colombianos: las puestas en escena ilustrativas (donde se prioriza el texto), las puestas en escena complementarias (donde se pretende crear una ilusión de realidad, conservando el texto pero interrogándolo a través del montaje) y las puestas en escena que prescinden de los versos antiguos, utilizando la tragedia griega como un detonante para enfrentarse a nuevas formas y a nuevas preguntas. Siguiendo las rutas señaladas, el presente estudio emprende un viaje que se remonta a los primeros montajes radiales inspirados en la tragedia griega, hasta llegar a los desafíos posdramáticos de la segunda década del nuevo milenio. Al mismo tiempo, a través de casi cien experiencias artísticas, se vuelve inevitable encontrar el reflejo de un país cercenado por el conflicto armado, donde la realidad y la ficción parecen establecer un tejido en el que se borran los límites entre una y otra. La tragedia griega se convierte en una manera de metaforizar el horror y de dignificar, de alguna manera, el sinsentido de una sociedad que se resiste a salir de su progresivo desconcierto. “Género”, “Destino”, “Tragedia griega” y “Colombia” son los cuatro ejes que guían la reflexión específica sobre el dolor y su traducción en térmi­nos artísticos. En un momento en el que las fronteras del arte tienden a confundirse, el presente estudio persigue las distintas maneras de cómo los versos de la antigüedad sirven para fustigar a una sociedad, en apariencia, lejana a sus modelos de representación. El espacio de la tragedia griega sigue expandiéndose y no sólo se circunscribe al mundo de “las tablas”. Por esta razón, el cine, la narrativa, la poesía o las artes visuales se han apropiado de ciertos mitos específicos de la antigüedad para encontrar puentes de comparación con el mundo contemporáneo. Sendos ejemplos del arte colombiano de finales del siglo XX y comienzos del XXI servirán para mostrar ese diálogo entre el mundo antiguo y el presente. Pero es al teatro donde, en última instancia, se regresa en las líneas que siguen. Género y destino: la tragedia griega en Colombia navega por las aguas de la historia de las artes escénicas de un país, a través de los gru­pos de mayor tradición (TEC, La Candelaria, Teatro Libre de Bogotá), pasando por sus mejores vanguardias (Mapa Teatro), reconociendo los puentes internacionales que se cuelan en sus distintas puestas en escena (Polonia, Italia, Grecia, España, Suiza, Guatemala), hasta llegar a las formas más recientes de representación y, de manera inevitable, a los centros de educación artística en donde se han gestado entusiastas proyectos de reconstrucción del espíritu trágico. De otro lado, será en tres grandes ciudades (Bogotá, Medellín, Cali) donde se refleje, de manera más clara, la necesidad de poner en escena distintos modelos teatrales en los que los acertijos de la Grecia antigua se convierten en talismanes reveladores para darle una nueva universalidad a las manifestaciones artísticas del país. Aunque se ha seguido la pista de la tragedia griega por distintos caminos entre selvas, ríos, playas o montañas, es en esta tríada de centros urbanos donde la presencia de los espectros de Esquilo, Sófocles o Eurípides ha sido más clara y, de alguna manera, más renovadora. En el análisis del recorrido de la tragedia griega en Colombia se verán los modos en que las distintas propuestas teatrales y artísticas han en­carado el conflicto de un país mediante las fábulas atroces narradas por los poetas de la antigüedad. En el presente estudio no sólo se viaja hacia atrás en los siglos, sino que se establecen dos necesidades: por un lado, el análisis de un género desde la perspectiva de sus distintas puestas en escena. Y, por el otro, la manera como se manifiestan los distintos signos de la violencia en una sociedad inmersa en un conflicto que pareciera no llegar nunca a un puerto de reconciliación. El teatro en América Latina, al interior de sus mejores vanguardias, ha estado comprometido de manera estrecha con las grandes luchas sociales de sus respectivos países. Colombia, en particular, ha vivido múltiples violencias y, desde los años cincuenta, ha atravesado el conflicto entre liberales y conservadores, ha pasado a las luchas de las guerrillas de izquierda con el orden establecido, ha narcotizado sus batallas por culpa de la ilegalidad de un negocio que triunfa gracias a su prohibición y, hoy por hoy, todas las sangres parecieran juntarse hasta hacer desaparecer los principios y los fines. En medio de esta borrasca, la tragedia griega se ha reescrito sobre los espacios de representación colombianos, como una de las múltiples maneras de desenredar el hilo de una fortuna que parece estar confundida con el desastre. Género y destino: la tragedia griega en Colombia es un viaje a través de distintos escenarios de representación y es, al mismo tiempo, una reflexión acerca de una sociedad que pareciera acostumbrarse a convivir con la fatalidad.
Genre and Destiny: Greek Tragedy in Colombia is a reflection framed by a period of sixty years (1954-2014) during which time the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides have been present on the country's stages, in its literature, and in its emerging audiovisual trends. We'll study the three axes around which the concept of tragedy in its various artistic disciplines makes its presence felt. First, tragedy from the perspective of human loneliness; second, the tragedy of a society caught in a spiral of endless violence; and, third, tragedy as a theatrical genre. These three lines point, in turn, to three models of representation in various Colombian scenarios: illustrative stagings (where text is prioritized), complementary stagings (aimed at creating the illusion of reality, preserving the text, but questioning it through the staging) and stagings which ignore the ancient verses and use Greek tragedy to trigger new forms and new questions. Based on the above, this study travels back in time to the first radio broadcasts inspired by Greek tragedy and on to the post-dramatic challenges of the new millennium’s second decade. At the same time, by taking a close look at nearly one hundred artistic experiences, we analyze a country at war, where reality and fiction seem so closely interwoven that the boundaries between them are indistinguishable. Greek tragedy becomes a metaphor for the horror and a means of somehow dignifying the absurdity of a society that refuses to rise above a progressive state of confusion. "Genre", "Destiny”, "Greek Tragedy" and "Colombia" are the four axes guiding this very specific reflection on pain and the way it is translated through artistic expression. In a time when the boundaries of art seem to have blurred, this study investigates the different ways in which the ancient verses are used to criticize a society that seems to have distanced itself from its models of representation. The space occupied by Greek tragedy continues to grow and is not limited to the stage. Because of this, film, narratives, poetry, and the visual arts have appropriated certain specific ancient myths that make it possible to bridge the gap with the contemporary world. There are many examples of late twentieth-century and early twenty-first century Colombian art that testify to this dialogue between the old and present-day worlds. But this study, ultimately, returns to the theater. Genre and Destiny: Greek Tragedy in Colombia explores the history of the nation's performing arts through some of its most traditional groups (the TEC, La Candelaria, Bogota's Teatro Libre) and best vanguard ensembles (Mapa Teatro), and by recognizing the international influences present in its different stagings (Poland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Guatemala), arriving finally at its most recent forms of representation and, inevitably, the arts education centers where enthusiastic projects are underway to redefine, once again, the tragic spirit. Genre and Destiny: Greek Tragedy in Colombia is both a journey through the country's different stages of representation and a reflection on a society that seems accustomed to living with fatality. It is a study of violence in a society centered on an analysis of its art forms, using the Greek tragedy as an aesthetic trigger.

El πάθος, entès com a emoció, com a afectació, està íntimament relacionat amb la teoria d'Aristótil a propòsit del que s'ha anomenat la catarsi tràgica. És així que en un context literari específicament tràgic aquest concepte ha estat assimilat tradicionalment amb la compassió i el temor, les emocions tràgiques per excel•lència. És una idea tradicional també associar la tragèdia amb esdeveniments desafortunats, dramàtics, com ara morts, guerres, desgràcies. i, de fet, Aristòtil en obres que no reflexionen sobre literatura defineix aquest concepte com una desgràcia, un patiment. D'aquesta manera, el πάθος, tot i contenir l'empremta tràgica, és un concepte que es pot aplicar també a l'èpica en aquells passatges on es descriu alguna mena de desgràcia amb un estil que aconsegueix generar en l'espectador una emoció en termes de dolor. D'altra banda, la Retòrica és una obra on el filòsof reflexiona a propòsit de diverses emocions, les defineix i explica que són mecanismes útils per emprar en aquelles parts del discurs en què es vol influir en l'emoció del jutge. És així que en la tradició aristotèlica el πάθος s'ha vinculat amb allò tràgic i amb l'emoció, especialment dolorosa, que es manifesta en un personatge, en una escena, i que es transmet a l'auditori. Aquesta tradició ha perdurat en el món grec i es reflecteix en la lectura que els antics feien dels textos clàssics per excel•lència: èpica i tragèdia. Tota aquesta tradició d'interpretació i comentari de textos literaris a propòsit d'aquest concepte queda molt ben definida i es pot resseguir en el que anomenem escolis antics, comentaris de diferents èpoques (època hel•lenística i imperial bàsicament) a determinats versos, passatges i episodis de les grans fites literàries de l’hel•lenitat. Però tota aquesta tradició a propòsit del πάθος no es reflecteix només en aquests comentaris erudits, sinó que es pot resseguir també en dues manifestacions artístiques d'època imperial que foren precisament titllades —no només en el seu moment, sinó també recentment per part d'estudiosos del món antic— de produccions poc exquisides i poc serioses amb l'únic objectiu d'entretenir un públic amb una formació cultural i literària més que modesta: es tracta de la dansa d'època imperial (ὄρχησις) —anomenada en la part occidental de l'imperi pantomima— i de la novella d'amor i d'aventures (Aquil•les Taci i Heliodor), també d'època imperial. Així, si els escolis antics de textos d'èpica i de tragèdia reflecteixen tota una tradició de lectura i de crítica literària que s'estengué fins a època imperial i més enllà, en la dansa i en la novel·la, com a produccions artístiques i literàries, podem resseguir aquesta tradició del πάθος i la reflexió de què fou objecte des del punt de vista de la creació literària. Així, malgrat que es tracta de manifestacions artístiques recents i novedoses en el seu moment, no per aquest motiu eren alienes a tota la tradició literària anterior, ans al contrari. I, de fet, de la mateixa manera que els escolis que estudiem en el treball a propòsit del πάθος reflecteixen fins a quin punt és un concepte que transgredeix les barreres de gènere, malgrat mantenir una empremta tràgica —en el sentit que avui dia apliquem nosaltres a aquest adjectiu—, en la novel·la i en els textos que reflexionen sobre la dansa com a creació artística, retrobem que els moments de tensió, de dolor, d'angoixa i de mort són construïts d'acord no només amb els criteris aristotèlics expressats en la Poètica i la Retòrica, sinó també amb els criteris i reflexions reflectits en els escolis.
The term πάθος, entès com a emoció, com a afectació, està íntimament relacionat amb la teoria d'Aristótil a propòsit del que s'ha anomenat la catarsi tràgica. És així que en un context literari específicament tràgic aquest concepte ha estat assimilat tradicionalment amb la compassió i el temor, les emocions tràgiques per excel•lència. as a literary and philosophical concept has a strong tradition of studies. Aristotle in his Ars Poetica considers it as a part of tragedy's plot and this term appears in the definition of tragedy given by the philosopher. For this reason this concept has been traditionally related with tragic katharsis, and with the so-called tragic emotions: fear and pity. Even though, the philosopher also applies this concept to epic poetry. As well as, in accordance with Aristotle's Ars Rhetorica, in discourses, emotions (πάθη) are useful in moving the judgement towards the direction desired by the orator. For these reasons in the Aristotelian tradition πάθος has been linked with the tragic and painful emotions manifested in a character or in a scene, with something that affects the audience. This tradition has remained and is reflected in the ancient Greek literary critic of classic texts, especially those which are epic and tragic. All this tradition of literary interpretation and commentaries about this concept is very well defined and it can be checked-out in what we call scholia vetera. But this can also be checked-out two artistic manifestations of the imperial period considered —not only in their moment by the cultural elite, but also recently by scholars of the ancient Greek literature— as non serious and refined products which have entertainment as the only goal. In addition, the audience of these artistic expressions was considered as having a low cultural and literary training. We are referring to the dance (ὄρχησις) and to the ancient Greek Novel, specifically to Leucipe & Cleitophon and to Aithiopika. So, if scholia of epic and tragic texts reflect an entire tradition about πάθος and a way of analysing this concept in classics texts that remained until the imperial period and beyond, in ancient pantomime (ὄρχησις) and novel, as artistic and literary productions, we can check-out this tradition of πάθος and the reflection aroused by it from the point of view of the literary and artistic creation. In the same way, the scholia studied in our work reflect that πάθος is a concept that goes through barriers of genre, although it preserves a tragic trace, in ancient novel and in texts in defence of pantomime (Lucianus, On the dance and Libanius, Oration 64), we find that episodes of tension, of pain, of anxiety and of death are built accordingly not only with the Aristotelian criteria expressed in Ars Rhetorica and Ars Poetica, but also with the reflection and literary critic reflected in the scholia.

This thesis is in two parts. The introduction begins with an examination of the myths of Rhesus and Dolon which are independent of Iliad 10. It concludes that the author knew of these and adapted parts of them. The section on authenticity summarises those features of Rh. which have been regarded by scholars as incompatible with Euripidean authorship, as well as some evidence which has previously been ignored. It concludes that a combination of unusual features in Rh. point away from the play being an early work of E. In particular, these are: a limited use of colloquialism; the absence of περi and the scarcity of απo the lameness of many of the repetitions; intertextual allusions to other tragic texts; enjambement between strophe and antistrophe at 350-351; the presence of two sets of separated strophes and antistrophes; the delivery of a lyric monody by the deus ex machina; a preference for shorter periods in anapaests than E.; the absence of a dramatic exposition; the unannounced symmetrical entries at 264; physical contact between actor and chorus at 681; the appearance of two dei ex machina; the realistic role of the chorus and the absence of any intellectual or emotional dimension. I believe that Rh. was written after the death of E. , but have found no evidence to suggest who wrote it. The introduction concludes with a brief survey of the textual sources. The commentary is based on J. Diggle's text (1994), although some other readings or conjectures have been preferred. New conjectures have been introduced at 4-5 and 247. It is the first commentary written on lines 1-526 since that of W.H. Porter (1929₂) and follows the standard format except that the lyric schemata are examined in the introduction. The anapaestic opening is defended and a αττ. λεγ is reported for the first time at 353.

The musical analysis of Greek tragedy has traditionally been limited to studies of meter and metatheatrical language. This dissertation seeks to establish a new approach to ancient dramatic song by demonstrating that the linguistic pitch accents of tragic lyrics often trace the melodic contours of their lost musical settings. In the papyri and inscriptions that preserve music notation alongside Greek lyrics, intonation and melody are often coordinated according to set principles, which are well established by previous scholarship. Through the creation of software that applies these historical principles to tragic texts, I demonstrate that stanzas sung to the same melody are significantly more similar in their accentual contours than control groups that do not share a melody. In many instances, the accents of these paired texts consistently trace the same pitch contours, allowing us to reconstruct the shape of the original melody with a high degree of confidence.After a general introduction, the dissertation’s first two chapters address the historical basis for this approach. Chapter 1 reviews the evidence for the musical structure of tragic song, confirming the widely held view that paired stanzas were generally set to the same melody. Chapter 2 turns to the evidence for the role of pitch accents in ancient Greek song, including the ancient testimony and musical documents, and a computational study of accent patterns across all the lyrics of Aeschylus’ surviving tragedies. The methodology developed in these first two chapters is applied in two case studies, in which I reconstruct and interpret the accentual melodies of select tragic lyrics. Chapter 3 analyzes the musical design of the chorus’ entrance song in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, along with sections of the Kommos from Choephori. In both cases, I argue, melody would play an integral role in highlighting the themes of repetition and reversal within the Oresteia. Chapter 4 turns to the music of Euripides’ Medea, a play that has been central to previous discussions of accent in tragic music. Reading the lyrics and accentual melodies within the framework of musical history as understood in the fifth century bce, I argue that Euripides uses a contrast between ‘old’ and ‘new’ melodic styles to position his chorus at a turning point within literary history. In the dissertation’s final chapter, I address the reception of Medea’s music in a fragmentary comedy, the so-called Alphabet Tragedy of Callias. Together, these interpretive chapters provide a template for future work applying methods of musical analysis to the accentual melodies of ancient Greek song.

Yeung Ka-chung, Lorraine.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves viii-xii (3rd gp.)) and index.
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter Chapter Two: --- Aristotelian Tragedy or Greek Tragedy? --- p.6
Chapter 1. --- Modern Criticism on Aristotle's Poetics --- p.6
Chapter 2. --- Aristotle's Theory of Greek Tragedy --- p.10
Chapter 2.1 --- Mimesis and Action --- p.11
Chapter 2.2 --- Plot-Structure --- p.12
Chapter 2.3 --- The Principle of Probability and Necessity --- p.13
Chapter 2.4 --- Tragedy and History --- p.13
Chapter 2.5 --- "Pity, Fear and Katharsis" --- p.14
Chapter 2.6 --- Recognition and Reversal --- p.15
Chapter 2.7 --- The Proper Kind of Agent --- p.16
Chapter 2.8 --- The Proper Kind of Circumstances --- p.17
Chapter 3. --- The Exclusion --- p.18
Chapter 3.1 --- Does Aristotle exclude the Divinity? --- p.19
Chapter 3.2 --- Aristotle on Oedipus Tyrannus --- p.21
Chapter 4. --- The Role of Divinity in Greek Tragedy --- p.22
Chapter 5. --- The Problem of Tragic Action in Greek Tragedy --- p.24
Chapter 5.1 --- Aristotle on Tragic Action --- p.24
Chapter 5.2 --- The Duality of Tragic Action in Greek Tragedy --- p.26
Chapter 5.3 --- The Tragic Sense of Responsibility --- p.28
Chapter 6. --- The Different Conception on Happiness --- p.30
Chapter 7. --- The Problem of Pathos in Greek Tragedy --- p.31
Chapter 7.1 --- Pathos and Truth --- p.31
Chapter 7.2 --- The Religious Significance --- p.33
Chapter 7.3 --- Pathos and Pity among Mortals --- p.34
Chapter 8. --- The Problem of Conflicts in Greek Tragedy --- p.37
Chapter 8.1 --- Aristotle and Greek Tragedy on Conflict --- p.38
Chapter 8.2 --- Agamemnon ´ؤ Killing Among Family --- p.40
Chapter 8.3 --- The Nature of Tragic Conflicts --- p.42
Chapter 9. --- Conclusion: Aristotle's Silence --- p.43
Chapter Chapter Three: --- Aristotle on Tuche --- p.45
Chapter 1. --- Aristotle and the Moral Luck Problem --- p.45
Chapter 2. --- Tuche in Aristotle's Physics --- p.48
Chapter 2.1 --- "Tuche and ""What Happens for the Most Part""" --- p.50
Chapter 2.2 --- "Tuche and ""For the Sake of Something""" --- p.51
Chapter 2.3 --- The Implications --- p.52
Chapter 2.4 --- Remarks --- p.56
Chapter 3. --- Tuche in Aristotle's Two Ethics --- p.57
Chapter 3.1 --- Tuche in Eudemian Ethics -- Natural Impulse in the Soul --- p.58
Chapter 3.2 --- Tuche in Nicomachean Ethics: External Goods and Tuche; Happiness and Blessedness --- p.65
Chapter 4. --- Tuche in Aristotle's Poetics --- p.78
Chapter 4.1 --- Hamartia - A Cause in Human Terms --- p.80
Chapter 4.2 --- Errors and Misfortune --- p.82
Chapter 5. --- Conclusion: Aristotle's Silence on Tuche in Greek Tragedy --- p.85
Chapter Chapter Four: --- Tuche in Greek Tragedy --- p.88
Chapter 1. --- A Deeper Sense of Exposition --- p.88
Chapter 2. --- Tuche as a Goddess --- p.90
Chapter 3. --- Tuche and Moira in Greek Tragedy -- The Religious Significance --- p.92
Chapter 3.1 --- Tuche and Moira in Oedipus Tyrannus --- p.94
Chapter 3.2 --- The Problem of Necessary Chance --- p.97
Chapter 4. --- Tuche in Oedipus Tyrannus --- p.99
Chapter 4.1 --- Tuche and Sophoclean Irony --- p.99
Chapter 4.2 --- Tuche abd Oedipus --- p.103
Chapter 5. --- Tuche in Euripides' Tragedies --- p.105
Chapter 5.1 --- Tuche in Heracles --- p.106
Chapter 5.2 --- Ironic Unconcern - The Tragic Response to Tuche --- p.109
Chapter 6. --- The Tragic Views --- p.113
Chapter 6.1 --- The Tragic Views on Man - The Mortal Limitation --- p.114
Chapter 6.2 --- The Role of the Messenger --- p.115
Chapter 6.3 --- The Symbolic Meaning of Nature (Physis) --- p.119
Chapter 7. --- Conclusion: Tuche and Nature --- p.123
Chapter Chapter Five: --- Tragedy and Philosophy --- p.125
Chapter 1. --- From Particular to Universal -- The Significance of the Chorus --- p.125
Chapter 2. --- The Different Way of Formulation Question --- p.129
Chapter 3. --- The Different Conception Truth - Plato's Simile of the Cave and Oedipus Tyrannus --- p.130
Chapter 4. --- Conclusion: Greek Tragedy as Philosophy --- p.132
Chapter Chapter Six: --- Conclusion --- p.133
Appendix: Related Pictures
Chapter 1. --- The Image of Goddess Tuche (of Antioch) on a Coin --- p.i
Chapter 2. --- The Image of Goddess Tuche (of Ephseus) on a Coin --- p.i
Chapter 3. --- Athena Between Two Warriors --- p.ii
Chapter 4. --- Oedipus and Sphinx --- p.ii
Chapter 5. --- The Images of Achilles and Priam in a Vase Painting --- p.iii
Chapter 6. --- The Images of Achilles and Priam in a Vase Painting --- p.iv
Chapter 7. --- The Images of Ajax and Odysseus in a Vase Painting: Side A: argument between Odysseus and Aja over the possession of the arms of Achilles --- p.x v
Chapter 8. --- Side B: the casting of votes to award the arms --- p.vi
Chapter 9. --- Tondo: Tecmessa covers body of Ajax --- p.vii
Bibliography --- p.viii
Index --- p.xii
Acknowledgement --- p.xv

In my dissertation I examine how adaptations of Greek tragedy in South Africa after the fall of apartheid (1994) address the transitional stage of the country and mediate in the formation and apprehension of post-apartheid national identities and the formation of a new communitas. Drawing particularly from Raymond Williams and Jean-Pierre Vernant, I approach tragedy as a paradigmatic model for analyzing the dialectical relationship between cultural text and social context. The examination of this paradigm in the context of post-apartheid South Africa is grounded in postcolonial theory defined as an ongoing project of addressing the politics of identity representation in conjunction with the underlying conditions of cultural and material inequalities in a neo-colonial context. I am focusing on three plays that provide distinct perspectives on the problem of national identity in the post-apartheid era and distinct artistic approaches to the process of adaptation. My examination of each play consists of two, interrelated parts: in the first part, I conduct a structural analysis of the text and an examination of the ways it relates to and reworks the major themes and concepts of the Greek tragedy it adapts. In the second part, I examine the connections between the country’s dominant discourses on national identities and the plays’ representations of these.

An Ear for an Eye: Greek Tragedy on Radio examines the dramaturgical principles involved in the adaptation of Greek tragedies for production as radio dramas by considering the classical dramatic form’s representational ability through purely oral means and the effects of dramaturgical interventions. The inherent orality of these tragedies and Aristotle’s suggested limitation of spectacle (opsis) appears to make them eminently suitable for radio, a medium in which the visual dimension of plays is relegated entirely to the imagination through the agency of sound. Utilizing productions from Canadian and British national radio (where classical adaptations are both culturally mandated and technically practical) from the height of radio’s golden age to the present, this study demonstrates how producers adapted to the unique formal properties of radio. The appendices include annotated, chronological lists of 154 CBC and BBC productions that were identified in the course of research, providing a significant resource for future investigators. The dissertation first examines the proximate forces which shaped radio dramaturgy and radio listeners. Situating the emergence of radio in the context of modernity, Chapter One elucidates how audiences responded to radio’s return to orality within a visually-oriented culture. Chapter Two then analyses the specific perceptual and imaginative activity of individuals, considering how audiences experience acoustic space. I describe how the audience’s central position in the reception of radio drama is integral to the completion of the dramatic frame of radio. The second part of this dissertation addresses radiophonic dramaturgy and issues in representation. In Chapter Three, the didactic and nationalistic impetus for the adaptation of classics as radio plays is considered and the principles of radio adaptation are outlined. The final two chapters examine the formal properties of productions in adaptation through case studies to illustrate where the play’s inherent orality allows for ease in adaptation or where greater dramaturgical intervention is required. Chapter Four examines the construction of dramatic figures, music and song, the use of paratheatrical materials, and narrative strategies for the representation of action, space, and time. Chapter Five examines productions where greater dramaturgical intervention and innovation is in evidence, including the manipulation of perspective (in the CBC’s 2001 Medea), the use of music to modernize setting (in the 1998 CBC-BBC co-production of The Trojan Women), the use of experimental montage (in the BBC’s 1976 Ag), the introduction of flashback sequences (in the CBC’s 1987 Antigone), and solutions to the problem of what I term “dramaturgical erasure” (the inadvertent removal of silent figures from the perspectival field).

Challenging the common notion that mythological comedies simply burlesque stories found in epic and tragedy, this dissertation shows that comic poets were active participants in creating and transmitting myths and argues that their mythical innovations influenced accounts found in tragedy and prose mythography. Although no complete Greek mythological comedy survives, hundreds of fragments and titles reveal that this type of drama was extremely popular; they were staged in Greece, Sicily, and Southern Italy and make up about one-half of all comedies produced in some periods. These fragments, supplemented by Plautus' Amphitruo (the only nearly complete mythological comedy), vase-paintings, and ancient testimonia, shed light on the vibrant tradition of comic mythology. In chapter one, I argue that ancient scholars' and prose mythographers' citations of comedies invite us to view comedians as authoritative myth-makers. I then survey the development of mythological comedy throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. The plays' titles reveal common mythical topics as well as a number of comic myths that survived independent of the tragic tradition. In chapter two, I argue that Cratinus' Dionysalexandros and Epicharmus' Odysseus the Deserter are wildly innovative comedies that challenge previous accounts for mythological authority. In chapter three, Epicharmus' Pyrrha and Prometheus, Pherecrates' Antmen, and Cratinus' Wealth Gods are studied to show how comedians created new stories by fusing myths together and by combining myth and historical reality. In chapter four, I look at the affairs of Zeus to show the dramatists' different approaches to the same mythical material. While tragedians tend to focus on the suffering of Zeus' victims, comedians feature Zeus' humorously outlandish and usually harmless seductions. In chapter five, on the Amphitruo, I show how Plautus has transformed a myth about the birth of Heracles into a story about Jupiter's long-term affair with a pregnant woman. In chapter six, I enter the debate about comedy's influence on tragedy and argue that mythical variants invented by the comic poet Cratinus have been incorporated into Euripides' Trojan Women and Helen, which demonstrates that, as early as the fifth century, comic poets were seen as mythological authorities.
2017-06-30T00:00:00Z

This study explores how in central plays of Euripides – namely, Alcestis, Hippolytus, Helen, and Bacchae – bodies, landscapes, and objects (both seen on stage and described in speeches, dialogues, and choral odes) serve as media for assessing affective states, materializing the characters’ feelings and sensations and hence enabling the audience to vividly perceive them. My focus is grounded in the ancient conceptions of bodies and the senses in material from the Pre-Socratic and the Hippocratic writings, including theories about how the surrounding environment influences bodily types. It is also underpinned by theoretical perspectives that have come to prominence in recent research in ancient literature and culture. First, it draws on insights from phenomenology, aesthetics, and affective theory that in ancient drama highlight embodiment, synaesthesia, and the circulation of affects among characters and spectators. Second, it engages with works inspired by the new materialisms, which have produced a new attention to the mutual and symbiotic relationship between humans and nonhuman entities. Finally, it is based on the “enactive” approach to cognition, which makes a compelling case for visualization (e.g., spectators’ imagination of the things sung, spoken, or narrated) as grounded in the active, embodied structure of experience. Building on such theories, I posit that Euripides’ plays illustrate how the characters’ feelings and emotions combine with sensory indicators (sight, taste, smell, and touch), so that they operate as visible marks of states usually conceived of as inner. These states are, I suggest, exteriorized not only on bodies but also in their surroundings, such that landscapes as mapped onto the dramatic stage and objects with which the characters interact function as supplements to embodied affective manifestations. In addition to onstage action, I focus on how Euripides’ language triggers a strong resonance in the spectators’ imagination. In this regard, my argument takes up the insights of ancient critics such as Longinus, who has praised Euripides’ ability to generate “emotion” (τὸ παθητικόν) and “excitement” (τὸ συγκεκινημένον) in the audience through “visualization” (φαντασία) and “vividness” (ἐνάργεια). Thus, I examine how references to onstage performance and visualizing language interact, giving the spectators a full picture of the dramatic action. In Alcestis, I explore how embodiment, sensorial phenomena, and physical interactions put the characters’ feelings of pain and grief on prominent display, eliciting the audience’s sensory reaction. In Hippolytus, I examine how the characters’ emotions blend into the surroundings, such that forms, colors, and textures of landscape and objects allow the spectators to perceive inner states more forcefully. In Helen, I investigate how material and nonhuman things, such as rivers, plants, costumes, weapons, statues, ships connect to the characters as parts of an affective entanglement that heightens the experiential appeal of the characters’ feelings and sensations. In the Bacchae, I regard Dionysus’ action as an affective force that spreads throughout the world of the play, cracks, and mutates things, including human and animal bodies, natural elements, and objects. This action creates an enmeshment between things, which is embodied by the thyrsus topped with Pentheus’ head (mask) that gives the spectators a keen sense of the multiple, productive, and transformative nature of Dionysus’ power. In conclusion, this study argues that bodies, landscapes, and objects represent the privileged sites for exploring the affective exchange between the characters and the audience, refining our understanding of the intensity, impact, and reception of the Euripidean theater.

This paper is focused on the concept of catharsis in classic Greek tragedy. In the first part, it traces historical context of this term particularly trough the work of Plato; and later, the main effort is devoted to Aristotle. It looks closely in Aristotle's Poetics and Politics, which are the only works where he mentions catharsis. After research of the Aristotle's texts, the study presents variety of interpretations that have arisen over centuries, examines them and derives an elementary understanding of catharsis. The second part of this work tries to trace catharsis in a sample of preserved tragedies of main Greek dramatists. It investigates tragic characters, plot and tragic emotions (i.e. pity and fear). The scope is to compare the Aristotle's theory and practice of dramatists, who lived one century before the theory had rised. Last but not least the study concludes by bringing forward an evaluation of this approach to the theory of Aristotelian catharsis.

Euripides’ Phoenissae is a challenging work that is often overlooked by scholars of Greek drama. This study analyzes how the concept of autochthony occupies a central thematic concern of the play. On the one hand, autochthony unites humans to soil, political claims to myths, and present to past. On the other hand, autochthony was often invoked to exclude foreigners, women and exiles from political life at Athens. We observe a similar dichotomy in the Phoenissae. Autochthony unites the episode action–the story of the fraternal conflict—with the very different subject matter of the choral odes, which treat the founding myths of Thebes. By focalizing the lyric material through the perspective of marginalized female voices (Antigone and the chorus), Euripides is able to problematize the myths and rhetoric associated with autochthony. At the same time, Antigone’s departure with her father at the play’s close offers a transformation of autochthonous power into a positive religious entity. I suggest that a careful examination of the many facets of autochthony can inform our understanding of the Phoenissae with respect to dramatic structure, apparent Euripidean innovations, character motivation, stage direction and audience reception.
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