This edition of Aeschylus' triumphantly reconciliatory final play of the Oresteian trilogy presents a newly constituted text that diverges substantially from Page's Oxford Classical Text of 1972. The translation is in prose, with literary and historical commentary, and an introduction dealing with myth, historical background and suggested staging of the play. There are also several appendixes on such topics as the judicial procedure apparently depicted in the play, the so called ‘vote of Athena’ and the lyric metres. [Greek text with facing-page translation, commentary and notes]
Aeschylus: Eumenides
Description
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINTRODUCTIONI. The Myth before Aeschylus; cult of the Semnai; early Conceptions of the ErinyesII. Staging a. The Design of the Early Theatreb. The Staging of EumenidesIII. Philosophy and PoliticsIV. Influencea. Ancient Literatureb. Ancient Artc. The Myth in Later Literature and MusicV. The Eumenides and its Place in the Work of Aeschylus; Dike (Justice) in The Oresteia; the Moral of the TrilogyVI. The Text of Eumenides and its TransmissionNOTESTEXT AND TRANSLATIONCOMMENTARYApparatus CriticusAppendicesI. Athenian Judicial Procedure as Reflected in the Trial SceneII. Athena’s Vote at vv. 735 and 752–3 and the so-called “Vote of Athena”III. The Choral MetresGENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHYINDEXIllustrations:Side panel of a Roman sarcophagusRoman marble sarcophagusApulian calyx-krater
Author Description
Anthony J. Podlecki is a retired Professor of Classics at the University of British Columbia. He has written many books, with a major focus on the interaction between the literature and the history of ancient Greece of the archaic and classical periods. These include Perikles and his Circle (Routledge), The Political Background to Aeschylean Tragedy (Bristol Classical Press), and an edition of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound in this series.