Achilles in Greek Tragedy

by Pantelis Michelakis

Overview

In contrast to earlier scholarly work on Achilles of the Homeric epics, this study examines how one of the most popular figures of Greek mythology was portrayed on the tragic stage of fifth-century Athens. Pantelis Michelakis asserts that dramatists persistently appropriated Achilles to address concerns ranging from heroism and education to individualism and gender. The book considers the complete corpus of extant Greek tragedy, with particular attention paid to Aeschylus' Myrmidons and Euripides' Hecuba and Iphigenia at Aulis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521038928
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/13/2007
Series:	Cambridge Classical Studies
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	5.47(w) x 8.86(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Pantelis Michelakis is a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford and Research Fellow at the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama at the University of Oxford.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction: Achilles in the fifth century; 2. The problematic hero: Aeschylus' Myrmidons; 3. The dead hero: Euripides' Hecuba; 4. The hero to be: Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis; 5. Mapping the heroic absence: Achilles in other plays; 6. Afterword; Bibliography; General index; Index of passages.

Editorial Reviews

'Achilles in Greek Tragedy is an excellent book which provides a very systematic, sensitive and intelligent study of its subject.' David Fitzpatrick, The Open University

'… this book offers several stimulating and thought-provoking … observations about some very interesting Greek plays. It will certainly be useful to any student of attic tragedy.' Journal of Hellenic Studies

'All in all, a well-written and carefully edited book. In my view, its main strength is the combination of an attentive reading of the plays with an analysis of the position Achilles occupies in the mythological tradition, artistic representations, the social and cultural context of classical Athens and contemporary literary and philosophical sources.' L'Antiquité Classique

From the Publisher