The Captive Woman's Lament in Greek Tragedy

by Due, Casey

• ISBN13: 9780292709461
• ISBN10: 0292709463
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

The laments of captive women found in extant Athenian tragedy constitute a fundamentally subversive aspect of Greek drama. In performances supported by and intended for the male citizens of Athens, the songs of the captive women at the Dionysia gave a voice to classes who otherwise would have been marginalized and silenced in Athenian society: women, foreigners, and the enslaved.The Captive Woman's Lament in Greek Tragedyaddresses the possible meanings ancient audiences might have attached to these songs. Casey Dueacute; challenges long-held assumptions about the opposition between Greeks and barbarians in Greek thought by suggesting that, in viewing the plight of the captive women, Athenian audiences extended pity to those least like themselves. Dueacute; asserts that tragic playwrights often used the lament to create an empathetic link that blurred the line between Greek and barbarian. After a brief overview of the role of lamentation in both modern and classical traditions, Dueacute; focuses on the dramatic portrayal of women captured in the Trojan War, tracing their portrayal through time from the Homeric epics to Euripides' Athenian stage. The author shows how these laments evolved in their significance with the growth of the Athenian Empire. She concludes that while the Athenian polis may have created a merciless empire outside the theatre, inside the theatre they found themselves confronted by the essential similarities between themselves and those they sought to conquer.

Author Biography

Casey Due is Associate Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Houston

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(29)
CHAPTER 1 Men's Songs and Women's Songs	30	(27)
CHAPTER 2 Identifying with the Enemy: Love, Loss, and Longing in the Persians of Aeschylus	57	(34)
CHAPTER 3 Athenians and Trojans	91	(26)
CHAPTER 4 The Captive Woman's Lament and Her Revenge in Euripides' Hecuba	117	(19)
CHAPTER 5 A River Shouting with Tears: Euripides' Trojan Women	136	(15)
CHAPTER 6 The Captive Woman in the House: Euripides' Andromache	151	(12)
Conclusion: The Tears of Pity	163	(6)
Bibliography	169	(16)
Index	185