A Commentary on the Rhesus Attributed to Euripides

by Liapis, Vayos

• ISBN13: 9780199591688
• ISBN10: 0199591687
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-02-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Rhesus, a tragedy traditionally (but wrongly) attributed to Euripides, has been the object of too little scholarly attention over the last decades. While debate has focused largely on the question of the play's authenticity, consequently overlooking the features of the play itself, this important new commentary explores the essential elements such as language, style, character-portrayal, and metre. The play's stagecraft and plot-construction are scrutinized and shown to be generally idiosyncratic and often defective despite occasional flashes of genius in the handling of dramatic time and theatrical space.

Through the detailed introduction, translation, and commentary, Liapis shows that Rhesus is largely derivative, as it contains a significant amount of textual material taken from other classical tragedies and genres. The conclusion is that the contested author's familiarity with fifth-century drama bespeaks a professional actor, probably one specializing in re-performances of classical repertoire. Such evidence suggests that Rhesus can therefore be considered as not only a surviving fourth-century tragedy, but also one conceived for performance outside of Athens.

Author Biography

Vayos Liapis obtained his PhD from the University of Glasgow in 1997. He taught at the University of Cyprus (2000-2003) and the Universite de Montreal (2003-2009), and is currently Associate Professor at the Open University of Cyprus. His previous books include a commentary on the Sententiae Menandri (Menandrou Gnomai Monostichoi, Athens, 2002), and a monograph on the unknowability of the gods in early Greek literature and thought, Agnostos Theos (Athens, 2003). He has also co-edited with Douglas Cairns Dionysalexandros: Essays on Aeschylus and His Fellow Tragedians in Honour of Alexander F. Garvie (Swansea: Classical Press of Wales, 2006). He has also published a variety articles on subjects ranging from archaic lyric to classical and postclassical tragedy to Hellenistic poetry and Greek religion.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	p. xi
Metrical Conspectus	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xvii
The Mythical Background	p. xvii
Dramaturgy and Stagecraft	p. xxxiv
Character-Portrayal	p. xlv
Language and Style; Metre	p. liiii
The Authenticity Question	p. lxvii
The Text	p. lxxv
¿¿¿¿¿ ¿ ¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿	p. 1
Commentary	p. 55
Addenda	p. 332
Bibliography	p. 333
Index Graecitatis	p. 342
Index Nominum et Rerum Potioum	p. 344
Index Locorum Potiorum	p. 351
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