Theseus, Tragedy, and the Athenian Empire - Rilegato

Mills, Sophie

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0198150636 ISBN 13: 9780198150633

Casa editrice: Clarendon Press, 1997

Riassunto

This book traces the development of the Theseus myth and its importance for Athens from the earliest evidence down to the end of the fifth century. The author examines all extant tragedy in which Theseus appears, even including the fragmentary drama in which Theseus is known to appear, to assess the significance of his role as mythological representative of Athenian greatness. The author argues that the Theseus of most Athenian tragedy is carefully drawn to exemplify the idealized image of the Athenian `national character' that was prevalent in the age of the Athenian empire.
Every nation needs role models: the Athenians were no exception. Handsome, brave, intelligent, and just, Theseus seemed the perfect Athenian, but under the exterior lay a heartless seducer, rapist, and killer of his own son. The author describes Athenian attempts to cope with these contradictions in her discussion of how the Theseus of Athenian tragedy relates to Athenian life and imperial ideology.

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Recensione:

The work achieves a high professional standard, with appropriate documentation and sensible, balanced judgments throughout. M. well combines the scattered and difficult evidence for myth, literature, and art with other reflections of history, politics, and ideology over a long period ... reliable and accesible discussions. ... M's command of primary sources is good ... M. citesan impressive array of secondary sources ... selective and analytical. (John Gilbert, Bryn Mawr Classical Review Vol 9 no 8 (1998))

The discussion is nicely balanced throughout: oversimplification is avoided and overly subtle interpretations are challenged... the notion that our hero was an 'ambivalent figure' with a 'darker side' is politely dismissed as 'somewhat overstated'. Theseus thus emerges as a straightforward and clean-cut kind of national hero: a caped crusader, one might say, in the mould of Superman, not Batman. (Hans Van Wees, The Classical Review Vol. XLIX No.2)

This new contribution to the Oxford Classical Monograph series offers with striking diligence and finely woven argumentation, numerous exegeses of passages from Greek tragedies which characterize Theseus ... The unusual thing about this book is its refreshingly wide scope for a theme-orientated topic ... Mills' readable prose and abundant but individually concise footnotes prove that she is as conversant with vase painting as with Cleisthenes' reforms. (Carolyn C Breen, Classical World 92.6 (1999))

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Clarendon Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0198150636
• ISBN 13: 9780198150633
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 304