Greek Tragedians Research Articles

Greek tragedians in ancient and medieval Armenia

Greek tragedians in ancient and medieval Armenia

Aran Waves and Greek Echoes: Tragedy in J.M. Synge's Work- Riders to the Sea

John Millington Synge (1871-1909), prominent figure of Irish literature. In his Riders to the Sea written in 1902 and this was considered one of the finest one- act play. The purpose of this article is to show how Synge followed the classical unities of tragedy and how his characters and settings portraying the ancient Greek tragedians rather than Shakespearean tragedies.

Aran Waves and Greek Echoes: Tragedy in J.M. Synge's Work- Riders to the Sea

John Millington Synge (1871-1909), prominent figure of Irish literature. In his Riders to the Sea written in 1902 and this was considered one of the finest one- act play. The purpose of this article is to show how Synge followed the classical unities of tragedy and how his characters and settings portraying the ancient Greek tragedians rather than Shakespearean tragedies.

CONTEMPORISING ANTIGONE

Retelling and contemporising a mythological character of a classic work of literature into a modern literary work with the same vigour and significance needs careful scrutiny and creativity. This article analyses Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie that retells Sophocles’ Antigone. Antigone and other characters are shifted into a contemporary setting without disturbing the framework of the canon that has been presented by Sophocles, the Greek tragedian.

Essop Pahad

Whilst many will speak today of the historic and invaluable contributions of Essop Pahad to our country’s liberation struggle and at the dawn of democracy, it is often forgotten that this came at great pain for him to live a life in exile, isolated from family and friends. Such was the often silent struggle that happened parallel to the struggle for freedom. Though this was an immensely politically active time for him, it was also incredibly taxing. It was in this time that Essop clung to the promise of a free and democratic South Africa. As the Greek tragedian Aeschylus once said: ‘I know how men in exile feed on dreams.’ So desperate was his dream for a better tomorrow that he worked tirelessly with members of the international community to bring attention to the plight of those he left behind. Throughout his life, he continued to cling onto this dream as he fought for justice and equity long beyond the advent of democracy. He once said: ‘Our march to a better life requires that each and every South African should put shoulders to the wheel – all of us as partners in transforming ours into a society that cares. We must know our rights and exercise them, in the same measure as we take on our collective responsibility to build South Africa into a nation of our dreams.’

Eugene O’Neill’s Philosophy of Difficult Theatre: Pity, Fear, and Forgiveness

Eugene O’Neill’s Philosophy of Difficult Theatre: Pity, Fear, and Forgiveness

Les lettres 79 et 84 de Sénèque à Lucilius : un art poétique ?

By addressing the question of poetic imitation in Rome, Seneca’s letters 79 and 84 to Lucilius extend in many ways the Poetic Art of Horace : following the Horatian path, the philosopher uses the image of the bee making honey from many flowers as a symbol of the creator who assimilates his predecessors. This leads him to question the way in which the poet, using his ingenium, creates a unique whole from a diversity of sources. Not only this analysis perfectly fits to the Augustan poets, particularly to Horace in his lyric poetry, but it can give us new clues to read Seneca’s tragic corpus. By bringing together the three Greek tragedians in a single work in Latin, Seneca repeats Horace’s strategy consisting in the appropriation of Greek prestigious predecessors. By this refoundation of a Greek genre in Rome, Seneca may be seen as the “ last Augustan poet”.

A Clubbable Man: Essays on Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture in Honor of Greg Clingham

A Clubbable Man: Essays on Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture in Honor of Greg Clingham

The ‘Antipoet of the Greeks’, or, how Euripides became a modernist

AbstractThis essay pursues the history of the widespread and influential claim that the ancient Greek tragedian Euripides anticipates the social concerns of modernity and the formal strategies of modernism. The claim originated at the same time as the development of the canon of German tragic criticism at the turn of the nineteenth century. Building on but importantly altering the ancient criticism of Euripides from Aristophanes and Aristotle, Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel and Friedrich Schiller each understood Euripides in close and uncomfortable proximity to their own political moment. The criticism that developed out of this canon both identified Euripides as an untimely modern and produced a series of hostile appraisals of his work. In the conjuncture of modernism in the early twentieth century, professional classicists and modernist poets both accepted the claim of Euripides’ untimely modernity and transvalued its terms: the projection of a ruptural, anticipatory modernity onto Euripides allowed the tragedian to assume the cast of a fellow-traveler of the literary projects of modernism itself. Following the modernist conjuncture, the untimely modernity claim has thoroughly influenced, and frequently dominated, the translation, adaptation, and interpretation of Euripides both inside and outside the professional study of Classics.

Postclassicisms

Postclassicisms

Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe: An Epistemicide and Genocide

Summary That in political conflict and war the truth becomes a casualty that is sacrificed on the altar of expediency is an observation that is traceable to the ancient Greek tragedian, Aeschylus. It is no accident that it had to be a student of tragedy and the workings of evil who noted how truth and knowledge are the first to be murdered before individuals and populations of human beings are slaughtered in armed operations by those that seek to conquer, dominate and rule others by hook or by crook. The Gukurahundi Genocide of 1983 to 1987 in Zimbabwe began with the desire by Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) political party for oneparty state rule under a life presidency. For that dark goal to be achieved the political opposition in shape of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) had to be eliminated. All manner of political constructions, naming and labelling were conducted to create the conditions for and justification of an armed operation against ZAPU and its leader, Joshua Nkomo. The political and human identities of those that had to be eliminated were changed to enemies, dissidents, snakes and chaff itself. On the Gukurahundi Genocide, scholars have prevalently dwelt on controversies surrounding the numbers of the dead and the enduring effects of the killings. This article is a consideration of the assassinations of the truth and knowledge, the epistemicide, which preceded, accompanied and followed the Gukurahundi Genocide. Truth and knowledge die before, during and after genocide.

Biblical versus Greek Narratives for Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion: Releasing Hope from Pandora’s Urn

Although suicide has been unfortunately stigmatized unfairly through the ages, we should not make the mistake of going to the opposite extreme and valorizing it. We should not forget that the major role of health care professionals is to prevent suicide when possible and to invigorate the underlying life force in the person. Suicide is often the ultimate outcome of a tragic and pessimistic view of life. It was prevalent in ancient Greek writing. Indeed, over 16 suicides and self-mutilations can be found in the 26 surviving tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides. In contrast, only six suicides can be found in the Hebrew Scriptures, and only one suicide in the Christian Scriptures. In addition, the Hebrew Scriptures present numerous suicide-prevention narratives that effectively provide a psychological instruction for people in despair which seems unavailable to figures in the writings of the great Greek tragedians. Unfortunately, some religious traditions tended to go to the opposite extreme in stigmatizing suicide rather than understanding it and trying to prevent it. This paper examines evidence regarding seven evidence-based risk factors for suicide: (1) Feeling depressed and isolated; (2) Feeling one’s life is without purpose; (3) Being a refugee from one’s homeland; (4) Feeling unable to express oneself with others; (5) Being adopted; (6) Feeling abandoned by one’s child leaving the family nest; and (7) Feeling doomed by a dysfunctional (indeed incestuous) family of origin We contrast biblical and Greek narratives regarding each of these factors, respectively: (1) Elijah against Ajax, (2) Job against Zeno, (3) David against Coriolanus, (4) Jonah against Narcissus, (5) Moses against Oedipus, (6) Rebecca against Phaedra, and finally, (7) Ruth against Antigone. These biblical figures thrive across risk factors while their Greek and Roman counterparts kill or mutilate themselves or provoke others to do the job. All these contrasts should demonstrate to psychotherapists, counselors, and clergy alike as to how Greek narratives lead to self-destructive behaviors while biblical narratives provide a hopeful positive psychology, and a constructive way out these dilemmas. My colleagues (Paul Cantz, Matthew Schwartz, and Moriah Markus-Kaplan) and I call for a biblical psychotherapy for positive psychology, suicide prevention, and indeed life promotion. Where hope is locked up in Pandora’s urn after she has released all the evils unto the world, the biblical God places hope into the sky as a bow after Noah and his family and all the creatures on the ark disembark to land after the receding of the flood.

The “Head of the Philosopher” from Porticello: Proposal for the Identification

The history of the accidental discovery of the Porticello wreck in Villa San Giovanni is long and complex. The wreckage was found fortuitously in 1969 by a local diver, and the following year it was studied by an underwater excavation mission of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Thanks to this research, we know that the ship sank in the waters of the Strait between 400 and 375 BC. We also know that it carried various amphorae types, as well as achromatic inkwells and small ingots. Together with these materials, the archaeologists recovered parts of bronze statues, demolished, and systematically broken into pieces. They are not ancient statues ruined by the passage of time: both the “Porticello Philosopher” and the “Head of Basilea” are real masterpieces of Greek classical art, which, given their conservation conditions, have not been exhibited for a long time. It is surprising how, in the scientific debate on the Porticello wreck, the history of the discovery site has never been considered. The name itself, Porticello (in Italian: “small port”) makes us understand its ferry landing function. The study of the sources and the surface archaeological investigations allow us to give an ancient name to the locality: the Roman statio of Ad statuam, Ad columnam. There were many hypotheses made by specialists: Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway has hypothesized a group including Achilles, an unknown character, and the centaur Chiron (the “Porticello Philosopher”), with features considered “monstrous”. Enrico Paribeni proposed a statuary group, with an old man leaning on a stick. Ross Holloway speculated a portrait of Charondas of Catania, author of the political constitution at Rhegion. Angelo Maria Ardovino identifies in the bronze head simply a philosopher. Joseph Frey was thinking of the portrait of the Greek tragedian Sophocles. Paolo Enrico Arias thought to a portrait of the poet Hesiod. Other hypotheses speak generically of a prophet, remembered in one of the ancient epic cycles. Aiming to give a name to the philosopher depicted with such physiognomic precision, our research will begin with a reading of the signs left in the bronze statue, trying to give each one an interpretation. Our goal is to provide the integration of what was present on the statue, but which has been lost. In the end, the comparison with other ancient statues allows us to hypothesize the portrait of the philosopher Pythagoras of Samos.

"Look At It Carefully Now": Athenian Tragedy And The "Talking Cure".

It is often suggested that the Greek tragedians present clinically credible pictures of mental disturbance. For instance, some modern interpreters have compared the process by which Cadmus brings Agave back to sanity in Euripides' Bacchae with modern psychotherapy. But a reading of medical writers' views on the psychological dimension of medicine offers little evidence for believing that these scenes reflect the practices of late fifth-century Athenian doctors, for whom verbal cures are associated with older traditions of non-rational thought, and thus are scorned in favor of more "scientific cures" based on diet or medication. This paper will argue that Athenian tragedians, working from older traditions that advocated verbal cures for some mental ailments, do understand the potential psychological effects that their work can have on audiences, since tragedy requires psychological interaction with its audience in order to be effective. From a close reading of select scenes in Euripidean tragedy, this paper suggests that the experiences of the characters who experience suffering in Euripides' Heracles and Bacchae are analogues of the experiences undergone by the spectators of tragedy at large. Parallels are made between the way that Agave and Heracles are both talked back to sanity by looking upon what has happened, and the way that tragedians make their audiences observe lamentations and meditations that follow the central tragic act, to help them return from the intense emotion provoked, perhaps, by the violence they have seen.

Man’s Helplessness Against Destiny in Ernest Hemingway’s The Oldman and The Sea

Ernest Hemingway, an American writer, produced considerable novels in the history of English literature. Hemingway’s The Oldman and the Sea is a story of an old man's struggle and his helplessness against destiny. Like Greek tragedians, Hemingway accepts the harshness of destiny in man’s life. It is very well said “Man proposes and God disposes" that denotes the role of destiny in man's life. The story of The Oldman and the Sea is universal because it reveals how human beings struggle to get something in life but sometimes crushed under the wheels of destiny. The old man has an indomitable spirit and sea experience yet he is unable to catch the fish for a few days. One day, he caught the big fish called the Marlin but it was too big for him to drag to the shore. The Old man tried to drag the Marlin to the shore but in a midway, its blood attracted the Sharks and he brought only its skeleton on the shore. So Hemingway talks about the helplessness of man against destiny through the character of an old man. This paper is a sincere effort to display man's helplessness against destiny through the character of an old man. 
 Ernest Miller Hemingway is known as Ernest Hemingway in English literature, was an American journalist, novelist, short story writer and sportsman. Hemingway wrote seven novels during his lifetime and among them, the popular novels are The Sun Also Rises, Farewell to Arms, and The Old man and the Sea. The Old man and the Sea brought him a good name and fame in literature. Hemingway’s works mainly deal with the themes of love, war, wilderness, and loss. Farewell to Arms deals with the theme of the futility of war. In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway says, "The world breaks everyone and afterwards many are strong in broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest _ Hemingway) It seems that there is always conflict between good and evil in this world but some people remain strong in broken places. The greater power called destiny crushes everyone under its wheels impartially. In this connection, Omar Khayyam writes:

Greek Tragic Women on Shakespearean Stages. Tanya Pollard. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. vii+331.

<i>Greek Tragic Women on Shakespearean Stages</i>. Tanya Pollard. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. vii+331.

The Oedipus myth and its analogues, especially its characteristic manifestation in Finnish folk tales

ABSTRACTThe play of the ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles is the most famous story of Oedipus. However, similar stories have been told before and thereafter throughout history as legends and folk tales in different parts of the world. There is a specific folk tale type classified according to its narrative components and named the Oedipus tale. There are somewhat conflicting opinions about the universality of the Oedipus tales and Oedipus complex. This review deals with the nature of the Oedipus legend and its folk tale analogs. There are 25 examples of Oedipus folk tales that are known to be from Finland – a high prevalence compared to other regions of the world. From Scandinavia, for instance, they are virtually absent. The most of Finnish Oedipus stories have a special feature that is unique in the world.: a peculiar prophecy of a sheep that will be born at the same time and eaten by a wolf. An example of these Finnish folk tales is told. Possible interpretations of this tale are offered and discussed. The specific feature of the Finnish Oedipus tales stimulates a discussion on the different opinions regarding the timing of the Oedipus complex, especially considering its oral precursors.

The Impact of Information Society and Cyber-Culture in Greek Tourism Phenomenon

First, in this paper we will investigates the influence of one of the most important Greek film directors, Angelopoulos, in all national, European and worldwide tourism thru the eyes of cinema camera and Greek cyber-culture. Initially, his award-winning action and the content of his most important work, has always been united with Greece promotion and touristic development. The paper traces how, in the context of information society, his filmography can be an example of good practice for touristic promotion and development and how this kind of cinematography can be a more dynamic section of Greek touristic economy. Second, this paper aims to investigate how ancient drama which flourished in Greek antiquity still represents a portal of touristic attraction and development. Ancient Greek tragedians as well as Aristophanes’ comedies magnetize and attract tourists and students from Europe and the whole world. In addition, touristic destinations where tragedy flourished have a huge number of views from tourists. Finally, we present a case study that analyzes the meaning of literary tourism and examines the prospects of its development in Greece. Through conceptual analyzes in two examples it attempts to present the wealth of literature in regard to the style of writing, values and meanings. The aim of the study is to examine the ways that will help the development of tourism through literature as well as to attract potential tourists to these island destinations.

Z badań nad pojęciem pamięci – mneme w dramacie greckim. Część II: Mneme w utworach Eurypidesa

Study on the concept of mneme – “memory” in the plays of Euripides is a continuation of our research (based on the works of Greek tragedians), whose aim is not only to establish meanings, especially new ones, but also to define the role that this concept plays in the works of Euripides. Linguistic and literary analysis of 8 instances of a noun mneme shows that this concept reveals hitherto unknown semantic values and it also performs functions that are important for the plot. Among the meanings of mneme there are five new ones: (1) “testimony, proof” ( Suppliant Women ), whose role is a ‘media’ message to guarantee the preservation of memory about Theseus’ feats among descend­ants, (2) “account, balance” ( Heracles ), rational argument, which the hero must use in a critical situation caused by divine power, (3) specific “history”, which creates the plot ( Ion ), (4) “reason, rightness” ( Iphigenia at Aulis ), i.e. evidence of predominance of the woman over the man (in terms of character), (5) “image”, twice in this sense ( Iphigenia at Aulis ): 1. as a panorama, vivid memory of panegyric and cognitive nature (Greek expedition), 2. as scenes from Iphigenia’s childhood cited in order to change the decision of Agamemnon. In addition to the new ones, Euripides also uses known meanings: mneme with negation, i.e. the lack of “mentions, memories” (= concealment) becomes an important element of the plot of Helen , guaranteeing its happy ending; in turn mneme as Kreon’s “thought” is a tool for mastering feelings and influencing the development of stage events. All meanings defined by Euripides can be divided into two groups. The first group includes meanings that have rational value: (1) “account, balance”, (2) “thought”, (3) “reason, rightness”. In the other group there are expressive meanings: (1) “testimony, proof”, (2) “mention, memory”, (3) “history”, (4) “image”. Undoubtedly, Euripides not only broadened the semantic scope of the concept of mneme , introducing its new values, but creatively used them in his plays, whether to describe the main characters, or as an element influencing the action, or finally as a testimony of the past that is important for the plot.

Change of Rhythm as a Compositional Technique

The paper demonstrates rules and some of the basic applications of metarhythmia that is one of the compositional techniques used by Greek tragedians. The presentation of the examples is proceeded by discussion on the phenomenon of the so-called verbal rhythm, and distinction between metrical pattern and its syllabic realization. In the context of metarhythmia, verbal rhythm produces rhythmic ambiguity that reveals itself in specific syllabic realizations of metrical patterns. The result of the process is used by poets to generate consecutive rhythmic phrases (cola), and thus to shape artistically the structure of a song.