From Agent to Spectator: Witnessing the Aftermath in Ancient Greek Epic and Tragedy

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Published by De Gruyter 2016

From Agent to Spectator

Witnessing the Aftermath in Ancient Greek Epic and Tragedy

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Volume 30 in the series Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110430042

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book looks at witnesses to suffering and death in ancient Greek epic (Homer’s Iliad) and tragedy. Internal spectators abound in both genres, and have received due scholarly attention. The present monograph covers new ground by dealing with a specific subset of characters: those who are put in the position of spectator to (and, often, commentator on) their own deed(s). By their very nature, protagonists are confined to the role of witness to the suffering (or deaths) they have caused only for brief stretches of time — often a single scene or even just the length of a speech — but every instance is of central importance, not just to our understanding of the characters in question, but also to the articulation of fundamental themes within the poetic works under examination. As they shift from the status of agent to that of witness, these protagonists, qua spectators to the consequences of their actions, give voice to, dramatize, and enact the tragic motifs of human helplessness and mortal fallibility that lie at the core of Homeric epic and Greek tragedy and that define the human condition, in a manner that leads the audience looking on to ponder their own.

Author / Editor information

Emily Allen-Hornblower, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA.

Reviews

"In sum, Allen-Hornblower has produced a perceptive and cogent reading, one that takes on the fundamental problems of meaning produced by these texts."
Kirk Ormand in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2016.10.55

"The book offers much more than deep analyses of communication strategies among characters and between poets and their audiences; A.-H. provides detailed interpretations of stage practices such as the characters’ movements and gestures, use of props and asides, and the transmission of sensory impressions, making use of the traditional tools of classical scholarship, from close readings to notes on textual criticism. [...] All in all, however, this is a major contribution to our understanding of epic as well as tragedy."
Pura Nieto Hernández in: Gnomon 91.5 (2019), 385-390

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	v
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter One: The Helpless Witness: Achilles, Patroclus, and the Portrayal of Vulnerability in the Iliad Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
Chapter Two: Spectatorship, Agency, and Alienation in Sophocles’ Trachiniae Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
Chapter Three: From Murderer to Messenger: Body, Speech, and Justice in Greek Tragedy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
Chapter Four: Neoptolemus Between Agent and Spectator in Sophocles’ Philoctetes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	327

(Deutsch)

Languages: English, Ancient Greek
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: All those interested in literary approaches to ancient Greek epic and tragedy.
Pages
- Front matter: 8
- Main content: 336
Keywords: Homer; tragedy; witnesses; human condition

eBook

Published: March 7, 2016
ISBN: 9783110430042

Hardcover

Published: March 7, 2016
ISBN: 9783110439069

Paperback

Published: November 7, 2017
ISBN: 9783110578188