Aristophanes' Frogs / Mark Griffith.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Griffith, Mark (Classicist)

Series:

Oxford approaches to classical literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aristophanes. Frogs.

Aristophanes.

Physical Description:

xv, 291 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2013]

Summary:

Oxford Approaches to Classical Literature introduces individual works of Greek and Latin literature to readers who are approaching them for the first time. Each volume sets the work in its literary and historical context and aims to offer a balanced and engaging assessment of its content, artistry, and purpose. A brief survey of the influence of the work upon subsequent generations is included to demonstrate its enduring relevance and power. All quotations from the original are translated into English. Aristophanes was the comic mastermind of classical Athens, and Frogs is widely regarded as his most brilliant and multi-faceted play. Written and performed in 405 BCE and deeply embedded in that specific cultural moment, Frogs won first prize in that year's festival competition and has been-admired by readers and critics ever since, a testament to its timeless appeal. In addition to its hilarious language, stage antics, and plot, Frogs provides modern readers with an unparalleled range of insights into ancient Greek mentalities, exploring and critiquing the Athenians' ideas about drama and music, citizenship, slavery, and the possibilities of personal salvation and life after death. With this up-to-date and engaging account, Mark Griffith places Frogs in its original historical and cultural context, while underscoring the play's originality in its relation to parallel developments in tragedy and ancient Greek aesthetics in general. This volume provides not only a detailed analysis of the play itself and its reception but also to succinct introduction to Greek comedy overall, making it an invaluable companion to ancient theater for students and general readers alike. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Comedy at Athens 3

2 Aristophanes and His Athenian Audience 22

3 What Happens in Frogs? (The Plot) 55

4 Agôn Sophias: Judging the Arts in Classical Greece 80

5 Old and New Styles in Tragedy: Aeschylus, Euripides, and the Rest 115

6 Underworld and Afterlife: Dionysus and Greek Fantasies of Salvation 150

7 Dionysus' Verdict and the Ending/Message of the Play 200

8 Reading and Performing Frogs After Aristophanes-Reception 220.

ISBN:

9780195327731

019532773X

9780195327724

0195327721

OCLC:

779472261