Euripides' Heracles is an extraordinary play of great complexity, exploring the co-existence of both positive and negative aspects of the eponymous hero. Euripides treats Heracles' ambivalence by showing his uncertain position after the completion of his labours and turns him into a tragic hero by dramatizing his development from the invincible hero of the labours to the courageous bearer of suffering. This book offers a comprehensive reading of Heracles examining it in the contexts of Euripidean dramaturgy, Greek drama and fifth-century Athenian society. It shows that the play, which raises profound questions on divinity and human values, deserves to have a prominent place in every discussion about Euripides and about Greek tragedy. Tracing some of Euripides' most spectacular writing in terms of emotional and intellectual effect, and discussing questions of narrative, rhetoric, stagecraft and audience reception, this work is required reading for all students and scholars of Euripides.
Author(s): Thalia Papadopoulou
Series: Cambridge Classical Studies
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 242
Cover......Page 1
Series-title......Page 3
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 10
Abbreviations......Page 12
Introduction: Heracles in perspective......Page 15
Introduction......Page 23
Ritual and ambivalence......Page 24
Revenge and transgression......Page 48
Dionysiac metaphor and the mystic element......Page 62
Ritual and integration......Page 68
Conclusion......Page 70
The typology of Heracles' madness......Page 72
Tradition and models of causation......Page 84
Poetic lies and Heracles' notion of divinity......Page 99
The incomprehensibility of the gods......Page 131
Conclusion......Page 141
Amphitryon, Megara and Lycus......Page 143
The debate over arete......Page 149
Heracles and the bow......Page 151
The image of Athens in Greek tragedy......Page 165
Heracles and Theseus......Page 171
Suicide in Greek tragedy......Page 180
Heracles' decision to live......Page 187
Conclusion......Page 201
Conclusion......Page 204
Bibliography......Page 209
Index of passages cited......Page 231
General index......Page 242
