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Zusatztext 'a beautiful book which developed out of the author's PhD-thesis. It is elegantly produced! provided with an elaborate bibliography! an index of passages cited and a general index ... well-argued and carefully referenced text ... an important contribution to both Athenian history and Persian history.'Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg! Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht! De Novis Libris Judicia Klappentext Incest! polygamy! murder! sacrilege! impalement! castration! female power! and despotism are some of the images used by Athenian tragedians to define the non-Greek! "barbarian" world. This book explains for the first time the reasons behind their singular fascination with barbarians. EdithHall sets the Greek plays against the historical background of the Panhellenic wars! and the establishment of an Athenian empire based on democracy and slavery. Analyzed within the context of contemporary anthropology and political philosophy! Hall reveals how the poets conceptualized the barbarianas the negative embodiment of Athenian civic ideals. She compares the treatment of foreigners in Homer and in tragedy! showing that the new dimension which the idea of the barbarian had brought to the tragic theater radically affected the poets' interpretation of myth and their evocation of thedistant past! as well as enriching their reportoire of aural and visual effects. Hall argues that the invented barbarian of the tragic stage was a powerful cultural expression of Greek xenophobia and chauvinism that! paradoxically! produced and outburst of creative energy and literaryinnovation. Zusammenfassung Incest, polygamy, murder, sacrilege, impalement, castration, female power, and despotism: these are some of the images by which the Greek tragedians defined the non-Greek, `barbarian' world. This book explains for the first time the reasons behind their singular fascination with barbarians. It sets the plays against the historical background of the Panhellenic wars against Persia and the establishment of an Athenian empire based on democracy and slavery. Contemporary anthropology and political philosophy is discussed, revealing how the poets conceptualized the barbarian as the negative embodiment of Athenian civic ideals. By comparing the treatment of foreigners in Homer and tragedy, it shows that the new dimension which the idea of the barbarian had brought to the tragic theatre radically affected the past, and enriched the tragedians' repertoire of aural and visual effects. The invented barbarian of the tragic stage was a powerful cultural expression of Greek xenophobia and chauvinism, but, paradoxically, produced an outburst of creative energy and literary innovation.The D.Phil. dissertation out of which this book developed won the Hellenic Foundation's prize for the best doctoral thesis in ancient Greek studies in the UK and Republic of Ireland (1988). Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowldgements; Preface; Editions and abbreviations; Setting the stage; Inventing Persia; The barbarian enters myth; An Athenian rhetoric; The polarity deconstructed; Bibliography; Index...
