Pollution and Crisis in Greek Tragedy

Pollution is ubiquitous in Greek tragedy: matricidal Orestes seeks purification at Apollo's shrine in Delphi; carrion from Polyneices' unburied corpse fills the altars of Thebes; delirious Phaedra suffers from a 'pollution of the mind'. This book undertakes the first detailed analysis of the important role which pollution and its counterparts - purity and purification - play in tragedy. It argues that pollution is central in the negotiation of tragic crises, fulfilling a diverse array of functions by virtue of its qualities and associations, from making sense of adversity to configuring civic identity in the encounter of self and other. While primarily a literary study providing close readings of several key plays, the book also provides important new perspectives on pollution. It will appeal to a broad range of scholars and students not only in Classics and literary studies, but also in the study of religions and anthropology.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. Pollution, interpretation and understanding; 2. Pollution and the stability of civic space; 3. Evaluation and stability in Aeschylus' Oresteia; 4. Pollution, purity and civic identity; Envoi.

About the author

Fabian Meinel is an affiliated researcher at the Centre Paul-Albert Février at the Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme in Aix-en-Provence.

Product details

• Authors: Fabian Meinel, Fabian (Universite D''aix-Marseille) Meinel, Fabian (Universite d'Aix-Marseille) Meinel, Meinel Fabian
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 09.03.2015
• EAN: 9781107044463
• ISBN: 978-1-107-04446-3
• No. of pages: 290
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; HISTORY / Ancient / General, Ancient Greece, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Literary studies: plays & playwrights, Ancient (Classical) Greek, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, BCE to c 500 CE, Literary studies: plays and playwrights