Euripides: Hecuba

Hecuba was the most widely read play of Euripides from antiquity to the Renaissance, appealing to readers and spectators for its controversial treatment of moral themes: revenge, war and slavery, violence, human sacrifice, gender and ethnic relations. It narrates the death of Hecuba's daughter Polyxena, sacrificed by the Greeks to placate the ghost of Achilles, and that of her son Polydorus, killed out of greed by the Thracian king who was supposed to protect him. Hecuba successfully plots a cruel and shocking revenge against the killer. The play is now at the centre of the attention of scholars and performing artists. This edition offers new textual and interpretive suggestions, and provides detailed guidance on problems of language as well as employing conceptual tools from contemporary linguistics. It will be useful for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, as well as of interest to scholars.

List of contents

Preface; Abbreviations; Key to metrical symbols; Introduction; 1. Euripides: life and works; 2. The date of the Hecuba; 3. Production; 3.1 Casting the play; 3.2 Stage movements; 4. Myth; 5. Characters and reciprocity: charis, xenia, philia; 6. Hecuba's revenge; 7. Reception; 8. Transmission of the text; 9. Presentation of textual evidence in this edition; 10. Metre and language; Symbols, sigla and abbreviations used in the edition of the Greek text; Hecuba; Commentary; Works cited; General index; Index of Greek words.

About the author

Luigi Battezzato is Professor of Greek Literature at the Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale Amadeo Avogradro, Vercelli. His publications include Italian translations of Aeschylus' Choephori (1995) and Euripides' Hecuba (2010), and he is the author of Il monologo nel teatro di Euripide (1995) and Linguistica e retorica della tragedia greca (2008). He has also published extensively on Greek tragedy and lyric, Greek metre and language, textual criticism and the history of classical scholarship.

Summary

A new interpretation of the most widely read play of Euripides from antiquity to the Renaissance. This edition offers new textual suggestions, and gives detailed guidance on problems of language and literary interpretation. It will be useful for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, as well as being of interest to scholars.

Product details

• Authors: Luigi Battezzato, Luigi (Universit... Degli Studi Del Pi Battezzato, Luigi (Universita Degli Studi Del Piem Battezzato, Euripides
• Assisted by: Luigi Battezzato (Editor), Luigi (Universit... degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro) Battezzato (Editor), Luigi (Universita degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro) Battezzato (Editor)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 28.02.2018
• EAN: 9780521138642
• ISBN: 978-0-521-13864-2
• No. of pages: 296
• Series: Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics; Cambridge Greek and Latin Clas; Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics; Cambridge Greek and Latin Clas
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; HISTORY / Ancient / General, Theatre Studies, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Ancient History, Classical history / classical civilisation, Ancient (Classical) Greek, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval