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List of contents
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Foreword by Derek Wax, Executive Producer, Troy: Fall of a City
Editors’ Acknowledgments
List of Episodes
Introduction: Screening Love and War in Troy: Fall of a City (Monica S. Cyrino, University of New Mexico, USA and Antony Augoustakis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA)
PART I. Epic Narrative
1. Binge for Me, O Muse: Episodes, Books, and Cycles (Dan Curley, Skidmore College, USA)
2. Delineating the Divine: Gods and Religion at Troy (Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, Israel)
3. From Judgment to Fall: Aphrodite and Paris (Monica S. Cyrino, University of New Mexico, USA)
4. Sympathy for Troy’s Jezebel: Helen as Antihero (Meredith E. Safran, Trinity College, USA)
5. The Curse of Troy: Odysseus’ Story (Emma Stafford, University of Leeds, UK)
PART II. Cast and Character
6. Racist Reactions to Black Achilles (Rebecca Futo Kennedy, Denison University, USA)
7. Pussy Politics: Women and Power in the Homeric Patriarchy (Kirsten Day, Augustana College, USA)
8. Queering Troy: Freedom and Sexuality (Thomas E. Jenkins, Trinity University, USA)
9. Heroic Hairstyles and Manless Amazons at Troy (Walter D. Penrose, San Diego State University, USA)
10. Costume Changes: Dressing Helen of Sparta and Troy (Stacie Raucci, Union College, USA)
PART III. Tragic Resonances
11. Fallen Heroes: Recasting Ajax and the Greeks on Screen (Anastasia Bakogianni, Massey University, New Zealand)
12. Family vs. Compassion: Odysseus and the Ethics of War (Meredith Prince, Auburn University, USA)
13. Bloody Brides: Iphigenia, Helena, and Ritual Exchange (Amy L. Norgard, Truman State University, USA)
14. Kings of Men and Sacrificial Daughters (Krishni Burns, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)
15. Lessons for Leaders: Destiny, Devotion, and Self-Deception (Brian Cooke, independent scholar, USA)
Epilogue: Troy: Fall of a City and its Ancient Sources (Diana Burton, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)
Bibliography
Filmography
Index
About the author
Antony Augoustakis is Professor of Classics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is the author of Motherhood and the Other: Fashioning Female Power in Flavian Epic (2010) and Statius, Thebaid 8 (2016). He is the editor of the Brill Companion to Silius Italicus (2010), Ritual and Religion in Flavian Epic (2013), Flavian Poetry and its Greek Past (2014), Oxford Readings in Flavian Epic (2016), and co-editor of the Blackwell Companion to Terence (with Ariana Traill, 2013) and STARZ Spartacus: Reimagining an Icon on Screen (with Monica Cyrino, 2017). He is the editor of The Classical Journal.Monica S. Cyrino is Professor of Classics at the University of New Mexico, USA. She is the author of Aphrodite (2010), A Journey through Greek Mythology (2008), Big Screen Rome (2005), and In Pandora's Jar: Lovesickness in Early Greek Poetry (1995). She is the editor of Rome, Season Two: Trial and Triumph (2015), Screening Love and Sex in the Ancient World (2013), Rome, Season One: History Makes Television (2008), and co-editor of Classical Myth on Screen (with Meredith E. Safran, 2015), and STARZ Spartacus: Reimagining an Icon on Screen (with Antony Augoustakis, 2017).
Summary
This is the first volume of essays published on the television series Troy: Fall of a City (BBC One and Netflix, 2018). Covering a wide range of engaging topics, such as gender, race and politics, international scholars in the fields of classics, history and film studies discuss how the story of Troy has been recreated on screen to suit the expectations of modern audiences. The series is commended for the thought-provoking way it handles important issues arising from the Trojan War narrative that continue to impact our society today.
With discussions centered on epic narrative, cast and character, as well as tragic resonances, the contributors tackle gender roles by exploring the innovative ways in which mythological female figures such as Helen, Aphrodite and the Amazons are depicted in the series. An examination is also made into the concept of the hero and how the series challenges conventional representations of masculinity. We encounter a significant investigation of race focusing on the controversial casting of Achilles, Patroclus, Zeus and other series characters with Black actors. Several essays deal with the moral and ethical complexities surrounding warfare, power and politics. The significance of costume and production design are also explored throughout the volume.
Foreword
This volume brings together a wide range of scholarly perspectives on the television series Troy: Fall of a City (2018).
Additional text
To conclude, on a personal level, I willingly admit that this well-rounded volume helped me better understand and appreciate the series.
