AESCHYLUSADDITIONAL READING

Greek tragedy in general is treated in H.D.F. Kitto, Greek Tragedy: A Literary Study, 3rd ed. (1961, reissued 1976), a lively survey but becoming dated; Richmond Lattimore, Story Patterns in Greek Tragedy (1964, reissued 1969); Arthur Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festivals of Athens, 2nd ed. rev. by John Gould and D.M. Lewis (1968), a standard work on the practical arrangements; H.C. Baldry, The Greek Tragic Theatre (1971), a simple, orthodox introduction; Albin Lesky, Greek Tragic Poetry (1983; originally published in German, 3rd rev. ed., 1972); Erika Simon, The Ancient Theatre (1982; originally published in German, 2nd ed., 1981), a concise and expert introduction to staging; Jean-Pierre Vernant and Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Tragedy and Myth in Ancient Greece (1981; originally published in French, 1972), stimulating structuralist essays; Brian Vickers, Towards Greek Tragedy: Drama, Myth, Society (1973, reprinted 1979), long but thought-provoking; Oliver Taplin, Greek Tragedy in Action (1978), emphasis on the significance of performance; Bernard Knox, Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Theater (1979), a collection of important essays; Donald J. Mastronarde, Contact and Discontinuity: Some Conventions of Speech and Action on the Greek Tragic Stage (1979), a specialist study of dialogue; R.G.A. Buxton, Persuasion in Greek Tragedy: A Study of Peitho (1982); and Erich Segal (ed.), Greek Tragedy: Modern Essays in Criticism (U.K. title, Oxford Readings in Greek Tragedy, 1983), a well-chosen and varied selection of articles.Studies of special topics relating to Aeschylus' plays include Anthony J. Podlecki, The Political Background of Aeschylean Tragedy (1966); A.F. Garvie, Aeschylus' "Supplices": Play and Trilogy (1969); George Thomson, Aeschylus and Athens: A Study in the Social Origins of Drama, 4th ed. (1973), a Marxist study; Anne Lebeck, The Oresteia: A Study in Language and Structure (1971), on the significant connections of imagery; R.P. Winnington-Ingram, Studies in Aeschylus (1983), a collection of insightful essays; Thomas G. Rosenmeyer, The Art of Aeschylus (1982), a critical study; D.J. Conacher, Aeschylus' "Prometheus Bound": A Literary Commentary (1980); Mark Griffith, The Authenticity of "Prometheus Bound" (1977), a powerful attack on authenticity; and Oliver Taplin, The Stagecraft of Aeschylus: The Dramatic Use of Exits and Entrances in Greek Tragedy (1978), on dramatic techniques and meanings. Anthony J. Podlecki Oliver Taplin Major Works: Works Persai (472 BC; Persians); Hepta epi Thebais (467 BC; Seven Against Thebes); Hiketides (c. 463 BC; Latin trans., Supplices; Eng. trans., Suppliants); the trilogy known as the Oresteia (458 BC), comprising Agamemnon, Choephoroi (Libation Bearers), and Eumenides; Prometheus desmotes (date uncertain, probably late; Prometheus Bound). Texts The Greek text is available in Denys Page (ed.), Aeschyli septem quae supersunt tragoedias (1972, reprinted 1975), in the Oxford Classical Text series. Herbert Weir Smyth (trans.), Aeschylus, 2 vol. (1922-26, reprinted 1973-83), in the Loeb Classical Library series, presents the original text with an English translation. Recommended editions Aeschylus, 2 vol. (1953-56, reissued 1967), contains English translations of all the plays and is part of The Complete Greek Tragedies series, ed. by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene. Recent editions of the trilogy are Oresteia, trans. by Hugh Lloyd-Jones, 3 vol. (1979, reissued in 1 vol., 1982); and The Oresteia, trans. by Robert Fagles (1975, reissued 1984).