A Companion to Aeschylus

Explore the work and influence of the earliest surviving Greek tragedian 

In A Companion to Aeschylus, distinguished classics experts Jacques A. Bromberg and Peter Burian deliver the first multi-authored examination in English of the works of the first surviving Greek tragedian. This book explores the contexts, histories, philosophies, religions, and socio-political realities presented in the works of the man unironically referred to as the creator of tragedy. 

Through 39 chapters, contributions from leading Aeschylean scholars examine the tragedian’s reception and influence, from antiquity to the present day. Eminent, well-known authors appear alongside exciting, less established voices who add new perspectives to traditional scholarship. 

Written to remain accessible to students reading Aeschylus for the first time, with all the original Greek translated into English and technical terminology kept to a minimum, A Companion to Aeschylus also offers readers: 

• A thorough introduction to Aeschylus as a product of his time, including a discussion of Aeschylus’ place at the dawn of the Athenian democracy and the presentation of tragedy before Aeschylus 
• Comprehensive explorations of Aeschylus as playwright, including treatments of all the extant plays—Persians, Seven against Thebes, Suppliants, and The Oresteia as well as Prometheus Bound, considered by many scholars not to be by Aeschylus 
• Practical discussions of Aeschylus and Greek society, including his treatment of justice and injustice, Athenian law, and ritual 
• In-depth examinations of the influence of Aeschylus, including the effect his work had on artists and thinkers from antiquity to the present day 

Perfect for scholars and students of Classical studies, A Companion to Aeschylus is the ideal starting point to those approaching the earliest surviving Greek tragedian for the first time. It belongs in the libraries of anyone seeking an insightful treatment of Aeschylus’ individual works and topics within those works, as well as historical background and later receptions. 

Peter Burian is Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies at Duke University. He has published essays on and translations of ancient Greek texts and the reception of classical culture in the modern world.

Jacques A. Bromberg is Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Pittsburgh. He has published essays on Greek literature, classical receptions in Latin America, global studies and historical globalization, and the history and philosophy of sport.

List of Figures xii

Preface and Acknowledgements xiii

Notes on Contributors xiv

Introduction: Aeschylus and His Place in History 1
Peter Burian

Part I Aeschylus in His Time 13

1 Democracy's Age of Bronze: Aeschylus's Plays and Athenian History, 508/7–454 bce 15
Robert W. Wallace

2 Aeschylus, Lyric and Epic 27
P. J. Finglass

3 Tragedy before Aeschylus 40
P. J. Finglass

4 Aeschylean Drama and Intellectual History 47
Jacques A. Bromberg

5 Aeschylus in Sicily between Tyranny and Democracy 61
Malcolm Bell, III

Part II Aeschylus as Playwright 75

6 Persians 77
A. F. Garvie

7 Seven against Thebes 88
Isabelle Torrance

8 Fear of Foreign Women in Aeschylus's Suppliants 99
Rebecca Futo Kennedy

9 Disorder, Resolution and Language: The Oresteia 114
David H. Porter

10 Eumenides: Justice, Gender, the Gods and the City 130
Peter Burian

11 Intertheatricality and Narrative Structure in the Electra Plays 145
Kirk Ormand

12 Prometheus Bound: The Principle of Hope 158
I. A. Ruffell

13 Slices from Aeschylus's Feast: The Fragmentary Works 171
Anthony Podlecki

14 Aeschylean Satyr Drama 185
Carl Shaw

15 The Tetralogy 201
Alan H. Sommerstein

16 Visualising the Stage 214
A. C. Duncan

17 The Choruses of Aeschylus 230
Eva Stehle

18 Music, Dance and Metre in Aeschylean Tragedy 242
Naomi Weiss

19 Aeschylus: Language and Style 254
R. B. Rutherford

20 The Long View in Aeschylus: Intergenerational Myth-Making through the "Other" 267
Arum Park

Part III Aeschylus and Greek Society 281

21 Aeschylus and Subversion of Ritual 283
Richard Seaford

22 Ghosts, Demons and Gods: Supernatural Challenges 295
Amit Shilo

23 Inscribing Justice in Aeschylean Drama 310
Sarah Nooter

24 Race in Aeschylus's Suppliant Women and Persians 323
Sarah Derbew

25 Aeschylus's Persians and the "Just War" 334
Sydnor Roy

26 Aeschylus and History 346
Emily Baragwanath

27 Aeschylus and Athenian Law 361
F. S. Naiden

28 Aeschylus's Athens between Hegemony and Empire 373
David Rosenbloom

Part IV The Influence of Aeschylus 389

29 Critical Approaches to Aeschylus, from the Nineteenth Century to the Present 391
Mark Griffith

30 The Reception of Aeschylus in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries 412
C. W. Marshall

31 The Transmission of Aeschylus: The Miracle of Survival 425
Marsh McCall

32 The Bow of Ulysses: Aeschylus and his Translators 437
Deborah H. Roberts

33 Variations on a Theme: Prometheus 455
Theodore Ziolkowski

34 Myth, History and Revolution in the Nineteenth-Century Reception of the Oresteia 467
Adam Lecznar

35 Three Landmarks in the Reception of the Oresteia in Twentieth-Century Drama 479
Vayos Liapis

36 Oresteia on Stage: Koun, Stein, Hall and Mnouchkine 491
Hallie Rebecca Marshall

37 Transforming Aeschylus on the Modern Stage 505
Helene P. Foley

38 Applied Aeschylus 518
Peter Meineck

39 Teaching the Oresteia as a Work for the Theatre 533
Robin Mitchell-Boyask

Epilogue 544
Jacques A. Bromberg

Index 558