# The Tragic Drama of the Greeks

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THE TRAGIC DRAMA
OF THE GREEKS
BY
A. E. HAIGH, M.A.
LATE FELLOW OF HERTFORD CLASSICAL LECTURER AT CORPUS CHRISTI AND WADHAM COLLEGES
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
MDCCCXCVI
HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK
CONTENTS
| | | PAGE |
| Chap. I. Early History of Greek Tragedy | Chap. I. Early History of Greek Tragedy | 1 |
| | § 1. Introductory | 1 |
| | § 2. The Worship of Dionysus | 4 |
| | § 3. Early History of the Dithyramb | 13 |
| | § 4. Arion and the Dithyramb | 16 |
| | § 5. Later History of the Dithyramb | 23 |
| | § 6. The Innovations of Thespis | 26 |
| | § 7. Character of the Thespian Drama | 29 |
| | § 8. Career of Thespis | 36 |
| | § 9. Chocrilus, Pratinas, and Phrynichus | 39 |
| Chap. II. Aeschylus | Chap. II. Aeschylus | 46 |
| | § 1. His Life | 46 |
| | § 2. Improvements in Tragedy | 60 |
| | (1) The Structure of the Aeschylean Drama | 61 |
| | (2) General Tone | 65 |
| | (3) The Manner of Representation | 67 |
| | § 3. Selection and Treatment of the Plots | 70 |
| | § 4. The Characters | 76 |
| | § 5. The Language | 80 |
| | § 6. Religious and Moral Ideas | 86 |
| | § 7. The Trilogy and Tetralogy | 96 |
| | § 8. The Extant Plays | 99 |
| | (1) The Supplices | 101 |
| | (2) The Persae | 103 |
| | (3) The Septem | 106 |
| | (4) The Prometheus | 109 |
| | (5) The Oresteia | 114 |
| | § 9. Reputation among the Ancients | 121 |
| Chap. III. Sophocles | Chap. III. Sophocles | 126 |
| | § 1. His Life | 126 |
| | § 2. Improvements in Tragedy | 137 |
| | § 3. Selection and Treatment of Plots | 143 |
| | § 4. The Chorus | 151 |
| | § 5. The Characters | 156 |
| | § 6. The Language | 161 |
| | § 7. Religious and Moral Ideas | 168 |
| | § 8. The Irony of Sophocles | 174 |
| | § 9. The Extant Tragedies | 179 |
| | (1) The Antigone | 182 |
| | (2) The Ajax | 186 |
| | (3) The Trachiniae | 188 |
| | (4) The Electra | 191 |
| | (5) The Oedipus Rex | 192 |
| | (6) The Philoctetes | 194 |
| | (7) The Oedipus Coloneus | 198 |
| | § 10. Reputation among the Ancients | 200 |
| Chap. IV. Euripides | Chap. IV. Euripides | 204 |
| | § 1. His Life | 204 |
| | § 2. General Characteristics | 217 |
| | (1) Innovations in the spirit of Tragedy | 218 |
| | (2) Modern Criticisms | 226 |
| | (3) Influence of Rhetoric and Philosophy | 233 |
| | § 3. Choice and Structure of Plots | 237 |
| | § 4. Innovations in the Form of Tragedy | 245 |
| | § 5. The Chorus | 251 |
| | § 6. The Language | 256 |
| | § 7. Moral and Religious Ideas | 261 |
| | § 8. Political and Social Opinions | 273 |
| | § 9. The Extant Plays | 280 |
| | (1) The Rhesus | 284 |
| | (2) The Alcestis | 285 |
| | (3) The Medea | 289 |
| | (4) The Heracleidae | 291 |
| | (5) The Hippolytus | 292 |
| | (6) The Hecuba | 295 |
| | (7) The Supplices | 295 |
| | (8) The Andromache | 297 |
| | (9) The Hercules Furens | 298 |
| | (10) The Troades | 300 ​ |
| | (11) The Electra | 301 |
| | (12) The Helena | 303 |
| | (13) The Ion | 304 |
| | (14) The Iphigeneia in Tauris | 305 |
| | (15) The Orestes | 309 |
| | (16) The Phoenissae | 310 |
| | (17) The Bacchae | 311 |
| | (18) The Iphigeneia in Aulide | 314 |
| | (19) The Cyclops | 316 |
| | § 10. Reputation in Ancient Times | 317 |
| Chap. V. Form and Character of Greek Tragedy | Chap. V. Form and Character of Greek Tragedy | 322 |
| | § 1. General Characteristics | 322 |
| | § 2. The Subjects | 328 |
| | § 3. The Characters | 333 |
| | § 4. Unity of Structure | 337 |
| | § 5. Treatment of the Plot | 344 |
| | § 6. Formal Divisions of Greek Tragedy | 348 |
| | (1) The Dialogue | 348 |
| | (2) The Lyrics | 353 |
| | § 7. The Language of Greek Tragedy | 363 |
| | § 8. The Versification | 370 |
| | § 9. Symmetry of Form | 377 |
| | § 10. The Satyric Drama | 389 |
| | § 11. The Titles of Greek Tragedies | 395 |
| Chap. VI. Later History of Greek Tragedy | Chap. VI. Later History of Greek Tragedy | 403 |
| | § 1. Introductory | 403 |
| | § 2. Minor Poets of the Fifth Century | 405 |
| | (1) Ion | 406 |
| | (2) Achaeus | 408 |
| | (3) Agathon | 409 |
| | (4) Tragedy in Families | 412 |
| | (5) Other Tragic Poets | 416 |
| | § 3. Tragedy at Athens in the Fourth Century | 419 |
| | (1) Rhetorical Poets | 423 |
| | (2) Literary and Philosophical Poets | 426 |
| | (3) Tragedy in Families | 429 |
| | (4) Dionysius the Tyrant | 432 |
| | § 4. The Extension of Greek Tragedy beyond Athens | 434 |
| | § 5. Tragedy at Alexandria | 439 ​ |
| | § 6. Character of the Post-Alexandrian Tragedy | 443 |
| | (1) The Composition of New Tragedies | 443 |
| | (2) The Reproduction of Old Tragedies | 447 |
| | (3) The Chorus | 451 |
| | § 7. Greek Tragedy in Italy | 454 |
| | § 8. Final Extinction of Greek Tragedy | 457 |
| Appendix I | Appendix I | 463 |
| Appendix II | Appendix II | 473 |
| Index | Index | 483 |
| LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS |||
| Early representation of Dionysus | Early representation of Dionysus | 11 |
| Later representation of Dionysus | Later representation of Dionysus | 12 |
| Gem depicting the death of Aeschylus | Gem depicting the death of Aeschylus | 60 |
| Bust of Aeschylus | Bust of Aeschylus | 60 |
| Statue of Sophocles | Statue of Sophocles | 137 |
| Bust of Euripides | Bust of Euripides | 214 |
Oxford PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS BY HORACE HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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