Greek Tragedy

Very generally, what is Greek Tragedy?

From Aristotle's Poetics, (W.H. Fyfe Translation)

Line 1449a "When tragedy and comedy came to light, poets were drawn by their natural bent towards one or the other. Some became writers of comedies instead of lampoons, the others produced tragedies instead of epics; the reason being that the former is in each case a higher kind of art and has greater value.

To consider whether tragedy is fully developed by now in all its various species or not, and to criticize it both in itself and in relation to the stage, that is another question. At any rate it originated in improvisation—both tragedy itself and comedy. The one came from the prelude1 to the dithyramb and the other from the prelude to the phallic songs which still survive as institutions in many cities. Tragedy then gradually evolved as men developed each element that came to light and after going through many changes, it stopped when it had found its own natural form. Thus it was Aeschylus who first raised the number of the actors from one to two. He also curtailed the chorus and gave the dialogue the leading part."

Line 1449b [20] "Tragedy is, then, a representation of an action6 that is heroic and complete and of a certain magnitude—by means of language enriched with all kinds of ornament, each used separately in the different parts of the play: it represents men in action and does not use narrative, and through pity and fear it effects relief to these and similar emotions.7 By 'language enriched' I mean that which has rhythm and tune, i.e., song, and by 'the kinds separately' I mean that some effects are produced by verse alone and some again by song."

Where was Greek Tragedy developed?

"Tragedy, one of the most influential literary forms that originated in Greece, is particularly associated with Athens in the 5th cent. BC, the period that saw its most distinctive development. All but one of the surviving plays date from the 5th cent. but these represent only a tiny sample of the vast body of material produced from the late 6th cent. onwards; new plays were still being composed as late as the 2nd cent AD."

- “Greek Tragedy.” The Oxford Classical Dictionary, by Simon Hornblower et al., 4th ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 2012, pp. 1493–1498.

The Oresteia by Aeschylus

English Translators I’ve used extensively:

* Robert Fagels, 1979 reprinted and revised by Penguin Classics

* Oliver Taplin, 2018 Liveright Publishing

A list of other English translations I trust:

* E. D. A. Morshead, 1881 Public Domain

* Robert Browning, 1889 Perseus Digital Library

* Herbert Weir Smyth, 1926 Perseus Digital Library

* Richmond Lattimore, 1953 University Of Chicago Press

* Ian Johnston 2007 Richer Resources

* Anne Carson 2007 (Agamemnon) Farrar, Straus, Giroux

* Alan H. Sommerstein, 2009 Loeb Classical Library

Unfamiliar translations nevertheless worth mentioning:

* Philip Vellacott, 1956

* Tony Harrison, 1981

* Ted Hughes, 1999

* Timothy Chappell, 2012

* Simon Scardifield, 2012

The renderings provided by Johnston, Harrison, and Scardifield have all been used to produce adaptations for dramatic performance.

I'll add that Ted Hughes has a bit of a gnarly biography which has been enough to turn me off to his scholarship by-and-large. His relationship with Silvia Plath and her posthumous works gets fairly problematic and he's reported as having been an abusive and cruel person related to a variety of other cases. It's nothing directly related to his classics work tho, so... you may want to take this with a grain of salt.

Who is Aeschylus and what is he known for?

The Oxford Classical Dictionary (2012) has him born circa 525 BCE and dead 456 BCE; probably born at Eleusis, a deme of Athens.

"His epitaph makes no reference to his art, only to his prowess displayed at Marathon; this estimate of what was most important in Aeschylus' life – to have been a loyal and courageous citizen of a free Athens – can hardly be that of the Geloans and will reflect his own death-bed wishes or those of his family." - OCD, Aeschylus entry

He’s also credited with writing over 70 plays, introducing a second actor to the stage, and developing innovative techniques using the chorus, earning him thirteen major victories over his 40+ year dramatic career (evidently a substantial number considering the time and place).

Fagels and Taplin both give 458 BCE as the year in which The Oresteia was first performed. This has Aeschylus at sixty-seven years of age when he produced this trilogy.

There's evidence The Oresteia was originally a tetralogy but the fourth, a satyr play called Proteus, has not survived.

Who/what are our sources?

The Marmor Parium (an ancient marble inscription of Greek historical records), and The Oxyrhynchus Papyri (ancient manuscripts including Greek fragments and testimonia) are where we get the original text for the version of the play we read today.

Aristotle seems to be the most relevant ancient commentator with his remarks in Poetics from a philosophical perspective but we also have helpful records from a variety of others including Aristophanes in The Frogs.

Electra by Sophocles

Electra by Euripides

Orestes by Euripides

Quick summary of the overall time line.

The Ancient Greeks mourned differently.

The Atrocities of House Atreus

The Erinyes vs The Moirai

Fury itself: The Spirit of Vengeance

Ancient Greek Justice

The Role of Casandra

The Influence of Apollo

Also need to consider Thucydides and Herodotus…

The deception of Orestes between The Libation Bearers and the Electra tragedies.

Electra's gender and sexuality.

Anne Carson's Foreword for Electra by Sophocles is fantastic.

Retribution and justice in Aeschylus vs agony and catharsis in Sophocles.

The character of the Farmer in Electra by Euripides.

Euripides sense of humor and morality.