Ajax: Introduction
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Sophocles, Ajax, Lines 1-171
SophoclesFourTrag-00Bk Page 2 Thursday, July 26, 2007 3:56 PM Ajax: Cast of Characters ATHENA goddess of wisdom, craft, and strategy ODYSSEUS a Greek commander from Ithaca AJAX the son of Telamon and a Greek commander from Salamis CHORUS of Salaminian warriors TECMESSA a Phrygian captive, wife of Ajax MESSENGER from the Greek camp, loyal to Teucer TEUCER the half-brother of Ajax, son of Telamon and Hesione, a Trojan MENELAUS the youngest son of Atreus and a Greek commander from Sparta AGAMEMNON the eldest son of Atreus from Mycenae and the supreme commander of the Greeks at Troy Nonspeaking Roles EURYSACES the young son of Ajax and Tecmessa ATTENDANTS Casting In the original production at the Theatre of Dionysus, the division of roles between the three speaking actors may have been as follows: 1. Ajax, Agamemnon 2. Athena, Messenger, Teucer 3. Tecmessa, Menelaus, Odysseus After line 1168, a nonspeaking actor played the role of Tecmessa. This translation is based on a version developed by Peter Meineck for the Aquila Theatre Company in 1993 for a U.S. tour. The original cast included Donald T. Allen, Tony Longhurst, James Moriarty, Yasmin Sidhwa, and Andrew Tansey. Division of roles: The parts can also be divided as follows: (1) Ajax, Teucer; (2) Odysseus, Tecmessa; (3) Athena, Messenger, Menelaus, Agamemnon. 2 SophoclesFourTrag-00Bk Page 3 Thursday, July 26, 2007 3:56 PM Ajax SCENE: Night. The Greek camp at Troy. It is the ninth year of the Trojan War, after the death of Achilles. Odysseus is following tracks that lead him outside the tent of Ajax. -
Sea Monsters in Antiquity: a Classical and Zoological Investigation
Sea Monsters in Antiquity: A Classical and Zoological Investigation Alexander L. Jaffe Harvard University Dept. of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Class of 2015 Abstract: Sea monsters inspired both fascination and fear in the minds of the ancients. In this paper, I aim to examine several traditional monsters of antiquity with a multi-faceted approach that couples classical background with modern day zoological knowledge. Looking at the examples of the ketos and the sea serpent in Roman and Greek societies, I evaluate the scientific bases for representations of these monsters across of variety of media, from poetry to ceramics. Through the juxtaposition of the classical material and modern science, I seek to gain a greater understanding of the ancient conception of sea monsters and explain the way in which they were rationalized and depicted by ancient cultures. A closer look at extant literature, historical accounts, and artwork also helps to reveal a human sentiment towards the ocean and its denizens penetrating through time even into the modern day. “The Sea-monsters, mighty of limb and huge, the wonders of the sea, heavy with strength invincible, a terror for the eyes to behold and ever armed with deadly rage—many of these there be that roam the spacious seas...”1 Oppian, Halieutica 1 As the Greek poet Oppian so eloquently reveals, sea monsters inspired both fascination and fear in the minds of the ancients. From the Old Testament to Ovid, sources from throughout the ancient world show authors exercising both imagination and observation in the description of these creatures. Mythology as well played a large role in the creation of these beliefs, with such classic examples as Perseus and Andromeda or Herakles and Hesione. -
A Language-Exercise in Dramatization
A LANGUAGE-EXERCISE IN DRAMATIZATION EMMA SIEBEL No material presented for a language-exercise and no form of language-work has awakened in the children a more intense interest or provoked them to greater effort than have the stories of the gods and the Trojan war, and especially the writing of the play which follows. The exercise is classwork, and all the children are represented, some contributing more than others; all, however, working with earnestness and each doing his part. There was quite a heated discussion as to the subject to be chosen-some favoring the "Wedding Feast," others contending that that would be too simple, that it would only necessitate allow- ing the characters to say "in their own words" what the story had told them. They wished to "make up" their play, and the suggestion that we write on "Laomedon's Broken Promises," that being a story from which "a good lesson could be learned," carried the day. I had some misgivings as to the outcome, but would not discourage their enthusiastic effort. The story of Cinderella, so familiar to all, was acted out to give them the "play-idea" and to familiarize them with the terms "exit," "enter," "act," "scene," "speech," "action," etc. We then spent one lesson "practicing," as they said, "the language of the gods," and another in changing sentences, "to make them sound more poetical." The suggestion to substitute "Persons of the Play" for "Cast of Characters" came from a little girl who thought that "we are only children, and we want it to be all our own." They then selected the characters needed, deciding that we could easily add others should we have need of them. -
Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides Translated by Nicholas Rudall Directed by Charles Newell
STUDY GUIDE Photo of Mark L. Montgomery, Stephanie Andrea Barron, and Sandra Marquez by joe mazza/brave lux, inc Sponsored by Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides Translated by Nicholas Rudall Directed by Charles Newell SETTING The action takes place in east-central Greece at the port of Aulis, on the Euripus Strait. The time is approximately 1200 BCE. CHARACTERS Agamemnon father of Iphigenia, husband of Clytemnestra and King of Mycenae Menelaus brother of Agamemnon Clytemnestra mother of Iphigenia, wife of Agamemnon Iphigenia daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra Achilles son of Peleus Chorus women of Chalcis who came to Aulis to see the Greek army Old Man servant of Agamemnon, was given as part of Clytemnestra’s dowry Messenger ABOUT THE PLAY Iphigenia in Aulis is the last existing work of the playwright Euripides. Written between 408 and 406 BCE, the year of Euripides’ death, the play was first produced the following year in a trilogy with The Bacchaeand Alcmaeon in Corinth by his son, Euripides the Younger, and won the first place at the Athenian City Dionysia festival. Agamemnon Costume rendering by Jacqueline Firkins. 2 SYNOPSIS At the start of the play, Agamemnon reveals to the Old Man that his army and warships are stranded in Aulis due to a lack of sailing winds. The winds have died because Agamemnon is being punished by the goddess Artemis, whom he offended. The only way to remedy this situation is for Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to the goddess Artemis. Agamemnon then admits that he has sent for Iphigenia to be brought to Aulis but he has changed his mind. -
Gillian Bevan Is an Actor Who Has Played a Wide Variety of Roles in West End and Regional Theatre
Gillian Bevan is an actor who has played a wide variety of roles in West End and regional theatre. Among these roles, she was Dorothy in the Royal Shakespeare Company revival of The Wizard of Oz, Mrs Wilkinson, the dance teacher, in the West End production of Billy Elliot, and Mrs Lovett in the West Yorkshire Playhouse production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Gillian has regularly played roles in other Sondheim productions, including Follies, Merrily We Roll Along and Road Show, and she sang at the 80th birthday tribute concert of Company for Stephen Sondheim (Donmar Warehouse). Gillian spent three years with Alan Ayckbourn’s theatre-in-the-round in Scarborough, and her Shakespearian roles include Polonius (Polonia) in the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre production of Hamlet (Autumn, 2014) with Maxine Peake in the title role. Gillian’s many television credits have included Teachers (Channel 4) in which she played Clare Hunter, the Headmistress, and Holby City (BBC1) in which she gave an acclaimed performance as Gina Hope, a sufferer from Motor Neurone Disease, who ends her own life in an assisted suicide clinic. During the early part of 2014, Gillian completed filming London Road, directed by Rufus Norris, the new Artistic Director of the National Theatre. In the summer of 2014 Gillian played the role of Hera, the Queen of the Gods, in The Last Days of Troy by the poet and playwright Simon Armitage. The play, a re-working of The Iliad, had its world premiere at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre and then transferred to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London. -
Sophocles' Philoctetes Roisman, Hanna M Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1997; 38, 2; Proquest Pg
The appropriation of a son: Sophocles' Philoctetes Roisman, Hanna M Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1997; 38, 2; ProQuest pg. 127 The Appropriation of a Son: Sophocles' Philoctetes Hanna M. Roisman ANHOOD in archaic and classical Greece-as in modern times-is generally manifested not so much in relation M ships with women as in relationships with other men, especially in the relationship between father and son. The Greek male is expected to produce sons who will continue his oikos (e.g. Soph. Ant. 641-45; Eur. Ale. 62lf, 654-57). Further, as Hesiod makes clear, sons should resemble their fathers in both looks and conduct, especially the latter (Op. 182,235; ef Ii. 6.476-81; Theophr. Char. 5.5). Such resemblance earns the father public esteem and proves his manliness; the lack of it may be cause for disparagement and calls his manliness into question. 1 We learn from Ajax and Philoctetes that Sophocles follows the Hesiodic imperative that sons should resemble their fathers in their natures and their accomplishments. Ajax sees himself as an unworthy son, having lost Achilles' arms to Odysseus, and prefers to commit suicide rather than face his father, Telamon, who took part in Heracles' expedition to Troy and got Hesione, the best part of the booty, as a reward (Aj. 430-40,462-65, 470ff, 1300-303; Diod. 4.32.5). At the same time, he expects his son, Eurysaces, to be like himself in nature, valor, and in everything else ('ttl.~' aA.A.' OIlOlO~, Aj. 545-51). Sophocles' Philoctetes, on the other hand, presents the strug gle between Odysseus and Philoctetes for the 'paternity' of Neoptolemus, as each tries to mold the young man in his own 1 Even in contemporary Greece the intense male rivalry for proving oneself takes place among men alone, while women and flocks serve as the object of this rivalry. -
1 Divine Intervention and Disguise in Homer's Iliad Senior Thesis
Divine Intervention and Disguise in Homer’s Iliad Senior Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Undergraduate Program in Classical Studies Professor Joel Christensen, Advisor In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts By Joana Jankulla May 2018 Copyright by Joana Jankulla 1 Copyright by Joana Jankulla © 2018 2 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Joel Christensen. Thank you, Professor Christensen for guiding me through this process, expressing confidence in me, and being available whenever I had any questions or concerns. I would not have been able to complete this work without you. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow and Professor Cheryl Walker for reading my thesis and providing me with feedback. The Classics Department at Brandeis University has been an instrumental part of my growth in my four years as an undergraduate, and I am eternally thankful to all the professors and staff members in the department. Thank you to my friends, specifically Erica Theroux, Sarah Jousset, Anna Craven, Rachel Goldstein, Taylor McKinnon and Georgie Contreras for providing me with a lot of emotional support this year. I hope you all know how grateful I am for you as friends and how much I have appreciated your love this year. Thank you to my mom for FaceTiming me every time I was stressed about completing my thesis and encouraging me every step of the way. Finally, thank you to Ian Leeds for dropping everything and coming to me each time I needed it. -
Sophocles' Ajax and the Greek Epic Cycle
Eating from the Tables of Others: Sophocles’ Ajax and the Greek Epic Cycle1 Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistai remarks that “Sophocles took great pleasure in the Epic Cycle and composed whole dramas in which he followed the Cycle’s version of myths” (ἔχαιρε δὲ Σοφοκλῆς τῷ ἐπικῷ κύκλῳ, ὡς καὶ ὅλα δράματα ποιῆσαι κατακολουθῶν τῇ ἐν τούτῳ μυθοποιίᾳ, Deipnosophistai 277c).2 This statement is equally apposite for his Ajax Philoctetes, Oedipus (both Tyrannus and Coloneus) and Antigone. However, while examining in depth the plot and the construction of some of the characters in Sophoclean tragedy, one realizes that Sophocles, although indebted to the poets of the Epic Cycle for his plots, feasts at Homer’s table as well, reminding us of what Aeschylus said about his tragedies as being slices from Homer’s great dinner parties (τὸ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ λαμπροῦ Αἰσχύλου, ὃς τὰς αὑτοῦ τραγῳδίας τεμάχη εἶναι ἔλεγεν τῶν Ὁμήρου μεγάλων δείπνων, Athenaeus Deipnosophistai 347e). The second point I would like to make refers to a methodological principle. I subscribe to the view that a playwright of fifth c. BCE Athens not only “feasts” at the tables of others but freely transforms and adapts his borrowings to the new ideology of his genre and the social and political circumstances of his time.3 In Sophocles’ time, there is the polis, with a value system that has evolved gradually but steadily, from the Homeric, through the archaic, down to the classical period. Moreover, Sophocles, as with all poets, had a particular style and personal preoccupations that characterize his work.4 1 I would like to thank the participants in the Greek Epic Cycle Conference, held in ancient Olympia on 9–10 July 2010, for their useful comments on the oral presentation of the present paper. -
DATE PALM “11M Palm”
DATE PALM “11M Palm” DID YOU KNOW? In addition to the commemorative palm found in this garden (“11M Palm”), there is another specimen at Santo Antonio de Herbón’s convent. This specimen has been considered to be a singular tree in Galicia. It was planted together with another specimen following the tradition that begun in the 15th century by Juan Rodríguez de la Cámara, a writer from Padrón. It belongs to the Arecaceae family and the Coryphoideae subfamily. It is present from the south of the Mediterranean basin (Senegal and southern Morocco) to Pakistan. It is also present in the east and south of the Iberian Peninsula, especially because of the dispersal of its fruits by birds and mammals, but it is not present far from the coast. Common names: “palmera”, “palmera datilera” (Spanish); “palma”, “palmeira datileira” (Galician); “date palm” (English). Etymology: • Phoenix: it is a generic name that comes from the Greek word “φοῖνιξ” or “φοίνικος” (phoinikos), which is the name used for the date palm, used by Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder. It is likely for them to refer to the Phoenician Phoenix, son of Amyntor and Cleobule in Homer’s Iliad, or to the phoenix (bird). • Dactilyfera: it is a specific epithet that means “date carrier”. Description: This plant can reach 30 meters high, even its trunk is thin and often has buds, which makes it different from the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) and why they are usually mistaken. Its leaves are persistent, leathery, pinnate, thorny, arched, very big and they come out like plumes from the crown. -
English I Summer Reading the Odyssey by Homer (Trans
English I Summer Reading the Odyssey by Homer (trans. Robert Fagles, Penguin Classics) READ the Odyssey. Then answer all questions on a separate piece of paper, and be prepared for a quiz the first week of school. Even though the highlighted questions have been answered for you, you are still responsible for knowing the information. The numbers in parentheses indicate the book and the line where the answer can be found, i.e., 1.71 is book/chapter one, line 71). Books 1-4 1. What is the Greek word that is used to describe Odysseus? [ANSWER: from review article posted—polutropos ] 2. Give two examples of how polutropos could be translated into English. [ANSWER: much- turned, much-turning, wily, resourceful, complicated, contradictory. Robert Fagles translated it “man of twists and turns,” which carries a rich meaning with it, a man of many talents and interests, richly blessed and oft cursed, good at times, not so good other times.] 3. How does the poem start? [ANSWER: en medias res—in the middle of it all; that’s how the Greeks always do their storytelling.] Why start in the middle of the story? 4. At what time in Odysseus’s adventures abroad are we when the poem starts? (Remember, he will spend twenty years abroad: 10 years fighting at Troy and 10 years wandering.) 5. How are we left feeling about the suitors? Name one of them. 6. Orestus is ______________________’s son. He killed _____________________. [ANSWER: Agamemnon; Orestus killed Aegisthus.] Be sure to check out the fantastic index of characters in the back of the book. -
Virgil, Aeneid 11 (Pallas & Camilla) 1–224, 498–521, 532–96, 648–89, 725–835 G
Virgil, Aeneid 11 (Pallas & Camilla) 1–224, 498–521, 532–96, 648–89, 725–835 G Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and commentary ILDENHARD INGO GILDENHARD AND JOHN HENDERSON A dead boy (Pallas) and the death of a girl (Camilla) loom over the opening and the closing part of the eleventh book of the Aeneid. Following the savage slaughter in Aeneid 10, the AND book opens in a mournful mood as the warring parti es revisit yesterday’s killing fi elds to att end to their dead. One casualty in parti cular commands att enti on: Aeneas’ protégé H Pallas, killed and despoiled by Turnus in the previous book. His death plunges his father ENDERSON Evander and his surrogate father Aeneas into heart-rending despair – and helps set up the foundati onal act of sacrifi cial brutality that caps the poem, when Aeneas seeks to avenge Pallas by slaying Turnus in wrathful fury. Turnus’ departure from the living is prefi gured by that of his ally Camilla, a maiden schooled in the marti al arts, who sets the mold for warrior princesses such as Xena and Wonder Woman. In the fi nal third of Aeneid 11, she wreaks havoc not just on the batt lefi eld but on gender stereotypes and the conventi ons of the epic genre, before she too succumbs to a premature death. In the porti ons of the book selected for discussion here, Virgil off ers some of his most emoti ve (and disturbing) meditati ons on the tragic nature of human existence – but also knows how to lighten the mood with a bit of drag. -
SOPHOCLES' AJAX, a Translation by Dennis Daly
Wilderness House Literary Review 6/4 Dennis Daly SOPHOCLES’ AJAX ©2012 Dennis Daly Introduction Sophocles lived during the golden age of ancient Greece. He was born around 496 BC in Colonus, just outside of Athens, and died 90 years later. He probably came from a wealthy merchant family and lived what many would think of as a near perfect life. So the dry facts seem to say. At sixteen years of age Sophocles led the paean, celebrating a decisive Greek victory over the Persians at Salamis. This was more than just an everyday honor. You needed the physique, athleticism, a stage presence and the ability to sing. Sophocles held numerous civic positions of high honor including treasurer, gen- eral (he served with the legendary Pericles), priest, and commissioner. His friends included the great historian Herodotus. Of all of Sophocles’ 123 plays only seven survive. They are Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus, Electra, Women of Trachis, Philoctetes, and Ajax. Sophocles wrote his plays specifically as entries for the Dionysia festivals held annually in Athens. Playwrights usually entered four plays at a time into these competitions. The so-called Theban plays of Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus, were never entered together, but were each entered with another set of plays. Early on Sophocles bested his older rival Aeschylus and never looked back winning many more competitions than either Aeschylus or his young- er rival, Euripides. The power of these tragedies and their subject matter belie the official biogra- phy of Sophocles. The dramatist simply understood shame, degradation, alien- ation, despair and madness a little too well.