A Companion to Sophocles - Paperback

by Kirk Ormand (Editor)

A Companion to Sophocles presents the first comprehensive collection of essays in decades to address all aspects of the life, works, and critical reception of Sophocles.

• First collection of its kind to provide introductory essays to the fragments of his lost plays and to the remaining fragments of one satyr-play, the Ichneutae, in addition to each of his extant tragedies
• Features new essays on Sophoclean drama that go well beyond the current state of scholarship on Sophocles
• Presents readings that historicize Sophocles in relation to the social, cultural, and intellectual world of fifth century Athens
• Seeks to place later interpretations and adaptations of Sophocles in their historical context
• Includes essays dedicated to issues of gender and sexuality; significant moments in the history of interpreting Sophocles; and reception of Sophocles by both ancient and modern playwrights

Back Jacket

"This volume will indeed serve as an indispensable reference point for the future study of Sophocles."
Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Although the book is scholarly and packed with information, it is accessible to nonspecialists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above."
Choice

Few literary figures have gained more immediate - or more long-lasting - critical acclaim than the ancient Greek dramatist Sophocles. From Sophocles' first victory in the Athenian spring drama competition in 468 BCE, his works went on to become celebrated for tackling such thorny issues as personal will, divine justice, and the limitations of human knowledge. His development of the self-motivated hero's inevitable clash with unavoidable circumstances is widely recognized as the birth of Western tragedy. A Companion to Sophocles presents a comprehensive collection of original essays by leading scholars that address all aspects of the life, works, and critical reception of Sophocles. Initial essays introduce Sophocles' extant tragedies as well as fragments of his lost plays, including the Ichneutae. Subsequent readings explore Sophocles' relation to the intellectual, social, and political currents of fifth-century Athens; issues of gender and sexuality; significant moments in the history of interpreting Sophocles; and the reception of Sophocles by both ancient and modern playwrights. A Companion to Sophocles offers illuminating insights into one of the most influential dramatists the world has ever known.

Author Biography

Kirk Ormand is Professor of Classics at Oberlin. He is author of Exchange and the Maiden: Marriage in Sophoclean Tragedy (1999), Controlling Desires: Sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome (2009), and The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women and Archaic Greece (2014).