Performing oaths in classical Greek drama

Performing oaths in classical Greek drama

by Fletcher, Judith

Type Book
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"Oaths were ubiquitous rituals in ancient Athenian legal, commercial, civic and international spheres. Their importance is reflected by the fact that much of surviving Greek drama features a formal oath sworn before the audience. This is the first comprehensive study of that phenomenon. The book explores how the oath can mark or structure a dramatic plot, at times compelling characters like Euripides' Hippolytus to act contrary to their best interests. It demonstrates how dramatic oaths resonat…

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Title Statements

  • Full title :Performing oaths in classical Greek drama / Judith Fletcher

Summary

"Oaths were ubiquitous rituals in ancient Athenian legal, commercial, civic and international spheres. Their importance is reflected by the fact that much of surviving Greek drama features a formal oath sworn before the audience. This is the first comprehensive study of that phenomenon. The book explores how the oath can mark or structure a dramatic plot, at times compelling characters like Euripides' Hippolytus to act contrary to their best interests. It demonstrates how dramatic oaths resonate with oath rituals familiar to the Athenian audiences. Aristophanes' Lysistrata and her accomplices, for example, swear an oath that blends protocols of international treaties with priestesses' vows of sexual abstinence. By employing the principles of Speech Act theory, this book examines how the performative power of the dramatic oath can mirror the status quo, but also disturb categories of gender, social status and civic identity in ways that redistribute and confound social authority"

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Edition Statements

  • Publication Date:2012

Publication Statements

The Physical Object

  • Description:xi, 277 p.

Edition Identifiers

  • ISBN:9780521762731, 0521762731
  • oclc:ocn839354451
  • LC Classification:PA3136
  • Dewey Decimal:882 .0109

Table of Contents

1. From curses to blessings: horkos in the Oresteia ; 2. Speaking like a man: oaths in Sophocles' Trachiniae and Philoctetes ; 3. Horkos in the polis: Athens, Thebes, and Sophocles ; 4. Perjury and other perversions: Euripides' Phoenissae, Orestes, and Cyclops ; 5. Twisted justice in Aristophanes' Clouds ; 6. Women and oaths in Euripides ; 7. How to do things with Euripides: Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusae ; 8. Swearing off sex: the women's oath in Aristophanes' Lysistrata

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Subjects

Actes de parole dans la littérature Aeschylus Aristophanes Criticism, interpretation, etc Euripides Greek drama Greek drama -- History and criticism LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Ancient, Classic… Oaths in literature Serments dans la littérature Sophocles Speech acts (Linguistics) in literature Théâtre grec -- Histoire et critique

Writers

Fletcher, Judith

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