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Greek Tragedy

By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
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Publisher's Summary

Greek tragedy was a dramatic form that flourished for less than a full century. And yet it remains vibrant, alive, and productive today. And the form's masterpieces help us - as perhaps they helped their original audiences - grasp a fuller sense of the terror and wonder of life. Professor Vandiver has designed these 24 rich and rewarding lectures to give you a full overview of Greek tragedy, both in its original setting and as a lasting contribution to the artistic exploration of the human condition. You'll learn to see Greek tragedy as a genre in its cultural context. What is tragedy's deeper historical background? Did it grow out of rituals honoring the god Dionysus, as is so often said? How did Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides each make unique contributions to tragedy's expressive power?

You'll also uncover what scholarship can reveal about the actual performance of Greek tragedy, including its physical and ritual settings, actors and acting methods, conventions of staging and stagecraft, and even how productions were financed. And with this solid background in place, you'll explore a broad group of tragedies in close detail. In particular, you'll see how individual tragedies used traditional myths (often tales from the Trojan War), and what Aeschylus, Sophocles, or Euripides intended to accomplish by changing or adding to the basic story. You'll examine what certain tragedies imply about the world of 5th-century Athens and the importance, in turn, of the cultural background for explaining those tragedies.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses

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Informative, detailed, entertaining, and enjoyable

This is truly a course rather than a series of lectures. It starts with a comprehensive definition in the context of what a Tragedy is in ancient Greece. Including a fascinating lecture on Athenian democracy, the inter-relationship between the two, and the links to Dionysus.

The descriptions of the Tragedies themselves are sublime. They are filled with aesthetic descriptions and mythological detail that brought these alive in my mind.

You will leave this course with a solid understanding of the mythology behind each play, the historical context and its relationship to major contemporary events, as well as the complexity of ancient Greek stagecraft and glimpses of the lives of the Greek Tragedians themselves.

This was a complete pleasure and it has inspired me to read all of the plays mentioned while referring back to the comprehensive lecture notes and this audio again.

A perfect companion for close reading.

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Fantastic lecture series

loved every lecture. I am slowly going through all the works that were mentioned.
EliAbeth Vandivers knowledge and way of teaching is very engaging

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excellent informative lectures.

Dr vandivers enthusiasm for her subject and deep knowledge makes these extremely engaging lectures. I now feel able to read the plays with greater understanding and enjoyment.

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The best introduction

Amazing introduction Elizabeth vandiver is an excellent teacher I loved this would recommend this series’s

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