Ritual Irony: Poetry and Sacrifice in Euripides

Helene P. Foley

Published by Cornell University Press 1985

Ritual Irony

Poetry and Sacrifice in Euripides

Helene P. Foley
Funded by: National Endowment for the Humanities Open Book Program

https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501740633

Overview
Contents

About this book

Ritual Irony is a critical study of four problematic later plays of Euripides: the Iphigenia in Aulis, the Phoenissae, the Heracles, and the Bacchae.

Examining Euripides' representation of sacrificial ritual against the background of late fifth-century Athens, Helene P. Foley shows that each of these plays confronts directly the difficulty of making an archaic poetic tradition relevant to a democratic society. She explores the important mediating role played by choral poetry and ritual in the plays, asserting that Euripides' sacrificial metaphors and ritual performances link an anachronistic mythic ideal with a world dominated by "chance" or an incomprehensible divinity.

Foley utilizes the ideas and methodology of contemporary literary theory and symbolic anthropology, addressing issues central to the emerging dialogue between the two fields. Her conclusions have important implications for the study of Greek tragedy as a whole and for our understanding of Euripides' tragic irony, his conception of religion, and the role of his choral odes.

Assuming no specialized knowledge, Ritual Irony is aimed at all readers of Euripidean tragedy. It will prove particularly valuable to students and scholars of classics, comparative literature, and symbolic anthropology.

Author / Editor information

Helene P. Foley is Professor of Classical Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Reviews

Marylin B. Arthur, Department of Classics, Wesleyan University:

The author's treatment of four Euripidean tragedies produces both a new argument for the unity of these plays and an original and compelling way of reading Euripidean irony.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	7
Preface Open Access Download PDF	9
Abbreviations Open Access Download PDF	13
I. Drama and Sacrifice Open Access Download PDF	17
2 . The Iphigenia in Aulis Open Access Download PDF	65
3 . The Phoenissae Open Access Download PDF	106
4. The Heracles Open Access Download PDF	147
5 . The Bacchae Open Access Download PDF	205
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	259
Index Open Access Download PDF	275

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 288
Keywords: Literary Studies; Poetry & Criticism

eBook

Published: March 15, 2019
ISBN: 9781501740633