The second edition offers a comprehensive and well-structured overview of ancient Greek drama, highlighting its development from the sixth to the third century BC. It presents a concise introduction that encompasses a broad spectrum of scholarship, making it an essential resource for understanding the historical and cultural significance of this influential theatrical tradition.
"This is the first volume dedicated to Aristophanes' comedy Peace that analyses the play for a student audience and assumes no knowledge of Greek. It launches a much-needed new series of books each discussing a comedy that survives from the ancient world. Six chapters highlight the play's context, themes, staging and legacy including its response to contemporary wartime politics and the possible staging options for flying. It is ideal for students, but helpful also for scholars wanting a quick introduction to the play.Peace was first performed in 421 BC, perhaps only days before the signing of a peace treaty that ended ten years of fighting between Athens and Sparta (the Archidamian War). Aristophanes celebrates this prospect with an imaginative fantasy involving his hero's flight on a gigantic dung-beetle to Olympus, the rescue of the goddess Peace from her imprisonment in a cave, and her return to a Greece weary of ten years of war. Like most of the poet's comedies, this play is heavy on fantasy and imagination, light on formal structure, being an exuberant farce that champions the opponents of War and celebrates the delights of the return to country life with its smells, food and drink, its many pleasures and none of the complications that war brings in its wake."-- Back cover
A gripping story of endurance and the will to survive while facing the menace of a vile regime. The Soviet Union is approaching its endgame, when a couple make the bold decision to seek a better and safer life in the west. Doubts arise and are argued away until the groundwork is complete and seemingly foolproof. A minor and unforeseen flaw along the way throws panic and uncertainty into the planned journey, but there is no going back. Unexpected and truly surprising encounters make the attempted flight to freedom a fascinating and nail-biting drama.