This paperback edition of Euripides' Cyclops (first published in hardback in 1984) provides an invaluable introduction to the text for students. The play itself is the only example of satyric drama to have survived complete into the modern world. This edition uses the Oxford Classical Text, edited by James Diggle, and includes an introduction and commentary. In the introduction, a full historical and analytic account of the genre is given, reconstructing its origins, development, and decline; the place of satyrs in the religious imagination and practice of the Greeks, and the significance of Euripides' divergences from the Homeric model, are also examined. The commentary looks closely at problems of text, language, and interpretation.
Reviews
'The very detailed commentary ... is excellent; it brings the same thorough and thoughtful scholarship to problems of most various kinds, from textual minutiae to broad issues of religion and cultural history ... [the introduction] will surely become the standard point of reference for anyone interested in any aspect of this neglected and intriguing genre.' R. Parker, Greece and Rome
'[Seaford's] new commentary contains the best brief survey of the genre and the most detailed assessment of the individual play as poetic texts, contemporary document and theatrical piece; and it is all lively and suggestive.' C. Collard, Liverpool Classical Monthly
'...much more than a commentary on a single play. An extensive inroduction takes in the whole genre ... This work will be regarded as authoritative and deserves to be.' D. Bain, Times Literary Supplement
'The assembly and clear presentation of the evidence for Satyric drama makes this an edition of considerable interest to the Greekless student of the Classical theatre ... for those reading the Cyclops in Greek this will be an indispensable edition, and is a must for the school library... there is much that may be usefully gleaned from [the notes] by any intelligent reader'. JACT Review 'a very fine edition indeed .... This account has many advantages over the purely theatrical and literary view of 'comic relief' ...[the] argumentation is rich and impressive'. J. Wilkins, Classical Review 'much more than a commentary on a single play. An extensive introduction takes in the whole genre... This work will be regarded as authoritative and deserves to be.' D. Bain, TLS



Book Information
ISBN 9780198140658
Author Euripides
Format Paperback
Page Count 244
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 232g
Dimensions(mm) 182mm * 120mm * 14mm