Meineck's translation is faithful and supple; the language employed is modern without betraying the grandeur and complexity--particularly the images--of the Aeschylean text. After reading this translation, one has but one further wish: to see it and hear it at Delphi, Epidaurus or Syracuse. --Herman Van Looy, L'Antiquite Classique

About the Author

Peter Meineck is Associate Professor of Classics at New York University, where he holds the endowed chair in Classics in the Modern World. He is the founder of Aquila Theatre.

Reviews

Peter Meineck's new rendition of the Oresteia is that rare and wonderful thing: a text accessible to the Greekless audience while still preserving the vocabulary of Aeschylus. Those of us who have seen Peter Meineck's performances have long marveled at his ability to turn Greek into clear English, how he does not do 'versions' of the plays, how he does not rewrite the ancients into modern jargon (even his comedies maintain more Aristophanic text than is usual). Here lines that students have always needed explicated stand clear. . . . Helene Foley has provided a fine introduction for this translation. Introduction and translation together provide an exciting text, one that should be widely read, widely used. --Karelisa Hartigan, University of Florida, in The Classical Outlook

. . . a translation for the stage by an experienced man of the theater. Its virtues are very real, and, though Meineck makes them seem easy, very hard to achieve. The idiom is contemporary without yielding to the siren song of gimmicky updating; it manages to be clear without betraying Aeschylus' complexity or sacrificing his intricate imagery. What makes it effective on stage makes it work on the page, too. With the added guidance of Helene Foley's characteristically intelligent Introduction and Meineck's own crisp annotation and full stage directions, this translation offers the most approachable and in many ways most communicative Oresteia now available. It will be the Oresteia of choice for many teachers and their students, as well as for readers interested in what makes Greek tragedy great theater. --Peter Burian, Duke University

Book Information
ISBN 9780872203907
Author Aeschylus
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Hackett Publishing Co, Inc
Publisher Hackett Publishing Co, Inc
Weight(grams) 199g