{"title":"Series: Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompanions to Greek and Roman Tragedy\u003c\/strong\u003e offer insightful explorations into the enduring themes and dramatic techniques of ancient theatre. This series delves into the complex moral questions, philosophical ideas, and psychological depth found in classical tragedy, inviting readers to engage with the timeless struggles of human nature as portrayed by Greek and Roman playwrights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for enthusiasts of \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy \u0026amp; Psychology\u003c\/em\u003e as well as History, these companions provide thoughtful analysis and context, enriching our understanding of the cultural and historical significance behind these powerful works. They illuminate the ways in which tragedy continues to influence literature and thought across disciplines.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"pseudo-seneca-hercules-on-oeta-by-dr-george-w-m-harrison-9781350205659","title":"Pseudo-Seneca: Hercules on Oeta","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Roman tragedy widely considered to be post-Senecan and of unknown authorship, \u003ci\u003eHercules on Oeta\u003c\/i\u003e is the longest play to survive from antiquity.\u003c\/b\u003e This accessible volume offers a concise yet thorough introduction for readers coming to the play for the first time. It explores issues of authorship, date and performance alongside chapters on its literary antecedents, historical context, main characters and key themes, and reception in antiquity and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHercules on Oeta\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates that Hercules' death and deification was at least as important in art and myth as his twelve labours. The first half of the play is devoted to probing the humiliation he inflicted on his wife by returning with a pregnant, unwilling mistress, whose family he destroyed. Infected with a flesh-eating virus, the torment of Hercules became so great that he built a pyre for self-immolation: he appears again to his mother at the play’s end, now deified.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs a study of the frictions between loyalty, fidelity and personal responsibility, the play raises the central question of whether one should be forgiven bad deeds by virtue of having also performed good deeds. There is more than one Hercules, and all his aspects are represented in this play: glutton, sexual opportunist, quick to violence and lacking in compassion. He was endearing but deeply flawed, tottering between pathos and parody, and very much a figure of our own time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47397978210540,"sku":"9781350205659","price":298.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/19968873482668.jpg?v=1773733795"},{"product_id":"sophocles-antigone-by-prof-douglas-cairns-9781472505095","title":"Sophocles: Antigone","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAntigone\u003c\/i\u003e is Sophocles’ masterpiece, a seminal influence on a wide range of theatrical, literary, and intellectual traditions. This volume sets the play in the contexts of its mythical background, its performance, its relation to contemporary culture and thought, and its rich reception history. But its main aim is to encourage first-hand engagement with the complexities of interpretation that make the play so enduringly thought-provoking and rewarding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThough Creon’s actions prove disastrous and Antigone’s are vindicated, \u003ci\u003eAntigone\u003c\/i\u003e is no simple study in the excesses of tyranny or the virtues of heroic resistance. Instead, it offers a more nuanced exploration of conflicting views of right and wrong and of the conditions that constrain human beings’ efforts to control their destinies and secure their happiness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book’s chapters consider the extent of the original audience’s acquaintance with earlier versions of the legends of Antigone’s family, the structure of the plot as it unfolds in theatrical performance, the presentation of the characters and the motivations that drive them, and the major political, social, and ethical themes that the play raises. Additionally, it examines the resonance of those themes in the ways the play has been interpreted, adapted, performed, and appropriated in later periods.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471585984748,"sku":"9781472505095","price":62.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781472505095-sophocles-antigone.jpg?v=1775247569"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/series-companions-to-greek-and-roman-tragedy.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}