The Origins of Theater in Ancient Greece and Beyond: From Ritual to Drama

Description

The Origins of Theater in Ancient Greece and Beyond examines the evidence for the pre-history and origin of drama. The belief that drama developed from religious ritual has been commonplace since the time of Aristotle but there is little agreement on just how this happened. Recently, scholars have even challenged the historical connection between drama and ritual. This volume is the most thorough examination on the origins of Greek drama to date. It brings together seventeen essays by leading scholars in a variety of fields, including classical archaeology, iconography, cultural history, theater history, philosophy, and religion. Though it primarily focuses up on ancient Greece, the volume includes comparative studies of ritual drama from ancient Egypt, Japan, and medieval Europe. Collectively, the essays show how the relationship of drama to ritual is one of the most controversial, complex, and multi-faceted questions of modern times.

Eric Csapo is Professor of Classics at the University of Sydney. He is an expert on the history of the ancient theatre and co-author of The Context of Ancient Drama. His most recent book is Theories of Mythology. Margaret C. Miller is Arthur and Renee George Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Sydney. She is an expert in Greek archaeology, iconography, and cultural history. Her book, Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century BC: A Study in Cultural Receptivity won the Prix Ghirshman of the Academie des inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 2001.

'Jane Harrison and the Cambridge Ritualists, early in the twentieth century, fixed firmly in our minds the view that drama developed out of religious ritual. But how did this happen? And is the view unassailable? This important book, consisting of seventeen essays that grew out of a colloquium, is the most thorough and wide-ranging attempt for surprisingly many years to address these and related questions.' Robin Waterfield, Heythrop Journal