A Social and Economic History of the Theatre to 300 BC

Description

This is the second volume of A Social and Economic History of the Theatre to 300 BC and focuses exclusively on theatre culture in Attica (Rural Dionysia) and the rest of the Greek world. It presents and discusses in detail all the documentary and material evidence for theatre culture and dramatic production from the first two centuries of theatre history, namely the period c.500 to c.300 BC. The traditional assumption is laid to rest that theatre was an exclusively or primarily Athenian institution, with the inclusion of all sources of information for theatrical performances in twenty-two deme sites and over one hundred and twenty independent Greek (and some non-Greek) cities. All texts are translated and made accessible to non-specialists and specialists alike. The volume will be a fundamental work of reference for all classicists and theatre historians interested in ancient theatre and its wider historical contexts.

Eric Csapo is Professor of Classics in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney. He is the author of Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theatre (2010). With Peter Wilson he has collaborated closely on a three-volume work, A Social and Economic History of the Theatre to 300 BC, which will substantially alter our understanding of the ancient theatre from its origin to the Early Hellenistic period. Volume 2, Theatre Beyond Athens, is the first to be published, with two further volumes soon to follow. They also co-edited Greek Theatre in the Fourth Century BC (2014). Peter Wilson is William Ritchie Professor of Classics in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney. He is the author of The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia (Cambridge, 2000). With Eric Csapo, he has collaborated closely on a three-volume work, A Social and Economic History of the Theatre to 300 BC, which will substantially alter our understanding of the ancient theatre from its origin to the Early Hellenistic period. Volume 2, Theatre Beyond Athens, is the first to be published, with two further volumes soon to follow. They also co-edited Greek Theatre in the Fourth Century BC (2014).

'A true landmark of classical scholarship.' Johanna Hanink, Times Literary Supplement