The editor: George W.M. Harrison received his Ph.D from
Johns Hopkins University with a thesis on Seneca and Lucan. He has
edited a volume for this press on Seneca in Performance (2002) and
has written a book on the Roman historical play, Octavia. His other
scholarly interests include Plutarch, and the archaeology of Crete
during the Roman Empire. He has translated one play for performance,
and is completing the script of his second play. He splits his time
between Montreal and Crete.
The esteem in which satyr drama was held in antiquity still arouses
curiosity and controversy. Twelve new papers, generated in North
America by a distinguished cast of scholars, explore questions central
to the genre. How did satyr drama relate to comedy and tragedy;
how closely was it tied to its tragic trilogy? How did the Athenians
react to pro-satyric drama, such as the Alcestis? How far did satyr
plays reflect contemporary political life? Fresh conclusions are
adduced from the fragments, particularly those of Aeschylus, and
there is special study of Euripides' Cyclops, not least for its
possible reflection of the fifth-century sophists.
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