Anne Pippin Burnett

Consisting of individual studies of the poet Pindar's 11 odes for the victors of the athletic contests on Aigina, the author addresses questions of mythicself-presentation in this book, as well as Pindar's techniques for unifying his audience and leading it into a shared experience of inspired success.

Moderns tend to view the drama of ancient Athens as a presentation of social or moral problems, as if ancient drama showed the same realism seen on the present-day stage. Because it was a state theater, the Attic stage is also supposed to have offered lessons in the peaceable virtues that the city required. Such views are belied by the plays themselves, in which supremely violent actions occur in a legendary time and place distinct both from reality and from the ethics of ordinary life. We who live among tired and demystified political institutions are afraid that individuals unrestrained by the influence of the community may resort to crime and violence. Yet in an Attic vengeance play, a treacherous "criminal" triumphs over a victim. How could the city of Athens show its citizens Medea's murder of her children? Orestes' killing of his mother? Anne Burnett reveals a larger reality in these ancient plays, comparing them to later drama and finding in them forgotten and powerful meaning.

In nine paperback volumes, the Grene and Lattimore editions offer the most comprehensive selection of the Greek tragedies available in English. Over the years these authoritative, critically acclaimed editions have been the preferred choice of over three million readers for personal libraries and individual study as well as for classroom use.