Richmond Alexander Lattimore

"When Aristotle said that tragedy is an imitation of action, he meant that apart from other purposes and interests tragedy always acts out a story. With this definition in mind, the author examines the most important story patterns found in Greek tragedy. He asks: What are the most important story patterns found in Greek drama? What stories were available for the use of poets like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides? What did tradition require, permit or forbid them to use? Bringing in many related elements of Greek tragedy, the author defines each of the story patterns suitable to the genre -- tracing the roots to the folklore and myths of ancient Greece." -- Back cover.

Richmond Lattimore, poet and translator of Greek classics, has translated the four Gospels and added them to his version of the Revelation of John. He has aimed to capture the style and syntax of the original texts by adhering closely to the simple beauty of the Greek, and to approach the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, not as a biblical scholar, but as an authority on the language in which they have come down to us.

"Is Sophocles the poet "more important" than Sophocles the moralist, Sophocles the student of character, or Sophocles the storyteller? In this acclaimed work, eminent classicist Richmond Lattimore examines the complex and varied ways in which Greek poetry contributes to Greek drama. While acknowledging the difficulty of separating poetry - especially in translation - from other aspects of language, Lattimore offers keen insight into plays by Aeschylus (The Suppliant Maidens, The Persians, The Seven against Thebes, Prometheus Bound), Sophocles (Ajax, Oedipus Tyrannus), and Euripedes (Medea, Helen, The Bacchae)."--Jacket.

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.