Eric Csapo

This is the first volume of A Social and Economic History of the Theatre to 300 BC and focuses exclusively on the theatre festivals in the city of Athens. It presents and discusses in detail all the documentary and material evidence for the Dionysia in the city of Athens, the Lenaea and the Anthesteria. It is the first comprehensive reappraisal of the Athenian theatre festivals undertaken in over seventy years and the first ever to attempt a history of the Athenian theatre as an institution which recognises the social and economic forces that underpinned it. 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.

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.

Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theater examines actors and their popular reception from the origins of theater in Classical Greece to the Roman Empire Presents a highly original viewpoint into several new and contested fields of studyOffers the first systematic survey of evidence for the spread of theater outside Athens and the impact of the expansion of theater upon actors and dramatic literatureAddresses a study of the privatization of theater and reveals how it was driven by political interestsChallenges preconceived notions about theater history

Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theater examines actors and their popular reception from the origins of theater in Classical Greece to the Roman Empire Presents a highly original viewpoint into several new and contested fields of studyOffers the first systematic survey of evidence for the spread of theater outside Athens and the impact of the expansion of theater upon actors and dramatic literatureAddresses a study of the privatization of theater and reveals how it was driven by political interestsChallenges preconceived notions about theater history

Theories of Mythology provides students with both a history of theories of myth and a practical ‘how-to’ guide to interpreting myth, the most elementary form of narrative. Both a history of theories of myth and a practical ‘how-to’ guide to interpreting myth. Introduces the major theories of myth from the nineteenth century to the present day. Covers comparative approaches, psychoanalysis, ritual theories of myth, structuralism, and ideological analysis. Supplies readers with the theoretical tools for imitating each method. Features detailed exemplary readings of familiar myths.

Theories of Mythology provides students with both a history of theories of myth and a practical ‘how-to’ guide to interpreting myth, the most elementary form of narrative. Both a history of theories of myth and a practical ‘how-to’ guide to interpreting myth. Introduces the major theories of myth from the nineteenth century to the present day. Covers comparative approaches, psychoanalysis, ritual theories of myth, structuralism, and ideological analysis. Supplies readers with the theoretical tools for imitating each method. Features detailed exemplary readings of familiar myths.

Ancient theater has always caught contemporary interest, despite the eclectic nature of the surviving evidence. Tourists wander the remains of buildings at Epidauros and Athens, and generations of people have pondered Medea and Oedipus, yet it can be surprisingly difficult to find reliable, accessible information on these plays and their theaters. The Context of Ancient Drama remedies this situation. It provides, in modern English translation, documents that illustrate all aspects of the drama of antiquity, other than the text of the dramas themselves. For convenience the material is grouped in thematic sections, such as "music," or "judging." The illustrations give well-known examples of the kind of evidence that has survived to us. Plans of theaters are provided, to exemplify the outlines of the buildings' development, and an extensive glossary of terms offers information to the interested amateur and the theater specialist alike. The Context of Ancient Drama will be of interest to a wide spectrum of students and teachers. Theater historians, students of dramatic performance and the visual arts, and students and teachers in literature-in-translation courses will all find much that speaks to them.