Product Description
Some of the finest Greek writers--Demosthenes, Lysias, Antiphon--were also great orators. However, a number of other Greek writers who specialized purely in oratory have largely been overlooked by classicists. Dr. Stephen Usher addresses this imbalance by showing the diversity of the inherited rhetorical tradition, and by demonstrating through close critical examination how the individual characteristics of the orators were developed. ... Read more

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Ancient Greece was permeated by music, and the literature teems with musical allusions. Here at last is a clear, comprehensive, and authoritative account that presupposes no special knowledge of music. Topics covered include the place of music in Greek life, instruments, rhythm, tempo, modes and scales, melodic construction, form, ancient theory and notation, and historical development. Thirty surviving examples of Greek music are presented in modern transcription with analysis, and the book is fully illustrated. Besides being considered on its own terms, Greek music is here further illuminated by being considered in ethnological perspective, and a brief Epilogue sets it in its place in a border zone between Afro-Asiatic and European culture. The book will be of value both to classicists and historians of music. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

West's book is complemented by CDs
If you find West's book interesting - it is excellent, though it is naturally very academic in its approach, being an academic monograph - I can suggest a couple of CDs that take the ancient music in West's book and put it back onto ancient instruments (well, reconstructions of ancient instruments). The two I know are Music of the Ancient Greeks and Melpomen: Ancient Greek Music. While I was more convinced by the first, there are merits to each. Naturally they often have to expand on the sparse evidence that survives. Unfortunately the cover notes to the first do not directly refer to the numbers in West's book (I have, however, given a list of references on my review of the CD). I have not seen the cover notes to the second CD though I have listened to it, so I am unable to say whether there are any references to the book's numbers in them.

An introduction both friendly and vast
Considering that classical literature tells us that music was part of every facet of Greek society, from religious ritual to dramatic productions, athletic events to epic storytelling, it is odd that there was no substantial introduction to Ancient Greek music until M.L. West released this monograph in 1992. But we are fortunate to live in a time when ANCIENT GREEK MUSIC is available, as it is an introduction both vast and friendly, and it uses the recent advances in ethnomusicology to more accurately reconstruct Greek music and compare it to other indigenous musical traditions around the world.

If you have little experience with theory, though, don't be afraid. West's discussion of the melodic and rhythmic nuts and bolts of Ancient Greek music assumes no prior training beyond knowing vaguely what an octave is. Indeed, for someone without knowledge of theory this wouldn't be a bad place to start. The Greeks described very well the basis of physical sound on which they built their music.

I see the book as divided into four main parts. In the first, West discusses the role of music in Greek life, namely listing what genres were associating with what social or cultic functions. He then describes the instruments that the Greeks used, including their development and expansion, and their equivalents in nearby regions. While I was most interested in more abstract portions of the book, even this proved informative. I had never known before, for example, that brass instruments were never used to play music, but only to provide fanfares or direct troops on the battlefield.

The second part of the book is the theory behind Greek music, consisting of the chapters "Rhythm and Tempo", "Scales and Modes", "Melody and Form", and "Theory". I thought it fascinating to read how the rhythm of Greek music corresponded to the longs and shorts of Greek poetry, and how Greek scales developed from the pentatonic scale still used in e.g. China and the Volga-Kama basin.

The third part of the book deals with the surviving records of Greek music. West explains notation schemes and what papyruses and inscriptions have survived, and then gives us fifty pages of transcriptions. Of course, these are all fragmentary, but plenty have enough material to keep one entertained.

While for the most part West treats all eras of Greek music together, it is obvious that the no musical tradition would stay static for a thousand years. Accordingly, the final part of the book is a historical synthesis tracking the development of Greek music from the archaic period to the earliest surviving Christian hymn.

I'd strongly suggest this book to a number of audiences, from classicists, to ethnomusicologists or laymen interested in indigenous musical traditions, to (again) people who want to learn music theory from the ground up. Too bad OUP has priced even the paperback beyond what the average reader would be prepared to spend, though. ... Read more

Product Description
This uniquely complete and up-to-date collection of the surviving remains of ancient Greek music will serve as the standard work of reference for decades to come. Since its appearance in 1970, Egert Pohlmann's Denkmaler altgriechischer Musik has been the standard collection of the surviving fragments of ancient Greek music. But the publication of many further texts in recent years has put it in urgent need of updating. In this new English edition, prepared in collaboration with Martin West, the number of items has risen to 61, of which 23 are additions to the content of the 1970 book. All the texts, new and old, have been carefully revised against the original documents or photographs, and many improved readings have been obtained as a result. ... Read more

Product Description
This anthology of eight plays brings together contemporary, radical-reinventions of various classic ancient Greek dramatic texts written by some of the most daring theatre artists of today. Included in this volume are revisionist retellings of Troy Women, Phaedra, Elektra and more. Each retelling is given a fresh, modern spin, yet each manages to remain true to the original plays themes and essence. All of these plays have been performed in theatres around the US and UK. LIST OF PLAYS Phaedra by Matthew Maguire - an intense and erotic present-day story inspired by an Ancient Greek myth and "a response" to the classic French drama by Jean Baptiste Racine. Troy Women by Karen Hartman - an adaptation of Euripides' verse play, "The Trojan Women," in a contemporary poetic style Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl - a of the ancient Greek myth, told from the point of view of Eurydice. At the Chicago premier, the Chicago Tribune said the following, "Full of twists...Sarah Ruhl is a big talent." True Love by Charles Mee - based on The Suppliant Women by Aeschylus, playwright Mee creates an explosively theatrical hybrid, the vaudevillian tragicomedy.True Love is inspired by an improbable combination of three works: Plato's Symposium, Euripides' Hippolytus and Racine's Phaedra. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

wonderful myths revisited
This collection is a wonderful series of retellings of classical plays and myths in modern theater pieces.Well worth the reading--especially for those interested in revisions of classical materials.

Euripides is rolling in his grave.
I took a graduate class on Greek theatre and the first part was dedicated to the Tragedies.Then we turned to the plays written based on those tragedies, and this was our book.

First, if you wish to read this book or use it, you'll have to be up on your Greek tragedies.Most of the stuff assumes you know those plays well so that you can understand the inside info.Some of the plays were simply aweful and a few were even offensive to the point that I quit reading them.And as a theatre student, I like to think I can stomach a lot but where in the story of Hippolytus and Phaedra does a twelve-year-old boast about all the sexual experiences she's had?Ugh. If it were old, I MAY understand based on culture, but as a modern subplot added on, it's just revolting.

There were a couple of plays that were okay, and I just love Sarah Ruhl's adaptation.If you've read the classics, reread them before you read this book, and be prepared for the strange.

Some great plays
My favorite play was Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. I'm not sure if this is out in any other form, but certainly the book is worth buying just to read this play, which has the deftness and economy of a classic Greek text, and the emotional range and subjective depth of a modern classic.She's my favorite author of plays. ... Read more

Product Description
How did the ancient Greeks regard music? In many different ways, as the readings in Greek Views of Music reveal.This collection presents three entire treaties, as well as excerpted writings on music by Plato, Aristotle, and others. Included is the first English translation of Gaudentius's complete Harmonic Introduction, prepared by the volume's editor, Thomas J. Mathieson, who also revised the other translations in light of recent scholarship. These selections not only illuminate Greek thinking about music, they also help us understand ideas about music set forth by medieval and Renaissance writers and theorists. ... Read more

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Michael Ewans explores how classical Greek tragedy and epic poetry have been appropriated in opera, through eight selected case studies. These range from Monteverdi's "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria", drawn from Homer's "Odyssey", to Mark-Antony Turnage's "Greek", based on Sophocles' "Oedipus the King". Choices have been based on an understanding that the relationship between each of the operas and their Greek source texts raise significant issues, involving an examination of the process by which the librettist creates a new text for the opera, and the crucial insights into the nature of the drama that are bestowed by the composer's musical setting. Ewans examines the issues through a comparative analysis of significant divergences of plot, character and dramatic strategy between source text, libretto and opera. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Enjoyable Read
I found this book enjoyable for a few different reasons:

First, it is a good source for an introduction to the ancient school of Skepticism in western philosophy. Greaves gives a helpful synopsis of the main figures of this school and their methods, especially Sextus Empiricus.

Second, you don't have to know Greek! Of course the book includes the Greek text and references that would profit anyone wishing to read in the original.

Third, the subject matter of music (what it is, its practice, effects on beings, etc.)I think is more interesting and accessable to the experience of the general reader, as opposed to drier topics Sextus wrote on (like grammer).

Fouth, the detail of footnotes in the text would be invaluable to anyone wishing to dig into the study of ancient music.

Fifth, one can read through the text in an evening or leisurely afternoon.

This book would be enjoyed not only by readers of philosophy or classics, but I think musicians would enjoy going through its provocative arguments as a stimulus to clarify their own views on the nature of music. ... Read more

Product Description
Is Sophocles the poet "more important" than Sophocles the moralist, Sophoclesthe student of character, or Sophocles the storyteller? In this acclaimed work, eminent classicistRichmond Lattimore examines the complex and varied ways in which Greek poetry contributesto Greek drama. While acknowledging the difficulty of separating poetry--especially intranslation--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), andEuripedes (Medea, Helen, The Bacchae). ... Read more

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Dramatizing Greek Mythology is an ideal way to develop acting and speaking skills and an appreciation of classic literature. Written for teachers and recreational leaders with varying degrees of dramatic arts experience, the book offers plays suitable for students of all academic backgrounds and English language learners.

This unique book contains five Greek myths dramatized to give everyone in a class of up to 35 students significant roles and to integrate dramatization with the study of Greek mythology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Plays suitable for all kinds of students
Aspiring young actors and highschool drama classes planning on dramatizing mythology will find Dramatizing Greek Mythology to be an essential guide to the process. Teachers and recreational leaders receive plays suitable for all kinds of students - including newcomers to English. Five Greek myths provide classes with up to 35 parts, covering the major myths of Hercules, Orpheus, and the Olympian gods and providing not only dialogue but suggestions for props, rehearsal schedules, and insights on how to produce a play. ... Read more

Product Description
This second volume of Greek Musical Writings contains important texts on harmonic and acoustic theory, illustrating the progress of these sciences from their beginnings in the sixth century BC over the subsequent thousand years. Writers represented include Philolaus, Plato, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Aristoxenus, Ptolemy, Aristides, Archytas, and Quintilianus. All the Greek texts are newly translated by the editor. Some replace inadequate existing translations; other significant portions of the book include much that is essential for an understanding of medieval and Renaissance musicology. Dr Barker provides detailed and authoritative commentary and annotations to all the texts. Each section is prefaced by an introductory essay and some of the more complex issues are discussed further in appendices. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Review of Georgiades' Greek Music
Despite the age of this work, it still serves as an excellent introduction to a theory of ancient Greek music. I approached this work as a student with very little knowledge of music theory, yet still found this book incredibly easy to understand, yet profound. The picture painting of a music inherently related to language was certainly eye-opening. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is the first of two volumes offering a selection of Greek writings on music, newly translated into English and equipped with an extensive commentary. This volume contains passages from Greek poets, historians and essayists, evoking or describing aspects of the practical activities of musical performance and composition, together with excerpts from philosophers and social critics who comment on the moral, education and aesthetic dimensions of the art. Music was of fundamental importance in the culture of ancient Greece. Its nature and significance cannot now, perhaps, be fully recaptured, but we have a rich fund of information about the Greek experience of music, its forms, its meanings, its social roles, and the practical details of its composition and performance. ... Read more

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Emphasizing the political nature of Greek tragedy in itsrootsense--a theatre of, by and for the polis (city)-- the RushRehm characterizes fifth-century Athens as a performance culture. Intreating the various social, religious, and practical aspects oftragic production, he shows how these elements promoted a vision ofthe theater as intregral to the life of the city - theatre in shortwhose focus was its audience.Greek Tragic Theatre combinesthe latest scholarship with an appreciation that Greek tragedies weremade in and for the theatre. Having worked in the professional theatreas a director and actor, as well as a translator of Greek tragedy andas a classicist, Rehm brings a combination of approaches to bear onour oldest theatrical traditions. ... Read more

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What man would murder his daughter to launch a fleet, or give his wife to Death in his own stead? These tragedies are filled with dramatic conflicts realistically portrayed. The Penn Greek Drama Series presents original literary translations of classical Greek drama. The aim of the series is to make both the works and their interpretations accessible to the reading public. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a return to classics
I went to Columbia, with the most prominent 'great books' curriculum still in existence. 25 years later, I'm finding myself re-reading and discussing many of the titles. The Penn Greek Drama series is a handsome library of new translations that give fresh takes on the classics. It's useful to have Euripides on the shelf when you return home from the recent bravura performance by Fiona Shaw as Medea--it settled an argument too on how it 'originally' ended. ... Read more

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A cycle of eleven episodes told in Story Theater form, anarrator speaking and life-sized puppets performing simultaneously, °The Greek Myths° tells the story of Greek mythology from the first moments of creation through its version of the story of the flood, the reign of Zeus, and the trials, tribulations and joys during Zeus's long andcontinuing reign. It brings to life some of the most memorable episodes and characters in that saga: the Titans, the Cyclops, Zeus himself, Echo and Narcissus, Cupid and Psyche, Theseus, Orpheus and Euridice, and many, many more. This version of the stories by playwright Leon Katz is based on the Roman poet Ovid's epic poem °Metamorphoses°, the most popular and witty retelling of the tales in Western literature.¶°The Greek Myths° has an impressive track record. It ran for ten years in the Vagabond Puppet Company's production and during that time, toured throughout the US. Its appeal has been strong with both young audiences and adults alike and was seen by thousands of theatregoers.¶Lois Bohovesky, artistic director of the Vagabond Puppet Company, explains,"For life-sized puppets performing Greek myths for children, the script had to be exciting, humorous and certainly accurate, the language crystal clear, and the poetry flowing naturally as speech.

We all know people like these gods ¯ Zeus, for instance, the consummate politician. The play is full of humor, and the characters so well written that the actor's job is an easy one." ... Read more