107-404 Euripides, Seneca, and Mythmaking

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in classics or classical studies and archaeology.

Students will read, in English translation, selected plays by Euripides (the 5th century BCE Athenian playwright) and Seneca (the 1st century CE Roman writer and tutor of the Emperor Nero). The subject introduces students to methods of interpreting tragedy, in particular how Euripides and Seneca use Greek mythology to explore social issues relevant to their times. By invoking commonly known myths, reinterpreting them, and sometimes re-inventing them, the plays of Euripides and Seneca continue to resonate with modern audiences on issues of war and slavery, democracy and power, and especially ideologies of gender and the place of women in society. Students will be introduced to feminism, queer theory, structural linguistics, Jungian psychology, alterity, metatheatre, and theories of ancient drama in modern performance.

• students should: be able to explain modern theoretical approaches to the study of ancient theatre, both as texts and in performance;

• develop their ability to think creatively and to express their ideas clearly in written form and orally.

Two oral presentations 40% (during the semester), two class papers totalling 2500 words 30% (due during the semester), and a final essay of 2500 words 30% (due in the examination period).

A subject reader will be available.

• Seneca, Medea. F Ahl (trans).