Prometheus Bound was accepted without question in antiquity as the work of Aeschylus, and most modern authorities endorse this ascription. But since the nineteenth century several leading scholars have come to doubt Aeschylean authorship. Dr Griffith here provides a thorough and wide-ranging study of this problem, and concludes: 'Had Prometheus Bound been newly dug up from the sands of Oxyrhynchus... few scholars would regard it as the work of Aeschylus.' After a preliminary assessment of the external evidence, Dr Griffith examines minutely the idiosyncrasies of metre, dramatic technique, vocabulary, syntax and expression to be found in the play, applying the same tests to other plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides in order to provide a control for his methods. In his final chapter he discusses how the conditions surrounding the ancient transmission and cataloguing of texts may have led to the ascription to Aeschylus.
| ISBN: | 9780521038140 |
| Publication date: | 26th July 2007 |
| Author: | Mark Griffith |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 432 pages |
| Series: | Cambridge Classical Studies |
| Genres: |
Literary studies: plays and playwrights Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval |
Prometheus Bound was accepted without question in antiquity as the work of Aeschylus, and most modern authorities endorse this ascription. But since the nineteenth century several leading scholars have come to doubt Aeschylean authorship. Dr Griffith here provides a thorough and wide-ranging study of this problem, and concludes: 'Had Prometheus Bound been newly dug up from the sands of Oxyrhynchus... few scholars would regard it as the work of Aeschylus.' After a preliminary assessment of the external evidence, Dr Griffith examines minutely the idiosyncrasies of metre, dramatic technique, vocabulary, syntax and expression to be found in the play, applying the same tests to other plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides in order to provide a control for his methods. In his final chapter he discusses how the conditions surrounding the ancient transmission and cataloguing of texts may have led to the ascription to Aeschylus.
The Authenticity of Prometheus Bound features in the following genres: Literary studies: plays and playwrights, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval
The Authenticity of Prometheus Bound is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Authenticity of Prometheus Bound was written by Mark Griffith and published by Cambridge University Press
The Authenticity of Prometheus Bound has 432 pages
Yes it is part of Cambridge Classical Studies series
£47.70