Aeschylus II: The Oresteia/Agamemnon/The Libation Bearers/The Eumenides/Proteus (Fragments)
(Part of the Oresteia Series)
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Book Overview
Aeschylus II contains "The Oresteia," translated by Richmond Lattimore, and fragments of "Proteus," translated by Mark Griffith. Many years ago, the University of Chicago Press undertook a momentous project: a new translation of the Greek tragedies that would be the ultimate resource for teachers, students, and readers. They succeeded. Under the expert management of eminent classicists David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, those translations...
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0226311473
ISBN13:9780226311470
Release Date:April 2013
Publisher:University of Chicago Press
Length:192 Pages
Weight:0.57 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
I love this Orestia!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Again, I compared many different Orestia's and fell in love with this one on Hackett by Meineick. It reads beautifully and easily and the drama and intensity is unmatched. You also get a believable sense of the characters, and the setting in this one. It is in my opinion the best modern version that can be most easily performable with no archai-sisms in the language. I always go with Hackett now that I've found some really excellent translations! Highly recommended.
An Interpretation, Not a Translation
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
No, the translation is not literal. If you want a literal translation, buy something written by a professor of Greek. Hughes has a different goal. He¡¦s a poet who wants to interpret this ancient literature into an idiom that modern audiences can understand and appreciate. I wouldn¡¦t even call this a translation. Let¡¦s call it an interpretation and skip over the problem of accuracy. That being said, his interpretation is extremely good. The free verse is both powerful and extremely readable. By putting these stories into a more familiar medium, Hughes recaptures the horror of these plays. By modern standards, the latter plays (Choephori and Eumenides) aren¡¦t very dramatic. The main point is to watch the cycle of revenge play out to a conclusion. But the first play in the trilogy (Agamemnon) is close enough to modern taste to have a huge impact. I was very moved.
Orestes for the modern world
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
As a professor teaching classics in Regents College Master of Liberal Studies Program, I am always looking for translations that will entrance my students and give them that sensation of the marvelous that many of them can find only in videos and MTV. Hughes' translation of "The Oresteia" is a perfect choice. Sure, there may be in some passages a lot more of Hughes than of Aeschylus, but if that's what it takes to reincarnate those ancient and bloody tragic figures, it's a price well worth paying. After reading this book, I think my students will see "The Sopranos" as just another soap opera.
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