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REVIEW
strengthenhiscase;it is to be hopedthatin thefutureJ.willproducea full-lengthstudythattakes
manymoreexamplesinto account.
Universityof Auckland
E. ANNE MACKAY
doi:10.1093/clrevj/bni376
J. BEER: Sophocles and the Tragedy of Athenian Democracy.
(Contributionsin Drama and TheatreStudies 105.) Pp. xviii + 191.
Westport, CT and London: Praeger,2004. Cased, ?48.99. ISBN:
0-313-28946-8.
Thisvolumeis the latestin Praeger'sLivesof theTheatreseries,a collection'designedto provide
scholarlyintroductionsto importantperiodsandmovementsin the historyof worldtheatre'(p.
i). Unfortunately,unlikeWaltonand Arnott'sMenanderand the Makingof Comedy,whichis
partof the sameseries,this editionofferslittleof genuineworth.
As is highlightedearlyon, this book is aimedat studentsof theatre,seekingto present'many
of the salientdetailsof the greatageof Greektragedy'evenas it providesa generalintroduction
to the work of Sophocles(p. xii). However,as Beer'streatmentof the formeris, at times,
unsteady,the noteworthysectionsare those that focusdirectlyon drama.The book openswith
threechapters,whichoffernoteson the politicalandculturalcontextsfor Greektheatre;two of
thesepreparatory
chaptersarepoor attemptsat historicalreview,but the thirddoes offera solid
and usefulappraisalof the basicconventionsof Atheniandrama.Thisdiscussionthenprovesa
usefulpreludeto the analysisof the tragediesof Sophoclesthatfollowsin the secondsectionof
thebook, whereeachplayis affordeda separatechapterthatoffersan initialsummaryof relevant
and a sequentialreviewof each work.These
myths,a considerationof on-stagearrangements,
reviews,thoughlacedwith portionsof narrative,arefair and succinct,and B.'stranslations(of
LoebGreektext)arefirst-rate.Thisbeinga prefatorywork,it is perhapsinevitable
Lloyd-Jones's
that much of what it presentsis somewhatapodeicticto those familiarwith ancientdrama.
Nonetheless,B. does providea soundintroductionto the playsthemselves.
However,seriousdifficultiestendto arisewhenthe discussionextendsbeyondplot summaries.
A curiousfeatureof thisworkis thatbothof its broadsectionsarefundamentally
flawed,butfor
almost diametricallyopposed reasons.Early on, B. sets a wide brief that he cannot cover
adequately,while problemsresultlater from the limitedscope of his approach.The opening
chapterof the book-'Tragedy,Athensand the GreekCulturalMosaic'-providesan example
of the firstfailing.It attemptsto assessthe riseof thepolis,the importanceof the oikos,Hellenic
'racial kinship', early Athenian history, and Greek religion in fewer than sixteen pages.
Consideringthe audiencethis workis aimedat, it is crucialthat such a surveyis included,and
thatit outlineproperlythe essentialson thesesubjects.Butwithoutclearpurposeor method,this
let alonepresenta coherentstarting
chapterfails to do justiceto any of the issuesindividually,
pointforthe book as a whole.Thelittlethatthereaderdoesgarnerfromthispreamblemustthen
suffice,fortherearefewdirectionsgivento additionalreadingsandno referencesto discussionon
anyof the mattersraised.(In general,the apparatusof notesand referencesin thisbook is very
is limitedexclusivelyto worksin English.)
basic,whilethe bibliography
Problemsalso arisein themainbodyof the bookwhenB. attemptsto extractpoliticalmaterial
fromplays that are not alwaysovertlyso. Indeed,it is a test for any work on 'the politicsof
and Philoctetes,wherethereseemsto be
Sophocles'tragedy'to reviewplayssuchas Trachiniae
littleon offerthatappliesdirectly,or exclusively,to Athens.Almostpredictably,
the chapterson
these plays are weak;readersare offerednot much more than a modestconsiderationof the
themeof marriagein the Trachiniae
('a sourceof deep anxiety'for Athenians,p. 81), and the
generalobservationthat Philoctetes'questionsthe moralityof politicalexpediency'(pp. 140).
Butas neitherplaycan be reconciledfullywiththe overallprogramme,
the authorstrugglesto go
beyondthe provisionof basicoutlines.
Thatprogrammeis a curiousmix of old and new.In his preface,B. endorsesthe 'increasing
consensus'(p. x) amongscholarsthat tragictheatreplayeda crucialpartin the politicallife of
Athens.But whilemuchrecentworkon ancienttheatreexploresits politicalnature
fifth-century
in a broad sense, B. augments this approachby revivingthe tired practice of reading
contemporaryallusionsinto Sophocles'work.And his methodscauseparticularproblemsin a
worksuchas this,whereone wouldhopefora certainrigourin the selectionof material.Instead,
The ClassicalReviewvol. 55 no. 2 C The ClassicalAssociation2005;all rightsreserved
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THE CLASSICAL
693
REVIEW
anything that pertains to politics (in both a narrowand general sense) is included here.
Consequently,the readeris often left with a jumbleof information,none of whichis assessed
properly.
In the chapteron Ajax--to take one example-one finds extendednotes on the careerof
Cimon(p. 49), the politicalsituationin 460s Athens(p. 50), and an attemptto link the play to
debateson Pericles'citizenshiplaw(p. 62). Evenif one can set asidethe problemwithdateshere,
andacceptthata readingof Ajaxis significantly
'informed'by thesedetails,the actof listingsuch
pointsin successionis hardlysufficientexplanation.Yetwe areofferedlittlemorethana register
of such items and summarystatementslike, 'Ajax is an intenselypolitical tragedy. . . the
factioningwithinthe Greekarmyis usedas a dramaticvehicleto explorethe kindsof tensions
thancanarisewithina Greekpolis'(p.63). Statementsthatarenot invalid,but,again,areof little
use whenundeveloped.
In sum,althoughthis workhas someuse,thosenewto the subjectshouldreadit withcaution
(particularly,B.'s thoughtson Philoctetesand Plato [p. 150]and his anti-Athena/democratic
readingof Oedipusat Colonus[p. 168]).Overall,this book has too many limitationsto be
recommended.
National Universityof Ireland, Maynooth
E. P. MOLONEY
doi:10.1093/clrevj/bni377
D. D. PHILLIPS (trans.):Athenian Political Oratory.16 Key Speeches.
Pp. x + 264. New Yorkand London:Routledge,2004. Paper,?17.99.
ISBN: 0-415-96610-8(0-415-96609-4hbk).
Sixteenspeeches(or,moreexactly,fifteenspeechesand [Demosthenes]12, the Letterof Philip)
areheretranslatedfor the use of studentsof Greekpoliticalhistory.The selectionconcentrates
on threethemesandthreeauthors.Firstwe havetheregimeof theThirtyTyrants,withLysias12
Against Eratosthenes, 13 Against Agoratus, and 16 For Mantitheus. Next comes the theme of
the
Philipand Athens,with the firstnine speechesof the Demostheniccorpus-the Olynthiacs,
first three Philippics, the Peace, the Chersonese, and Hegesippus' On Halonnesus-along with
4 For
Philip'sletter.Finallythereis AthensunderAlexander,with Hypereides1 ForLycophron,
and 5 AgainstDemosthenes.
Thereare a generalintroductionto the historyof the
Euxenippus,
periodin thirteenpages,shortintroductionsto the threethemesand to the individualspeeches,
and at the end somebriefnotes,a bibliography,
andan index.
The book is evidentlyintendedfor studentsat a low academiclevel, probablytaking an
introductorycourseon Greekhistory.The introductionsand notes consist of basic facts,not
criticalcomment.But they are quite sound, as far as they go, and the translationsare very
accurate.Thevolumedoesnot makea contributionto research,butit fulfilsits purposeas a good
elementarytextbook.
Universityof Glasgow
DOUGLAS
M. MACDOWELL
doi:10.1093/clrevj/bni378
P. DRA*GER (ed., trans.): Apollonios von Rhodos: Die Fahrt der
Argonauten.Pp. 592,map.Stuttgart:Reclam,2002.Paper,E14.10, SFr
24.50. ISBN: 3-15-018231-X.
PaulDriger has publishedwidelyon ApolloniusRhodiusand on the mythof the Argonautsin
general (Argo Pasimelousa. Der Argonautenmythosin der griechischen und rimischen Literatur
[1993], Die Argonautikades Apollonios Rhodos: Das zweite Zorn-Epos der griechischenLiteratur
[2001],and a translationof the Argonauticaof ValeriusFlaccus in 2003), and he has now
produceda translationof the Argonauticaof ApolloniusRhodius,with facing Greek text,
notes, a brief but up-to-date bibliography(Ray Clare'simportant The Path of the Argo
[Cambridge,
2002]appearedtoo late to be included),and a shortNachwortdealingwith the life
of Apollonius,earlierversionsof the myth and variousaspectsof Apolloniantechnique.In
recent years, anglophonereadersof Apollonius have had the excellentversions of Green,
Fowler, and Hunter. German readers now have both D.'s version and that of Glei and
The ClassicalReviewvol. 55 no. 2 ? The ClassicalAssociation2005;all rightsreserved
This content downloaded from 149.157.1.188 on Fri, 25 Jul 2014 05:03:56 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions