Bloomsbury Looking at Antigone

Antigone is one of the most influential and thought-provoking of all Greek tragedies. Set in a newly victorious society, where possibilities seem boundless and mankind can overcome all boundaries except death, the action is focussed through the prism of Creon, a remarkable anti-hero a politician who, in crisis, makes a reckless decision, whose pride (or insecurity) prevents him from backing down until it is too late, and who thereby ends up losing everything. Not just the story of a girl who confronts the state, Antigone is an exploration of inherent human conflicts between men and women, young and old, power and powerlessness, civil law and the unwritten laws of nature. Lauded in Antiquity, ithas influenced drama and philosophy throughout history into the modern age. With an introduction discussing the nature of the community for which Antigone was written, this collection of essays by 12 leading academics from across the world draws together many of the themes explored in Antigone, from Sophocles use of mythology, his contemporaries reactions and later reception, to questions of religion and ritual, family life and incest, ecology and the environment. The essays are accompanied by David Stuttards performer-friendly, accurate and easily accessible English translation. Review A first-rate companion to an enduringly famous play. David Stuttard's introduction and wonderfully speakable translation, along with essays by twelve well-known scholars, make Looking atAntigone a rich resource for both readers and performers.Pat Easterling, Regius Professor Emeritus of Greek, University of Cambridge, UKStuttard has brought together his own humane and sensitive translation of one of ancient Greece's most famous tragedies with a stellar cast of insightful minds who offer new, thought-provoking and exciting journeys into the rich texture of the play. Not to be missed!Michael Scott, Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History, University of Warwick, UKStuttard's eminently speakable translation is richly illuminated by essays probing not only Antigone's uncompromising moral imagination and abiding influence but also Theban society's dilemmas in the aftermath of civil war.Niall W. Slater, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Latin and Greek, Emory University, USA About the Author David Stuttard is founder of the theatre company, Actors of Dionysus, translator of numerous Greek plays, and author of titles including AD 410, The Year That Shook Rome (2009), Looking at Lysistrata (Bloomsbury, 2010), The Romans Who Shaped Britain (2012), A History of Ancient Greece in Fifty Lives (2014) and Looking at Medea (Bloomsbury, 2014).