The Agamemnon of Aeschylus: A Commentary for Students

364 Pages·2012·2.91 MB·English

by  David Raeburn

THE AGAMEMNON OF AESCHYLUS
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The Agamemnon
of Aeschylus
A Commentary for Students
by
DAVID RAEBURN and OLIVER THOMAS
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp
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Preface
The Agamemnon, and the Oresteia of which it is the first part, rank
among the masterpieces of European drama. To be able to study this
play in the original is one of the richest rewards for the effort of
learning ancient Greek. However, the text is extremely challenging,
and existing commentaries in English are not a suitable help for
first-time readers of Aeschylus today.
Eduard Fraenkel’s massive three-volume edition, though an out-
standing work of scholarship, contains more material than almost all
undergraduate students will have time to absorb; nor does Fraenkel’s
presentation make it easy to extract quickly the central points
from his longer notes. The more commonly used edition by
J. D. Denniston and D. L. Page is now rather dated; although the
commentary skilfully and forcefully illuminates much of Aeschylus’
difficult language, it shows less appreciation of his dramaturgy,
imagery, and style.
This book is aimed at students who are approaching the play
for the first time. Writing for this audience had various conse-
quences for our presentation. The book had to be affordable and
digestible, and at every turn we had to omit interesting material.
We have assumed that students tackling Agamemnon will have
already read a few plays by Euripides or Sophocles in Greek,
and some Homer, but we have cited parallels from other authors
only rarely. One of our primary concerns was to guide students
through the bold, dense language—explaining the more con-
fusing constructions, and eludicating the imagery. But we have not
removed the need to consult the large Liddell & Scott frequently,
since browsing through the lexicon is so important for learning
Greek.
Difficulties of meaning are often complicated by problems of text,
many of which make a significant impact on interpretation. Students
should not be shielded from these; but a full analysis of every issue
would be distracting and unwieldy, and so counter-productive.
We have started from and reprinted Page’s Oxford Classical Text,
which is the edition on which students are currently most likely to
be examined. In many passages where total confidence would be
vi Preface
foolhardy, we have mentioned alternative construes and left the
student to decide between them.
Similarly, we have been selective in our references to the wealth
of scholarship on the play, though our particular debt to the work of
Martin West and Alan Sommerstein will be evident throughout. In
view of our audience we have almost exclusively cited scholarship
in English, and so with some reluctance omitted reference to the
huge French commentary of Bollack and Judet de la Combe (1981–2,
2001), or to various recent German and Italian monographs such
as Gruber (2009). Nevertheless, the Introduction draws a good deal
of attention towards secondary literature, which we hope will
encourage further study.1
Though one can reconstruct only a few details of the play’s
original performance, we have encouraged students to imagine the
staging, and to appreciate the text as a dramatic organism, given its
peculiar movement and tension on stage by the power attributed
to ominous language. Our commentary also tries to stimulate an
appreciation of Aeschylus’ poetry, as rich in original vocabulary and
in imagery as the tragedies of Shakespeare. Besides the content of the
verse, we would stress its sound and rhythm. Hence the appendix on
‘Sound and Rhythm’ by D.A.R., which he has supplemented with a
recording available separately.2
Finally, we hope that, after studying Agamemnon in the original,
our readers will feel confident enough to explore the other two plays
of the Oresteia in Greek.
This book is very much the product of a joint effort. Initial drafts of
the commentary by D.A.R. were developed by O.R.H.T. towards their
final form. We discussed the whole commentary together several
πειθ(cid:6)
times over, and by the powers of reached agreement on almost
all points. As indicated by the initials at the end of each section,
we divided the introduction between us, though here too we have
benefited from each other’s comments. The appendix reflects
D.A.R.’s particular interest and experience in the live delivery of
Greek tragic verse, and he is responsible for the rhythmical analysis
supplied there.
1 It is worth mentioning here Goward (2005), a useful survey of modern
approaches to the play.
2 ‘The Agamemnon of Aeschylus recorded in ancient Greek’ [CD].
Preface vii
We would like to acknowledge: Hilary O’Shea, Kathleen Fearn,
and other staff at the Press for their invaluable assistance; James
Morwood for constructive criticism; the staff of Fondation Hardt,
where we benefited from a fortnight of intensive study in 2009;
colleagues at New College and Christ Church for their encourage-
ment; Henry Mason and Robert Colborn for their typing; and the
students on whom earlier versions of our work were tested.
D.A.R., O.R.H.T.
Oxford
2011
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Contents
Abbreviations x
Introduction xv
1. Agamemnon and the Oresteia xv
2. The Historical Context of the Oresteia xviii
3. Aeschylus and Previous Versions of the Myth xxii
4. The Ideas in Agamemnon xxx
5. Aeschylus’ Use of His Medium xliv
6. Dramatic Technique: The Power of Words xlix
7. The Chorus liii
8. The Solo Characters lvi
9. Language, Imagery, and Themes lxi
10. The Transmission of Agamemnon lxix
Text 1
Commentary 63
Appendix: Sound and Rhythm 243
Works Cited 272
Index of Other Passages from the Oresteia 282
Index 284