Sophocles, introduction, translation and commentary by DEMONT Paul.
Aias / Ajax.
Beautiful letters
Regular price
€25,00
| N° d'inventaire | 25406 |
| Format | 13.5 x 21.5 |
| Détails | 286 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2022 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782251452777 |
Aias (or Ajax) is a lost soldier. In Troy, Odysseus and the Atreides did not recognize his worth: he wanted to kill them to avenge his honor, but the goddess Athena drove him mad. In the prologue, Athena reveals her madness to a terrified Odysseus. Then Sophocles depicts his despair when he comes to his senses. To restore his honor, he sees only one solution: suicide, despite the entreaties of the chorus of his sailors and Tecmessa, his companion. He ensures its completion by a feint that deceives them, and kills himself, alone, in front of the audience. His corpse is discovered by his own people, who had gone in disorder to search for him, and by his half-brother Teucros, who arrived too late. The latter wants to bury him despite the Atreides' prohibition. He obtains the unexpected support of Ulysses: the hero is therefore honored, and a funeral procession, accompanied by his young son, carries away his body.
This edition of Sophocles' play offers a revised text, a new translation, and a detailed commentary, which discusses the many problems it poses, particularly in its staging. The introduction explains the choice of the spelling Aias, sets out the Homeric and post-Homeric background of the myth, and the importance of the "hero" for the island of Aegina, the island of Salamis, and for the Athenians themselves. It analyzes the role of nobility transmitted by patrilineal descent, even among those called "bastards," and the place given to women. This terrifying and pitiful tragedy of honor and death, which is not, unlike other plays, encumbered by its posterity, helps us understand the "tragic character" and the "tragic effect" according to the Ancients, and for Sophocles.
This edition of Sophocles' play offers a revised text, a new translation, and a detailed commentary, which discusses the many problems it poses, particularly in its staging. The introduction explains the choice of the spelling Aias, sets out the Homeric and post-Homeric background of the myth, and the importance of the "hero" for the island of Aegina, the island of Salamis, and for the Athenians themselves. It analyzes the role of nobility transmitted by patrilineal descent, even among those called "bastards," and the place given to women. This terrifying and pitiful tragedy of honor and death, which is not, unlike other plays, encumbered by its posterity, helps us understand the "tragic character" and the "tragic effect" according to the Ancients, and for Sophocles.
This edition of Sophocles' play offers a revised text, a new translation, and a detailed commentary, which discusses the many problems it poses, particularly in its staging. The introduction explains the choice of the spelling Aias, sets out the Homeric and post-Homeric background of the myth, and the importance of the "hero" for the island of Aegina, the island of Salamis, and for the Athenians themselves. It analyzes the role of nobility transmitted by patrilineal descent, even among those called "bastards," and the place given to women. This terrifying and pitiful tragedy of honor and death, which is not, unlike other plays, encumbered by its posterity, helps us understand the "tragic character" and the "tragic effect" according to the Ancients, and for Sophocles.