Eric Csapo

Actors Icons Ancient Theater

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theater examines the realities of everyday life for actors -- and their popular reception -- from the time of theater's emergence in Classical Greece to its subsequent demise during the Roman Empire. In a series of six pioneering essays, noted Classical scholar Eric Csapo un-masks the ancient acting profession to reveal myriad facets of its social, economic, and political history. Along with addressing the evolving image of the actor in Attic and West Greek art, Csapo shows how the rapid expansion of the theater industry from about 430 BC provided the economic basis for the development of an independent and highly competitive acting profession. Other original studies reveal how the emergence of professional actors in the late fifth century changed the way tragedy and comedy were written, and what theater iconography tells us about the activity and performance styles of actors from the Hellenistic period to the Early Byzantine Empire. A final study addresses the history of the privatization of theater from Late Classical to Imperial times. Revelatory and thought-provoking, Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theater offers students and scholars alike fascinating new insights into the origins and evolution of one of the world's most enduring traditions.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley
• Seitenzahl: 248
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Februar 2010
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 250mm x 175mm x 18mm
• Gewicht: 616g
• ISBN-13: 9781405135368
• ISBN-10: 1405135360
• Artikelnr.: 27874454

Autorenporträt

Eric Csapo is Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Sydney, Australia. An expert in ancient drama and in the material, social and economic history of the ancient theatre, Csapo is the author of Theories of Mythology (Blackwell 2005) and, with W. J. Slater, Context of Ancient Drama (1995). Along with P. Wilson, Csapo is currently preparing a three-volume social and economic history of the classical Greek theatre (500-300 BC).

Inhaltsangabe

List of illustrations vi
Preface viii
List of abbreviations xiii
1 A Portrait of the Artist I: Theater-Realistic Art in Athens, 500-330 BC 1
2 A Portrait of the Artist II: Theater-Realistic Art in the Greek West,
400-300 BC 38
3 The Spread of Theater and the Rise of the Actor 83
4 Kallippides on the Floor Sweepings: The Limits of Realism in Classical
Acting 117
5 Cooking with Menander: Slices from the Ancient Home Entertainment
Industry? 140
6 The Politics of Privatization: A Short History of the Privatization of
Drama from Classical Athens to Early Imperial Rome 168
Bibliography 205
Index 227

Rezensionen

"Csapo's book covers an impressive range of different topics andperiods in ancient theatrical history." (Times Literary Supplement,8 July 2011)

"No scholar of the ancient theater can afford to ignore thearguments put forward in this stimulating and exciting book." (BrynMawr Classical Review, 1 April 2011)

"Csapo provides an excellent collection of Oxford lectures (allrevised) that rehearse and challenge old evidence and preconceivedtheories on the history and image of actors from classical Greeceto early imperial Rome...What sets this book apart from similarwork is its superb collection and socioeconomic study of extantancient artifacts. This is a fascinating read of the ancient worldand the dynamic relationships between its theatre, politics, andpopular culture." (CHOICE, January 2011)

"Actors and Icons is a compelling account of the development ofacting in antiquity, taking actors all the way from adjuncts(hypokritai who 'answer' the chorus), to famous, favouredmembers of the imperial circle." (Scholia Reviews, 1 October2010)"Eric Csapo has ferreted out an extraordinary quantity ofunderappreciated evidence, which he pulls together to produce ahighly original and convincing history of actors and acting in theancient world. Essential reading for understanding the wholecontext of the great achievements of ancient Greek tragedy andcomedy."
Oliver Taplin, Oxford University

"With an excellent command of the many kinds of evidence, E. Csapofocuses on the actor's image. He gives us a fascinating newhistory of the ancient theater."
Brigitte Le Guen, Paris 8 University

"An enthralling read. Nobody brings the world of the ancienttheatre alive like Eric Csapo. From the ways Greek actors reducedtheir audiences to tears or helpless laughter to the economic andpolitical importance of the Roman entertainment industry, he seesvivid details that pass other scholars by. The range of newevidence and insights is breathtaking. Compulsory reading for allhistorians of ancient theatre, society or culture."
Edith Hall, Royal Holloway University of London