Aeschylus: Eumenides (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Alan H. Sommerstein (Editor) "The scene (until 234) is before the temple of Apollo at Delphi..." (more)
Key Phrases: human jurors, younger gods, final procession, Athena Polias, Lloyd Jones, Plato Rep (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sommerstein presents a freshly constituted text, with introduction and commentary, of Eumenides, the climactic play of the only surviving complete Greek tragic trilogy, the Oresteia of Aeschylus. Of all Athenian tragic dramas, Eumenides is most consciously designed to be relevant to the situation of the Athenian state at the time of its performance (458 B.C.) and seems to have contained daring innovations both in technique and in ideas. The introduction and commentary to this edition seek to bring out how Aeschylus shaped to his purpose the legends he inherited, and ended the tragic story of Agamemnon's family in a celebration of Athenian civic unity and justice. The commentary also pays attention to the linguistic, metrical and textual problems to be encountered by the reader.

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 24, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521284309
• ISBN-13: 978-0521284301
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,331,594 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Greek text and commentary., May 26, 2003

By	Timothy Doran (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(Note: just in case you don't know this: this edition is in ANCIENT GREEK, not English. The only English is in the [voluminous] notes, not a translation.)
I found this edition of the third play of Aeschylus' Oresteia very fine and very complete, and I was able to read all of the Eumenides with it -- and I am only in my second year of Greek (although my dedication may be above average). Sommerstein hits all the notes and remains balanced. The emendations are eminently well-defended; the meters are clear; the notes are thick and well-written. The historical overview of the years leading up to 458, when the play was produced, is unusually thorough for a book like this and deserves to become the standard for all such introductions. The cross-referencing with lines from other Greek literature is exhaustive and complete; much of the cross-referencing to different articles and works by modern authors impresses as well, with one caveat below.
Depending on which kind of an Oresteia scholar you are, you may become frustrated with this book. In his notes, Sommerstein evades many of the gender issues that are seen by some as essential to the play. This is done with the utmost in skill, though, so if you didn't know (or couldn't read or think) you might think there were no gender issues in the play. Hand-in-hand with this fact, he ignores important American writing on the Oresteia (done by Froma Zeitlin in her most bold, some might venture to say strident, overblown, and histrionic, but nonetheless important 1977 article "The Dynamics of Misogyny," for example) and does subscribe to a view of the Oresteia with which I have great sympathy, but that some may find naively positivistic or progressive. To wit, Sommerstein believes the Oresteia to be about joy, triumph, cooperation in Athens, and a new era.

Overall, regardless of these matters this book is very fine. I would certainly use it were I to teach a reading class on the play.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Final Third of Aeschylus' Masterpiece, May 22, 2000

By	Sean Ares Hirsch (Swan Lake, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eumenides (Paperback)

This final part of Aeschylus' trilogy in no way falls short of part 1 and 2. Orestes stands trial before the gods for his actions in part 2. Aeschylus DOES NOT allow the suspense to slack for a single moment! While I read this, I was pretty close to hyperventilating. Basically the fight in court comes down to Athena (the goddess of wisdon and Zeus' favorite child) and Apollo (the embodiement of reason) vs the furies. When Athena and Apollo defeated the furies, I can not overestimate the relief I felt. This trilogy is truly the gem in Greek Mythology.

1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Eumenides Shumenides, September 14, 2003

By	Justin Baas (Newburgh, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

Aeschylus' The Eumenides is the third part of the Orestia Trilogy, recounting the murder of king Agamemnon and the blood bath that comes afterward. Personally I wouldn't have read it if I didn't have to (I'm required to by my English teacher). It was one of the hardest things I've had to read in a long time, and even wen I got the jist of what was going on it still didn't flatter me. If you really want to enjoy what the play has to offer I would recommend seeing it in a theatre, not trying to read it and understand it.