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/lit/ - Literature

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6576754 No.6576754 [Reply] [Original]

I want to read some Greek tragedies. Can I jump right into Sophocles Oedipus plays or do I need to read Aeschylus first?

>> No.6576765

>>6576754
Why does sophocles look so fucking angry?

>> No.6576769

aeschylus doesn't have much surviving work so you might as well read him. but you don't have to

>> No.6578154
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6578154

>>6576765
And Aeschylus doesn't?

>Well, you feelin' lucky? Do you, Persian?


>>6576769
Depending on your opinion of Prometheus Bound's authenticity, he may or may not have exactly as many surviving works as Sophocles.

>>6576754
You can pretty much jump into any of them without having to read the others. Tragic conventions don't really change too much from Aeschylus's time to Sophocles (their periods do overlap each other, you know). Just bear in mind the design of the ancient Greek stage and you should be good.

If you do decide to give Aeschylus a shot, go for Persians, Prometheus Bound (but again, there's some debate about whether or not he actually authored that one), and the Orestia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides). That should be about as good of an introduction to him as you're going to get (I could barely get through Suppliant Maidens, and while I kinda liked Seven Against Thebes, I'm not too sure I'd recommend it for fun, unless you want to read it as a sequel to Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus and a prequel to Antigone).

>> No.6578178

>>6576754
Yeah, its a good starting point. Antigone was written earlier but it happens after the Oedipus tale

>> No.6580528

>>6576765
Plato was talking shit

>> No.6580548

Persians is Aeschylus' best play. I don't see why you'd have to know any of his work to read Oedipus though.

>> No.6580553

>>6578154
>>6580548
I'll third Persians, it's one of my favourite Greek plays. Even better after reading Herodotus.

>> No.6580557

>>6580553
>Even better after reading Herodotus
What did you think of it? I want to read the Histories but 800 pages of archaic history is intimidating.

>> No.6580563

>>6580557
Not him but it's pretty fun stuff to read. It isn't really history as much as a collection of tales.

>> No.6580602

It doesn't matter who you start with but I read Aeschylus first, followed by Sophocles, Euripides, and finally Aristophanes. I never got around to Menander or the Romans but I've been wanting to read Plautus because apparently he was a great influence on Shakespeare.

>> No.6580645

>>6580557
Herodotus is a better story-teller than historian, and there's an equal amount of story-telling as there is straight history in his book. And I say that despite liking Thucydides.

I think you should give it a try, though. His introduction and first two books should hook you. I read it in about 9 days and, although I found myself bored with it here and there, namely in the middle, I don't regret reading it.

>> No.6580676
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6580676

>>6580645
>you will never rise to the kingship as a bodyguard by cucking your own king

>> No.6580961

>>6576754

I jumped right into Sophocles, then Aeschylus, then Euripides. Sophocles is the best, IMO. Aeschylus I found sort of boring, especially Agamemnon, but still very good. Euripides is like the Hellene Joss Whedon: super quotable but all his characters are sarcastic quip-masters. Which for some plays is really fun.

>> No.6581100

>tfw no good anthologies of Greek theater
shit sucks, most are discontinued sets divided in multiple volumes that are now really expensive

>> No.6581315

The Bacchae would be a great start, read that in year 12 lit.

>> No.6581451
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6581451

>>6580645

Who's translation succeeded in grabbing you like that?

I've only ever tried de Selincourt's in bits and pieces.

>> No.6581487

>>6576754
Try Prometheus Bound. I recommend NYRB edition, it's a bretty good translation if you can't read it in the original Greek.

>> No.6581702

>>6580602
There really isn't much Menander left anyway (although Dyskolos and Girl from Samos are both pretty close to complete); and even at their best, Plautus, Terence, and Seneca just look pathetic compared to their Greek inspirations.

>> No.6581717

>>6581100
the lattimore grene set is good. i dont know the price but use the library friend

>> No.6581768

>reading plays

l e l
do you also read film scripts?

>> No.6582169

>>6581451
Yeah, I read de Sélincourt's translation, revised/updated/whatever by John Marincola (so basically the new Penguin version).

>> No.6582431

>>6581768
>not reading plays
p l e b

>> No.6582467

>>6576754
I tend to think books should be read in the order they were written. That way you can see how the one influenced the other, and appreciate how human thought progressed over time.

>> No.6582491

>>6582467
There are only 3 tragedians with surviving works, and they mostly worked in the same time as each other. With so many lost works I don't think influences can really be derived.

>> No.6582513

>>6582491
Aeschylus was first. Sophocles was second. Euripides was third. Plato was about the same age as Euripides.

>> No.6582528

>>6582513
>Aeschylus was first. Sophocles was second. Euripides was third
There was overlap though. Sophocles' plays were entered in contests alongside Aeschylus'. I think it's too simple to say Aeschylus influenced Sophocles influenced Euripides when we don't have the works of the many other tragedians.

>> No.6582559

>>6582528
It's not perfect, but the surviving authors provide a snapshot of the period in which they lived. Note, there was also Aristophanes, who was about the same age as Sophocles. Also, a lot of Plato's works cover the life of Socrates who was about 20 years or so older than Aeschylus.