This volume is an accessible yet in-depth narratological study of Euripides’ Alcestis - the earliest extant play of Euripides and one of the most experimental masterpieces of Greek tragedy, not only standing in place of a satyr-play but also preserving at least some of its typical features. Commencing from the widely-held view, so lamentably ignored within the domain of Classics, that a narratology of drama should be predicated upon the notion of narrative as verbal, as well as visual, rendition of a story, this unique volume contextualizes the play in terms of its reception by the original audience, locating the intricate narrative tropes of the plot in the dynamics of fifth-century Athenian mythology and religion.

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Excerpt from The Supernatural in the Tragedies of Euripides: As Illustrated in Prayers, Curses, Oaths, Oracles, Prophecies, Dreams and Visions To my esteemed instructor in Greek and Sanskrit Literature, Professor J. T. Lees, Ph.D., Head of Department of Greek History and Literature in the University of Nebraska, who has aided me especially in the composition of this thesis, I owe a great debt of gratitude. He has suggested the subject, and to his valuable counsel and assistance important corrections and improvements are due. I have further consulted in one way or other nearly all the books and monographs mentioned in the bibliography. Considerable use has been made of the following works: J. Adam: "Religious Teachers of Greece"; C. H. Moore: "The Religious Thought of the Greeks"; C. F. Whitmore: "The Supernatural in Tragedy"; W. Nestle: "Euripides, der Dichter der griechischen Aufklarung"; P. Decharme: "Euripide et l'esprit de son theatre." In quoting from the original I have availed myself of the Teubner text. Deviations from this have been noted where they occur. Excepting some of the fragments the translations are by A. S. Way, in the Loeb Classical Library, Heinemann, 1912. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Examiningthe manifest and invisible dead, this book considers the nature, extent andlimitations of harmful interaction between the living and the dead in Greektragedy, concentrating on the abilities of the dead, the consequences of corpse exposure andmutilation, and the use of avenging agents by the dead.