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This book opens up a neglected chapter in the reception of Athenian drama, especially comedy; and it gives stage-centre to a particularly attractive and entertaining series of vase-paintings, which have been generally regarded as marginal curiosities. These are the so-called `phlyax vases', nearly all painted in the Greek cities of South Italy in the period 400 t0 360 BC. Up till now, they have been taken to reflect some kind of local folk-theatre, but Oliver
Taplin, prompted especially by three that have only been published in the last twelve years, argues that most, if not all, reflect Athenian comedy of the sort represented by Aristophanes.
This bold thesis opens up questions of the relation of tragedy as well as comedy to vase-painting, the cultural climate of the Greek cities in Italy, and the extent to which Athenians were aware of drama as a potential `export'. It also enriches appreciation of many key aspects of Aristophanic comedy: its metatheatre and self-reference, its use of stage-action and stage-props, its unabashed indecency, and its polarised relationship, even rivalry, with tragedy. The book has assembled
thirty-six photographs of vase-paintings. Many are printed here for the first time outside specialist publications that are not readily accessible.
This book opens up a neglected chapter in the reception of Athenian drama, especially comedy; and it gives stage-centre to a particularly attractive and entertaining series of vase-paintings, which have been generally regarded as marginal curiosities. These are the so-called `phlyax vases', nearly all painted in the Greek cities of South Italy in the period 400 t0 360 BC. Up till now, they have been taken to reflect some kind of local folk-theatre, but Oliver
Taplin, prompted especially by three that have only been published in the last twelve years, argues that most, if not all, reflect Athenian comedy of the sort represented by Aristophanes.
This bold thesis opens up questions of the relation of tragedy as well as comedy to vase-painting, the cultural climate of the Greek cities in Italy, and the extent to which Athenians were aware of drama as a potential `export'. It also enriches appreciation of many key aspects of Aristophanic comedy: its metatheatre and self-reference, its use of stage-action and stage-props, its unabashed indecency, and its polarised relationship, even rivalry, with tragedy. The book has assembled
thirty-six photographs of vase-paintings. Many are printed here for the first time outside specialist publications that are not readily accessible.
Aristophanes - "Frogs", edited with introduction and commentary by Sir Kenneth Dover; Aristophenes "Lysistrata", edited with introduction and commentary by Jeffrey Henderson; Aristophanes "Clouds", edited with introduction and commentary by Sir Kenneth Dover; Greek vases - lectures by J.D. Beazley, edited by D.C. Kurtz; the Meidias painter, Lucilia Burn; the Micali painter and his followers, Nigel Jonathan Spivey; Greek architectural terracottas, Nancy A. Winter.
`Oliver Taplin's imaginative approach to Greek drama amy change our
perpsective on the fate of both classical tragedy and - more
surprisingly - Old Comedy ... His discussions of the "Choregoi"
display scholarship as well as clever detective work ... This
incisive study will raise both cheers and hackles. But it will not
be ignored.'
Times Literary Supplement
'Oliver Taplin is the doyen of Greek theatre studies ... The
appearance of a third book on Greek drama must be an important
event. Comic Angels is modest in its scale and ambitions, but the
achievement is significant. The core of the book is entirely
convincing ... It is a mark of the book's concrete achievement that
it opens up so many potential areas of investigation. The 48 black
and white plates are a valuable resource.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
'the book is well written and interesting; the pictures are well
chosen, situated conveniently in the text, and easy to consult as
one reads ... altogether this is a book that students will find
easy reading ... anyone who is interested in the history of drama
must feel grateful to Taplin for bringing his thesis to public
attention in such an interesting format and with sufficient
illustration that even those not normally interested in vase
painting will
feel the attraction of these fascinating vases'
William J. Slater, McMaster University, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
4.4 (1993)
'very worthwhile study ... the book has some superb, well-chosen
illustrations which demonstrate to good effect all of the feaures
we have come to associate with comic characters ... This is an
interesting and thought-provoking study, whih will encourage us to
reappraise some long-held assumptions about the role of comedy
beyond mainland Greece.'
Richard Harrison, The Greek Gazette, November 1993
'This brief but thoroughly argued book...will interest mostly the
specialist in vase-paintings, but moreso the student of the
influence and recption of Athenian drama. Black-and-white
photographs are numerous, all Greek quotations are translated,
footnotes are copious, and a thorough index is provided.'
Donald L Jennermann, Religious Studies Review, Vol 20, No 1,
January 1994
'T. writes enthusiastically and with personal engagement ... This
book is most stimulating both for art history and for the study of
comedy.'
John Wilkins, University of Exeter, The Classical REview, Vol.
XLIV, No. 2, 1994
`illuminating'
Greece and Rome Reviews 42
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