Looking at ancient Greek tragedy in the context of late-20th-century reading, criticism and performance, seven distinguished scholars examine tragedy as an institution in the civic life of ancient Athens; a range of approaches to the surviving plays; and changing patterns of reception, adaptation, and performance, from antiquity to the present. 31 photos.

List of illustrations; List of contributors; Preface; Plan of the city of Athens; Part I. Tragedy as an Institution: The Historical Context: 1. 'Deep plays': theatre as process in Greek civic life Paul Cartledge; 2. A show for Dionysus P. E. Easterling; 3. The audience of Athenian tragedy Simon Goldhill; 4. The pictorial record Oliver Taplin; Part II. The Plays: 5. The sociology of Athenian tragedy Edith Hall; 6. The language of tragedy: rhetoric and communication Simon Goldhill; 7. Form and performance P. E. Easterling; 8. Myth into mythos: the shaping of tragic plots Peter Burian; Part III. Reception: 9. From repertoire to canon P. E. Easterling; 10. Tragedy adapted for stages and screens: the Renaissance to the present Peter Burian; 11. Tragedy in performance: nineteenth- and twentieth-century productions Fiona Macintosh; 12. Modern critical approaches Simon Goldhill; Glossary; Chronology; Texts, commentaries and translations; Works cited; Index.