La tragédie grecque

For me, this is without a doubt the best introduction to classical Greek tragedies. In fewer than 170 pages, the French philologist and classicist Jacqueline de Romilly (1913–2010) provides a highly didactic overview of the origins and evolution of Athenian theater in the 5th century BCE, with, of course, an emphasis on Aeschyles, Sophocles, and Euripides—the three greats. In doing so, she also provides striking elements of analysis that are an enormous help in reading these plays, which are over 2,400 years old. It is a pity that this has never been translated into English. My suggestion would be to read “A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama” by Ian C. Storey and Arlene Allan as a supplement, although it is much more extensive.

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