Greek Tragedy and the Middle East: Chasing the Myth

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Employing the idea of interculturality to study Middle Eastern adaptations of Greek tragedy from the turn of 20th century until the present day, this book first explores the earlier phase of the development of Greek classical reception in Middle Eastern theatre. It then moves to focus on modern Arabic, Persian and Turkish adaptations of Greek tragedy both in the early post-colonial and contemporary periods in the MENA and in Europe. Case by case, this book examines how the classical sources are reworked and adapted, as well as how they engage with interculturality, hybridisation and the circulation of aesthetics and models. At the same time, it explores the implications and consequences of expressing socio-political concerns through classical Greek sources.

While Muslim thinkers and translators introduced Greek philosophy in particular Aristotles Poetics to the West in the Middle Ages, adaptations of Greek tragedies only appeared in the MENA region at the very beginning of the 20th century. For this reason, the development of Greek tragedy in the Middle East is difficult to disentangle from colonialism and cultural imperialism. Encompassing language differences and offering for the first time a broad approach on the Middle-Eastern reception of Greek tragedy, this book produces a renewed focus on a fascinating aspect of the classical tradition.

Reviews

This book brings new dimensions to the investigation and understanding of the creative forces, cultural politics and scholarship associated with Greek Tragedy in the Middle East and North Africa. It testifies to the rich potential of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers and teachers, and provides thought-provoking reading for scholars and students. -- Lorna Hardwick, Professor Emerita of Classical Studies, The Open University, UK

Author Bio

Pauline Donizeau is Lecturer in Theatre Studies at the Lumire University Lyon 2 , France.

Yassaman Khajehi is Lecturer in Theatre Studies at Clermont Auvergne University, France.

Daniela Potenza is a Researcher in Arabic Literature at Messina University, Italy.