Classics 143. Greek Tragedy (4 units)
Colin Webster
Course Description: In this course, we will read ten plays by the three great Athenian tragedians, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. We will explore the ethical and dramatic knots tied by these dramatists, and see whether any individual play can untie them. We will learn the historical role that tragedy played in the civic and religious life of Athenian society (and ancient Greece more broadly), while we also examine some of the responses to the genre in the modern day. We will ask what occurs when you watch the destruction of others, as we learn the syntax of suffering in the ancient world.
Prerequisite: A lower division Classics course or consent of instructor (cwebster@ucdavis.edu).
GE credit (New): Arts & Humanities and Writing Experience.
Format: Lecture/Discussion - 3 hours; Term Paper.
Textbooks:
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Oxford University Press Bundle: (sold with discount at Book Store)
o Aeschylus, The Complete Aeschylus: Volume I: The Oresteia
o Sophocles, The Complete Sophocles, Volume I: The Theban Plays
o Sophocles, The Complete Sophocles: Volume II: Electra and Other Plays
o Euripides, The Complete Euripides: Volume IV: Bacchae and Other Plays