Helene Foleys book is exemplary in its use of a variety of approaches and itcasts new light on both familiar and unfamiliar aspects of the tragic texts andGreek... » 

Helene Foleys book is exemplary in its use of a variety of approaches and itcasts new light on both familiar and unfamiliar aspects of the tragic texts andGreek culture. Her treatment of myth ritual and dramatic plot for exampleis much richer and more nuanced than readings that have looked almostexclusively at the patriarchal aspects of the representation of women. Writtenin a fashion that is accessible to nonspecialists this book will interestanthropologists philosophers specializing in ethics and scholars of genderstudiesas well as classicists.Donald J. Mastronarde University ofCalifornia BerkeleyAn important book that will become the standard starting point for studyingthe representation of female characters in Greek tragedy. Many readers will berelieved to find that the family does after all provide opportunities forworthwhile moral agency on the part of its female members and that Greektragedy can be enjoyed and appreciated for its constructive critique not itsreinforcement of classical Greek political and social inequities. This bookshould be read by specialists and general readers interested in drama genderissues and Greek civilization.Mark Griffith University of CaliforniaBerkeleyThis book will rank with Segals Tragedy and Civilization as one of the mostimportant works on tragedy in this century. The reading is nuanced andsophisticated and covers a wide range of texts while providing considerablesocial and historical context. The section on women as moral agentscomprehensively treats a topic that has been almost entirely ignored in otherworks on women in tragedy.Kirk Ormand author of Exchange and the MaidenMarriage in Sophoclean Tragedy «