The Path from Aulis
A Study of Aeschylus' Oresteia
1st Edition
Published on 5. February 2026
264 pages
978-1-350-53449-0 (ISBN)
Description
The first book to re-assess the Oresteia for a new generation of Classicists. Bridging between the disciplines of Classics, literary studies, gender studies, moral philosophy, and theories of imagery, Jenkyns presents a close reading of the three plays and a sophisticated literary anaylsis that will become standard reading on the play.
Rehabilitating the two central characters in the trilogy, Jenkyns gives a provocative and insightful new analysis of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, prompting his readers to reconsider scholarship and current trends of interpretation. He proposes a wide and liberal view of the trilogy as showcasing a heroic ideal with a greater unity than is usually argued. For Jenkyns the characters are sympathetic and the tragic gaze is strongly centred around an inward and emotional perception of minor as well as major characters.
Brilliantly argued and lucidly written, this study is set to become an influential core reading of perhaps the most influential and significant drama of the Classical world.
Rehabilitating the two central characters in the trilogy, Jenkyns gives a provocative and insightful new analysis of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, prompting his readers to reconsider scholarship and current trends of interpretation. He proposes a wide and liberal view of the trilogy as showcasing a heroic ideal with a greater unity than is usually argued. For Jenkyns the characters are sympathetic and the tragic gaze is strongly centred around an inward and emotional perception of minor as well as major characters.
Brilliantly argued and lucidly written, this study is set to become an influential core reading of perhaps the most influential and significant drama of the Classical world.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
File size
5,67 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-350-53449-0 (9781350534490)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 02/2026
Bloomsbury Academic
€117.60
Not yet published
Person
Richard Jenkyns is Emeritus Professor of the Classical Tradition. Among his many publications are The Victorians and Ancient Greece (1980), Classical Epic: Homer and Virgil (Bloomsbury, 1992), and Classical Literature (2015).
Content
Preface
Housekeeping
1. A Watcher
2. Death of a Princess
3. The Queen
4. Menelaus and Helen
5. A Herald
6. Helen and Paris
7. The King
8. The Captive
9. The Widow
10. Action and Image
11. The Furies
Appendix
List of works cited
Index of passages cited
General index
Housekeeping
1. A Watcher
2. Death of a Princess
3. The Queen
4. Menelaus and Helen
5. A Herald
6. Helen and Paris
7. The King
8. The Captive
9. The Widow
10. Action and Image
11. The Furies
Appendix
List of works cited
Index of passages cited
General index
