Medea and the reformation of the tragic polis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11734334 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christopher Vasillopulos (Eastern Connecticut State University), Christopher Vasıllopulos (Eastern Connecticut State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1994 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 435-461 |
| Publication date | 1994-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Social Science Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-3319 • E-ISSN: 1873-5355 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1016/0362-3319(94)90034-5 |
| OpenAlex | W1995048426 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
In the period between the Solonic and the Kleisthenic political reforms, tragedy began to emerge, beginning with Thespis and finding full expression in Aeschylus. As hoplite-democracy expressed the power of political legitimacy in unmistakable military victories over the Persians and in the creation of the Athenian Empire, Attic tragedy and its three greatest exponents flourished. No ornament of a newly rich society, tragedy was a substantive part of the development of Athens. Tragedy was the school of Athenian democracy, training its citizens in emerging forms of the political in an era of unprecedented change. Not only did tragedy help to legitimate new forms of decision-making based on new political structures in the face of rapidly changing events, it altered the Homeric warrior ethic to the needs of hoplite-democracy. More reliable and cooperative heroes were needed and in ever greater numbers if Athens were to win and hold its wealth and power to say nothing of its empire. Tragedy educated Athenians to the requirements of reconciling the individual with the needs of the society, the hero with the army, and the household with the state. Euripides, who fully appreciated the possibilities which flowed from the resolution of age-old human dilemmas, including the expansion of freedom, feared that Athens would not continue to develop. He wished to alert Athenians to the need to reform the polis by expanding the freedom of its citizens. It was time to bring women into the political
Art · Democracy · Empire · HERO · Legitimacy · Literature · Nothing · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Social science · Sociology · Tragedy (event · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |