Selections, Occasions, Origins, and Objectives

The first chapter of this book introduces the practical or organizational framework of classical tragedy staged on the prison islands of the Civil War (Makronisos, Trikeri, Aï Stratis). It also points to changes in the conditions of imprisonment in the various locales and over time and to differences in the treatment of men and women. This chapter also builds links forward and backward in time, which is essential for many reasons: the internees' classicizing performances of Sophocles' Antigone and Philoctetes and of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Persians complemented other choices of works, such as the patriotic Greek martyr‐dramas, well‐regarded foreign classics, and many native plays, comedies, and skits.

Archaeology · Art · Greek tragedy · Imprisonment · Literature · Martyr · Political science · Prison · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Tragedy (event) · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Law