Euripides: Medea, by William Allan (review)

BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS cabulary is marked with a cross indicating that this material should be memorized. These and other features will undoubtably assuage the anxieties of the fledgling Greek learner overwhelmed by the vast number of details that make up Classical Greek. Students will be grateful that the choral odes are fully translated and scanned, although the notation of the meter seems a bit cramped and hard to read. In addition to discussing grammar and vocabulary, the commentary and notes make suggestions about interpretation and staging. They draw attention, for example, to some of the vocabulary and metrical variations used to delineate the character of Adlnetus. They speculate about the use of the eccyclema in the second episode (the tableau of the dying Alcestis), and offer insights into how Euripides plays with conventions such as the "recognition scene" in the exodus. The final section of the text is a collection of discussions, often with a remark by Roisman countered by Luschnig. The object, according to its introduction, is not to offer an authoritative interpretation of a particular topic or problem but rather to "stimulate thought and participation ." This is a feature of the text which sets it head and shoulders above its competition, and lets the student appreciate the complexity of an author who can seldom be pinned down to a single interpretation. Few Greek text books have such a well defined personality as this volume. It speaks in the voice of a patient, methodical and experienced instructor. It may be too prescriptive for some tastes, but I suspect that professors will find its meticulous planning a welcome aid, while their pupils will gain the confidence and experience to keep reading Greek. JUDITH FLETCHER DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND CLASSICAL STUDIES WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY WATERLOO, ON NzL 3Gr WILLIAM ALLAN. Euripides: Medea. Duckworth Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy. London: Duckworth, 2002. £9.99. ISBN 0-7IS6-3187-X (paper). This slim volume (143 pages) offers a general introduction to Euripides' Medea and a detailed examination of various key themes. The first chapter serves as a comprehensive introduction to the essential background : the civic and festival context of Greek tragedy, the nature of the audience. stage resources, conventions governing the use of actors. Euripides ' career, the mythopoetic tradition prior to Euripides, and a detailed plot summary. Each of the next three chapters focuses on a par- BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 79 ticular theme: husbands and wives: Greeks and "Others": Medea's revenge . In each, Allan briefly lays the appropriate background, with a glance at previous scholarship, before tracing the theme through the play. The final chapter ("Multi-Medea") catalogues later treatments of Medea in antiquity and offers a brief nod toward modern adaptations of her story. Each chapter is attended by generous footnotes that address particular matters of interest and direct the reader to more detailed scholarly discussions. The text includes a useful chronology and a "Guide to Further Reading" (the latter, unfortunately, not keyed to the chapter divisions of the book). There is also a rather perfunctory glossary of terms which is neither comprehensive nor always satisfactory in its definitions (e.g. ag6n ="contest, argument"). Allan does an excellent job of alerting students to the central issues raised by Medea and tracing thematic references through the play. The introductory sections of chapters two and three are also quite useful for their concise summaries of contemporary scholarly views. On the whole, however, the focus on the linear tracing of themes leads to a fair amount of repetition, as one must work through the play four times in the course of Allan's discussion, and limits the extent of the analysis. These weaknesses are particularly evident in chapter four. on Medea's revenge, which deals with issues that are inextricably bound up with her status as a woman (chapter two) and foreigner (chapter three): the discussion here fails to capture the complex ambiguities and contradictions of Medea's peculiar brand of "heroism." The principal weakness of the book's approach is a tendency to foreclose further discussion: although Allan offers a sensitive and informed reading of the play, with due acknowledgment of the relevant interpretative cruces, his account of each theme...