Reviews for Tragedy in Athens: Performance Space and Theatrical Meaning

The average rating for Tragedy in Athens: Performance Space and Theatrical Meaning based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-07-03 00:00:00 Jojo Jessy In chapter 2.4 Frame introduces Makháon 'warrior' as the mortal twin brother to Néstōr. This idea proposed by Frame actually confirms the existence of the mortal twin brother for the Vedic Nāsatyā as well, for the reconstruction Makháon-Néstōr sheds light on the Vedic cognate Makha 'warrior', a bit cryptic character who is introduced in the form of an anthropomorphic clay pot to hold gharma drink, which is offered as an early morning oblation to the twin horsemen Nāsatyā in the Vedic pravargya rite. Makha has not been identified as the missing twin for Nāsatya before, but can be quite easily reconstructed as such with help of the Homeric counterpart introduced by Frame. Therefore I consider Frame's reconstruction Makháon-Néstōr as one of the most important contributions to the academic Veda research for a long time. Makháon-Néstōr establishes a context not only for Vedic Makha but also for pravargya, that obviously is of key significance in interpreting the divine vs. mortal functions of the twin horsemen Nāsatyā. The conclusion about Makha as the mortal twin could not be derived by means of internal reconstruction from the Vedic texts since the references in Veda are fragmentary and the link between Makha-Nāsatya is indicated only through the pravargya-ritual. Frame identifies an original representation of the Indo-European twin pair of the divine and mortal horsemen in the narrative of Iliad 11, where Homeric Makháon is wounded on shoulder by an arrow of Paris and then miraculously healed by the medicinal drink kukeōn prepared from goat milk and consumed by both Néstōr and Makháon, indicating the presence of a twin pair of wounded mortal archer - healing immortal charioteer. The Vedic version of this common Indo-European narrative has incorporated two elements namely the mortal twin and the drinking vessel of the healing medicine, addressing both as 'Makha'. In Taittirīya Āraṇyaka, while explaining the origins of pravargya rite, Tittiri narrates a legend of archer Makha 'warrior' who becomes wounded on his head by his own arrow and is then healed by gharma drink prepared by Nāsatyā. Gharma that is prepared from goat milk restores the wounded/fallen head of Makha which is the raison d'etre for the performance of pravargya rite in memory of this event. Taittirīya Saṃhitā has preserved a version of the narrative where Makha the archer is wounded by Indra during a battle, indicating that Makha represented a tribal opponent for the devas. Unfortunately, the tradition of Makha as a wounded hero and mortal archer is preserved only in fragments in Veda, available in short in Yājurveda Brāhmaṇas of Śatapatha, Pañcaviṃśa and the two Yājurveda āraṇyakas. In terms of etymology, aside from nouns Makháon/Makha and Néstōr/Nāsatya, matching phraseology cannot be established for Iliad 11 and the mentioned Yājurveda fragments. Nevertheless, in case someone interested in trying out further reconstructions of the Makháon - Néstōr theme to the common Indo-European poetic lexicon, the mentioned Yājurveda entries* about Makha are worth investigating, along with this comprehensive presentation of the subject from the Homeric tradition by Frame. (* cf. PB 7.5.6; ŚB 14.1.1.6-11; ŚB 14.1.2.9; TĀ 5.1.1-7; TS 3.2.4)

Review # 2 was written on 2012-01-26 00:00:00 Darla Buckman Frame explores a number of interesting points in this book, but to say this is a book about Nestor is not entirely accurate. It starts off being about Nestor, and tries to uncover Nestor's past history through an in depth analysis of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Those initial chapters were what led me to the book and I found them truly excellent. The author also explores the relationship of Nestor to other characters in the Trojan saga, such as Antilochus, Odysseus and Diomedes. Things become more complex when Nestor is presented as one of a pair of twin figures (with a missing, dead brother) and compared to other mythological pairs, and become somewhat stretched as Frame presents a bold proposal that the king of the Phaeacians is a double for Nestor, with no less than Athena Polias acting through Queen Arete and Nausicaa. Those chapters are worth reading, but I don't think they are going to become a trendsetting theory any time soon. Additional topics discussed are (i) Nestor's placement within the Neleids, the Neleids' involvement with the foundation of Miletus and other cities of the Panionian league (with a collateral relationship with Athens) and how the Homeric poems could have been born and/or evolved within the context of the Panionian festival before reaching the rest of Greece; (ii) the location of Pylos (not as simple as I would have thought); (iii) interpolations and amendments to the Homeric poems in Nestor-related passages, their possible authors and eras where they would have occurred. This last topic is somewhat scattered through the book, as possible alterations to the text are considered when analysing each particular passage.