French Literature Reviews - 2026
V. di Benedetto, E. Medda, La Tragédie sur la scène. La tragédie grecque comme spectacle théâtral
Theatre and Performance
Translated by: Christine Mauduit
What did the theatre of Athens look like in the 5th century BC? What staging possibilities did it offer for the performance of Greek tragedies? How did the chorus and characters embody the dramas presented during the City Dionysia within this space—through voice, gesture, song, and dance? Is it possible, and to what extent, to reconstruct the original staging of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides?
These are some of the questions addressed clearly, precisely, and with solid documentation in the book by Vincenzo Di Benedetto and Enrico Medda, La tragedia sulla scena (1st edition 1997), of which Christine Mauduit here offers a French translation. Intended for anyone interested in Greek tragedy—amateurs or specialists, students, teachers, and theatre practitioners—this book is a fascinating introduction to all aspects of tragic performance. It illuminates, as far as the documentation allows, the uses of the stage and the formal models specific to tragedy, thus attempting to restore essential aspects of the ancient theatrical experience, rooted in an immediate and living engagement with dramatic works within the framework of the grand festivals in honor of Dionysus. It also offers food for thought on the place of Greek tragedy in the civic culture and opens up perspectives on the category of the tragic as a fundamental human experience.
Vincenzo Di Benedetto (1934-2013) taught Greek philology and literature at the University of Pisa and the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. Among his works on Greek tragedy are his commented editions of Euripides' Orestes (1965) and The Bacchae (2004), as well as his monographs: Euripide. Teatro e società (1971), L’ideologia del potere e la tragedia greca. Ricerche su Eschilo (1978), and Sofocle (1983).
An alumnus of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Enrico Medda is a Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Pisa and a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome. He is also co-director of the journal LEXIS. He has authored numerous essays on 5th-century BC tragedy and comedy. As a translator and commentator of Euripides' Orestes and The Phoenician Women for the Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, he recently published the critical edition with translation and commentary of Aeschylus' Agamemnon (Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, 2017).
An alumna of the École Normale Supérieure and holder of the agrégation in Classics, Christine Mauduit is a Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Her research focuses on Greek theatre.
CONTENTS
Preface to the French Translation
Foreword
List of Principal Abbreviations
Part One. Space and Staging
Chapter 1 – The Scenic Space and the Basic Elements of Staging
1. The City Dionysia
2. The Theatre
3. The orchestra
4. The eisodoi
5. Elevated Structures
6. Tragedies With and Without a skēnē
7. Scenography
8. The theologeion
9. Other Equipment
10. The "Machine"
11. The Problem of the ekkuklēma
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 2 – Non-Visible Spaces: The Off-Stage Space
1. General Indications
2. The Distant Off-Stage Space
3. The Adjacent Off-Stage Space
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 3 – Non-Visible Spaces: The Backstage Space
1. General Indications
2. Description of the Interior Space by a Dramatic Character
3. Direct Communication Between Interior and Exterior: The Character Listening from Within
4. Direct Communication Between Interior and Exterior: The Perception of Sounds Coming from Within
5. Direct Communication Between Interior and Exterior: The Visual Revelation of the Backstage Space
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 4 – Characters at Different Vertical Levels
Chapter 5 – The Staging of Aeschylus' Tragedies
1. The Persians
2. Seven Against Thebes
3. The Suppliants
4. Prometheus Bound
5. The Oresteia
6. Other Tragedies
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 6 – The Staging of Sophocles' Tragedies
1. Antigone
2. Ajax
3. Oedipus Rex
4. Electra
5. The Trachiniae
6. Philoctetes
7. Oedipus at Colonus
8. Other Tragedies
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 7 – The Staging of Euripides' Tragedies
1. Alcestis
2. Medea
3. The Heraclidae
4. Hippolytus
5. Andromache
6. Hecuba
7. The Suppliants
8. Heracles
9. Electra
10. The Trojan Women
11. Iphigenia in Tauris
12. Helen
13. Ion
14. The Phoenician Women
15. Orestes
16. The Bacchae
17. Iphigenia in Aulis
18. Other Tragedies
19. Rhesus
Notes and Discussions
Part Two. Actors, Chorus, and Characters
Chapter 1 – The Constitutive Parts of Greek Tragedies
1. Continuity of Performance and Articulation of Tragedy
2. Aristotle and the Parts of Tragedy
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 2 – The Actors
1. The Birth of the Actor
2. The Mask
3. The Costume
4. Modes of Diction and Actors' Voices
5. Movements and Stage Business
6. Other Gestures
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 3 – Characters and Actors
1. The Rule of Three Actors
2. Mute Characters and Extras
3. The Distribution of Roles
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 4 – The Chorus on Stage
1. Entrance Movement and Dance
2. The Presence of the Chorus in the Scenic Space
3. The Composition of the Chorus
4. The Division into Semi-Chores and the Introduction of Secondary Choruses
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 5 – Chorus and Actor
1. Chorus and Tragedy
2. The Chorus and Tragic Action
3. Typology of the Chorus-Characters Relationship
4. Direct Interventions in the Action, with Gestures and Stage Business
5. Advice and Attempts at Dissuasion
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 6 – The Chorus: Expressive Functions
1. The Chorus and the Broadening of the Action's Framework
2. Lamentation
3. Fear and Expectation
4. Prayer
5. Moments of Joy
6. Conceptual Elaborations
7. Mythological Reminiscences
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 7 – The Corpse on Stage
1. Tragedy and Death: The Scenic Role of the Corpse
2. Death in the Off-Stage Space and the Corpse Brought Onto the Stage
3. Death in the Backstage Space and the Exhibition of the Corpse
4. Death on Stage
5. The "Absence" of the Corpse
6. Death in Extradramatic Time
7. Tragedies Without Corpses
Notes and Discussion
Chapter 8 – The Units of Time and Place
Notes and Discussions
Part Three. Greek Tragedy and Its Audience
Chapter 1 – The Socially Stabilizing Function of Tragic Performance
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 2 – Greek Tragedy and Anthropology
Chapter 3 – The Tendency to Dissociate from the Political
1. Aeschylus' Oresteia: Between Demonic Reality and Political Message
2. Some Brief Considerations on Sophocles
3. Euripides: A Line of Development
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 4 – Tragedy's Reluctance to Deliver an Ethical Discourse
1. Suffering Without Guilt
2. The Final Gnomic Reflection
3. Aristotle's Point of View
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 5 – Remarks on the Nature of the Tragic
1. Ambiguity: A Deviant Category
2. The Divided Cell
3. Tragedy and Consciousness
Notes and Discussions
Chapter 6 – The Tragic of Knowledge
1. The Transition from Ignorance to Knowledge
2. The Character Who Realizes and Repents
3. From Madness to the Recovery of Mental Faculties
4. The Character Realizing They Have Been Tricked
5. The Provisional Nature of the Moment of Unconsciousness
Notes and Discussions
Bibliographic Appendix
General Works on Tragedy and Athenian Theatrical Life
Literary and Iconographic Sources
Theatrical Architecture
Dramatic Space and Performance
Theatre Machinery
Masks and Costumes
Scenography and Stage Properties
Actors
Chorus
Index of Principal Subjects
Index of Proper Names
The study of ancient drama within classical philology often requires balancing literary interpretation with the material realities of performance. Vincenzo Di Benedetto and Enrico Medda examine the physical and cultural conditions under which the masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were originally presented. Their investigation spans the architectural features of the Athenian stage, the conventions governing actors and the chorus, and the broader civic framework of the City Dionysia.
Readers interested in classical antiquity, theatrical history, and the staging practices of fifth-century BC Athens may find this volume relevant. The French translation by Christine Mauduit makes this Italian contribution accessible to a wider audience of students, researchers, and practitioners of the dramatic arts. Through its examination of scenic space, performance techniques, and the cultural horizons of tragedy, the work invites a consideration of how ancient drama functioned as a literary art and a communal experience.