Scrinium Classical Antiquity

EURIPIDES, Iphigenia in Tauris. Edited with Introduction and Commentary by L.P.E. Parker. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2016. CIX,385p. Paperback. 'This is a substantial edition. (...) The introduction is generous, with sections on Iphigenia (‘In Cult’, ‘Before Euripides,’ ‘Iphigenia and Euripides’, ‘Iphigenia after Euripides’, ‘Iphigenia and the Critics’), the play’s date, its metres, the transmission of the text, MSS and sigla, and papyri (which give little help). This is followed by the text, with full apparatus criticus, seemingly based on, but not identical to, Diggle’s OCT, the commentary (where textual notes are placed in square brackets) and a full bibliography and indexes. (...) The commentary itself is one of robust commonsense and laudable fairness to earlier editors (...). It is greatly to her credit that what we have are her own opinions and decisions, and if this involves, say, a transposition or an athetesis of a line or two (or the refusal to athetise, against Diggle, at 572) so be it. In other words, she proceeds on the basis that Euripides did not write nonsense, and her text reflects this (...). This is a most welcome addition to the corpus of Euripidean scholarship.' (COLIN LEACH in Classics for All, 15.08.2016). € 47.50 (New)

EURIPIDES, Hecuba. Edited by L. Battezzato. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (...), 2018. IX,287p. Paperback. € 27.50 (New)

EURIPIDES, Iphigenia in Tauris. Edited with Introduction and Commentary by M. Platnauer. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1938. 1st ed. XIX,186p. Original burgundy cloth with dust wrps. Dust wrps worn. Signature on free endpaper. Pages a tiny bit yellowed. 'Mr. Platnauer’s introduction contains a succinct, but very short passage of literary criticism, and a much longer exegesis of all that can be learnt of of the Iphigenia myth and of the date of composition. These are, as might be expected, admirably scholarly and lucid, and are of the greatest interest - particularly, I feel, in assessing the actual contribution made by Euripides to the total literary result in this curious new happy ending to the Orestes story. (...) We are told by the publishers that (...) ‘It is hoped that the volumes will be of value to the advanced scholar, to the undergraduate, and to the sixth-form Pupil.’ In actual fact this must prove no easy task, particularly when it comes to combine brevity with textual criticism, the interest of the sixth-form pupil, with those of the advanced scholar. This volume seems to me to be eminently ‘on the side of the angels.’ (Review in Greece and Rome, 7, 1938, p.184). € 12.00 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, Medea. The text edited with introduction and commentary by D.L. Page. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1938. 1st ed. LXVIII,190p. Original burgundy cloth. Spine gilt titled. Signature and date on free endpaper. € 15.00 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, Alkestis. Herausgegeben, übersetzt und kommentiert von G.A. Seeck. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, 2008. X,231p. Hardbound. Series: Griechische Dramen. Nice copy. 'G. A. Seeck's edition of the Alcestis with accompanying German translation and commentary is part of a new series from de Gruyter intended to offer detailed access to the text not only to philologists but to literary and theatre scholars more widely. The format is designed for accessibility. Following an extensive introduction, the German translation and Greek text are printed one above the other on the left hand page with commentary on the facing right hand page. The lemmata are generally keyed to the German translation, which aims to follow the Greek line for line. The format often leaves white space, but the result is highly user-friendly and should serve all its audiences well.(...) Seeck's treatment of the evidence for the Alcestis myth before Euripides as well as the poet's careful and limited deployment of references within the play to previous action is far more precise than that of many critics working on the play. He argues for a separation between the mythic world of the prologue and a demythologized world in which the action then plays out. Seeck's introduction singles out four larger themes of literary interpretation for discussion (the issues of contradictions and gaps, irony, psychology, and the notion of 'tragicomedy'). Euripides omits Admetus's voyage on the Argo and participation in the Caledonian boar hunt in the process of making him 'ein König ohne Ambitionen auf heroischen Ruhm und genaugenommen nur ein bürgerlicher Familienvater' (32). Indeed, the poet's treatment of the house of Admetus portrays it much more as an ordinary Athenian dwelling than as a palace out of the mythic past, and thus the scene of a 'burgerliches Drama' (41ff.). Euripides says nothing about the time between Alcestis's promise and the day of her death - but nothing invites the audience in the theatre to focus on that during the course of the performance. Three paragraphs on irony will not satisfy all, but Seeck lays out the case that irony resides more often in the play's reception than in explicit textual signals. A section on several more structurally oriented 'special questions' follows: the prologue, xenia, the scene with Pheres, the nature of Admetus's learning or 'recognition', whether his reception of the veiled woman is a betrayal of his marriage, and finally the question of Alcestis's silence. (...) The commentary will be particularly useful for meaning in performance. Seeck's suggestion that the chorus may arrive singly from both parodoi, for example, before grouping together in the orchestra is very appealing. (...) The volume is thus a welcome addition to the growing ranks of commentaries on this play. One looks forward to other entries in the de Gruyter series.' (NIALL W. SLATER in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.05.28). € 30.00 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, Andromache. Edited with Introduction and Commentary by B.T. Stevens. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1971. VI,255p. Cloth. Pages a bit yellowed. Back cover vaguely stained. Spine slightly bumped. Edges slightly rust stained. Signature on free endpaper. ‘Stevens disagrees with those scholars who take the conflict between Andromache and Hermione as the central theme; sometimes Euripides gives disproportionate emphasis to ‘other interests’, the main theme thus becoming less clear. S. is skeptical about a preoccupation of the poet with topical allusions; he warns against attaching too much value to contemporary historical facts (as does Kitto, in the author’s opinion). The play is not to be taken as fundamentally an attack on Spartan mentality and politics; the anti-Spartan utterances (445 ff.) and the representation of Menelaus are appropriate to the dramatic context. (…) The Introduction further includes a concise history of Euripidean manuscript tradition. Doubt is cast on the value of a detailed classification of the MSS. in view of widespread contamination (underestimated, in the author’s opinion, by Turyn).’ (J. HANGARD in Mnemosyne, 1976, pp.84-85). € 25.00 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, The Medea. Edited by M. Lamson Earle. American Book Company, New York (...), 1904. 300p. Original red gilt stamped cloth. Head and tail spine as well as corners a bit bumped and a bit scratched. Series: Greek Series for Colleges and Schools. € 35.00 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, Medea. With Notes, Appendices, and Vocabulary by M.A. Bayfield. MacMillan, London, 1956. XVI,159p. ills. Cloth. Spine bit discoloured. Series: Elementary Classics. Nice copy. € 15.00 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, Electra. Edited with introduction and commentary by J.D. Denniston. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1954. Reprint 1st ed.1939. XLIV,225p. Cloth with dust wrps. Dust wrps damaged and repaired with acid free adhesive tape, pages a bit yellowed. 'As a work of literary and linguistic scholarship this edition shows the highest quality.' (E.D. PHILIPS in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1939, p.308). € 21.50 (Antiquarian)

EURIPIDES, Medea. In usum studiosae iuventutis recensuit et illustravit P. Elmsley. Accedunt G. Hermanni adnotationes. Olms, Hildesheim, 1967. Photomechanical reprint ed.1967. XII,428p. Fore edge a tiny bit rust stained. € 20.00 (Antiquarian)