Ancient Greece: Myth, Art, War

Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, Euripides’ Trojan Women is a lament for the fallen city and the fate of its women, destined for slavery. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo examines one of the darkest of all Greek plays, where tragedy upon tragedy is piled upon the women and children who have survived the sack of Troy – a poignant commentary on the futility of war and the plight of the weak and defenceless.

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, Euripides’ Trojan Women is a lament for the fallen city and the fate of its women, destined for slavery. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo examines one of the darkest of all Greek plays, where tragedy upon tragedy is piled upon the women and children who have survived the sack of Troy – a poignant commentary on the futility of war and the plight of the weak and defenceless.

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Staged not long after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War, the seriousness of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would not have been lost on its audience, despite it being a comedy laden with sexual humour. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo looks at the very real messages about the futility of war, the parlous state of Athens and the position of women in Athenian society in Aristophanes’ comedy of a sex strike orchestrated by women to bring their men to their knees…

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Staged not long after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War, the seriousness of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would not have been lost on its audience, despite it being a comedy laden with sexual humour. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo looks at the very real messages about the futility of war, the parlous state of Athens and the position of women in Athenian society in Aristophanes’ comedy of a sex strike orchestrated by women to bring their men to their knees…

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Staged not long after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War, the seriousness of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would not have been lost on its audience, despite it being a comedy laden with sexual humour. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo looks at the very real messages about the futility of war, the parlous state of Athens and the position of women in Athenian society in Aristophanes’ comedy of a sex strike orchestrated by women to bring their men to their knees…

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Staged not long after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War, the seriousness of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata would not have been lost on its audience, despite it being a comedy laden with sexual humour. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo looks at the very real messages about the futility of war, the parlous state of Athens and the position of women in Athenian society in Aristophanes’ comedy of a sex strike orchestrated by women to bring their men to their knees…

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Sophocles’ Ajax is one of our earliest surviving Greek plays, produced in c. 440 BC. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo examines Sophocles’ treatment of the theme of a changing world which posed new challenges and required new skills for coping – an issue only too familiar to contemporary 5th century Athenians. The ability of the adherents of the old order to cope with a new environment – or their lack of ability – is explored through the tragic figure of the hero Ajax.

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Sophocles’ Ajax is one of our earliest surviving Greek plays, produced in c. 440 BC. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo examines Sophocles’ treatment of the theme of a changing world which posed new challenges and required new skills for coping – an issue only too familiar to contemporary 5th century Athenians. The ability of the adherents of the old order to cope with a new environment – or their lack of ability – is explored through the tragic figure of the hero Ajax.

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Performed in Athens in the last years of the Peloponnesian War and when Athens had a democracy, Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis is appropriately a play about decision-making. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo traces the dramatic events in Iphigenia in Aulis leading up to the departure of the Greek fleet for Troy. Although based on a myth, Euripides’ play has never ceased to be relevant in terms of its examination of the dilemmas and circumstances in which human beings become enmeshed.

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Performed in Athens in the last years of the Peloponnesian War and when Athens had a democracy, Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis is appropriately a play about decision-making. In this lecture Dr Heather Sebo traces the dramatic events in Iphigenia in Aulis leading up to the departure of the Greek fleet for Troy. Although based on a myth, Euripides’ play has never ceased to be relevant in terms of its examination of the dilemmas and circumstances in which human beings become enmeshed.

Copyright 2013 Gillian Shepherd / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.