Electra
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra
Electra e-journal is a periodical electronic edition issued by the <a href="http://mythreligion.philology.upatras.gr">Centre for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquity</a>, founded by the Patras University Department of Philology.Centre for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquityen-USElectra1792-605X<table border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <a rel="xh:license license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/gr/"><img style="border-width: 0pt" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Άδεια Creative Commons" /></a> </td> <td> This content is licensed under a <a rel="xh:license license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/gr/">Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported </a>.<br /> </td></tr> </tbody></table>Editorial
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/4377
Menelaos Christopoulos
Copyright (c) 2023 Electra
2023-04-272023-04-27111110.26220/ele.4377Translating and Directing the Oresteia of Aeschylus
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/4378
The consensus is among theater people that to translate and direct Aeschylean drama for a modern audience is a major task and even more so is the task of translating and directing the Oresteia. The Classics Department of the University of Canterbury undertook this task when I translated and directed the Oresteia for the Christchurch stage in New Zealand. The article discusses the directorial choices made in terms of compressing this epic drama into a smaller theater space, especially in handling in an effective way the parodos and first stasimon of the Agamemnon.Robin Bond
Copyright (c) 2023 Electra
2023-04-272023-04-271112210.26220/ele.4378"Le plus beau produit de l’année": les motivations du sacrifice d’Iphigénie dans Iphigénie en Tauride d'Euripide
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/4379
The reason for Iphigenia's sacrifice set out by Euripides in the Iphigenia in Tauris -Agamemnon's rash vow to sacrifice the most beautiful fruit of the year- is unique in the tradition of the myth. In this paper, I aim to show that this version can be interpreted in the light of two rituals, the proteleia and the first fruits offerings, what is consistent with Iphigenia's symbolical function in the play.Ajda Latisfes
Copyright (c) 2023 Electra
2023-04-272023-04-2711233810.26220/ele.4379The Heroic Cult of Agamemnon
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/4380
The Atrid Agamemnon received cult in two Peloponnesian towns, Mycenae and Amyklai, both of which claimed to have his grave. The conflicting reports about the location of his grave correspond to early variations in the literary tradition about the location of the murder of the king and his consort Kassandra. The Lakonian version of the legend and the cult associated with it may have been promoted by the Spartans when they aspired to become the sovereigns of the Peloponnese.<br />Despite the heroic origins of Agamemnon, a persistent scholarly opinion assumes that the Spartans worshipped him as a manifestation of Zeus, a belief based on the reference of later literary sources to a cult of Zeus-Agamemnon. In this paper I aim to conclusively disprove the divine worship of Agamemnon in Lakonia and argue instead that he received heroic worship from the establishment of the sanctuary at Amyklai along with his consort Kassandra, known locally as Alexandra. The fusion of Zeus with Agamemnon was relatively late and probably the invention of the poet Lykophron.Gina Salapata
Copyright (c) 2023 Electra
2023-04-272023-04-2711396010.26220/ele.4380Agamemnon in Herodotus and Thucydides: Exploring the historical uses of a mythological paradigm
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/4381
This paper explores the use of the myth of Agamemnon in Herodotus and Thucydides. I argue that the deployment of Agamemnon in their works is shaped by, and sheds additional light on, the historians’ attitude toward myth (and its use in rhetoric), their narrative aims and historical outlook. Herodotus’ readiness to embrace myth in both narrative and speeches, his representation of complex motivation, his description of the conflict between the Greeks and the Persians, and his panhellenic outlook, influence the function of Agamemnon: as king of Sparta and the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, he reflects the idealistic and pragmatic motivation of the Spartans in the context of the Persian Wars. Agamemnon’s function in Thucydides is different since it is affected by the general avoidance of mythological argument – especially in rhetoric – and its merely relative significance, the description of a war between the Greeks, Thucydides’ pragmatism, and his writing for posterity: aptly replaced by Sparta’s Dorianism in the context of the war against Athens, Agamemnon becomes a contemporary tyrant king who may represent any city or individual yearning for power and empire.Vasiliki Zali
Copyright (c) 2023 Electra
2023-04-272023-04-2711619810.26220/ele.4381Asclepius the Healer
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/3535
<p>Asclepius was the most popular healing deity of the ancient Graeco-Roman world. There are several reasons for this status. It was believed that he had been born a mortal, had trained in medicine and, in one version of his story, had been killed by Zeus for saving too many lives. Asclepius could thus be thought to have been more sympathetic to human problems than other gods, especially the Olympians.</p><p>Testimonials from grateful suppliants record the god’s successful therapies. It is interesting to note that they also preserve the doubts of sceptics, even if only to confound them with stories of Asclepius’ healing miracles. Nevertheless, the fact that refutation was thought to be necessary indicates a degree of sensitivity on the part of temple authorities. Despite the scepticism of some in the ancient world, many, perhaps most, believed in the ability of Asclepius to heal; otherwise, his cult would not have been as popular as it obviously was.</p>Joan Stivala
Copyright (c) 2020 Electra
2020-12-162020-12-161110212110.26220/ele.3535BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX ON ASCLEPIUS
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/3536
This Appendix brings together the most relevant to Asclepius bibliographical items and is meant as a guide for further reading (complementarily to the bibliographies of the articles featuring in this volume). The Appendix owes much to the suggestions of Christos Zafeiropoulos (University of Patras).Athina Papachrysostomou
Copyright (c) 2020 Electra
2020-12-162020-12-161112212510.26220/ele.3536Table of Contents
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/3529
Table of ContentsAngeliki Giannopoulou
Copyright (c) 2020 Electra
2020-12-162020-12-161110.26220/ele.3529Editorial
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/3530
Menelaos Christopoulos
Copyright (c) 2020 Electra
2020-12-162020-12-16111310.26220/ele.3530Ambiguous Snake Manipulations: The ‘Powers’ and Entity of Health in Antiquity
https://pasithee.library.upatras.gr/electra/article/view/3531
<p>The aim of this paper is to divulge into the ambiguous role of the snake and its establishment as a healing agent in the ancient world through literary and material records. As the snake has acquired various roles in antiquity, it is unclear which role is predominant over others, this is why it is significant to analyze each to determine the snake’s core purpose in Greco-Roman antiquity. It was seen as a pet and protector of the household, which justifies its relationship with sustaining the well-being of the people. In addition, the snake was considered a religious symbol, such as the <em>lares</em>, again revealing its protective role. It was a prolonger of life with its curative knowledge and ‘powers’ but was the cause of death. It was an additive in recipes meant to heal the sick but was also the cause of some illness with its poisonous venom. Its association with Asclepius and his healing cult helps shape the snake’s function as a symbol and as a physical entity in the realm of health. Its ability to facilitate both the negative and positive allows that ambiguity to remain uninterrupted. I will argue that by examining the different faculties that the snake is associated with, the snake’s role remains, chiefly, as a manipulator of health, both beneficial and harmful.</p>Jazz Demetrioff
Copyright (c) 2020 Electra
2020-12-162020-12-161142910.26220/ele.3531