Ancient Greek Tragedy: a study on the nature of Dystopianism

Abstract

This thesis concerns dystopianism on the Athenian Tragic stage in the fifth century BC. It reconsiders Zeitlin's view that Thebes was the mirror image of Athens and instead argues Argos represents the anti-Athens. It also explore how Thebes and Argos were portrayed, arguing that although both were 'Sin Cities', the way they were portrayed on the tragic stage was substantially different. The key themes that are examined in order to reach this conclusion are: the position and role of women especially rearguing the polis/oikos relationship and the position of the hero in the city