Overview

This is the first book-length examination of the notion of gendered politics in Sophocles’ Trachiniae. Making use of feminist theory and tackling the political nature of the categories of identity, culture and sexuality, Seferiadi brings the interpretation of Sophocles’ play up-to-date with the most recent scholarly developments. She discusses the play in the light of its Amazonian and monstrous background and touches upon topics such as marriage and the exchange of women; reciprocity within a corroded system of gift-exchanges; and the dynamics of female silence and the 'impaired' hegemonic masculinity. Contributing to the topic of rape in the ancient world, this book focuses on sexual violence and the intertwinement of marriage and rape from the perspective of tragedy. With an Amazon being placed within the civilized arrangement of an oikos, the play negotiates the position of the female and advocates the need to expel the monstrous sexualities from the polis. Differing from previous analyses, this study is a reminder that female subjectivity was less foreclosed than is often tacitly assumed.

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9781350260351

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Seferiadi offers an original view on this tragedy that includes valuable discussions of its literary sources and existing scholarship. Even if her feminist reading will not convince all, her close readings shed useful light on thematic issues such as sexual violence and guilt. * The Classical Review *

Author Information

Gesthimani Seferiadi is an independent scholar, Greece. She was awarded her PhD in Classical Studies from the University of Patras, Greece. Her research focuses on classical texts, especially in Athenian tragedy, in relation to gender identities.

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