The Gorgon's severed head : : studies in Alcestis, Electra, and Phoenissae / / by C.A.E. Luschnig.

• Superior document: Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum, 153
• Author: Luschnig, C. A. E.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, New York : : E.J. Brill,, 1995.
• Year of Publication: 1995
• Language: English
• Series: Mnemosyne, Supplements 153.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xv, 255 pages).
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; Alcestis: The Aesthetic Identity of Alcestis and the Craftsmanship of Admetus /; Electra’s Pot and the Displacement of the Onstage and Offstage Settings in Euripides’ Electra /; Phoenissae: On Ares’ Crowns /; “Without Ideals or violence” /; Index of Lines Cited /; Index of Selected Themes and Names /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
• ISBN: 900432979X
• ISSN: 0169-8958
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by C.A.E. Luschnig.

The Gorgon's Severed Head looks at three plays of Euripides, one early, one middle and one late in his career. Innovations in genre, in the use of the traditional stories, in the representation of women and of gender issues are present at every period. In all three plays characters are depicted creating themselves and each other. Chapter One on Alcestis looks at the artistry of the two main characters and is especially concerned with finding a role for Admetus, the play's most serious problem. The second chapter treats the physical displacement of the myth in Euripides' version of the Electra-Orestes story. A last section approaches the layers of time and space in Phoenissae .