Anthropology (catch all)

[RJO]

(I just came across this thread. Apologies if it's expired and no longer of interest.)

Jonathan Shay in Achilles in Vietnam argues that one of the functions of Athenian theater was the reintegration of combat veterans into civil society. From his footnote on pp. 229-230:

The ancient Greeks had a distinctive therapy of purification, healing, and reintegration that was undertaken by the whole community. We know it as Athenian theater. While a complete presentation is beyond the scope of this book, I want to summarize my view that the distinctive character of Athenian theater came from the requirements of a democratic polity made up entirely of present or former soldiers to provide communalization for combat veterans.... The Athenians communally reintegrated their returning warriors in recurring participation in rituals of the theater. The key elements of my argument are: the notable military backgrounds of Aeschylus and Sophocles; the prominence of military matters in the processions and ceremonies held before and between theatrical events; the use of the theater (according to Aristotle) for military training graduations; ... the distinctively transgressive character of the actions of the powerful main characters, played against themis [rightness/justice] voiced by the disempowered chorus; and that the centuries-old controversy over what Aristotle meant when he said that tragedy brings about katharsis of compassion and terror can be resolved by reference to the experience of combat veterans. [etc.]

There is a stunning version of Aeschylus' Agamemnon now available online in ten parts.

RJO

[marct]

Hi Bob,

(I just came across this thread. Apologies if it's expired and no longer of interest.)

Jonathan Shay in Achilles in Vietnam argues that one of the functions of Athenian theater was the reintegration of combat veterans into civil society. From his footnote on pp. 229-230:

There is a stunning version of Aeschylus' Agamemnon now available online in ten parts.

RJO

Thanks for the reference and the link! I did a lot of research on theatre as a community integration tool in my MA and PhD (more in the MA). As a communal integration tool, it is really amazing, although somewhat tricky to use in the modern world.

Marc