Politics and Gender Conflict in Greek Drama (Jon Hesk University of St Andrews)

This is the famous ‘Boston krater’ of approx. 470 BCE which depicts Agamemnon enveloped in a diaphanous net and Aegisthus about to kill him with a sword. Clytemnestra follows directly behind him with a double axe in her right hand.

This is the other side of the Boston Krater. Orestes slays Aegisthus while Clytemnestra tries to stop him with her double-axe. Both these scenes depict the story with a different emphasis to that of Aeschylus’ Oresteia (458 BC). In the latter, the ‘gender conflict’ is played up by having Clytemnestra alone killing Agamemnon and having Orestes confront only Clytemnestra on-stage before killing her.

ANOTHER IMAGE OF ARISTOPHANIC THEATREa 4th century vase from Italy showing a scene from Aristophanes' Women at the Thesmophoria: a useful illustration to bear in mind when trying to visualise some of the action of Lysistrata

‘GETTY BIRDS’'Getty Birds' (a 5th century Athenian vase showing two comic actors costumed as birds, though probably not from Birds itself: note the masks, phallus, body-stockings etc., as well as the piper who accompanied lyric sections of drama)

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Boston MFA 98.883: Attic red-figure pelike vase (c. 450 BC) by Phiale painter depicting male actors dressing up as female characters (probably a tragic chorus)