Sophocles' Philoctetes and the Great Soul Robbery
eBook - PDF

Sophocles' Philoctetes and the Great Soul Robbery

  1. 282 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Sophocles' Philoctetes and the Great Soul Robbery

About this book

Norman Austin brings both keen insight and a life-long engagement with his subject to this study of Sophocles' late tragedy Philoctetes, a fifth-century BCE play adapted from an infamous incident during the Trojan War. In Sophocles' "Philoctetes" and the Great Soul Robbery, Austin examines the rich layers of text as well as context, situating the play within the historical and political milieu of the eclipse of Athenian power. He presents a study at once of interest to the classical scholar and accessible to the general reader. Though the play, written near the end of Sophocles' career, is not as familiar to modern audiences as his Theban plays, Philoctetes grapples with issues—social, psychological, and spiritual—that remain as much a part of our lives today as they were for their original Athenian audience.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Sophocles' Philoctetes and the Great Soul Robbery by Norman Austin in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Ancient & Classical Drama. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Preface
  3. Map of Ancient Greece
  4. Introduction
  5. 1. The Problem of Translation
  6. 2. The Strong Poet: Tradition versus Originality
  7. 3. The Prologos (Verses 1–134)
  8. 4. The Parodos (Verses 135–218)
  9. 5. The First Episode (Verses 219–675)
  10. 6. The Stasimon (Verses 676–729)
  11. 7. The Second Episode (Verses 730–826)
  12. 8. The First Kommos (Verses 827–864)
  13. 9. The Third Episode (Verses 865–1080)
  14. 10. The Second Kommos (Verses 1081–1217)
  15. 11. The Exodos (Verses 1218–1471)
  16. 12. Heracles: Deus ex Machina
  17. Appendix: The Problem of Helenus’s Prophecy and Its Relationship to Neoptolemus
  18. Notes
  19. Bibliography
  20. Index