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"The author examines the social setting and function of ancient Greek theatre throughout the thousand years of its perfrmance history. Instead of using written sources, which were intended for only a small educated section of the population, he draws most of his evidence from a wide range of archeological material -- from cheap, mass-produced vases and figurines to elegant silverware produced for the dining tables of the wealthy. This is the first study to examine the function and impact of the theatre in ancient Greek society by employing an archeological approach." For reasons which should be clear, this is a scholarly production. While it is well written and readable, it remains a weighty tome. The author assembles evidenc for his picture of theatre which far from the 'literary' view which many of us inherited from previous generations. In this sense it is an excellent 'deconstruction' of myths which have been widely disseminatewd about ancient Greek and Roman theatre. For all these reasons it is not a book for someone new to the field.
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