Children in Greek Tragedy

Astyanax is thrown from the walls of Troy; Medeia kills her children as an act of vengeance against her husband; Aias reflects with sorrow on his son's inheritance yet kills himself and leaves Eurysakes vulnerable to his enemies. The pathos created by threats to children is a notable feature of Greek tragedy but does not in itself explain the broad range of situations in which the ancient playwrights chose to employ such threats. <p/>Rather than casting children in tragedy as simple figures of pathos this volume proposes a new paradigm to understand their roles emphasizing their dangerous potential as the future adults of myth. Although they are largely silent passive figures on stage children exert a dramatic force that transcends their limited physical presence and are in fact theatrically complex creations who pose a danger to the major characters. Their multiple projected lives create dramatic palimpsests which are paradoxically more significant than their immediate emotional effects: children are never killed because of their immediate weakness but because of their potential strength. <p/>This re-evaluation of the significance of child characters in Greek tragedy draws on a fresh examination of the evidence for child actors in fifth-century Athens which concludes that the physical presence of children was a significant factor in their presentation. However child roles can only be fully appreciated as theatrical phenomena utilizing the inherent ambiguities of drama: as such case studies of particular plays and playwrights are underpinned by detailed analysis of staging considerations opening up new avenues for interpretation and challenging traditional models of children in tragedy.<br>