Screening Love and War in Troy: Fall of a City - (Imagines - Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing) (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This is the first volume of essays published on the television series Troy: Fall of a City (BBC One and Netflix, 2018). Covering an engaging range of topics, such as gender, race and politics, international scholars in the fields of classics, history and film studies discuss how the story of Troy has been recreated on screen to suit the expectations of a modern audience. This series was praised for its thought-provoking way of handling important the issues which affected the mythical city of Troy and which continue to impact our present society. Divided into discussions on epic narrative, cast and character, as well as tragic resonances, the contributors tackle gender roles by exploring the new ways in which the mythic feminine figures such as Helen, Aphrodite and the Amazons were depicted in the series. An examination is also made into the concept of the hero and how the conventional representation of masculinity was challenged. We encounter a significant discussion on race which focuses on the controversial decision to cast Achilles, Patrocolus, Zeus and other characters with black actors. Several essays deal with the moral and ethical complexities surrounding warfare, power and politics. The often overlooked significance of costume and the influence of design is also discussed"--

Book Synopsis

This is the first volume of essays published on the television series Troy: Fall of a City (BBC One and Netflix, 2018). Covering a wide range of engaging topics, such as gender, race and politics, international scholars in the fields of classics, history and film studies discuss how the story of Troy has been recreated on screen to suit the expectations of modern audiences. The series is commended for the thought-provoking way it handles important issues arising from the Trojan War narrative that continue to impact our society today.

With discussions centered on epic narrative, cast and character, as well as tragic resonances, the contributors tackle gender roles by exploring the innovative ways in which mythological female figures such as Helen, Aphrodite and the Amazons are depicted in the series. An examination is also made into the concept of the hero and how the series challenges conventional representations of masculinity. We encounter a significant investigation of race focusing on the controversial casting of Achilles, Patroclus, Zeus and other series characters with Black actors. Several essays deal with the moral and ethical complexities surrounding warfare, power and politics. The significance of costume and production design are also explored throughout the volume.

Review Quotes

"Screening Love and War in Troy: Fall of a City helps orient viewers to the series' many points of reference in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, literature, and art, including the lost Epic Cycle, traditions of tragic drama, and Virgil's Aeneid alongside the foundational Homeric Iliad. The chapters offer a range of approaches to topics in the story, in the series as an example of television and cinema, and in how both have been received by audiences. This volume is a thought-provoking study of Troy: Fall of a City and is likely to be of interest to fans as well as other students of classical receptions on screen." -- Benjamin Eldon Stevens, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classical Studies, Trinity University, USA

About the Author

Antony Augoustakis is Professor of Classics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is the author of Motherhood and the Other: Fashioning Female Power in Flavian Epic (2010) and Statius, Thebaid 8 (2016). He is the editor of the Brill Companion to Silius Italicus (2010), Ritual and Religion in Flavian Epic (2013), Flavian Poetry and its Greek Past (2014), Oxford Readings in Flavian Epic (2016), and co-editor of the Blackwell Companion to Terence (with Ariana Traill, 2013), STARZ Spartacus: Reimagining an Icon on Screen (with Monica S. Cyrino, 2017), and Epic Heroes on Screen (with Stacie Raucci, 2018).

Monica S. Cyrino is Professor of Classics at the University of New Mexico, USA. She is the author of Aphrodite (2010), A Journey through Greek Mythology (2008), Big Screen Rome (2005), and In Pandora's Jar: Lovesickness in Early Greek Poetry (1995). She is the editor of Rome, Season Two: Trial and Triumph (2015), Screening Love and Sex in the Ancient World (2013), Rome, Season One: History Makes Television (2008), and co-editor of Classical Myth on Screen (with Meredith E. Safran, 2015), and STARZ Spartacus: Reimagining an Icon on Screen (with Antony Augoustakis, 2017).