Cassandra: logos and katastrophé on the Greek contemporary stage

  • Gilda Tentorio University of Pavia
Keywords: Cassandra, Theatre, Greece, Crisis, Logos

Abstract

In Greece, contemporary literature and theatre often resort to myth, above all to the Atrides, when they reflect on their recent history. In the last few years the theatre has been interested in Cassandra, the enigmatic prophetess who is the last witness of the collapse of civilization and visits our present on the weak raft of Memory and Tradition. Ancient Greeks killed her but modern Greeks still need her: in a country severely affected by the crisis, they are unable to describe the catastrophe. The authors focus on the problem of the logos: which language will Cassandra use to talk to XXI century? They also wonder which is her home in the post-mythical and post-modern era. The aim of this paper is to underline the original Greek approach to this mythical character: three paradigmatic plays (Flourakis’ Kassy, 2006; Pontikas’ Neighing, 2009; Dimitriadis’ Annunciation of Cassandra, 2009) employ a frantic, anti-conventional narration in the attempt to find the logos that conveys what can hardly be disclosed. 

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Author Biography

Gilda Tentorio, University of Pavia

Gilda Tentorio - University of Pavia, Modern Greek Language and Literature - email: gilda.tentorio@gmail.com

MA Classics (Milan), PhD Classics (Torino), Lecturer in Modern Greek Language and Literature (2007-9: University of Florence; since 2014: University of Pavia). Post-doctoral scholarship in Athens (2010): “Rewriting Myth in Contemporary Greek Theatre: postmodern Trends in Intertextuality and Meta-Theatre”. Research fields: Reception of Classics, Identity, Journey, Postmodern and Theatre. In Stratagemmi. Prospettive Teatrali web magazine, Editor of “Sguardi sulla Grecia”, outline of Greek theatre. Theatre reviewer for various journals.

Book: Binari, ruote & ali in Grecia. Immagini letterarie e veicoli di senso (2015); Sguardi sul teatro greco contemporaneo Società, identità, postmoderno (Dossier “Culture Teatrali” 2014); Articles in books: Atene e Acropoli. Proiezioni mentali e inquietudini nell’immaginario greco contemporaneo (2014); Avere le ali è la cosa più bella”. Riflessi metateatrali negli Uccelli di Aristofane e in alcune regie moderne (2014); Un logos décharné pour Makronissos et Ithaque: Yannis Ritsos et Dimitris Dimitriadis (2015). Translations (novels, poetry, essays, theatre).

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Published
2017-12-01
How to Cite
Tentorio, G. (2017). Cassandra: logos and katastrophé on the Greek contemporary stage. Between, 7(14). https://doi.org/10.13125/2039-6597/2699
Section
The Tragic in the Contemporary Scene