S.'s commentary has appeared in a very prolific period of scholarship on Cyclops. The two earlier commentaries by R.G. Ussher (1978) and R. Seaford (1984), dating to more than three decades ago, provided the first solid hypomnemata on this play; Seaford's introduction, in particular, placed Cyclops within the generic context of satyr play, which had only sparingly been studied by then (from this period see also D.F. Sutton's seminal monograph on the genre, The Greek Satyr Play [1980]). The present commentary showcases the recent revival of interest in this play, alongside the collection of commentaries on Cyclops and major fragmentary satyr plays by C. Collard and P. O'Sullivan (2013), the first to be accompanied by an English translation, and the most recent ‘Green and Yellow’ commentary by R. Hunter and R. Laemmle (2020; see review in CR 71 [2021], 00–00), which emerged in the same year as the present book (see also C.A. Shaw's Bloomsbury companion to the play [2018]); this is unfortunate, as commentaries written by leading experts on the field would have greatly benefited from scholarly interaction. This fresh production of commentaries encapsulates the remarkable advance of satyric studies, especially from the late 1990s onwards. (Most significant for the study of the genre and of individual plays are N. Pechstein, Euripides Satyrographos [1998]; R. Krumeich, N. Pechstein, B. Seidensticker, Das griechische Satyrspiel [1999]; G.W.M. Harrison, Z.P. Ambrose [edd.], Satyr Drama: Tragedy at Play [2005]; W.L.G.M. Slenders, Tragoidia paizousa: Taaleigen en stijl van het klassiekgriekse satyrspel [2007]; C.A. Shaw, Satyric Play: the Evolution of Greek Comedy and Satyr Drama [2014]; M. Griffith, Greek Satyr Play: Five Studies [2015].) Given his profound expertise in satyr play, S. is a most appropriate commentator of Cyclops.
Apart from the investigation of style, form, the generic features of Cyclops and its textual transmission (pp. 16–33, 58–60), which is common to almost all commentaries on this play, S.'s introduction provides a useful chapter on staging and performance and another one on reception. His discussion of scenic space in the Theatre of Dionysus in the late fifth century bc is very learned and takes into account the recent scholarship on this much-debated issue (especially in terms of the shape of the orchestra and the question of the raised stage), which naturally affected the staging of Cyclops (pp. 34–8). I found the analysis of the masks and costumes of satyr play (pp. 41–5) particularly compelling, since it meticulously draws on the available iconographic and literary evidence as well as on the implicit staging directions of the dramatic text.
The exploration of the play's reception (pp. 53–7) is a further significant contribution of this introduction. It sheds light on its fascinating Nachleben, including the translations by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1819), which formed the libretto for the musical Cyclops: a Rock Opera (2011), and by Luigi Pirandello into Sicilian for its staging in 1919. The observations on the performance history of the play from 1868 until now showcase its vibrant cultural power.
The text, translation and commentary conform with the particular policy of De Gruyter's Griechische Dramen series: on each double-page spread the elements are arranged to include the German translation at the top of the left-hand side, followed by the text in the middle, notes on the text (including the variae lectiones of the critical apparatus) and style at the bottom, and commentary on the facing page. The commentary does not require any knowledge of Greek, and this aims at making it accessible to a wide readership; it is for this reason that S. does not cite any Greek passages, and he transliterates and translates Greek words cited in the commentary. Conversely, the left-hand page notes on text and style are addressed to the expert reader.
The translation is accurate and elegant, aiming at conveying the iambic rhythm of the original. The commentary is comprehensive and wide-ranging, as all essential information is clearly laid out. S. leaves no stone unturned, but he is also well aware of what needs to be included and what needs to be left out, thus making the material easy to navigate.
S. offers interesting observations on particular features of the form of Cyclops, in conjunction with the evidence preserved from other satyr plays. For instance, in his introductory discussion of the prologue (p. 67), S. points out that it consists only of the expository monologue, unlike most Euripidean tragedies, whose prologues comprise two or even three scenes. This choice conforms with the evidence for the practice followed in several satyr plays, such as Aeschylus’ Dictyulci and Sophocles’ Ichneutae, whose smaller length compared to tragedy accounts for prologues consisting of no more than a single scene.
The density of the information provided in the commentary emerges, for instance, from S.'s comment on v. 102. He starts by noting Silenus’ epic type of address to Odysseus and goes on to elucidate aspects of the dramatic form and function of stichomythia. As S. points out, in his later works Euripides opts for more extensive stichomythic dialogue, as opposed to Sophocles, who gradually loosens the strictness of his stichomythia. Subsequently, in the note on v. 664 S. aptly discusses the function of the term paian in the passage citing parallels from tragedy, which similarly bring forward the sinister overtones of the ode when connected with death or gruesome deeds. (On this matter see also L. Swift, The Hidden Chorus [2010], pp. 70–6.) Such elements attest to the thoroughness of the commentary, which is most rewarding for the expert, but I am not sure whether non-expert readers will want to seek out this kind of detail, which presupposes a broader knowledge of drama. A wider readership may also be discouraged by the price of the book.
The stylistic commentary at the bottom of the left-hand page will be most valuable to scholars. It may suffice to refer, for instance, to S.'s note on vv. 661–2, which elucidates the syntax and the subtle nuances of the verbs τορνεύω and ἕλκω, as well as the handicraft imagery employed in the scene of the blinding of the Cyclops. This imagery alludes to the use of the drill, which, as S. is right to point out, aptly corresponds to the earlier simile illustrating Polyphemus’ blinding with the movement of the borer back and forth in shipbuilding (vv. 460–1).
The book also comprises an appendix including a very useful metrical analysis of the lyric parts (pp. 311–18) and a concordance with J. Diggle's OCT edition (pp. 319–20), which lists all textual choices diverging from the OCT, thus demonstrating S.'s own contribution to the restoration of the text. The appendix closes with a supplement to the preceding in-depth commentary (pp. 321–32). What I missed, nonetheless, are indexes. At least a general index would have been helpful to guide the reader through the wealth of cited material.
The book is carefully and attractively printed by De Gruyter. This edition will be a fundamental resource for all future work on Cyclops and for scholarship on the genre of satyr play.
