The rich field of scholarly production on Aeschylus’ Agamemnon has become yet richer with this Aris & Phillips edition by Edith Hall. It presents the edited Greek text and a facing English translation, along with a substantial critical introduction and commentary. A detailed metrical appendix is included which guides the reader through metrical transitions and their thematic significance, followed by a full bibliography, the result of frequent references to scholarship throughout the introduction and commentary.
At 103 pages, the introduction is twice the standard length for this series, and Hall wastes no space elucidating the Agamemnon’s cultural and literary contexts, its thematic positioning in relation to the other two plays of the Oresteia trilogy and its reception in antiquity through to the modern era. Throughout the introduction, the discussion effectively weaves ideological and political questions with character analysis (e.g. 19–21 on the chorus). There is much content on Aeschylean vocabulary (e.g. the ‘sensory’ language and staging of the play, 57–62), and Hall coins the term ‘morphogenesis’ to describe Aeschylus’ evolving, recapitulative style and use of poetic models (73–74). The section on religion includes a helpful analysis of the mythological genesis of the Erinyes. Hall highlights the cultural significance of this narrative, its implications for Aeschylus’ exploration of intergenerational violence and retributive justice, and the Hesiodic undercurrents of these themes (52–57).
One of the most satisfying features of this work is its comprehensiveness. Critical insights that are established in the introduction are signalled again in the commentary, with frequent cross-referencing to facilitate the reader who is consulting a specific line in the text. For instance, the political and gendered dimensions to knowledge is a recurrent theme. It manifests in the chorus’ democratic attempts to verify information and in Clytemnestra’s acquisition and management of knowledge, including rumours. Its significance is demonstrated in the introduction (12, 23) and subsequently elucidated in the commentary (363).
Hall’s Greek text is accompanied by a modest apparatus. In the introductory summary of text-critical milestones for the Agamemnon, she characterizes textual problems as having, for the most part, little bearing on ‘meaning or dramatic effect’ (98). The editorial choices at lines 872 and 1442–43, which are often emended, are notable for their impact on Clytemnestra’s characterization. The translation, as per the aim of the series, is designed to be accessible. It succeeds in rendering Aeschylean imagery and aural play through fluid, poetic English. There is a clarity in Hall’s use of the English language that simultaneously conveys meaning and the mood of the play, with alliteration, sound patterns and internal rhyme featuring throughout (see e.g. lines 36–37, 240, 991, 1389–90). The translation also captures the register of Aeschylus’ characters. Clytemnestra’s rhetorical ‘strangeness’ (Ag. 871, 958) and haughty, effective use of language is communicated with punchy translations: ‘Our house doesn’t know how to be poor’ (line 962). Both Agamemnon’s and Clytemnestra’s language can be devastatingly forceful. They respectively refer to Cassandra as ‘an outstanding ornament’ (line 953) and ‘pounded by the sailors’ masts’ (line 1442). The obscure language of the choral odes is rendered with due attention to Aeschylus’ technical expressions, and includes metaphors that do not always appear in other translations (e.g. the ‘ship’ metaphors in lines 183 and 1010).
The commentary is the standout feature of this edition, and even by the standards of the Aris & Phillips series it is substantial, serving as an erudite and informative accompaniment to the translation. A standard entry may include a literal translation and grammatical explanation; parallel word usages from across Greek literature; historical and geographical detail (e.g. the origins of the game of dice at line 32; the Hermaean mount on Lemnos and nearby cults at lines 282–84); and literary-critical analysis which sheds light on characters’ motivations (e.g. lines 948, 1025) and thematic development (e.g. lines 427–28). It is useful to draw comparisons with the recent valuable offering of Leah R. Himmelhoch (Aeschylus: Agamemnon (London, 2023)), which supports first-time readers with line-by-line grammatical breakdowns in the commentary and the use of brackets in the translation. While explanations of morphology and syntax are not as systematic in Hall’s commentary, her emphasis on word meaning and the lexical significance of Aeschylus’ vocabulary is enormously beneficial to students and scholars of Greek. Naturally there are correspondences and divergences in their texts and translations (e.g. they differ in the translation of ἐκπατίοις in line 49), but it is interesting to observe that both Himmelhoch and Hall restore ἱστοτρίβης in line 1443 (see also the Loeb edition by A.H. Sommerstein (Cambridge MA, 2009)). Hall’s translation avoids awkward, archaic English, and the commentary not only aids comprehension of the play, but enhances our appreciation of the Greek text. It will undoubtedly be of use to first-time and experienced readers and will service a number of avenues of research.
