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Books by Judith Fletcher

Myths of the Underworld in Contemporary Culture, 2019

The book examines a series of twentieth and twenty-first century fictional works that adapt Greco... more The book examines a series of twentieth and twenty-first century fictional works that adapt Greco-Roman myths of the catabasis, the heroic journey to the underworld. Covering a range of genres - including novels, comics, and children's culture, by authors such as Elena Ferrante, Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, A. S. Byatt, Toni Morrison, and Anne Patchett - it reveals how an enduring fascination with life after death, and fantasies of accessing the world of the dead while we are still alive, manifest themselves in myriad and varied re-imaginings of the ancient descent myth.

A collection of essays that treats the social construction of virginity. VR includes articles on ... more A collection of essays that treats the social construction of virginity. VR includes articles on Greek mythology, medical theories about virginity, the cult of the Vestal Virgins, virginity in early Christianity, and more. My own article is on the virgin choruses of Aeschylus. It is available almost in its entirety on Google books. See the link above.

This edited volume contains articles on different aspects of the Greek Oath, including the role o... more This edited volume contains articles on different aspects of the Greek Oath, including the role of the oath in the political and legal life of Athens, the Near Eastern elements of the Greek oath, and the representation of the oath in Greek literature.

This book explores how Greek tragedy, comedy and satyr drama exploit the cultural practice of oat... more This book explores how Greek tragedy, comedy and satyr drama exploit the cultural practice of oath swearing. I argue that scenes in dramas such as Euripides' Medea reflect actual oath ceremonies, such as treaty oaths (in the case of Medea), or citizenship oaths (in the case of Sophocles' Philoctetes). I explore how the gender, status and age of oath-swearers are reflected in the felicity (to use the terminology of Speech Act theory) of the oath.

Papers by Judith Fletcher

This chapter surveys how Euripides makes reference to religious rites and discourse in a way that... more This chapter surveys how Euripides makes reference to religious rites and discourse in a way that anchors his dramas in the lived reality of his Athenian audiences. Although he often ends his plays with a reference to the establishment of a cult or ritual that offers the security of normative religious experience, the plays themselves often feature deformed rituals such as human sacrifice, or the phenomenon of “false rituals” whereby characters enact ceremonies whose purpose is to deceive their internal audience. Discussion includes Euripides’ manipulation of religious syncretism and his portrayal of priestesses.

This chapter examines women's oaths in ancient Greek historiography, forensic rhetoric, literatur... more This chapter examines women's oaths in ancient Greek historiography, forensic rhetoric, literature and inscriptions.

Judith Fletcher, “The Curse as a Garment in Greek Tragedy,” in Spinning Fates and the Song of the... more Judith Fletcher, “The Curse as a Garment in Greek Tragedy,” in Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom: the use of textiles, clothing and cloth production as metaphor, symbol and narrative device in Greek and Latin literature. Nosch, Marie Louise Bech (Editor); Harlow, Mary (Editor); Fanfani, Giovanni (Editor). Oxbow Books, 2016. (Ancient Textile Series).
All three of the tragedians feature a deadly robe deployed by a woman against a man: Clytemnestra uses a cloth to swaddle Agamemnon before she kills him in Aeschylus; Sophocles’ Trachiniae features a corrosive robe that destroys Heracles; Euripides’ Medea destroys Jason’s new bride with a flesh eating garment. In this essay I argue that the tragedians adapted the idea from a traditional image that stems back to Hittite, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Old Testament magic and ritual. My hypothesis is based on a group of ancient Near Eastern texts and inscriptions that employ the analogy of clothing for curses, oaths and spells.

This paper explores the relationship between law and justice in Aristophanes' Ecclesiazusae

In this article I examine the various oaths that Hermes offers to exculpate himself from charges ... more In this article I examine the various oaths that Hermes offers to exculpate himself from charges of cattle theft.

This paper examines an epic formula "thus she spoke and her words remained wingless" that occurs ... more This paper examines an epic formula "thus she spoke and her words remained wingless" that occurs only in the Odyssey. I argue that the formula is associated with doorways, boundaries between gendered spaces, and the figure of Eurykeia, the nurse.

This paper analyzes the Odyssean allusions in Morrison's Song of Solomon, and identifies the the... more This paper analyzes the Odyssean allusions in Morrison's Song of Solomon, and identifies the theme of the Catabasis (voyage to the Underworld) which is associated with rites of passage in Classical mythology.

This paper argues that the Coen Brothers’ 2010 version of True Grit makes innovations to the orig... more This paper argues that the Coen Brothers’ 2010 version of True Grit makes innovations to the original novel by Charles Por- tis that evoke the Greek myth of the descent to the underworld, or catabasis.

Byatt's Angels and Insects feature two novellas, set in Victorian England, that are linked by an ... more Byatt's Angels and Insects feature two novellas, set in Victorian England, that are linked by an Odyssean intertext.

This paper identifies Barth's Lost in the Funhouse as a postmodern pastiche of Homer's Odyssey.

COLLEGE LITERATURE: A JOURNAL OF CRITICAL LITERARY STUDIES 41.2 Spring 2014

This paper examines how the narrative voice of the Chorus elides with the voices of characters in... more This paper examines how the narrative voice of the Chorus elides with the voices of characters in the first stasimon of Agamemnon.

Performance in Greek and Roman Theatre, ed. Liapos and Harrison

This paper explores the issue of law in Euripides' Hecuba. I am interested in the status of the d... more This paper explores the issue of law in Euripides' Hecuba. I am interested in the status of the decree, passed by the assembly of the Greek army, to sacrifice Polyxena to the ghost of Achilles. How would an Athenian audience react to this decree, which replicates there own democratic law making? Hecuba claims that the sacrifice of her daughter is a form of murder, and she notes that the Greeks have laws against this crime. The text insists that its audiences negotiate competing claims to legal authority, and implicates the Athenian spectator in the spectacle of Polyxena's sacrifice.

Myths of the Underworld in Contemporary Culture, 2019

The book examines a series of twentieth and twenty-first century fictional works that adapt Greco... more The book examines a series of twentieth and twenty-first century fictional works that adapt Greco-Roman myths of the catabasis, the heroic journey to the underworld. Covering a range of genres - including novels, comics, and children's culture, by authors such as Elena Ferrante, Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, A. S. Byatt, Toni Morrison, and Anne Patchett - it reveals how an enduring fascination with life after death, and fantasies of accessing the world of the dead while we are still alive, manifest themselves in myriad and varied re-imaginings of the ancient descent myth.

A collection of essays that treats the social construction of virginity. VR includes articles on ... more A collection of essays that treats the social construction of virginity. VR includes articles on Greek mythology, medical theories about virginity, the cult of the Vestal Virgins, virginity in early Christianity, and more. My own article is on the virgin choruses of Aeschylus. It is available almost in its entirety on Google books. See the link above.

This edited volume contains articles on different aspects of the Greek Oath, including the role o... more This edited volume contains articles on different aspects of the Greek Oath, including the role of the oath in the political and legal life of Athens, the Near Eastern elements of the Greek oath, and the representation of the oath in Greek literature.

This book explores how Greek tragedy, comedy and satyr drama exploit the cultural practice of oat... more This book explores how Greek tragedy, comedy and satyr drama exploit the cultural practice of oath swearing. I argue that scenes in dramas such as Euripides' Medea reflect actual oath ceremonies, such as treaty oaths (in the case of Medea), or citizenship oaths (in the case of Sophocles' Philoctetes). I explore how the gender, status and age of oath-swearers are reflected in the felicity (to use the terminology of Speech Act theory) of the oath.

This chapter surveys how Euripides makes reference to religious rites and discourse in a way that... more This chapter surveys how Euripides makes reference to religious rites and discourse in a way that anchors his dramas in the lived reality of his Athenian audiences. Although he often ends his plays with a reference to the establishment of a cult or ritual that offers the security of normative religious experience, the plays themselves often feature deformed rituals such as human sacrifice, or the phenomenon of “false rituals” whereby characters enact ceremonies whose purpose is to deceive their internal audience. Discussion includes Euripides’ manipulation of religious syncretism and his portrayal of priestesses.

This chapter examines women's oaths in ancient Greek historiography, forensic rhetoric, literatur... more This chapter examines women's oaths in ancient Greek historiography, forensic rhetoric, literature and inscriptions.

Judith Fletcher, “The Curse as a Garment in Greek Tragedy,” in Spinning Fates and the Song of the... more Judith Fletcher, “The Curse as a Garment in Greek Tragedy,” in Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom: the use of textiles, clothing and cloth production as metaphor, symbol and narrative device in Greek and Latin literature. Nosch, Marie Louise Bech (Editor); Harlow, Mary (Editor); Fanfani, Giovanni (Editor). Oxbow Books, 2016. (Ancient Textile Series).
All three of the tragedians feature a deadly robe deployed by a woman against a man: Clytemnestra uses a cloth to swaddle Agamemnon before she kills him in Aeschylus; Sophocles’ Trachiniae features a corrosive robe that destroys Heracles; Euripides’ Medea destroys Jason’s new bride with a flesh eating garment. In this essay I argue that the tragedians adapted the idea from a traditional image that stems back to Hittite, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Old Testament magic and ritual. My hypothesis is based on a group of ancient Near Eastern texts and inscriptions that employ the analogy of clothing for curses, oaths and spells.

This paper explores the relationship between law and justice in Aristophanes' Ecclesiazusae

In this article I examine the various oaths that Hermes offers to exculpate himself from charges ... more In this article I examine the various oaths that Hermes offers to exculpate himself from charges of cattle theft.

This paper examines an epic formula "thus she spoke and her words remained wingless" that occurs ... more This paper examines an epic formula "thus she spoke and her words remained wingless" that occurs only in the Odyssey. I argue that the formula is associated with doorways, boundaries between gendered spaces, and the figure of Eurykeia, the nurse.

This paper analyzes the Odyssean allusions in Morrison's Song of Solomon, and identifies the the... more This paper analyzes the Odyssean allusions in Morrison's Song of Solomon, and identifies the theme of the Catabasis (voyage to the Underworld) which is associated with rites of passage in Classical mythology.

This paper argues that the Coen Brothers’ 2010 version of True Grit makes innovations to the orig... more This paper argues that the Coen Brothers’ 2010 version of True Grit makes innovations to the original novel by Charles Por- tis that evoke the Greek myth of the descent to the underworld, or catabasis.

Byatt's Angels and Insects feature two novellas, set in Victorian England, that are linked by an ... more Byatt's Angels and Insects feature two novellas, set in Victorian England, that are linked by an Odyssean intertext.

This paper identifies Barth's Lost in the Funhouse as a postmodern pastiche of Homer's Odyssey.

COLLEGE LITERATURE: A JOURNAL OF CRITICAL LITERARY STUDIES 41.2 Spring 2014

This paper examines how the narrative voice of the Chorus elides with the voices of characters in... more This paper examines how the narrative voice of the Chorus elides with the voices of characters in the first stasimon of Agamemnon.

Performance in Greek and Roman Theatre, ed. Liapos and Harrison

This paper explores the issue of law in Euripides' Hecuba. I am interested in the status of the d... more This paper explores the issue of law in Euripides' Hecuba. I am interested in the status of the decree, passed by the assembly of the Greek army, to sacrifice Polyxena to the ghost of Achilles. How would an Athenian audience react to this decree, which replicates there own democratic law making? Hecuba claims that the sacrifice of her daughter is a form of murder, and she notes that the Greeks have laws against this crime. The text insists that its audiences negotiate competing claims to legal authority, and implicates the Athenian spectator in the spectacle of Polyxena's sacrifice.

Theatre Journal, Jan 1, 2003

The Play of Texts and Fragments Essays in Honour of Martin Cropp, 2009

J. Fletcher (2009) "Weaving Women's Songs in Euripides Ion, " In The Play of Texts and Fragments,... more J. Fletcher (2009) "Weaving Women's Songs in Euripides Ion, " In The Play of Texts and Fragments, ed , J.R.C. Cousland and James R. Hume, Leiden,