Volume: Volume 7, Issue 2

A queer reading of Euripides’ the Baccahe, a tragedy of the fifth century BC. This paper addresses the ways in which female bodies escape the confines of their oikos, of the polis, of reproductive futurism and ultimately of an essentialized identity, while attaining an alternative identification. Narratives of violence, commodification and objectification of the body are exposed through the dialectic of the gaze. The notion of performativity of the body comes to the forefront as it is directly connected to the exposition of a queer identity. The definitional boundaries of the body are explored through queer studies, feminism, psychoanalysis and phenomenology. The possibility for same-sex desire emerges, exposing the complexity of female sexuality. The transformation of Agave to a radical subject through subversive acts of agency is revealed. This paper signals at the creation of a space for the recognition of queer kinship challenging reproductive futurism. I propose a number of avenues for further research, particularly in developing linkages between the various strands of the sparagmos and queer futurity.

Along the widespread flint rocks of Nea Artaki, Euboea (Evia), in the years 1977-1978 I detected open sites with rock processing residues for the construction of Palaeolithic tools, whereas evidence of settlements with thousands of tools were found in the coastal area. Nea Artaki used to be a major attracting pole for hunters and nomads, mainly for the construction of stone tools, from the Lower Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic period. The area has been declared an archeological site since 1985, but its prehistoric site was largely destroyed after the settlement expanded over the few years. Amongst the numerous stone tools I saved, a diversity of handaxes, cleavers, clactonian flakes etc. presented herein, are in consistency with the standards of the Lower Palaeolithic period. The scarcity of Palaeolithic quarry sites in Greece, the density, the number, the variety of artifacts from different periods, their extent on the ground surface, as well as the specificity of the composition of the locally available flints – which are being eliminated following their use as building materials at present – shall indicate the urgency for the effective protection of communal sites and one of the most significant open palaeolithic sites in Greece.

Euripides’ play the Bacchae, is a profoundly social and political play where matters of significance like women’s rights, freedom of expression along with established social order and patriarchy are addressed. Euripides’ barbarian women become the means of resistance in the struggle of the superior males to retain their position in society without disrupting established order as it is defined by them. It seems that the opponent awe of patriarchy is “the other” i.e. the barbarian Bacchae or the maenads who were barbarized due to the Dionysian mania. Additionally, the deviation from established order leads to barbarism as one notices in the barbarian women’s conduct or Pentheus’ effeminacy which constitutes an act of barbarism in itself.

The political views of John Fitzgerald Kennedy seem to be deeply inspired by the ideals of liberty, equality and democratic governance of classical Greece, established and widely accepted in the western world as the “cradle of democracy”. His persuasive rhetoric often includes quotes and symbolism from the legacy and splendour of ancient Athens, its standard values and democratic principles, as well as its legal and political institutions. Kennedy quotes the encomium of Pericles’ Funeral Oration to the exemplary democratic system of Athens to juxtapose it to the values of liberty of his homeland, which differentiate it from other states in the eyes of the world; both Athens and Massachusetts are proved to be a special example, a “City upon a Hill”, because of their unique political achievements (for freedom and against tyranny).