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STEHLE, Eva, Performance and Gender in Ancient Greece. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1996. XV,367p. Original grey cloth with dust wrps. Spine gilt titled. Nice copy. ‘The book consists of six chapters with an introduction and a brief conclusion. The introduction opens with six ancient reports about performances, some of which touch upon the staging or self-presentation of the performers. This self-presentation can encompass many characteristics, including the performers’ physical fitness, social status, wealth, or gender. Stehle argues that the latter was considered particularly important in antiquity and is nowadays most easily detetable, because it is reflected in the language of the texts. (… ) Sthele recognizes three types of performances in early Greece to which she relates the three major genres of poetry: (1) community performances (chapters 1-3), reflected mostly in choral poetry, (2) performances by bards of hexameter poetry (chapter 4), and (3) symposia (chapter 5), where most monodic lyric together with elegy and iambos was performed. Chapter 6 is devoted to Sappho, whose love poetry, Stehle argues, ‘ was designed to escape the tyranny of the performance culture’ (323). Another important concept discussed in the introduction is that of ‘ psychological efficacy’ (19-21). This relates to the effect a performance is supposed to have on the audience, besides entertainment. (…) There is much to recommend in this book, including the felicitous combination of performance and gender studies and the wide range of texts discussed. However, the right methodology and right material do not necessarily yield a right interpretation. I was more convinced by the chapters on male poetry (3-5) than by those on female poetry. (…) Despite these disagreements, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in archaic Greek poetry, performance, or gender studies. Even in the chapters on women’s poetry there are many valuable insights, such as Stehle’s reconstruction of the ritual in Alkman fr.1 (pp.79-85). She prints most of the poems she discusses, with translation, so that one can easily read the book by itself. The book is well written, clearly argued, and illustrates well how new methodologies can continue to shed light on these ancient texts.’ (ANDRÉ LARDINOIS in American Journal of Philology, 1998, pp.633-36). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux. € 39.50 (Antiquarian) ISBN: 9780691036175