Prelude

This Prelude, which may be read as a supplement to the Introduction, aims at situating adaptations of Greek tragedy in their historical context. This volume’s contributions programmatically focus on late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century adaptations of Greek tragedy, but this must not be taken to imply that adapting Greek tragedy for the page or for the stage is a recent development. It is to be hoped that the following historical overview will help avoid or dispel presentist fallacies by demonstrating both that Greek tragedy was an act of adaptation since its inception and that the reception of Greek tragedy has proceeded, to a considerable extent, in concert with its adaptation in theatre and dramatic literature.