test ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ «ΞΕΝΗ ΠΑΙΔΟΚΤΟΝΟ» ΤΟΥ ΕΥΡΙΠΙΔΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΝΕΛΕΗΤΗ ΣΑΤΙΡΑ ΤΗΣ «ΝΕΑΣ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΑΣ» ΤΩΝ ΦΡΑΝΚΑ ΡΑΜΕ ΚΑΙ ΝΤΑΡΙΟ ΦΟ [FROM THE «FOREIGN INFANTICIDE» OF EURIPIDES TO THE MERCILESS SATIRE OF THE «NEW WOMAN» BY FRANCA RAME AND DARIO FO]|ΠΑΡΑΒΑΣΙΣ/PARABASIS

ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ «ΞΕΝΗ ΠΑΙΔΟΚΤΟΝΟ» ΤΟΥ ΕΥΡΙΠΙΔΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΝΕΛΕΗΤΗ ΣΑΤΙΡΑ ΤΗΣ «ΝΕΑΣ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΑΣ» ΤΩΝ ΦΡΑΝΚΑ ΡΑΜΕ ΚΑΙ ΝΤΑΡΙΟ ΦΟ [FROM THE «FOREIGN INFANTICIDE» OF EURIPIDES TO THE MERCILESS SATIRE OF THE «NEW WOMAN» BY FRANCA RAME AND DARIO FO]

Εξώφυλλο Παράβασις Τόμ. 20 / Cover Parabasis Vol. 20
PDF (ελληνικά)
Published: Nov 24, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681//.43026
Despina Kosmopoulou
Abstract

The ancient Greek tragedy has offered the world theatre multiple archetypes, which have been used from antiquity to the present time, either modified or adapted, or even as sources of inspiration for the creation of new theatrical works. Medea is the archetype of the «foreign infanticide», who kills her children in order to claim back her unfaithful husband, who chose to marry a younger and more politically powerful wife. Medea symbolizes the woman, who gives a political speech in an era, women did not have such rights. Euripides in his tragedy touches on a number of female issues that troubled the female audience of his time, such as dowry, infidelity and divorce. The reception of ancient Greek tragedy by 20th and 21st century dramatists render the archetypes in different ways and especially often. In the context of the revolutionary-feminist theatre, Dario Fo and Franca Rame create a Medea with a revolutionary nature, who is troubled by hot female issues of her time, which expresses with an equally interesting political discourse.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Ειδικό Αφιέρωμα / Special Issue
Author Biography
Despina Kosmopoulou

Dr. Despina Kosmopoulou graduated from the Faculty of Letters at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds a PhD from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Theatre Studies at the University of Athens and at the Department of Philology at the University of Peloponnese. She teaches at the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Peloponnese, and at the Hellenic Open University in the Postgraduate Program of Performing Arts. Dr. Kosmopoulou’s main field of study is theatre, with sub-fields being world theatre, modern European theatre, comparative drama and the reception of ancient drama based on the theory of theatre and drama. She is a research member of the Laboratory of Ancient Rhetoric and Dramatic Art of the Department of Philology of the University of Peloponnese, a member of the Greek and International Semiotics Society, as well as a member of the support group of the International Analogio Festival, which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. She collaborates with universities and research centres abroad and participates in conferences and scientific tributes. She has published four books on topics focusing on European and modern Greek theatre:  Pirandello and Genet: A ‘meeting’ in the tragic and the absurd (ed. Dromon, Athens 2017); The dialectics of space and confinement in the theatre (ed. Dromon, Athens 2018); Theatrical writing and theory of the sign (ed. Dromon, Athens 2020; The reception of ancient drama on the modern stage: the case of Wajdi Mouawad (ed. Herodotus, Athens 2024 (forthcoming). Her articles have been published in Greek and international journals and conference proceedings. She is an editor for Greek theatre and Greek dramaturgy at the scientific journal CONCEPT of the University of Bucharest and, together with Professor Andreas Markantonatos and Professor Varvara Georgopoulou, has edited the Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Ancient Drama, Theion and the Polis in Euripides, Hellenic Foundation of Culture, Athens 2023.