Sullivan focuses on eight key psychological terms - phr n, thumos, kardia, kear, tor, nous, prapides, and psych - that appear frequently in ancient Greek texts but which have a wide range of possible meanings. Gathering instances from The Persians, Seven against Thebes, Suppliants, Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Eumenides (instances from Prometheus Bound, whose authorship is in question, are treated in notes and an appendix), Sullivan first examines each psychic term separately. She then discusses instances of the terms in each play, examining the meaning of the psychic term in the context of the play in which it appears and providing details on Aeschylus' usage. This book sheds light on the rich and sometimes elaborate way in which Aeschylus uses psychological terminology and is an excellent reference for classicists, psychologists, philosophers, and scholars of comparative literature.
Sullivan discusses each term separately, gathering them from Euripides' seventeen extant tragedies and from fragments of other plays. She begins with a broad look at how both earlier and contemporary poets used the various terms, moving on to a detailed discussion of Euripides' own usage, from his most often used phr_n to his new use of psych_. Euripides' Use of Psychological Terminology will be of interest to scholars of classics, in particular those studying the fifth-century, as well as to those interested in psychology and its presentation in ancient literature.
At once reference text and literary foray, this work is designed to engage both specialists and non-specialists. It offers detailed discussion of the Greek text for those who have a knowledge of the language while also making all readings available in translation and transliterated forms. Sophocles' Use of Psychological Terminology will be an enduring resource for anyone interested in Athenian tragedy and especially for those interested in how the early Greeks viewed what we now think of as psychological activity.
