Cratinus, whom postclassical antiquity canonised alongside Aristophanes and Eupolis as one of the triad of the greatest poets of fifth-century Comedy, represents a period of the genre for which our knowledge is very limited. This thesis offers a comprehensive overview for this author and his position in the genre of Greek Comedy. After an introductory section, it goes on to examine Cratinus' comic art from five different angles, in five chapters. The first chapter sheds light on Cratinus' comic persona as it emerges from his plays, and demonstrates its central role in Cratinus' intertextual dialogue with his rivals, especially Aristophanes. It shows that authorial intervention and authorial self-presentation was a much more extensive, complex and fundamental phenomenon in the genre of Old Comedy than a straightforward reading of the extant Aristophanic plays might suggest alone. The following two chapters examine Cratinus' exploration of and engagement with other dramatic genres. Chapter II demonstrates how one of Cratinus' comedies, Dionysalexandros, operated throughout by cross-generic play with satyric drama. By discussing material from extant and fragmentary comedy, as well as vase-painting inspired by dramatic productions, it goes on to show that comic poets and especially Cratinus were actively exploring the possibilities of cross-fertilisation between comedy and satyr play. Through examination of four of Cratinus' comedies, chapter III demonstrates that engagement with tragedy did not interest only Aristophanes, but was a major feature in Cratinus' comedy, too. This chapter also discusses the position that Aeschylus occupies in Cratinus and demonstrates, in particular, how fifth-century perceptions of Aeschylus' poetic style influenced Cratinus' own self-portrayal. Chapter IV looks at Cratinus' manner of composing his plots in several layers. In many of his comedies, mythical, topical and drama-derived plot elements intertwine freely, so that Cratinus' plots often develop along several strands. The demonstration of Cratinus' multi-layered style of composition entails challenging the modern classification of some of his mythical comedies as 'political allegories' and offering an alternative model of reading them, which coheres more with other aspects of the poet and the genre of Old Comedy. The last chapter of the thesis discusses certain dramaturgical and performative aspects of Cratinus' comedies, such as costume and disguise, theatrical properties and machinery and use of dramatic space. It also explores how Cratinus' use of imagery and personification was realised in performance and shaped the dramatic action. The thesis ends by offering a new edition of the papyrus summary of Dionysalexandros (POxy 663) based on argumentation and papyrological observations offered in several of its chapters.

Euripides' Danae and Dictys belong to the Danae-myth, treating the earlier and subsequent phase of the legend, respectively. As far as the evidence allows, a cautious reconstruction of the plot of each play is attempted, based on interrogation of the fragmentary material and the testimonia. In this effort, Euripidean scene-construction, parallel thematic and structural patterns, parallel rhetoric and general rules of tragic practice are also taken into account as evidence for the dramatist's usage. As regards the generic affiliations of each play, the Danae may be paralleled to Euripides' Alope, Melanippe the Wise and Auge, all of which treated the clash of a royal daughter with her paternal oikos, due to the disclosure of her illicit motherhood resulting in most cases from her union with a god. The evidence for the Dictys indicates that it was probably built upon a central altar-scene (cf. E. Heraclidae, Andromache, Suppliant Women, Heracles, Helen) and that it had the features of a nostos-play, following the 'return- rescue-revenge' pattern (cf. the first part of the Heracles). The reception of both plays and their position in the transmission of Euripides are also explored, on the basis of the available evidence. This is the first commentary on Euripides' Danae and Dictys a detailed commentary on language, style, themes and values, aiming also to shed light on various aspects of Euripidean technique (e.g. his rhetoric, imagery, as well as staging directions, where possible). The exploration of issues raised by the fragmentary material seeks to complement our knowledge of Euripides' drama, as derived from surviving plays, which represent only a portion of the whole Euripidean oeuvre. Where appropriate, textual and philological matters are discussed, as well as questions of authenticity, such as a Danae 'hypothesis' and 'prologue' (the spurious fr. 1132 Kn.) transmitted in Euripides' manuscript P (Vaticanus Palatinus gr. 287, f 147v-148r).

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The thesis investigates the processes by which works of ancient literature, directly or indirectly, make themselves important on the modern stage. Using the Royal Shakespeare Company's work as the basis, three case- studies are explored in order to look closely and sequentially at the work of the director, the actor and the audience in creating performance. First, however, there is consideration of what is done to the ancient literary texts to remake them as modern English-language theatrical scripts ready for the early decisions of a director and design team. These decisions are in turn negotiated and developed in the individual work of actors preparing and presenting the character each will embody. Finally, aided by music and lighting, the audience makes its response to the combined creative processes exercised so far. The presence and contributions of an audience complete the performance. The texts on which these performances are based highlight the differing times through which the ancient work is filtered. The first is a modern translation of Euripides' ancient tragedy, Phoenician Women; the second, Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, is an Early Modern re-working of material drawn partly from the Iliad but also from later medieval sources; the third is a modern physical theatre script closely based on the contemporary translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses by Ted Hughes. Three very different originating performance conventions underlie the case- studies. The conclusion pursues the question 'what's Hecuba to him?' into its sister question: 'what's he to her?' This second question focuses on the ways in which Hamlet's different practitioners - directors, actors and audience- impose themselves upon the ancient.

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