This book looks at witnesses to suffering and death in ancient Greek epic (Homer's Iliad) and
tragedy. Internal spectators abound in both genres and have received due scholarly attention.
The present monograph covers new ground by dealing with a specific subset of characters: those
who are put in the position of spectator to (and often commentator on) their own deed(s). By
their very nature protagonists are confined to the role of witness to the suffering (or
deaths) they have caused only for brief stretches of time - often a single scene or even just
the length of a speech - but every instance is of central importance not just to our
understanding of the characters in question but also to the articulation of fundamental themes
within the poetic works under examination. As they shift from the status of agent to that of
witness these protagonists qua spectators to the consequences of their actions give voice to
dramatize and enact the tragic motifs of human helplessness and mortal fallibility that lie at
the core of Homeric epic and Greek tragedy and that define the human condition in a manner
that leads the audience looking on to ponder their own.
