Eating of the Gods

In The Eating of theGods the distinguished Polish critic Jan Kott reexamines Greek tragedy fromthe modern perspective. As in his earlier acclaimed Shakespeare, OurContemporary, Kottprovides startling insights and intuitive leaps which link our world to that ofthe ancient Greeks. The title refers to the Bacchae of Euripides, thattragedy of lust, revenge, murder, and "e;the joy of eating raw flesh"e; which Kottfinds paradigmatic in its violence and bloodshed. Whether reflecting onPrometheus or drawing a modern parallel in Beckett's Happy Days ("e;the final version of the Prometheus myth"e;), Kott'svision is brilliant, his method innovative, and his sensibility consistentlynew. Since this book first appeared, Kott's connections between ancient and modernhave become even more compelling in their immediacy.