Books by Page DuBois

"This book revisits the role of Greek comedy in ancient politics and how it has been overlooked as a political medium by modern theorists and critics. It critiques the neglect that Greek comedy has suffered due to our great affection for tragedy as a model of democracy and offers a remedy. The Greeks loved their comedies as much or even more than their tragedies. The book focuses on the collective aspects of ancient drama, especially comedy, with its swarming choruses that are represented as wielding great if ambivalent power within and beyond the confines of the dramatic setting. DuBois shows how ancient comedy (including, but not limited to, plays by Aristophanes), its laughter, its free speech, its wild swarming animal choruses and rebellious women can be used to establish another model of democracy, one grounded in the collective. DuBois advocates for a broader view that takes into account the resistant communal legacy of comedy, the roar of the demos or the disenfranchised, not just the individual voices of the powerful"--

Presents a more complex and accurate view of ancient Greek politics, sex, and religion. This title recounts the tales of Daedalus and Artemis, for example, conveying their complexity and passion, while also unearthing actions and beliefs that do not square so easily with "family values."

As A Million and One Gods shows, polytheism is considered a scandalous presence in societies oriented to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim beliefs. Yet it persists, even in the West, perhaps because polytheism corresponds to unconscious needs and deeply held values of tolerance, diversity, and equality that are central to civilized societies.

Page duBois incorporates insights from postcolonial, psychoanalytic, and postmodern theories into her nuanced close readings of ancient Greek texts. Out of Athens establishes a daring agenda for the next generation of Classicists and, for both the intimate friend of Greek texts and the freshly arrived reader, makes ancient Greeks new.