Introduction

The publication of a generous selection of Pat Easterling’s articles requires little justification. Alongside the commentaries on Trachiniae and Oedipus at Colonus and the monumental (and intensely collaborative) editorial work, articles have been a preferred medium for Pat Easterling (PE) throughout her career. PE uses the concision of the article, as indeed the commentator’s note, to put forward tersely considered arguments that have the weight of much longer discussions. All are significant; many have established themselves as major points of reference. PE’s articles are responsible, even more probably than the path-breaking Trachiniae commentary and the still essential Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy , for her status as one of the most influential Hellenists of her generation. Combining sympathetic attention to detail of the texts with a creativity that is discreet and audacious at the same time, they have fundamentally changed the understanding of core issues across tragic scholarship, from character, mythical settings, ritual and language, to fourth-century developments, scholia and transmission.