Voegelin�s Account of Tragedy in the New World Disorder

Voegelin did not publish an extended volume on Greek tragedy. In his writings, there is a brief account of tragedy in The New Science of Politics, and a more extensive chapter on the subject in The World of the Polis.1 [1] In each case, the bulk of Voegelin�s analysis is concerned with Aeschylus, but in neither case is his analysis comprehensive. His comments in New Science amount to a few pages. He expands upon these comments in The World of the Polis, but much is still missing. In The World of the Polis, he speaks generally about the purpose of tragedy in the �Athens of Marathon,� and he provides an interpretation of Aeschylus� plays The Suppliants and Prometheus Bound. However, he spares only one sentence for Sophocles (OH II, 252). In that sentence, Voegelin claims one can already see the demise of tragedy in Sophocles� works. Voegelin has more to say about Euripides, but here too his analysis is scant. Echoing Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy, Voegelin claims that Euripides� plays are a degradation of tragic art and reveal the extent to which Athens deteriorated during the Peloponnesian war (OH II, 252, 264‐6). However fair an assessment this may be of Euripidean tragedy, Voegelin does not consider in detail the significance of Euripides� better works, and what these reveal about the nature of Athenian tragedy.