Oliver Taplin

Professor Oliver Taplin (born 2 August 1943^[1]) was a fellow and tutor of Classics (Literae Humaniores) at Magdalen College, Oxford. He holds a DPhil from Oxford University.

Taplin is author of several books, including 'Greek Fire', a celebration of the capacity of Ancient Greek culture to stand the test of time and influence modern art, thought and society. The book accompanied a Channel 4 documentary series of the same name. This book has been translated into five languages.^[2]

His first book was "The Stagecraft of Aeschylus" examining the entrances and exits of characters in Aeschylus's plays.

He set up the APGRD (Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama) in 1996 with Edith Hall. It is devoted to the international production and reception of ancient plays since the Renaissance. He has also worked with productions in the theatre, including The Oresteia at the National Theatre (1980–81), The Thebans at the RSC (1991–92), and The Oresteia at the National Theatre (1999–2000).

Apart from Greek drama, his chief area of interest was in Homer.

He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1995.^[1]

Since turning 65 in August 2008, Oliver Taplin has retired as Tutor in Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford. The same year, Oxford University Press published 'Performance, Iconography, Reception: Studies in Honour of Oliver Taplin' edited by Martin Revermann and Peter Wilson.

Contents 1 Recent news 2 Selected publications 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

Recent news

In 2008 Oliver Taplin took part in the programme "Greek and Latin Voices" for the BBC where he gave a talk on Homer and translated the Homeric texts for the programme.

His book Pots and Plays was released in 2007.

Selected publications

• The Stagecraft of Aeschylus: the Dramatic Use of Exits and Entrances in Greek Tragedy, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1977.
• Greek Tragedy in Action , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1978 (2nd Edition 2003).
• Comic Angels: and Other Approaches to Greek Drama Through Vase-Paintings , Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993.
• 'Opening Performance: Closing Texts?', Essays in Criticism, 45, 93–120, 1995.
• 'The Artistic Record'. In P.E. Easterling (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy, Cambridge, 69–90, 1997.
• 'Spreading the word through performance'. In S. Goldhill and R. Osborne (eds.), Performance Culture and Athenian Democracy, Cambridge, 33–57, 1999.
• (editor) Literature in the Greek and Roman Worlds. A New Perspective, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2000.
• His new book, Pots and Plays. Interactions between Tragedy and Greek Vase-painting of the Fourth Century BC is forthcoming from Getty Museum Publications, Los Angeles.
• Tragic life-journeys and real-life journeys: the place where three ways meet, Inaugural William Ritchie Memorial Lecture, University of Sydney, 2008. (podcast of lecture)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} British Academy fellowship entry
2. ^ "Biography at the APGRD (Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama)". http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/advisory-board-and-associates#otaplin. 

See also

APGRD (Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama)

External links

• Faculty information
• Tragic life-journeys and real-life journeys: the place where three ways meet

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Name	Taplin, Oliver
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Date of birth	1948
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