ATHENS DIALOGUES :

From Pity to Sympathy: Tragic Emotions across the Ages

BY David Konstan
Stavroula Kiritsi

Ancient and modern audiences use different words and concepts to describe their emotional identification with tragic characters.


Aristotle famously identified characteristic emotions aroused by tragedy as pity and fear—or rather, as eleos and phobos. His account offers a precious clue as to how ancient audiences responded to tragedy. But to take advantage of... View Full Summary