Signs of the Theatre of the Absurd in Greek Mythology

Abstract

The study of the Theatre of the Absurd has not lost its relevance to this day. Emerging in the 1950s, this literary movement—which later expanded to encompass nearly all branches of art—proved to be a major catalyst for cultural transformation. The environment and the epoch, that is, the context, have always played a decisive role in shaping dominant artistic trends. After two world wars, humanity was immersed in nihilistic disillusionment, and the sense of futility that overwhelmed human existence reached its peak toward the late 1950s and early 1960s. To articulate this condition most effectively, a new artistic current was born and soon spread across the entire cultural world: Absurdism. Yet this movement had its antecedents. In this article, we will briefly review the early stages of the development of Absurdist thought, the authors who established and refined the movement, and, most importantly, demonstrate a fascinating discourse that reveals clear and distinctive signs of the [1]absurd already present in ancient Greek mythology.