With its ribald chorus of ithyphallic halfman halfhorse creatures satyr drama was a peculiar part of the Athenian theatrical experience. Performed three times each year after a trilogy of tragedies it was an integral part of the 5th and 4thcentury City Dionysia a large festival in honour of the god Dionysus. Euripides Cyclops is the first booklength study of this fascinating genres only complete extant play a theatrical version of Odysseus encounter with the monster Polyphemus. Shaw begins with a look at the history of the genre following its development from early 6thcentury religious processions up to the Hellenistic era. He then offers a comprehensive analysis of the Cyclops plot and performance using the text alongside ancient literary fragments and visual evidence to determine the original viewing experience the stage masks costumes actions and emotions. A detailed examination of the text reveals that Euripides associates and distinguishes his version of the story from previous iterations of the myth especially book nine of Homers Odyssey. Euripides handles many of the same themes as his predecessors but he updates the Cyclops for the Athenian stage adapting his work to reflect and comment upon contemporary religious philosophical and literarymusical trends.