HIC SUNT LEONES ALEBO KTO SA BOJÍ ANTIKY

This study outlines the tradition of translation of ancient Greek drama in Slovakia. Most of the existing translations were made with a view to being staged by Slovak professional theatres, which had influenced their final literary form. There is a difference between translation for a stage and translation for reading purposes only. The text of a drama is an essential medium for the director as the creator of a theatre performance; as a result, it must meet the requirement of currency and the ability to communicate with the audience. An out-of-date or unsuitable translation may therefore pose a problem. The study uses excerpts from the translations of Sophocles’ Antigone and Oedipus the King to demonstrate ways of approaching the translation of such texts and the conventions that are connected with them.