Victimless' cheating in Attic tragedy

Abstract

A standard definition of ‘cheating’ is ‘acting dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage’. ‘Cheating’ is also defined as ‘gaining an advantage over or depriving of something by using unfair or deceitful methods’.1 Both definitions would seem to cover a rich array of acts and patterns of behaviour, no less because ‘acting dishonestly or unfairly’ and ‘gaining an advantage’ may themselves be interpreted quite flexibly. Understood rather more loosely, cheating is often used as synonymous with ‘deceiving’, ‘tricking’ or ‘lying’.