EURIPIDES: SUPPLIANT WOMEN Ian C. Storey Euripides' Suppliant Women is an unfairly neglected master work by the most co...
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EURIPIDES: SUPPLIANT WOMEN Ian C. Storey Euripides' Suppliant Women is an unfairly neglected master work by the most controversial of the three great tragedians of Ancient Greece. It dramatises the story of one of the proudest moments in Athenian mythical history: the intervention ofTheseus in support of international law to force the burial of the Argives who were killed during their attack on Thebes. But Euripides adds new characters to the story and presents the myth in a different and sometimes ambiguous light. A sense of uncertainty and undercutting pervades this play, which dramatises the sufferings of the innocent in war and then at the end foretells more war. As well as presenting a scene-by-scene analysis, this book will discuss the date and background of the play, whether people and events from contemporary Athens can be glimpsed in the drama; the problems of staging, and finally the story in later tradition.
Ian C. Storey is Professor of Ancient History and Classics atTrent University, Ontario, Canada. Cover illustration: Photograph by set and costume designer
John Wilson, from the production of Euripides' Suppliant Women, directed by Rush Rehm for Stanford Lively Arts
and the Department of Drama,.1993.
Duckworth 90-93 Cowcross Street London ECIM 6BF www.ducknet.co.uk
DUCKWORTH COMPANIONS TO GREEK AND ROMAN TRAGEDY Series editor: Thomas Harrison
Aeschylus: Agamemnon Barbara Goward Aeschylus: Persians David Rosenbloom Aeschylus: Seven Against Thebes Isabelle Torrance Euripides: Bacchae Sophie Mills Euripides: Heracles Emma Griffiths Euripides: Hippolytus Sophie Mills Euripides: Ion Laura Swift Euripides: Iphigenia at Aulis Pantelis Michelakis Euripides: Medea William Allan Euripides: Orestes Matthew Wright Euripides: Phoenician Women Thalia Papadopoulou Euripides: Suppliant Women Ian C. Storey Euripides: Trojan Women Barbara Goff Seneca: Phaedra Roland Mayer Seneca: Thyestes P.J. Davis Sophocles: Ajax Jon Hesk Sophocles: Electra Michael Lloyd Sophocles: Philoctetes Hanna Roisman Sophocles: Women of Trachis Brad Levett
DUCKWORTH COMPANIONS TO GREEK AND ROMAN TRAGEDY
Euripides: Suppliant Women Ian C. Storey
Duckworth
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""'" of Demeter and Aeschylus' Men of Eleusis and Suppliant Women, Epigonoi: 'those born after', 'the next generation' the Sons of the Seven, who will grow and sack the city to avenge their UH,W""", title of a lost poem, epitaphios at Athens a formal eulogy of war during a particular year, probably instituted in those the 460s; the most famous example is that delivered by Perikles in 431 (Thucydides 2). heros: 'hero', a human after his or her death with a cult; their tomb was considered and the heros a sort of guardian spirit. hiketeia: 'supplication', a formal ritual by which one person formally
104
Glossary asked a favour of another; suppliants were called hiketai (male) or hiketides (female); the latter is the Greek title of Suppliant Women. hybris: 'outrage', 'assault' - in Athenian law a graphe hybreos was a prosecution for 'assault'; the term is often used of human flaunting of divine law, thereby inviting the gods' retaliation. hypothesis: an introduction by an ancient scholar to a Greek drama, usually providing a summary of the plot and often details about the production. iambic trimeter: the principal metre of Greek drama, used mainly in the episodes and by the actors, called by Aristotle 'the closest to ordinary speech'; consists of three metra, each of the scheme: x - U-, where - designates a heavy (long) syllable, U a light (short) syllable, and x can be either heavy or light. kommos: a formally sung exchange, in responsion between an actor and the chorus, usually expressing sorrow or mourning. kyrios: 'lord', the male figure, usually father or husband or brother, who stood in a position of authority over a woman. mechane: 'machine', a crane that would allow characters to appear in the air over the skene-building. monody: literally 'solo song', a passage in a lyric metre, sung by an actor. Mother and Daughter: Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, and her daughter, Persephone or Kore ('maiden'); Demeter's gifts to humanity were the growing of crops and the Mysteries, ritual initiation which promised 'salvation' in the next life; her principal site of worship was Eleusis. nomos, nomima: 'law', 'lawful things'. orchestra: 'dancing place', the principal playing-space in a Greek theatre, a flat area at the bottom ofthe hill on which the spectators sat; in fourth-century theatres this was round, but the shape in fifth-century theatres remains a matter of debate. parodos: the song performed by the chorus as they enter the orchestra. Peace of Nikias: a peace treaty signed in 421 between Athens and her allies and Sparta and her supporters, which brought to an end the hostilities of the Archidamian War. Peloponnesian War: 'the war with Sparta'; broke out formally in 431, temporarily halted with the Peace of Nikias in 421, but resumed in 415 with Athens' expedition to Sicily; ended in 405/4 with the surrender of Athens to the Spartans. ponos: 'toil', 'labour', usually associated with Herakles, who had to perform twelve Labours for Eurystheus, king of Tiryns. proagon: held two days before the City Dionysia, this occasion allowed the tragic poet to display the actors and chorus for the coming production.
155
Proerosia: a festival celebrated at Eleusis in October, as an for the success of the autumn planting. protagonistes, deuteragonistes, tritagonistes: 'first ,.,p·..tnY'rnpr' 'second performer', 'third , the technical names of the three actors in the Greek theatre; after 449 the un)/,U·
and or 'ruler', but
150
Chronology Political Literary 510: expulsion of the tyrants 507: establishment of democracy 501: re-organisation of the dramatic festival 498: debut of Aeschylus 492: first Persian invasion of Greece 490: second Persian invasion (battle of Marathon) 481: third Persian invasion (Battle of Salamis: 480, Battle of PIatai a: 479) 475: Kimon retrieves the bones of Theseus from Skyros 468: debut of Sophokles 467: Aeschylus' Seven 463-459: Aeschylus' Suppliants 461: Athenian alliance with Argos, political reforms at Athens, emergence of Perikles late 460s (?): Aeschylus' Men of Eleusis [lost] 459-446: off-and-on war with Sparta 458: Aeschylus' Oresteia 455: debut of Euripides 443-438: Sophokles' Antigone 431: Euripides' Medea 431: beginning of Peloponnesian War • c. 430: Euripides' Children of Herakles 429: death of Perikles 424: battle of Delion (November) 424 or 422: Euripides' Suppliant Women 423/2: year of truce 422: Euripides' Erechtheus [lost] 421: Peace of Nikias 420: Athenian alliance with Argos et al. 415: Euripides' Trojan Women 415-413: Sicilian expedition 411: Revolution of the 400 (oligarchic coup) c. 409: Euripides' Phoenician Women 408: Euripides' Orestes 405/4: end of the Peloponnesian War 404: The Thirty Tyrants 401: Sophokles' Oedipus at Kolonos
157
Index Numbers in bold indicate a principal discussion. Adrastos: passim, 95-7; as king and leader of the Seven 11-12, 21,32,35,40,51,58,80-1,100; as speaker 12,22,34,59,63-73, 95-6; as suppliant 13-14, 31, 33, 60, 62, 123, 128; as father 34-5, 67,84-5; as passive/feminised 19,51-2,57,59-60,84,95-7,103 Aelian: History of Animals 129 Aelius Aristeides: 43, 143 Aeschylus: 13-15, 18, 23; Agamemnon 85, 106, 110, 116; Eumenides 13,17-18,30,32,367,82,109-10,117·18,138; Libation-Bearers 80, 109; Oresteia 17, 41, 80, 116, 141; Men of Eleusis 13-15, 26, 37, 41, 523, 58, 61, 65, 83, 96, 98, 121-4, 141, 144; Nemea 96; Persians 59, 95; Seven 17, 37, 63, 65·6, 69-71,79,99, 143; Suppliants 17, 30, 36, 41, 43, 45, 53-4, 141-2 agon: 47,52,55-6, 61,67, 105, 143 Aithra: 19, 30-2, 35, 37-44, 56, 81, 88-9, 93-4, 101, 103, 105-11, 115, 119-20, 145 Alkestis: 74, 126-7 Alkibiades: 22, 143 Amphiaraos: 51, 62-3, 70 Andokides: On the Mysteries 20 Andromache: 126-7 Antigone: 77, 116, 130 Apollo: 35, 67, 72, 84-5, 92, 102-3, 114 Apollodoros (dramatist): 121
Apollodoros (encyclopaedia): 128 Argia: 130 Argos: passim; activity in 420s 267, 138, 142; alliances with Athens 18,25-7,57,82-3; and Thebes 11-15, 33-40, 50-1, 62-6, 84-5, 97, 130-4; in tragedy 1718, 26, 58-9, 69, 87, 92, 98, 104, 141 Aristophanes: Acharnians 48, 50, 143; Frogs 28, 104, 110; Knights 27, 110; Peace 25, 27, 50, 143, 145; Wasps 110, 143 Aristotle: Constitution of Athens
22; Poetics 38 Athena:45, 56,67,81-92, 100, 103-4, 106, 117-18, 136 Athens: passim; and Argos 18, 257,82-4,86-7,92,103,121; and contemporary events 20-3, 25-7, 39-40, 48, 50, 52, 57-8, 64; and democracy 21-3,35,47-9,56-61, 85,91,93,95, 102, 121, 137-8; and dramatic self-image 12-13, 16-17, 19, 35, 39-40, 42-3, 60-1, 69, 89-91; and Thebes 11-13, 256, 33, 46-56, 62, 122-4, 127-9, 130-5 Bacchylides: 143 Boccaccio: Theseid 131-2; De
Casibus 132 Chaucer: The Knight's Tale 132-3 children of Herakles: 11, 14, 1617,28,30,41,122,124 chorus of Argive mothers: 14, 20,
15'8
Index 30·2,37·8,40,43,45,53,57,62, 72·3, 78·81, 87, 94, 101, 103, 107·8, 110, 112, 114·15, 119·20 chorus of boys (Epigonoi): 12, 14, 21, 37, 63·5, 72·3, 78·81, 84·7, 103, 107·8, 110, 113·15, 120 Consolatio ad Liuiam: 126 Dante: Purgatorio 130; Inferno 146 dating the play: 20·1, 23-8, 83 Delion: 25·6, 28, 142 Demeter and Persephone: 18·20, 32,56,74,76·7,87·9,96, 100, 102·3, 111·12, 119 Demosthenes: Funeral Oration 123·4 Diodoros of Sicily: 127·8 Eleusis: 14, 18-20, 32, 49, 84·8, 103, 111-13, 116·17, 122, 128, 138, 141, 145 Eleutherai: 14, 28, 59 epic cycle: 12, 84, 130 epitaphios logos: 22, 61, 65-71, 95, 98-100,105 Eteokles: 12, 17,58,61,97,130 Euadne: 19,61,73-7,78,87,100· 1, 103, 106·7, 112, 116·17, 119, 124·31, 133, 135·6, 144 Euboulos: 127 Euripides: as 'clever' poet 68, 70, 77, 90, 99-104; and gods 91·2, 104; and Athens 69·70, 90·1, 101; and war 21,25, 59, 62, 104, 136·9; Aigeus 28; Alkestis 24, 43, 58, 74, 92, 114, 141·2; Alk· maion 95; Andromache 27, 31, 43,46,73,92,109,116;An· dromeda 121; Antigone 28; Antiope 28, 59, 98, 142·3; Bac· chae 24, 91, 93, 142; Children of Herakles 12, 14, 16·17,28,30·2, 37, 41, 46, 54·6, 61, 73, 93, 95, 99, 102, 109, 143; Cyclops 24; Elektra 17, 54, 116·17; Erechtheus 12,28, 141; Hecuba 27,41,74; Helen 24, 99, 109, 142; Herakles 12·13, 35, 43, 73, 86, 117, 143; Hippolytos 24·5,
30, 91, 142; Hypsipyle 95; Ion 86, 90·1, 118; Iphigeneia at Aulis 24,30,74,77, 86, 142; Iphigeneia among the Taurians 13, 86, 92, 118, 142; Kresphon. tes 143; Medea 24, 30, 37,89, 121, 142; Orestes 17, 24, 85·6, 106, 116, 121; Phoenician Women 24,58,93, 116, 121; Rhesos 24; Trojan Women 24·5, 88, 90·2, 118, 145 Fletcher: The Two Noble Kinsmen 133·4 Gide, Andre: Thesee 135 Herakles: 14, 42·3, 55·6, 76, 83·4, 102 herald from Thebes: 21, 23, 32·3, 40, 46-53, 67, 71, 73, 91, 94, 96, 100, 105, 107, 113 Herodotos: 15, 122, 141, 143 Hesiod: Works and Days 16 Homer: Iliad 29, 60; Odyssey 29 Homeric Hymn to Demeter: 18, 96 hybris:52·3,61,70, 89,97, 100 lphis: 19,75·7,78,87,101, 106·7, 112·13, 115, 120, 126, 128·9 lsokrates: Archidamos 141; Helen 43, 102, 143; Panegyrikos 122·3, 141; Panathenaikos 122·4 justice (dike) and the laws of Greece: 38, 40, 45, 52, 55, 61, 80, 122·3, 131 Kallimachos: 112 Kapaneus: 19·20, 51, 54, 56, 63, 65-77,79,99·101, 119·20, 126, 128·30, 133, 146 Kleon: 22·3, 27, 42 Kreon: 128, 131·3 Laodamia: 126·7 Lykourgos 141 Lysias: Funeral Oration 11·12, 122 Melanippe: 127 . Menander: Dyskolos 142 messenger: 46, 54-60, 97, 144 modern productions: 135-8, 146; National Theatre of Greece (1966·8) 135·6; Stanford (1993)
159
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136; Veen Fabrik (2006) 136-7, 146; Target Margin Theatre (2007-8) 137-8, 146 Oedipus: 12, 18,30,63,76,135 Ovid: Ars Amatoria 125-6; Tristia 126; Ex Ponto 125-6 parents and children: 32-44, 75-7, 93-4, 101-3, 105-7 Pausanias: 112, 128 Peloponnesian War 16, 20-1, 25-6, 28,50,57-8,83,90,102 Penelope: 125-7 Perikles: 21-2, 39-40, 42, 79, 119 Phaidra: 20, 125, 127 Pherekrates: 27 Philostratos: Imagines 129-30 Pindar: Olympians 12, Nemeans 12 Plataia 15-16, 122 Plato: Protagoras 34, Menexenos 141 Plutarch: Theseus 13-14, Nikias 28; Solon 79 Polyneikes: 11-13,34-5,62,70-1, 130, 143 polypragmosyne: 39, 50-2, 142 ponos: 39-42, 45-6, 52, 72, 75, 78, 93-4, 101-2 Proerosia: 19, 108, 112, 141 Propertius: 125 Quintus of Smyrna: 130 Renault, Mary: The Bull from the Sea 135 Seneca (elder): Controversiae 126 Seven against Thebes: 12, 21, 40, 50-1,63,65-72,95-6,99,129, 146 Shakespeare: The Two Noble Kinsmen 133-4 Sophokles: 23; Ajax 88, 145; Antigone 37-8,58,74,99, 105, 113-14, 128, 132; Eriphyle 96; Oedipus at Kolonos 16, 30, 35,
54,58,93, 106, 121; Oedipus Tyrannos 17, 143; Philoktetes 41,144; Women of Trachis 74 Spina vase: 14, 144 staging: 105-20; actors 88, 103, 105-7,118,145; entries and exits 60, 75, 78, 86, 103, 113-15, 119, 145; mechane 113, 116; opening tableau 107-8, 113, 119, 145; playing space 37-8, 43-4, 103, 108-11, 119, 145; skenedoors 20, 108-13, 115, 119; theologeion 73-4, 112, 116-18, 145; touching 43-4, 71-2, 109, 120 Statius: Thebaid 130-3, 146 supplication: 20, 29-37, 46, 60, 62, 120, 131, 142 Thebes: passim, 15-17; and Athens in history 16,20-1, 25-6, 122-3; in myth and drama 1213, 15-17,28,43, 46-61, 87, 127-9; and the Seven 11, 50-1, 65,70-1,99-100 Theseus: passim, 93-5; and labours 39, 42, 52, 59-60, 72, 93, 102; as democrat and ideal leader 23,35,41,47-9,56-7,61, 69,85, 91, 93-5; as son 32, 3744, 80, 103, 120; as symbol of Athens 35,37,80-1,87,89,104; as warrior-hero 19, 55-6, 61, 112, 122, 128, 131-5; in drama 12-14 Thucydides: 25, 39-40, 50, 52, 578,79,83,90, 119 Tydeus: 34-5, 66-7, 73, 129 tyranny: 21, 46-9, 61, 95,143,146 Vergil: Aeneid 125, 131 Xenophon: Hellenika 124 youth and age: 22,33-7,53,57-8, 64,68-9,78-80,84-5,94,99-101, 142
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