Download Myth Michael J. Anderson

CHAPTER EIGHT
Myth
Michael J. Anderson
Myths of violent conflict and turbulent crisis among the heroes of the distant past
constituted a chief element of the collective cultural heritage in ancient Greece, and
Athenian tragedy was one among several specialized art forms through which these
myths were articulated and transmitted. In dramatizing stories of Orestes, Oedipus,
and other familiar heroes, the tragedians blended tradition with contemporary innovation. They borrowed heavily from preceding poetry, particularly from the vast
corpus of epic, but they also customarily reshaped inherited myths by modifying
plots, introducing new characters, and even creating new episodes. The license to
invent was not unlimited - with few exceptions the characters of drama remained
located in the legendary world of the past and closely linked with established myths but a Greek tragedy was never merely a dramatic transcription of a preexisting
narrative.
Origins an d Functions o f Greek Myth
The development of the corpus of Greek myths was a complex process of accumulation and synthesis. Many myths originated as dim reflections of the Mycenaean world,
and epic characters like Ajax may in fact be survivals from Bronze Age poetic
traditions. Other myths reflect the conditions of Greece in later periods, as for
example the adventures of Jason and Odysseus reflect the influence of exploration
and colonization in the centuries following the dark ages. Near Eastern tales of gods
and heroes provided another rich source of inspiration for Greek myths, including
some of the canonical myths of Zeus, Heracles, and Achilles. Herodotus credited
Homer and Hesiod with the codification of the Greek pantheon (2.53), and epic
poetry also offers the earliest evidence for the codification of heroic exploits - detailed
genealogies connecting the various gods and heroes, as well as a rough chronological
arrangement of Theban, Trojan, and other myth cycles. While the monumentality of
the surviving Homeric and Hesiodic poems gives the impression that this tradition
had become fixed by the seventh century - and most of the major myth cycles were
established within the system by this time - the process of development did not come
122
Michael J. Anderson
to a complete halt with any single poet or poem. Many tales of Theseus, for example,
began to take shape only late in the sixth century, when Athenians reformed him into
a legendary embodiment of their developing civic identity. And adaptive mythmaking
continued throughout the fifth century in Athenian tragedy.
For the communities that preserved and transmitted them, myths provided a
revered form of validation for cultural institutions, practices, and beliefs. They
recorded the foundation of cities and sanctuaries, explained the origins of religious
rituals, conveyed beliefs about the gods, mapped out social relations and hierarchies,
exemplified positive and negative behavior, and reflected generally upon the cycle of
human life, exploring its most intense joys and its deepest sorrows. The frequent
public presentation of myths in conjunction with religious and civic ceremonies
provides abundant evidence of their authoritative status in ancient Greek society.
Images of gods and heroes adorned sacred precincts, and religious festivals often
featured the recitation of heroic epic and hymns recounting the births and exploits of
the gods. The victory odes of Pindar and Bacchylides publicly celebrated successful
contemporary athletes and their home cities by recalling the paradigmatic achievements of legendary heroes like Pelops, Heracles, and Perseus. Simonidcs' elegiac
memorial to the warriors who fought at Plataea monumentalized the contemporary
battle by invoking the precedent of the Trojan War (frs. 10-18 West). Tragedy too,
performed in competition at festivals that honored the god Dionysus and celebrated
Athens, was a highly authoritative, culturally relevant, and publicly endorsed articulation of myth.
The Oresteia as Exemplar
Aeschylus' Oresteia provides illustrations of several characteristic features of tragic
myth. First, the trilogy exemplifies tragedy's general practice of inspiring reflection
upon fundamental cultural values by dramatizing moments of violent conflict and
crisis. In the first play Clytemnestra murders her husband Agamemnon and defends
her act as retribution for the murder of their daughter. In the second Orestes is
obligated to honor his dead father by murdering his mother and her accomplice. And
in the third play Orestes stands trial against the Furies on charges of matricide.
Together these three depictions of conflict examine failed kinship relations, competing claims of maternal and paternal authority, differing conceptions of justice, and the
community's power to intervene in private disputes.
Secondly, the characters and plot of the Oresteia-, as of Greek tragedy in general, are
partly traditional and partly invented. The Odyssey repeatedly invokes Agamemnon's
homecoming and Orestes' vengeance as potential models for Odysseus' return and
Telemachus' maturity to manhood, thus recognizing these stories as already firmly
established several centuries before the production of the Oresteia. Fragments of the
epic Returns (see Proclus' plot summary, in West 2003) and the Hesiodic Catalogue
of Women (fr. 23a.27-30 Merkelbach and West) also preserve references to Orestes,
and in the early sixth century Stesichorus composed an extended lyric account of
Orestes' matricide and subsequent confrontation with the Furies (fr. 219 Page).
Aeschylus adopted from these earlier poets not only a basic plot outline, but also
specific narrative details. A prototype of the watchman who opens Agamemnon
appears already in Odyssey 4: (524-28), and Stesichorus' poem provided a model for
Myth
Clytemnestra's prophetic dream in Libation Bearers.
the mythic tradition, on the other hand, include ma
reunion of brother and sister at the tomb of Agamer
of Electra herself, and the resolution of Orestes'
Athenian court of law.
Third, the myth treated in the Oresteia is cultura
not simply because it had been recounted by prece
wider cultural significance of its subjects. Tragedy
greater than normal social stature, characters whos
personal achievements commanded respect. The C
figures not as fictional poetic creations, but as semid
And while not all of them merited emulation, many w
through sacrifice and other ritual observances. Hero
acting on advice from the Delphic oracle, retrieved th
territory as a prerequisite to their conquest of this e
century (1.68). This talc implies the existence of an C
the belief that after death the heroes exercised a tali;
harm. Aeschylus' drama accords Orestes a similarly pi
patronage and Athena's intervention alone identify
but Orestes' promise to punish from the grave any
Athens and to bless those who support Athens (E u
pates his eventual status as a cult hero with power to
too, incidentally, enjoys a form of hero-worship in
daughter honor their father at his tomb and seek 1
Clytemnestra. Moreover, the drama regards Orestes'
nides as paradigmatic and foundational, serving to es
of the Areopagus (482-88, 570-74, 681-710) anc
(804-7, 927-29). Similarly, a myth first attested in
Taurians explains the practice of drinking from indrv
at the Athenian Anthesteria festival as ritual comn
Athens (947-60), when the pollution of his matricid
in communal activities.
Finally, tragedy represents a contemporary, prcdon
and reconfiguration of myth. The Oresteia celebrates t
site of conflict resolution, a city that tames violence
the weaknesses of other states into its own strenj
Areopagus as the setting for conflict resolution a
political controversy over the functions appropriate to
chapter 1 in this volume). While conservative aristocr
powers for the largely aristocratic institution, progress
restrict the court's jurisdiction - a dispute evoked by
Areopagus court and by the Furies' initial rejection c
the contrast between the austere older Furies and the
79) recalls the continual political opposition of conser
in fifth-century Athens, and the ultimately peaceful r
to the satisfaction of all involved suggests a hope th
peacefully accommodate the differing political views
Anaerson
Myth
123
CJytemnestra's prophetic dream in Libation Bearers. Aeschylus' own contributions to
the mythic tradition, on the other hand, include major plot innovations such as the
reunion of brother and sister at the tomb of Agamemnon, possibly the introduction
of Electra herself, and the resolution of Orestes' conflict with the Furies in an
Athenian court of law.
Third, the myth treated in the Oresteia is culturally authoritative and prestigious
not simply because it had been recounted by preceding poets, but because of the
wider cultural significance of its subjects. Tragedy is populated by characters of
greater than normal social stature, characters whose ancestry, political power, and
personal achievements commanded respect. The Greeks regarded many of these
figures not as fictional poetic creations, but as semidivine heroes of the distant past.
And while not all of them merited emulation, many were judged worthy of veneration
through sacrifice and other ritual observances. Herodotus records that the Spartans,
acting on advice from the Delphic oracle, retrieved the bones of Orestes from Tegean
territory as a prerequisite to their conquest of this enemy in the middle of the sixth
century (1.68). This tale implies the existence of an Orestes cult at Sparta and reflects
the belief that after death the heroes exercised a talismanic power to protect and to
harm. Aeschylus' drama accords Orestes a similarly privileged cultural status. Apollo's
patronage and Athena's intervention alone identify him as an extraordinary mortal,
but Orestes' promise to punish from the grave any Argive who raises arms against
Athens and to bless those who support Athens (Eumenides 767-74) boldly anticipates his eventual status as a cult hero with power to harm and to help. Agamemnon
too, incidentally, enjoys a form of hero-worship in Libation Bearers, when son and
daughter honor their father at his tomb and seek his aid in their struggle against
Clytemnestra. Moreover, the drama regards Orestes' confrontation with the Eume
nides as paradigmatic and foundational, serving to establish both the Athenian court
of the Areopagus (482-88, 570-74, 681-710) and the shrine of the Eumenides
(804-7, 927-29). Similarly, a myth first attested in Euripides' Iphigenia among the
Taurians explains the practice of drinking from individual rather than shared vessels
at the Athenian Anthesteria festival as ritual commemoration of Orestes' visit to
Athens (947-60), when the pollution of his matricide barred him from participating
in communal activities.
Finally, tragedy represents a contemporary, predominantly Athenian appropriation
and reconfiguration of myth. The Oresteia celebrates the city of Athens as a distinctive
site of conflict resolution, a city that tames violence with persuasion and transforms
the weaknesses of other states into its own strengths. Aeschylus' choice of the
Areopagus as the setting for conflict resolution alludes conspicuously to recent
political controversy over the functions appropriate to this ancient court (see Debnar,
chapter 1 in this volume). While conservative aristocratic forces had advocated wider
powers for the largely aristocratic institution, progressive democratic forces wished to
restrict the court's jurisdiction - a dispute evoked by Athena's establishment of the
Areopagus court and by the Furies' initial rejection of its authority. More generally,
the contrast between the austere older Furies and the innovative younger gods (77879) recalls the continual political opposition of conservative and progressive elements
in fifth-century Athens, and the ultimately peaceful resolution of the mythic dispute
to the satisfaction of all involved suggests a hope that present-day Athens too can
peacefully accommodate the differing political views of its inhabitants. In addition,
Michael J. Anderson
Orestes' pledge of continued friendship with Athens (762-74) provided mythic
confirmation of a contemporary military alliance between Athens and Argos. While
not all dramas praise Athens or mirror Athenian affairs so overtly, most view myth
from a distinctly fifth-century perspective, and democratic institutions and Athenian
values, though not always part of the plot machinery, are frequently invoked.
Functions o f Myth in Tragedy
Greek myths in general embody and explore fundamental social institutions and the
beliefs and values associated with them. Greek tragedy in particular examines these
institutions and values by dramatizing moments of extreme crisis, violent conflict, and
emotional distress, moments in which traditional values are threatened and social
bonds break down. Greek poets, including tragedians, sometimes employed myth for
overtly didactic purposes by presenting heroic characters as decidedly positive or
negative models, inspiring emulation or deserving censure. Pindar in his victory
odes, for example, celebrates athletic champions by recounting the similarly praiseworthy achievements of mythic heroes, and conversely he cautions against human
excesses by recalling legendary offences like Tantalus' misuse of nectar and ambrosia
(Olympian 1.59-64), Ixion's attempt to rape Hera (Pythian 2.21-48), and Bellerophon's attempt to scale Olympus (Olympian 8.84-92, Isthmian 7.44-47). The
Odyssey exhibits clear moral inclinations in rewarding its hero's exemplary conduct
with a successful homecoming while punishing the overweening suitors and their
accomplices with dishonorable deaths. Some tragedies share this moralistic view of a
just universe in which the virtuous are rewarded and the wicked punished. The villains
in these plays are often unquestionably villainous, and the concluding scenes appear
to validate the actions of some characters while condemning the errors of others. Few
spectators of Iphigenia among the Taurians, for example, could condone the barbarian practice of sacrificing strangers to Artemis, even if Athena did not intervene visibly
at the play's conclusion and sternly reprimand the barbarian king. More commonly,
however, the tragedians eschew simplistic illustrations of moral codes in their myths
and instead inspire a more complex debate, presenting ethical dilemmas without
assigning unqualified approval or condemnation. Such dramas are often more closely
aligned with the Iliad, which is concerned less with Achilles' ethical choices than with
the depth of the hero's suffering and the extremes of behavior that this suffering
provokes. Thus Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus th e King exemplifies not reprehensible conduct or poor judgment so much as the inscrutability of human fortune and
the fallibility of human intent. And the chorus's hollow attempts to find fault with his
behavior only emphasize the failure of popular morality to explain extreme personal
suffering. The trial in Aeschylus' Eumenides, with its balance of votes for acquittal and
condemnation, offers a productive political resolution but not an objective ethical
judgment of Orestes' matricide. Instead of sanctioning an individual act of homicide,
the play venerates an institution that reconciles deadly differences peaceably.
By far the most widespread instances of crisis and conflict in tragedy are those that
threaten the institution of the family. Not only did the tragedians frequently dramatize disputes between family members - between sisters in Antigone, between husband and wife in Medea, for example - they repeatedly drew upon myths in which one
family member kills or nearly kills another, thus dramatizing the most transgressive
Myth
violations of the most fundamental human bonds. The frequency
violations are astonishing. They include the killing of one's own
at Aulis, Medea,, Hippolytus, Heracles, Ion, Bacchae, recalled in A
Oedipus' curse in Oedipus at Colonus), of a husband (Agamemnot
or a wife (Heracles), of a mother (Libation Bearers, Sophocles'
Electra, Ion), of a father (recalled in combination with incest ir
figuratively of Polynices in Oedipus a t Colonus}, and of siblings (^
Phoenician Women, Iphigenia among th e Taurians). Related i
conflict include the debates over the relative values of family mem
and Orestes' near murder of and subsequent betrothal to Hen
addition to these many instances of strife within the family,
frequently arises from attempts to honor kin or preserve kin
external threats. Antigone insists on performing burial rites for
Creon's prohibitions. In Hecuba the former queen blinds Polyr
for the murder of her son Polydorus. Menelaus attempts to pr
against Theoclymenus in Helen, and in Andromache he intt
Phthian affairs in support of his daughter. The revenge killings
the Electra plays combine these two categories of family-based co
exacted on behalf of one family member entails the killing of am
Family crisis in Greek tragedy frequently centers upon a charac
youth to adulthood. In ancient Greek communities, as in cont
arrival at physical and sexual maturity entailed a considerable
kinship and other social relationships, as young women left th
assume the roles of wife and mother, and young men gainec
independence from paternal authority and entered the ranks oft
myth is rich in reflections of the passage into adulthood and its a
Greek tragedy in particular explores several instances of incon
irregular transitions. An extreme example is F.uripides' Hipf,
Perseus, Jason, and Theseus typically mark their entry into adultl
exploit, the slaying of a beast or monster, and then proceed
surpassing rival suitors or successfully challenging the bride's fa
Hippolytus, however, the hunting rite and the marital rite are sys
Though on the threshold of adulthood physically, Hippolytus en
rites of Aphrodite and instead declares perpetual devotion to
Artemis. Refusing to assume an active sexual role, to pursue
instead the passive object of his stepmother's incestuous desi
paradoxically accuses him of rape, Hippolytus' alleged wooing
conflict not with a bride's father, but with his own. Finally, inste
manhood by slaying a monster, the perpetual adolescent himse
monstrous bull of Poseidon. A similarly perverted passage into ac
Sophocles' Oedipus th e King. Conforming to the heroic model,
monster and thereby secured a wife, but his present investigatioi
oracle of Apollo predicted and despite his contrary intentions,
mother and slain his own father. Instead of directing adolescent a
desire outwards and maturing beyond the kinship ties of his y
directed these impulses against his own family, violating the clos
through incest and parricide.
Michael J. Anderson
:>f continued friendship with Athens (762-74) provided mythic
contemporary military alliance between Athens and Argos. While
aise Athens or mirror Athenian affairs so overtly, most view myth
ifth-century perspective, and democratic institutions and Athenian
•t always part of the plot machinery, are frequently invoked.
Functions of Myth in Tragedy
:neral embody and explore fundamental social institutions and the
associated with them. Greek tragedy in particular examines these
Jues by dramatizing moments of extreme crisis, violent conflict, and
>, moments in which traditional values are threatened and social
i. Greek poets, including tragedians, sometimes employed myth for
'urposes by presenting heroic characters as decidedly positive or
inspiring emulation or deserving censure. Pindar in his victory
, celebrates athletic champions by recounting the similarly praise:nts of mythic heroes, and conversely he cautions against human
ig legendary offences like Tantalus' misuse of nectar and ambrosia
>4), Ixion's attempt to rape Hera (Pythian 2.21-48), and Bellero0 scale Olympus (Olympian 8.84-92, Isthmian 7.44-47). The
ear moral inclinations in rewarding its hero's exemplary conduct
homecoming while punishing the overweening suitors and their
dishonorable deaths. Some tragedies share this moralistic view of a
tich the virtuous are rewarded and the wicked punished. The villains
often unquestionably villainous, and the concluding scenes appear
ons of some characters while condemning the errors of others. Few
jenia among the Taurians, for example, could condone the barbarificing strangers to Artemis, even if Athena did not intervene visibly
usion and sternly reprimand the barbarian king. More commonly,
:dians eschew simplistic illustrations of moral codes in their myths
•e a more complex debate, presenting ethical dilemmas without
led approval or condemnation. Such dramas are often more closely
'•iad, which is concerned less with Achilles' ethical choices than with
hero's suffering and the extremes of behavior that this suffering
ledipus in Sophocles' Oedipus th e King exemplifies not reprehenoor judgment so much as the inscrutability of human fortune and
man intent. And the chorus's hollow attempts to find fault with his
>hasize the failure of popular morality to explain extreme personal
1 in Aeschylus' Eumenides, with its balance of votes for acquittal and
fers a productive political resolution but not an objective ethical
tes' matricide. Instead of sanctioning an individual act of homicide,
an institution that reconciles deadly differences peaceably,
widespread instances of crisis and conflict in tragedy are those that
ution of the family. Not only did the tragedians frequently dramaeen family members - between sisters in Antigone, between husfedea, for example - they repeatedly drew upon myths in which one
Is or nearly kills another, thus dramatizing the most transgressive
Myth
125
violations of the most fundamental human bonds. The frequency and variety of such
violations are astonishing. They include the killing of one's own offspring (Iphigenia
at Aulis, Medea, Hippolytus, Heracles, Ion, Bacchae, recalled in Agamemnon; compare
Oedipus' curse in Oedipus at Colonus), of a husband (Agamemnon, Women ofTrachis]
or a wife (Heracles], of a mother (Libation Bearers, Sophocles' Electra, Euripides'
Electro-, Ion), of a father (recalled in combination with incest in Oedipus th e King,
figuratively of Polynices in Oedipus a t Colonus}, and of siblings (Seven against Thebes,
Phoenician Women, Iphigenia among th e Taurians}. Related instances of kinship
conflict include the debates over the relative values of family members' lives in Alcestis
and Orestes' near murder of and subsequent betrothal to Hermione in Orestes. In
addition to these many instances of strife within the family, tragic conflict also
frequently arises from attempts to honor kin or preserve kinship bonds against
external threats. Antigone insists on performing burial rites for her brother despite
Creon's prohibitions. In Hecuba the former queen blinds Polymestor in retaliation
for the murder of her son Polydorus. Menelaus attempts to preserve his marriage
against Theoclymenus in Helen, and in Andromache he intervenes violently in
Phthian affairs in support of his daughter. The revenge killings in the Oresteia and
the Electra plays combine these two categories of family-based conflict, as retribution
exacted on behalf of one family member entails the killing of another.
Family crisis in Greek tragedy frequently centers upon a character's transition from
youth to adulthood. In ancient Greek communities, as in contemporary societies,
arrival at physical and sexual maturity entailed a considerable reconfiguration of
kinship and other social relationships, as young women left their birth families to
assume the roles of wife and mother, and young men gained some measure of
independence from paternal authority and entered the ranks of the citizenry. Heroic
myth is rich in reflections of the passage into adulthood and its attendant rituals, and
Greek tragedy in particular explores several instances of incomplete or otherwise
irregular transitions. An extreme example is Euripides' Hippolytus. Heroes like
Perseus, Jason, and Theseus typically mark their entry into adulthood with a hunting
exploit, the slaying of a beast or monster, and then proceed to secure wives by
surpassing rival suitors or successfully challenging the bride's father. In the case of
Hippolytus, however, the hunting rite and the marital rite are systematically inverted.
Though on the threshold of adulthood physically, Hippolytus emphatically shuns the
rites of Aphrodite and instead declares perpetual devotion to the virgin huntress
Artemis. Refusing to assume an active sexual role, to pursue a wife, he becomes
instead the passive object of his stepmother's incestuous desires. And when she
paradoxically accuses him of rape, Hippolytus' alleged wooing catapults him into
conflict not with a bride's father, but with his own. Finally, instead of confirming his
manhood by slaying a monster, the perpetual adolescent himself falls victim to the
monstrous bull of Poseidon. A similarly perverted passage into adulthood lies behind
Sophocles' Oedipus th e King. Conforming to the heroic model, Oedipus has slain a
monster and thereby secured a wife, but his present investigations reveal that, as the
oracle of Apollo predicted and despite his contrary intentions, he has married his
mother and slain his own father. Instead of directing adolescent aggression and sexual
desire outwards and maturing beyond the kinship ties of his youth, he has in fact
directed these impulses against his own family, violating the closest of kinship bonds
through incest and parricide.
126
Michael J. Anderson
Sophocles' Antigone and Euripides' Iphigenia a t Aulisprovide notable examples of
female characters who fail to reach adulthood. Instead of leaving her father's house
and forming a new family with Haemon, Antigone devotes herself completely to her
brothers and ultimately joins them in death (see in particular the disputed lines 90420). Sophocles underscores the contrast between her tragic death and the marriage
she might have enjoyed by characterizing the subterranean enclosure in which she
dies as a kind of perverted bridal chamber (891; compare 806-16). Euripides engineers a similar opposition between marriage and premature death in Iphigenia a t Aulis.
Although led to Aulis with the promise of marriage to Achilles (another hero,
incidentally, often characterized by failure to enter fully into adulthood), the virgin
daughter of Agamemnon will instead be sacrificed to the virgin goddess Artemis and
never attain maturity. Several scenes of the drama feature disturbing juxtapositions of
marital and sacrificial motifs, as for example when Clytemnestra anxiously inquires
about the wedding preparations and Agamemnon's equivocal responses anticipate
instead the imminent sacrifice (716-41). And the chorus paints a vivid contrast
between the joyful festivities that once accompanied Thetis' marriage to Peleus and
the bloody ritual killing of Iphigenia soon to be performed (1036-97). In both of
these plays attention to marriage as the traditional rite of passage for young women
may be understood as emphasizing the perversity of the execution or sacrifice. Insofar
as Antigone and Iphigenia embrace their deaths, however, the juxtaposition with
marriage also distinguishes these heroines as extraordinary figures and monumentalizes their sacrifice.
In contrast to these premature deaths, Sophocles' Women o f Trachis concludes
with a successful but decidedly unconventional entry into adulthood. Heracles'
deathbed instructions to his son Hyllus - to light his funeral pyre while he still lives
and to marry his concubine lole - carry troubling undertones of parricide and
incest. Yet these near violations of kinship bonds serve to salvage the remains of a
family in turmoil. By burning his father's body Hyllus releases him from the torments
of Deianira's poisoned robe, and the paternally sanctioned marriage between lole
and Hyllus neatly replaces the disastrous extramarital relationship between lole and
Heracles. A less ambiguously successful coming-of-age myth is dramatized in Sophocles' Philoctetes. Here Neoptolemus, whose assumption of Achilles' role at Troy
was traditionally symbolized by the inheritance of his father's armor (see Proclus'
summary of the Little Iliad in West 2003, and compare Philoctetes 62-63),
aligns himself with Achilles also in ethical terms. Though at first tempted to adopt
Odysseus' stratagem of deception, he instead joins the recalcitrant Philoctetes in
resistance to the entire Achaean army, thereby adopting a stance of indignation and
defiance commonly associated with his father. Other dramas that address entry into
adulthood include Aeschylus' Suppliants and the many plays featuring Orestes
and Electra.
Another typical concern of tragic myth is conflict between an individual or family
and a larger community, specifically a polis or an army. Myths of the Trojan War, in
particular, highlight disagreements between individual warriors and the wider contingent of Greeks. Aeschylus' lost Myrmidons was modeled on the hero's withdrawal
from the fighting as previously narrated in the Iliad'.'And Achilles is again featured
acting upon his individual convictions and preserving his own honor in Iphigenia a t
Aulis, where he alone among the leaders contests the decision to sacrifice Iphigenia.
Myth
Conflict arises in Sophocles' Ajaxwhen the he
differs from the assessment rendered by the an
island of Lemnos has left the title hero of So
against the Greek army at Troy. Examples of c
communities are also abundant. The Argive c
to death in Euripides' Orestes. In Oedipus th e K
Laius from Thebes, thereby unknowingly ban
community from a plague. Creon in Antigone
condemns the heroine's resistance as an affi
Colonus Oedipus declares allegiance to Athen
mer ties to Thebes. In addition, tragedies c
military confrontation between communities,
through the lens of personal enmity or privat
Seven against Thebes centers upon a feud bet
ants, while recalling the war of the Seven and r
Athens and Thebes, foregrounds instead the \r
Trojan Women displays the lamentations of
immediate aftermath of the city's fall.
Several tragedies examine relationships bet
dramatizing an act of supplication. The supp
statue, or other hallowed place, technically in
is incumbent upon those who control the s;
request and thereby preserve the sanctity o
instances of supplication serve as a focal point
(Andromache and Ion), the convergence oi
representatives upon a sanctuary provides se
political conflict and debate over communal v
refuge at a statue of Athena in Aeschylus' Em
body of Athenian citizens to settle the dispu
cation thus precipitates a radical redefinition c
the hands of individuals (Orestes and Clyter
(Apollo and the Furies), but entrusted inst<
community. In assuming this authority, the cc
populace strife originally centered solely upoi
87). But this risk is far outweighed by the cil
perpetual alliance between Athens and Arg<
rehabilitated Eumenides to protect the city, :
its prosperity (916-1020). Acts of supplicatic
or private disputes also in Aeschylus' Suppl
Euripides' Suppliants and Children ofHeracle
these plays again endangers the community
intervention simultaneously offers substantia
Colonus and Children o f Heracles the establi
future protection against enemy states: again
while in the latter, paradoxically, the hostil
Athens as a talisman against future Heraclu
hael J. Anderson
es' Iphigenia a t Aulisprovide notable examples of
adulthood. Instead of leaving her father's house
:mon, Antigone devotes herself completely to her
in death (see in particular the disputed lines 904itrast between her tragic death and the marriage
:erizing the subterranean enclosure in which she
lamber (891; compare 806-16). Euripides enginarriage and premature death in Iphigenia a t Aulis.
)romise of marriage to Achilles (another hero,
failure to enter fully into adulthood), the virgin
id be sacrificed to the virgin goddess Artemis and
of the drama feature disturbing juxtapositions of
• example when Clytemnestra anxiously inquires
id Agamemnon's equivocal responses anticipate
6-41). And the chorus paints a vivid contrast
nee accompanied Thetis' marriage to Peleus and
ia soon to be performed (1036-97). In both of
the traditional rite of passage for young women
:he perversity of the execution or sacrifice. Insofar
e their deaths, however, the juxtaposition with
roines as extraordinary figures and monumentalieaths, Sophocles' Women o f Trachis concludes
nconventional entry into adulthood. Heracles'
rllus - to light his funeral pyre while he still lives
- carry troubling undertones of parricide and
kinship bonds serve to salvage the remains of a
icr's body Hyllus releases him from the torments
he paternally sanctioned marriage between lole
trous extramarital relationship between lole and
fill coming-of-age myth is dramatized in Sophos, whose assumption of Achilles' role at Troy
inheritance of his father's armor (see Proclus'
West 2003, and compare Pkiloctetes 62-63),
ethical terms. Though at first tempted to adopt
he instead joins the recalcitrant Philoctetes in
ly, thereby adopting a stance of indignation and
his father. Other dramas that address entry into
bliants and the many plays featuring Orestes
myth is conflict between an individual or family
a polis or an army. Myths of the Trojan War, in
Between individual warriors and the wider conyrmidonswzs modeled on the hero's withdrawal
ited in the Iliad. And Achilles is again featured
is and preserving his own honor in Iphigenia a t
ders contests the decision to sacrifice Iphigenia.
Myth
127
Conflict arises in Sophocles' Ajax when the hero's assessment of his value as a warrior
differs from the assessment rendered by the army's leaders. And abandonment on the
island of Lemnos has left the title hero of Sophocles' Philoctetes bitter and enraged
against the Greek army at Troy. Examples of discord between individuals and citizen
communities are also abundant. The Argive citizenry condemns Orestes and Electra
to death in Euripides' Orestes. In Oedipus th e King Oedipus banishes the murderer of
Laius from Thebes, thereby unknowingly banishing himself, in order to rescue the
community from a plague. Creon in Antigone, claiming to speak for the community,
condemns the heroine's resistance as an affront to the state. And in Oedipus a t
Colonus Oedipus declares allegiance to Athens while adamantly renouncing his former ties to Thebes. In addition, tragedies occasionally depict, or rather recount,
military confrontation between communities, but such hostilities are viewed primarily
through the lens of personal enmity or private suffering. Thus the war in Aeschylus'
Seven against Thebes centers upon a feud between two brothers. Euripides' Suppliants, while recalling the war of the Seven and recounting a subsequent engagement of
Athens and Thebes, foregrounds instead the burial of the fallen Argive warriors. And
rather than focusing on ambushes and battles during the night of Troy's capture,
Trojan Women displays the lamentations of Hecuba and her fellow captives in the
immediate aftermath of the city's fall.
Several tragedies examine relationships between individuals and communities by
dramatizing an act of supplication. The suppliant, in seeking refuge at an altar, cult
statue, or other hallowed place, technically invokes the protection of the gods, but it
is incumbent upon those who control the sacred precinct to grant the suppliant's
request and thereby preserve the sanctity of the location. Although some tragic
instances of supplication serve as a focal point for conflict within or between families
(Andromache and Ion], the convergence of suppliant, pursuers, and community
representatives upon a sanctuary provides several dramas with an ideal setting for
political conflict and debate over communal values. When, for example, Orestes takes
refuge at a statue of Athena in Aeschylus' Eumenides, the goddess appoints an august
body of Athenian citizens to settle the dispute by trial (470-88). The act of supplication thus precipitates a radical redefinition of the conflict, as justice is left neither in
the hands of individuals (Orestes and Clytemnestra) nor in the realm of the divine
(Apollo and the Furies), but entrusted instead to representatives of the Athenian
community. In assuming this authority, the community risks incurring upon its entire
populace strife originally centered solely upon an individual (476-79, 719-20, 78087). But this risk is far outweighed by the city's ultimate gains, Orestes' pledge of a
perpetual alliance between Athens and Argos (762-77), and the promises of the
rehabilitated Eumenides to protect the city, safeguard its internal peace, and ensure
its prosperity (916-1020). Acts of supplication prompt states to intervene in foreign
or private disputes also in Aeschylus' Suppliants, Sophocles' Oedipus a t Colonus, and
Euripides' Suppliantsand Children of Heracles. The choice to support the suppliant in
these plays again endangers the community with the threat of military conflict, but
intervention simultaneously offers substantial potential benefits. In both Oedipus a t
Colonus and Children o f Heracles the establishment of hero cults promises Athens
future protection against enemy states: against Thebes in the former play (607-28),
while in the latter, paradoxically, the hostile pursuer Eurystheus is entombed in
Athens as a talisman against future Heraclid aggression (1026-36). In Euripides'
128
Mich del J. Anderson
Suppliants the bones of the Argive heroes are returned to Argos for burial, but the
substitute burial in Athens of a sacrificial knife provides the city with protective
powers analogous to those of hero shrines (1183-1212).
A third general category of conflict witnessed in tragedy pits a mortal character
against a divine antagonist. Oedipus' self-discovery in Oedipus th e King is the climax
of a long and unsuccessful struggle against Apollo's oracle. Euripides' Andromache
recalls that Neoptolemus challenged Apollo at Delphi (49-55, and compare 10851165). In Prometheus Bound a Titan with pronounced mortal sympathies suffers for
opposing the will of Zeus, while lo suffers as an object of Zeus' lust and Hera's
jealousy. Artemis confronts Agamemnon with a painful dilemma in Iphigenia atAulis
and in the parados of Agamemnon. This category of opposition is also easily recognizable in Eumenides, Ajax, Hippolytus, Heracles, and Bacchae, where adversarial
divinities actually appear on stage. While Orestes prevails in Eumenides with the
assistance of other divinities, the typical confrontation between mortal and god
instead highlights the supremacy of the latter and the limitations of the former.
With the exceptions of Dionysus, Demeter, and some lesser divinities, the immortals
of Greek myth existed largely above the reach of the deepest mortal suffering.
Although Artemis, for example, can feel sorrow over Hippolytus' misfortune
(Hippolytus 1338-40), she cannot defile herself by witnessing his death (1437-38).
Thus the gods were never, it seems, chosen as the principal subjects of tragedy
without some accompanying involvement of mortals. The experiences of these
greater-than-human beings simply could not generate in an audience the pity and
fear that Aristotle judged essential to tragedy.
Insofar as it explores institutions common to all or most societies, tragedy can lay
claim to near universal cultural significance. But Athenian tragedy developed out of a
specific cultural tradition and within a specific cultural environment, and many of the
institutions it explores and the forms they assume are particular to ancient Greece.
One element that frequently advertises tragedy's local significance is the inclusion of
an aetiology - an interpretation of the play's action as the foundation story for a
contemporary cultural institution - at the close of the play. In this, tragedy continues
a long tradition of poetic mythmaking that grounded religious practices in the distant
past. So, for example, the myth of Prometheus' duplicitous sacrifice at Mecone, as
narrated in Hesiod's TToeqgony (535-60), explains why the Greeks customarily offered
to the gods the less valuable portions of sacrificial animals. And the Homeric Hymn to
Demeter records the foundation of the sanctuary at Eleusis and implicitly characterizes the Eleusinian mysteries as a commemorative reenactment of the goddess'
sojourn there. Several tragedies end with divinities announcing the establishment of
religious institutions in Attica, thereby setting a seal upon the action of the drama
with the promise of perpetual ritual commemoration. Examples include the worship
of the "kindly goddesses" instituted in the Eumenides, of Oedipus in Oedipus a t
Colonus, of Hippolytus at Troezen in Hippolytus, and cults of Artemis at Halae and
Brauron in Iphigenia a t Aulis. Tragedy also provides aetiologies for a variety of other
social institutions. Eumenides offers a foundation myth for the court of the Areopagus, together with the custom of counting a tie vote as an acquittal (741-42, 75253; compare Euripides' Electra 1266-69, Iphigenia among the Taurians 1469-72).
Thetis in Andromache announces the continuation of her own, Peleus', and
Andromache's lineage in the succession of Molossian kings, thereby celebrating a
contemporary dynasty (1243-49). Ac
foundation of the city of Aetna. Ion id
all the lonians and proclaims Athens
Achaeans( 1571-94).
Aeschylus' Persians, with its detaile
anomalous in its attention to specific
6.21 on Phrynichus' Capture o f Mile
upon the politics and history of fifthColonus and Euripides in his Supplian
ruler, a king who shares political auth
Pelasgus in Aeschylus' Suppliants). Cr
tions in Oedipus th e King (583-602) ai
breeds the tyrant" (873), suggest de
power in the hands of a single individv
characterization of his brother in Iphipf
with all when canvassing for votes but g
law do not appear regularly in tragec
extended formal debates, or agones, cc
at least familiarity with the judicial sys
foreign policy: alliance with Argos in th
toward Thebes in Oedipus a t Colonus
reputation as a dependable sanctuary f
contemporary history. Herodotus rec
Plataea began with an act of supplicati
Trojan Women is often read in conjunct
416 BCE (see Thucydides 5.84-116),
against a clear causal relationship betwe
Erp Taalman Kip 1987). It is also temj
King was inspired by the plague that
Peloponnesian War (see Thucydides 2.
While thus deeply embedded in its {
thcless preserves neither an exact nor ;
and history. Although, for example, At
tragedy lacks crisis centered upon mar
part to the inherited traditions of Greek
illustrious lineage, not merchants or
limited cultural esteem of these occuj
were pursued not by Athenian citizens
visitors. The images of the contcmporai
and often oblique, emblematic rather t
to Athenian comedy to find a more in
with contemporary society.
Bringing N
Although Aristotle records that both
Antheus were wholly invented (Poett
Myth
e heroes are returned to Argos for burial, but the
sacrificial knife provides the city with protective
> shrines (1183-1212).
iflict witnessed in tragedy pits a mortal character
us' self-discovery in Oedipus th e King is the climax
le against Apollo's oracle. Euripides' Andromache
ed Apollo at Delphi (49-55, and compare 1085an with pronounced mortal sympathies suffers for
lo suffers as an object of Zeus' lust and Hera's
mnon with a painful dilemma in Iphijyenia atAulis
i. This category of opposition is also easily recog<polytus, Heracles, and Bacchae, where adversarial
e. While Orestes prevails in Eumenides with the
; typical confrontation between mortal and god
of the latter and the limitations of the former.
Demeter, and some lesser divinities, the immortals
?ove the reach of the deepest mortal suffering,
can feel sorrow over Hippolytus' misfortune
: defile herself by witnessing his death (1437-38).
sms, chosen as the principal subjects of tragedy
olvement of mortals. The experiences of these
f could not generate in an audience the pity and
to tragedy.
s common to all or most societies, tragedy can lay
tiificance. But Athenian tragedy developed out of a
in a specific cultural environment, and many of the
rms they assume are particular to ancient Greece,
-tises tragedy's local significance is the inclusion of
}f the play's action as the foundation story for a
- at the close of the play. In this, tragedy continues
dng that grounded religious practices in the distant
•f Prometheus' duplicitous sacrifice at Mecone, as
3-60), explains why the Greeks customarily offered
>ns of sacrificial animals. And the Homeric Hymn t o
f the sanctuary at Eleusis and implicitly charactera commemorative reenactment of the goddess'
id with divinities announcing the establishment of
ereby setting a seal upon the action of the drama
al commemoration. Examples include the worship
ited in the Eumenides, of Oedipus in Oedipus a t
i in Hippolytus, and cults of Artemis at Halae and
gedy also provides aetiologies for a variety of other
rs a foundation myth for the court of the Areopacounting a tie vote as an acquittal (741-42, 752166-69, Iphiyenia among th e Taurians 1469-72).
es the continuation of her own, Peleus', and
cession of Molossian kings, thereby celebrating a
129
contemporary dynasty (1243-49). Aeschylus' lost Women o f Aetna dramatized the
foundation of the city of Aetna. Io n identifies its hero as the eponymous ancestor of
all the lonians and proclaims Athens the ancestral origin of lonians, Dorians, and
Achacans( 1571-94).
Aeschylus' Persians, with its detailed account of the naval victory at Salamis, is
anomalous in its attention to specific events of the recent past (compare Herodotus
6.21 on Phrynichus' Capture o f Miletus], but several plays reflect more generally
upon the politics and history of fifth-century Athens. Sophocles in his Oedipus a t
Colonus and Euripides in his Suppliants portray Theseus as a prototypic democratic
ruler, a king who shares political authority with the populace (compare the Argive
Pelasgus in Aeschylus' Suppliants}. Creon's adamant disavowal of tyrannical ambitions in Oedipus th e King (583-602) and the chorus's moralizing dictum, "insolence
breeds the tyrant" (873), suggest democratic unease over concentrating political
power in the hands of a single individual. Conspicuously anachronistic is Menelaus'
characterization of his brother in Iphigenia i n Aulis as a politician who curries favor
with all when canvassing for votes but grows aloof once in office (337-48). Courts of
law do not appear regularly in tragedy outside the Oresteia and Orestes, but the
extended formal debates, or agones, common in Euripides' plays, attest interest or
at least familiarity with the judicial system. Several plays allude to current Athenian
foreign policy: alliance with Argos in the Oresteia and Euripides' Suppliants, hostility
toward Thebes in Oedipus a t Colonus and toward Sparta in Andromache. Athens'
reputation as a dependable sanctuary for suppliants in tragedy also finds parallels in
contemporary history. Herodotus records that the alliance between Athens and
Plataea began with an act of supplication in the Athenian agora (6.108). Euripides'
Trojan Women is often read in conjunction with the Athenian destruction of Mclos in
416 BCE (see Thucydides 5.84-116), although chronological considerations argue
against a clear causal relationship between the historical event and the drama (see van
Erp Taalman Kip 1987). It is also tempting to believe that the plague in Oedipus the
King was inspired by the plague that devastated Athens at the beginning of the
Peloponnesian War (see Thucydides 2.47-54).
While thus deeply embedded in its particular cultural context, tragic myth nevertheless preserves neither an exact nor a comprehensive account of Athenian society
and history. Although, for example, Athens was a highly successful mercantile state,
tragedy lacks crisis centered upon manufacture and trade. This avoidance is due in
part to the inherited traditions of Greek myth, whose heroes are warriors and kings of
illustrious lineage, not merchants or industrial entrepreneurs, and in part to the
limited cultural esteem of these occupations in contemporary Athens, where they
were pursued not by Athenian citizens, but predominantly by foreign residents and
visitors. The images of the contemporary world in tragedy's mythical past are selective
and often oblique, emblematic rather than descriptive. Historians must turn instead
to Athenian comedy to find a more inclusive and more direct fictional engagement
with contemporary society.
Bringing Myth to the Stage
Although Aristotle records that both the characters and the plot of Agathon's
Antheus were wholly invented (Poetics 145lb21-23), such independence from
130
Michael J. Anderson
established myth was uncommon among the tragedians. In referring to his dramas as
"slices from the banquet of Homer" (Athenaeus 347e), Aeschylus reverently acknowledged the debt the tragedians owed to heroic epic, and a brief survey of the
surviving plays reveals repeated borrowing from canonical traditions. Eight plays,
approximately one fourth of the corpus, are based on familiar myths of the Trojan
War, and the fragments record a similarly high percentage of Trojan plays overall. The
popularity of this material among the dramatists stems partly from the monumental
status of the Iliad and the Odyssey in the Greek poetic tradition and partly from the
sheer number and variety of well-known myths surrounding the war against Troy.
The surviving plays include three stories of discord within the Greek army (Ajax,
Philoctetes, Iphigenia a t Aulis], one account of a night raid on the Trojan camp
(Rhesus), three accounts of the suffering of the Trojan captives (Hecuba, Trojan
Women, Andromache}, and one account of the reunion of Helen and Menelaus in
Egypt after the war (Helen). Another seven of the surviving tragedies draw upon wellknown traditions of the family of Agamemnon (eight \f Iphigenia atAulisis included
here instead of with the Trojan material). While the Trojan War figures in the
background of these myths, their appeal to the tragedians lies primarily in the violent
family conflicts they record. An interest in kinship strife also repeatedly attracted the
dramatists to Theban legend. Six plays treat Oedipus and his fratricidal sons, and
Eacchae reaches its conclusion with the dismemberment of Pentheus at the hands of
his mother and her sisters.
Tragic innovations upon the banquet of heroic tradition assumed many forms.
In a handful of works the dramatists adhered to tradition with little noticeable
alteration of plot or character, and exercised artistic license instead by emphasizing
particular characters or dramatic perspectives over others. The Euripidean Rhesus, for
example, preserves the basic elements of the myth found in Iliad 10. In both works
Hector sends Dolon to spy on the Achaeans, but Odysseus and Diomedes intercept
him and subsequently slaughter the newly arrived Rhesus. As in the epic, so too in
the tragedy Dolon is promised the horses of Achilles as his reward, but Odysseus and
Diomedes thwart Dolon's expectations and make off with Rhesus' horses instead.
The circumstances surrounding the raid are also the same in both epic and
drama: Achilles has withdrawn from the fighting and in his absence Hector anticipates Trojan victory. Apart from brief appearances of Athena and Paris, in fact,
the play introduces little substantive alteration of the inherited myth. The tragic
dramatization does, however, differ from the epic in its greater development of
characters in the Trojan camp. Whereas in the Iliad we glimpse Rhesus only
when sleeping or dead, the drama casts him in an active role, boasting that he will
rid Troy of its enemies in a single day (443-50). And the dramatist offers a more
intimate perspective on the catastrophe by introducing both Rhesus' charioteer,
who delivers a grim report of the hero's death and accuses Hector of the murder
(756-855), and Rhesus' mother, who arrives at the play's close to lament and
retrieve the corpse.
Trojan Women, despite its unconventional tripartite structure, is constructed
around several traditional plot elements attested in the fragments of the epics Little
Iliad and the Sack of Troy: Helen's reunion with Menelaus, the sacrifice of Polyxena at
Achilles' tomb, the allotment of Cassandra to Agamemnon and of Andromache to
Neoptolemus, and the murder of Astyanax. The drama's originality lies not in any
Myth
significant departure from this tradition, but in the
elements into a series of encounters with the Tro
farewells to Cassandra and Andromache followed b
Helen. This final encounter, staged as a debate over
execute his adulterous wife, replays in agonistic forn
initially intended to kill Helen upon discovering her
the sight of her beauty (Little Iliad fr. 28, West 20(
Tragedians occasionally altered mythic traditions i
a new principal character into an established plot,
in Sophocles' Philoctetes. In contrast to earlier i
Diomedes (as in the epic Cypria), Odysseus (in Ae;
in combination (in Euripides' Philoctetes) retrieve
Lemnos, Sophocles' play introduces Neoptolemu
duplicitous Odysseus. Epic attests at least two othc
mus and Odysseus cooperate. The Little Iliad crcdi
tolemus to Troy and giving him the arms of his fath
in West 2003). And the Odyssey, recalling Neoptolen
under Odysseus' command in the wooden horse,
with the patience of the more experienced leader
newly fashioned expedition Neoptolemus' distaste
for the ailing Philoctetes soon dissolve his parti
resolution to return to Greece threatens a radica
record his participation in Troy's capture. The di
the play's close, with prophetic instructions for 1
rejoin the campaign, reconciles the action of this
the obvious artificiality of this intervention underscc
cles' portrayal of an idealistic Neoptolemus and
depicted elsewhere.
The participation of Electra in the murders of
unattested in literary sources before the fifth ccnti
polation. The surviving plays chart her developme
figure and simultaneously attest to the variety of
character in a single myth. In Aeschylus' Libation 1
to Orestes in importance, adamantly opposed to Cl
tive or power to oppose her alone. She joins Ores
father, and her hatred for Clytemnestra stimulates h
clearly distances her from the murders, assigning 1
trap, and she remains silent throughout the seconi
Euripides, in contrast, diminish the role of Orestes ;
around Electra, who but for a few brief absences rei
both plays. In Sophocles' play she aggressively opp
by confronting her mother directly, plotting to m
and 1019-20), and chiding her timid sister (probab
for failing to assist. In Euripides' play a humiliating
her bitterness, and she rivals Orestes' involvement
her mother into the house where she will meet
Clytemnestra's sinister past (compare the carpet s<
Michael]. Anderson
•mmon among the tragedians. In referring to his dramas as
of Homer" (Athenaeus 347e), Aeschylus reverently actragedians owed to heroic epic, and a brief survey of the
>eated borrowing from canonical traditions. Eight plays,
of the corpus, are based on familiar myths of the Trojan
:ord a similarly high percentage of Trojan plays overall. The
among the dramatists stems partly from the monumental
: Odyssey in the Greek poetic tradition and partly from the
of well-known myths surrounding the war against Troy,
ie three stories of discord within the Greek army (Ajax,
\ulis), one account of a night raid on the Trojan camp
of die suffering of the Trojan captives (Hecuba, Trojan
d one account of the reunion of Helen and Menelaus in
). Another seven of the surviving tragedies draw upon wellnily of Agamemnon (eight if Iphijjenia atAulisis included
Trojan material). While the Trojan War figures in the
s, their appeal to the tragedians lies primarily in the violent
i. An interest in kinship strife also repeatedly attracted the
:nd. Six plays treat Oedipus and his fratricidal sons, and
iion with the dismemberment of Pentheus at the hands of
n the banquet of heroic tradition assumed many forms,
ic dramatists adhered to tradition with little noticeable
cter, and exercised artistic license instead by emphasizing
matic perspectives over others. The Euripidean Rhesus, for
ic elements of the myth found in Iliad 10. In both works
y on the Achaeans, but Odysseus and Diomedes intercept
ighter the newly arrived Rhesus. As in the epic, so too in
ised the horses of Achilles as his reward, but Odysseus and
; expectations and make off with Rhesus' horses instead,
inding the raid are also the same in both epic and
rawn from the fighting and in his absence Hector anticirt from brief appearances of Athena and Paris, in fact,
substantive alteration of the inherited myth. The tragic
:ver, differ from the epic in its greater development of
camp. Whereas in the Iliad we glimpse Rhesus only
e drama casts him in an active role, boasting that he will
a single day (443-50). And the dramatist offers a more
lie catastrophe by introducing both Rhesus' charioteer,
t of the hero's death and accuses Hector of the murder
mother, who arrives at the play's close to lament and
its unconventional tripartite structure, is constructed
plot elements attested in the fragments of the epics Little
Helen's reunion with Menelaus, the sacrifice of Polyxena at
ent of Cassandra to Agamemnon and of Andromache to
irder of Astyanax. The drama's originality lies not in any
Myth
131
significant departure from this tradition, but in the dramatic configuration of these
elements into a series of encounters with the Trojan queen Hecuba - her painful
farewells to Cassandra and Andromache followed by her bitter parting quarrel with
Helen. This final encounter, staged as a debate over whether or not Menelaus should
execute his adulterous wife, replays in agonistic form the epic tradition that Menelaus
initially intended to kill Helen upon discovering her at Troy but dropped his sword at
the sight of her beauty (Little Iliad fr. 28, West 2003).
Tragedians occasionally altered mythic traditions more substantially by introducing
a new principal character into an established plot, as is the case with Neoptolemus
in Sophocles' Philoctetes. In contrast to earlier versions of the myth, in which
Diomedes (as in the epic Cypria), Odysseus (in Aeschylus' Philoctetes}, or both men
in combination (in Euripides' Philoctetes) retrieve Philoctetes and his bow from
Lemnos, Sophocles' play introduces Neoptolemus as a potential protege of the
duplicitous Odysseus. Epic attests at least two other occasions on which Neoptolemus and Odysseus cooperate. The Little Iliad credits Odysseus with bringing Neoptolemus to Troy and giving him the arms of his father Achilles (see Proclus' summary
in West 2003). And the Odyssey, recalling Neoptolemus' inclusion among the warriors
under Odysseus' command in the wooden horse, contrasts his youthful eagerness
with the patience of the more experienced leader (11.523-32). But in Sophocles'
newly fashioned expedition Neoptolemus' distaste for deception and his sympathy
for the ailing Philoctetes soon dissolve his partnership with Odysseus, and his
resolution to return to Greece threatens a radical departure from traditions that
record his participation in Troy's capture. The divine intervention of Heracles at
the play's close, with prophetic instructions for Philoctetes and Neoptolemus to
rejoin the campaign, reconciles the action of this play with established myth, but
the obvious artificiality of this intervention underscores the disparity between Sopho
cles' portrayal of an idealistic Neoptolemus and the murderous youth we find
depicted elsewhere.
The participation of Electra in the murders of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, also
unattested in literary sources before the fifth century, may be another tragic interpolation. The surviving plays chart her development from a subsidiary to a central
figure and simultaneously attest to the variety of treatments possible for a single
character in a single myth. In Aeschylus' Libation Bearers Electra remains secondary
to Orestes in importance, adamantly opposed to Clytemnestra but lacking the initiative or power to oppose her alone. She joins Orestes in a moving lament for their
father, and her hatred for Clytemnestra stimulates her brother's anger; but Aeschylus
clearly distances her from the murders, assigning her no role in preparing Orestes'
trap, and she remains silent throughout the second half of the play. Sophocles and
Euripides, in contrast, diminish the role of Orestes and organize their dramas instead
around Electra, who but for a few brief absences remains onstage for the duration of
both plays. In Sophocles' play she aggressively opposes Aegisthus and Clytemnestra
by confronting her mother directly, plotting to murder Aegisthus herself (954-57
and 1019-20), and chiding her timid sister (probably another Sophoclean invention)
for failing to assist. In Euripides' play a humiliating marriage to a peasant exacerbates
her bitterness, and she rivals Orestes' involvement in the murders by actively luring
her mother into the house where she will meet death - a deed reminiscent of
Clytemnestra's sinister past (compare the carpet scene in Agamemnon). It is most
132
Michael J. Anderson
unlikely that she played a similarly aggressive role in earlier works of which no record
survives.
Another common form of substantial innovation is the insertion of new episodes
into established narrative frameworks. According to early epic fragments, after his
madness and suicide Ajax's body was buried in a coffin as a mark of dishonor,
a divergence from the normal epic practice of cremation (Little Iliad fr. 3, West
2003). Sophocles' Aja-x expands this detail into a potentially deadly conflict between
advocates and opponents of proper burial and ultimately contradicts the epic
record of dishonor. The three other dramas that include lengthy verbal disputes
over burial - Antigone, Oedipus a t Colonus, and Euripides' Suppliants— are similarly
suggestive of tragic extrapolation. Such verbal conflict may also be viewed more
broadly as a tragic analogue to the epic motifs of battling over, mutilating, and
ransoming corpses.
Remarkable in the case of both Andromache and Iphigenia among the Taurians is
the extent to which Euripides duplicates motifs traditionally associated with these
characters elsewhere to construct new plots. In Phthia Andromache essentially relives
her past suffering at Troy. The fickle Hermione now fills the role played formerly by
her mother Helen, while the hostile Menelaus replaces the menacing Greek army. The
death of Neoptolemus parallels the death of Hector, and the threats to Andromache's
son recall the murder of Astyanax. Euripides invokes these Trojan paradigms, however, only to overturn them by saving Andromache's Phthian son from the fate of his
Trojan counterpart. While the death of Astyanax definitively marked the extinction of
Priam's family, Thetis promises Peleus that his descendants will flourish for generations. In Iphigenia among th e Taurians the dramatist again generates suspense by
threatening his protagonists with a repetition of their grim past. In nearly sacrificing
her brother to Artemis, Iphigenia mimics her own sacrifice at the hands of Agamemnon, which she herself has recounted in the prologue. But instead of continuing the
cycle of kinship murders, the siblings discover one another's identity in an elaborate
and joyful scene of recognition, reminiscent of the reunion Orestes previously shared
with Electra. Dramatic reenactments thus neatly link the newly extrapolated episode
to preceding chapters of the legend. Moreover, by uniting the legends of Orestes and
Iphigenia, Euripides fashions this new episode into a comprehensive cathartic resolution to the entire cycle of family conflict, rivaling and superseding the resolution
previously offered by Aeschylus' Oresteia. Whereas the Oresteia apparently accepts the
tradition that Iphigenia simply died as a sacrifice to Artemis, Euripides' play instead
reports that Artemis rescued her from the altar and paradoxically established her as a
priestess among the barbarian Taurians, where she must participate in the ritual
sacrifice of foreigners (1-41; compare Proclus' summary of the epic Cypria in West
2003). And whereas according to Aeschylus' Eumenides Apollo simply administered
purification rites to Orestes at Delphi (40-45 and 578), in Euripides' play Orestes
can escape the lingering stain of matricide and the accompanying madness only by
delivering the cult statue of Artemis from the Taurians (939-82). The ruse by which
the siblings launch their escape, the claim that the matricide and the statue must be
purified in the sea (1028-51 and 1153-1233), ironically epitomizes the polluted
condition of both hero and goddess and underscores the hitherto incomplete state of
both the Orestes and the Iphigenia traditions. Euripides finally perfects their legends
Myt
by enshrining in Athenian cult Orestes' esc
association with human sacrifice (1446-67
The preceding examples of old paradigm
general tragic practice of enhancing dra
allusions to related events in the broader r
employed the device extensively and for v
pates the death of Achilles and the captu
boundary, and characters in the Odyssey sh
journeys home. Such allusions were particu
dramatized portions of a larger whole, "
several dramas a synopsis of preceding eve
ecies of a deus ex machina neatly locate th
concerns within the wider mythic contex
Athena in the prologue of Euripides' TrA
sacrilegious atrocities that accompanied Tr
sequent destruction that awaits the Greek
thereby invokes the traditional associatio
although it offers cold comfort to the pow
scenes. Allusions to the past pervade Oedip
his true identity entails a comprehensive rea
predicting that his birth would result in La
with Jocasta. In Oedipus a t Colonus the
remain fundamental components of the ag
ing abundant verbal debate over these trans
at the play's opening when Oedipus tres
thereby symbolically retracing his blind a
capture of Troy, the abduction of Helen, ai
shadows over Agamemnon, but none so p
chorus laments the horrific events at Aul
tingly replicates the sacrifice in symbolic fc
(905-65), Clytemnestra invokes Iphigenia
and 1523-29), and she repeats the sacri
sacrifice (1384-87 and 1432-33).
Einally, a unique form of mythic innova
traditions in Prometheus Bound, which
Prometheus and lo. It is not unusual for
the narrative cycle to which it belongs, p
imprisonment cited at Antigone 944-87 a
1301-52, for example), but the mixing
uncommonly bold. The logic of the n
Prometheus Bound lies in their common
metheus' punishment and lo's wandering
world, far removed from civilization, and
dim view of Zeus' rule. In addition, tht
between the two figures: Prometheus' pr
cles will prove instrumental in securing
Ticha,el
J. Anderson
y aggressive role in earlier works of which no record
>stantial innovation is the insertion of new episodes
works. According to early epic fragments, after his
dy was buried in a coffin as a mark of dishonor,
epic practice of cremation (Little Iliad fr. 3, West
this detail into a potentially deadly conflict between
>roper burial and ultimately contradicts the epic
other dramas that include lengthy verbal disputes
at Colonus, and Euripides' Suppliants - are similarly
m Such verbal conflict may also be viewed more
> the epic motifs of battling over, mutilating, and
:h Andromache and Iphigenia among the Taurians is
duplicates motifs traditionally associated with these
t new plots. In Phthia Andromache essentially relives
ickle Hermione now fills the role played formerly by
tile Menelaus replaces the menacing Greek army. The
:he death of Hector, and the threats to Andromache's
ax. Euripides invokes these Trojan paradigms, howiaving Andromache's Phthian son from the fate of his
eath of Astyanax definitively marked the extinction of
Peleus that his descendants will flourish for generTaurians the dramatist again generates suspense by
:h a repetition of their grim past. In nearly sacrificing
lia mimics her own sacrifice at the hands of Agamemunted in the prologue. But instead of continuing the
blings discover one another's identity in an elaborate
reminiscent of the reunion Orestes previously shared
nents thus neatly link the newly extrapolated episode
end. Moreover, by uniting the legends of Orestes and
lis new episode into a comprehensive cathartic resonily conflict, rivaling and superseding the resolution
' Oresteia. Whereas the Oresteia apparently accepts the
died as a sacrifice to Artemis, Euripides' play instead
:r from the altar and paradoxically established her as a
Taurians, where she must participate in the ritual
ompare Proclus' summary of the epic Cypria in West
to Aeschylus' Eumenides Apollo simply administered
Delphi (40-45 and 578), in Euripides' play Orestes
of matricide and the accompanying madness only by
temis from the Taurians (939-82). The ruse by which
:, the claim that the matricide and the statue must be
and 1153-1233), ironically epitomizes the polluted
idess and underscores the hitherto incomplete state of
;enia traditions. Euripides finally perfects their legends
Myth
133
by enshrining in Athenian cult Orestes' escape from the Furies and Artemis' former
association with human sacrifice (1446-67).
The preceding examples of old paradigms recycled into new plots exemplify the
general tragic practice of enhancing dramatizations of individual episodes with
allusions to related events in the broader mythic cycle. Homeric epic had previously
employed the device extensively and for varying effect: the Iliad ominously antici
pates the death of Achilles and the capture of Troy beyond the poem's narrative
boundary, and characters in the Odyssey share numerous stories of the war and their
journeys home. Such allusions were particularly suitable to works that conventionally
dramatized portions of a larger whole, "slices from the banquet of Homer." In
several dramas a synopsis of preceding events in the prologue or the closing prophecies of a deus ex machina neatly locate the present action and its principal thematic
concerns within the wider mythic context. The exchange between Poseidon and
Athena in the prologue of Euripides' Trojan Women simultaneously recalls the
sacrilegious atrocities that accompanied Troy's recent capture and predicts the consequent destruction that awaits the Greek fleet after the drama's close. The prologue
thereby invokes the traditional association of Troy's fall with divine retribution,
although it offers cold comfort to the powerless captives featured in the subsequent
scenes. Allusions to the past pervade Oedipus th e King, where the hero's discovery of
his true identity entails a comprehensive reassessment of his entire life, from the oracle
predicting that his birth would result in Laius' death to his present incestuous union
with Jocasta. In Oedipus a t Colonus the incest and patricide committed long ago
remain fundamental components of the aging hero's character. In addition to including abundant verbal debate over these transgressions, Sophocles invokes them visually
at the play's opening when Oedipus trespasses into the grove of the Eumenides,
thereby symbolically retracing his blind and accidental kinship transgressions. The
capture of Troy, the abduction of Helen, and the murder of Thyestes' children all cast
shadows over Agamemnon, but none so pervasive as the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The
chorus laments the horrific events at Aulis in their first song, Agamemnon unwittingly replicates the sacrifice in symbolic form when he tramples the costly tapestries
(905-65), Clytemnestra invokes Iphigenia's sacrifice as justification for murder (1432
and 1523-29), and she repeats the sacrilege by staging Agamemnon's death as a
sacrifice (1384-87 and 1432-33).
Finally, a unique form of mythic innovation in tragedy is the blending of multiple
traditions in Prometheus Bound, which fuses the previously independent myths of
Prometheus and lo. It is not unusual for a play to contain allusions to myths outside
the narrative cycle to which it belongs, particularly in choral odes (the parallels for
imprisonment cited at Antigone 944-87 and the account of Demetcr's grief at Helen
1301-52, for example), but the mixing of distinct traditions in a dramatic plot is
uncommonly bold. The logic of the novel pairing of Titan and mortal in the
Prometheus Round lies in their common status as victims of Zeus' tyranny. Prometheus' punishment and lo's wandering place them both at the extremities of the
world, far removed from civilization, and lo's intense suffering confirms Prometheus'
dim view of Zeus' rule. In addition, the dramatist discovers a weak narrative link
between the two figures: Prometheus' prediction that lo's distant descendant Heracles will prove instrumental in securing his release (771-74, 871-73, and compare
134
Michael J. Anderson
Hesiod Theogony 526-34) anticipates the tidy resolution of Prometheus' conflict with
Zeus in the companion play, Prometheus Unbound. Not content with combining just
two traditions, however, the dramatist incorporates one more innovation, Prometheus' prophecy that some unspecified child of Zeus will overthrow him (75570 and 946-47), presumably an allusion to the offspring of Thetis. According to a
myth first clearly attested in Pindar but already indirectly acknowledged in the lUfrA,
Zeus and Poseidon pursued the goddess Thetis, but upon learning that she was
destined to bear a child greater than its father, the gods forced her to marry a mortal
in order to prevent cosmic unrest (Isthmian 8.27-46; compare Metis in Hesiod's
Theogony, 886-900). Though not previously associated with Prometheus, this third
myth again accords neatly with the dramatic context. The threat of deposition is
plausible at this early stage of Zeus' rule, not long after he himself has overthrown his
father Cronus. Furthermore, Zeus' fear of begetting a successor may restrain his
sexual aggression and could even hinder his pursuit of lo. Prometheus' knowledge of
the prophecy thus provides him with considerable leverage in his present struggle.
Finally, like the Prometheus tradition, the myths of Thetis explore a complex linkage
between the mortal world and the divine. Forced to marry a mortal husband and give
birth to a mortal child for the sake of the divine hierarchy, the goddess experiences
directly and personally the anguish of mortality. Gods join mortals in celebrating her
wedding, but for the bride the ultimate consequences of this celebration are the
Trojan War and the death of her beloved son Achilles. Thetis' divided experience thus
complements the transgressive roles of both Prometheus, the divine patron who
suffers to alleviate the suffering of mankind, and lo's descendant Heracles, the
suffering hero who comes closer than any other to crossing the boundary between
mortality and divinity.
NOTE
I thank Justina Gregory and Victor Bers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this
chapter.
FURTHER READIN G
Graf 1993 provides an excellent introduction to the study of Greek myth, and the contributions in Bremmer 1987 and Edmunds 1990 exemplify various scholarly approaches. For
discussion of myths in their cultural context see Buxton 1994; on gender issues in the study
of myth see Doherty 2001. Gantz 1993 provides an encyclopedic study of the sources of
early Greek myth, for which LIMC and Frazer 1921 are also very useful. West 2003 makes
available in English translation the fragments of early Greek epic. In addition, the mythic
traditions treated by the tragedians are customarily well documented in the introductions to
philological commentaries on individual dramas; for example, Garvie 1986 on Libation
Bearers, Sommerstein 1989 on Eumenides, and Cropp 2000 on Iphigenia among the Taurians. On Antigone's failure to marry sec Seaford 1990, and for paradigms of initiation ritual
in Sophocles' Pkiloctetes see Vidal-Naquct 1988
tion in Oedipus a t Colonus with attention to
explores the relationship between Oedipus am
1997, chs. 7-9, for the treatment of traditions
Women, and Andromache. And on the relevance
Garner 1990, 40-46.