Greek Tragedy (2)

The Hermione depicted in Euripides’ Andromache is generally defined by her relationships with others, primarily Andromache and Menelaus. Whether as an antagonist to Andromache, or as a second Andromache-like suppliant figure, or as a part of anti-Spartan stereotypes embodied by herself, Menelaus, and Orestes, Hermione’s dramatic role depends on her response to other, perhaps more vocal, characters in the play.

Dionysus of Euripides’ Bacchae is one of the most complex characters of the ancient stage – beautiful, powerful, gentle, yet alarmingly violent – he is a character of contradiction whose impact has shaped the history of literature.

Towards the end of Euripides’ Heracles, the hero has a sudden, and unexpected, change of mind about committing suicide. While at 1146ff. Heracles was steadfast in wanting to end his life, after murdering his family in a fit of madness caused by Hera, at 1351 he declares that he will “firmly persist in living,” and agrees to follow Theseus to Athens. I argue that the reason for Heracles’ change of mind is to be sought in the exchange of narratives between Heracles and Theseus at 1255-1339.

Two major strands in scholarship on Euripides’ Helen downplay its emotional aspects in different ways. On the one hand, emphasis on the play’s engagement with philosophical issues privileges intellectual over emotional effects (Solmsen 1934, Segal 1971, Downing 1990), and on the other hand, attention to its tragicomic or melodramatic qualities privileges plot over character (Kitto 1961: 311-29, Arnott 1990, Pucci 1997, Marshall 2014). I argue that, while Helen is indeed both exciting and thought-provoking, emotion is central to its design.

In this paper, I will discuss three musical phrases from the mid-second century C.E. Karanis musical papyrus (DAGM no. 42) that exemplify the expressive potential of ancient Greek music. These examples demonstrate the compositional techniques of text painting (line 16; Αἰγίσθου λέγεις), motivic development (lines 1, 3, and 5; ὦ φίλτατε), and harmonic modulation (line 9; δίδαξον).