Euripides' 'Antiope' and the Theban Trilogy
Loading...
Date
2015-04-30
Authors
Will, Julianna
Keyword
Euripides , Amphion , Zethus , Antiope , Lycus , Dirce , trilogy , Suppliant Women
Abstract
This thesis is a discussion, reconstruction, and analysis of Euripides’ lost Antiope. Based on metrical studies which suggest a date much earlier than its usual date of 410 or 408 B.C., I specifically focus on the possibility that Antiope might be part of a larger Theban trilogy, produced together with Suppliant Women and one other play. I begin with a thorough look at the mythological material existing before Euripides’ version of the story, as well as the tragedy’s effect on later versions. From there I provide a translation of the existing fragments arranged in the order I believe they were written for the tragedy, and a reconstruction with discussion. The latter half of the thesis I devote to reading Antiope as part of a trilogy. I compare the similarities between the proposed Theban trilogy with the more firmly established Trojan trilogy, and I provide a discussion on Antiope and Suppliant Women, commenting on how reading the two plays together can drastically change an analysis of either. I conclude that even if Euripides did not have “trilogy” in mind when he wrote Antiope and Suppliant Women, the connection between the two tragedies is both too important and too subtle for them to have been produced in separate years and still have been appreciated by an ancient audience.