- 1 See in this regard the fundamental analysis by V. Di Benedetto (1971), in particular Part Two La tr (...)
1Euripides’ theater presents some of the most famous and touching reflections on war in world literature. In plays specifically dedicated to the theme, such as Andromache, Hecuba, Trojan Women, the representation of pain unites vanquished and victors, in the face of the inevitable price of human lives paid in every conflict and at the risk of losing any humanity towards the enemy; in general, the lucid awareness that evil also characterizes the ‘just’ war substantiates the entire production of the poet and the development of its characters and themes1.
2These contradictions are particularly lacerating in the case of civil war: the clash that tears apart a city, pitting its members and sometimes members of the same family against each other, becomes an emblem of the devastation of war.
3This contribution aims to investigate Euripides’ representation of the causes and consequences of such conflicts. They can be recognized in distortions of the human soul and society: unbridled ambition and selfishness; the thirst for power and wealth; the abuse of others; anger or envy towards different social classes. The analysis of the behaviors – and speeches – of Euripides’ characters will reveal the poet’s vision on these themes, necessarily influenced by the war events contemporary to his production: it is necessary to recover an ethic often trampled upon, if not lost, in private behaviors to protect the public life of the State.
- 2 For the Children of Heracles, the text and translation of D. Kovacs (1995) are reproduced.
4In the extant plays of the early Euripidean production, oikeios polemos is not directly brought on stage, but rather feared or remembered, precisely in order to divert from the city behaviors that could generate it again. Its mention in the Children of Heracles is significantly controversial: words are portrayed as the potential cause of a civil war and, to avoid this danger, Athens makes selfish interests prevail and denies its innate political and moral vocation to help the weakest. Indeed, after promising help to the Heraclides against the persecution of Argos, the Athenian king Demophon refuses to impose on his citizens the burden of sacrificing a noble virgin, requested by the goddess Kore; despite the city assembly agreeing to face war to protect the suppliants (335-337), he fears that such a serious imposition2 would lead to an oikeios polemos, which he sees is already being fomented by the speeches of his opponents (415-424):
καὶ νῦν πυκνὰς ἂν συστάσεις ἂν εἰσίδοις,
τῶν μὲν λεγόντων ὡς δίκαιος ἦ ξένοις
ἱκέταις ἀρήγειν, τῶν δὲ μωρίαν ἐμοῦ
κατηγορούντων· εἰ δὲ δὴ δράσω τόδε,
οἰκεῖος ἤδη πόλεμος ἐξαρτύεται.
ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ὅρα σὺ καὶ συνεξεύρισχ᾽ ὅπως
αὐτοί τε σωθήσεσθε καὶ πέδον τόδε,
κἀγὼ πολίταις μὴ διαβληθήσομαι.
οὐ γὰρ τυραννίδ᾽ ὥστε βαρβάρων ἔχω·
ἀλλ᾽, ἢν δίκαια δρῶ, δίκαια πείσομαι.
- 3 See the interpretation of these verses offered by D. Mendelsohn (2002), p. 85-89: in the system of (...)
Now you will see crowded assemblies being held, with some maintaining that I was right to protect strangers who are suppliants, while others accuse me of folly. In fact if I do as I am bidden, civil war will break out. Therefore, consider these facts and join with me in discovering how you yourselves may be saved and this land as well, and how I may not be discredited in the eyes of the citizens. I do not have a monarchy like that of the barbarians: only if I do what is fair will I be fairly treated3.
- 4 Θη. ἦλθον δὲ δὴ πῶς πατρίδος ἐκλιπόνθ᾽ ὅρους; / Αδ. Τυδεὺς μὲν αἷμα συγγενὲς φεύγων χθονός. / Θη. ὁ(...)
5The Attic capital seems to give in to the same ambiguity in the first part of the other Euripidean ‘political play’, the Suppliant Women. In asking Theseus for help to return the bodies of the Seven fallen in Thebes to their mothers, Adrastus is forced to admit the recklessness of the expedition he led; it was not only reckless in its implementation, but a truly impious fratricidal war, because it was driven by the thirst for revenge of two warriors, Polynices and Tydeus, against their homeland (147-150)4. The Argive king can therefore appeal to a single principle, the only one that can guarantee peace within and between cities with the ability to look with solidarity at others who are in difficulty, be it emotional, political, or economic (176-179):
σοφὸν δὲ πενίαν τ᾽ εἰσορᾶν τὸν ὄλβιον,
[πένητά τ᾽ ἐς τοὺς πλουσίους ἀποβλέπειν
ζηλοῦνθ᾽, ἵν᾽ αὐτὸν χρημάτων ἔρως ἔχῃ,]
τά τ᾽ οἰκτρὰ τοὺς μὴ δυστυχεῖς δεδορκέναι.
- 5 The interpretation and textual reconstruction of the passage are controversial: some editors have p (...)
It is a wise thing for the rich man to look on poverty [and the poor man to turn his gaze on the rich in envy, so that desire for money may seize him,] and for those who are not unfortunate to look at what is pitiable5.
- 6 [νέοις παραχθεὶς οἵτινες τιμώμενοι / χαίρουσι πολέμους τ᾽ αὐξάνουσ᾽ ἄνευ δίκης, / φθείροντες ἀστούς(...)
6But Theseus cannot help but point out that it was Adrastus himself who betrayed these ideals, giving in to the ambition that undermines from within the foundations of the civic assembly (232-237)6. In famous and discussed sentence verses, the king describes the disintegrating force of this feeling when it is linked to social envy: if the rich do not hesitate to trample on the poor to obtain ever greater power, the poor vent their frustration in uncontrolled violence, fomented by demagogues. Τhe only possibility of salvation for the divided State resides then in a class of hard-working citizens, ‘middle class’ in status, but above all in balance and rectitude (238-245):
[τρεῖς γὰρ πολιτῶν μερίδες· οἱ μὲν ὄλβιοι
ἀνωφελεῖς τε πλειόνων τ᾽ ἐρῶσ᾽ ἀεί·
οἱ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔχοντες καὶ σπανίζοντες βίου 240
δεινοί, νέμοντες τῷ φθόνῳ πλέον μέρος,
ἐς τοὺς <τ’> ἔχοντας κέντρ᾽ ἀφιᾶσιν κακά,
γλώσσαις πονηρῶν προστατῶν φηλούμενοι·
τριῶν δὲ μοιρῶν ἡ ’ν μέσῳ σῴζει πόλεις,
κόσμον φυλάσσουσ᾽ ὅντιν᾽ ἂν τάξῃ πόλις]. 245
- 7 For the controversial interpretation and textual reconstruction of these verses, see V. Caruso (201 (...)
[There are three classes of citizens: the rich are useless and always lusting for more; the poor, who lack their daily bread, are dangerous, for they assign too great a place to envy <and> hurl their stings at the rich, being deceived by the tongues of wicked leaders; of the three classes the one in the middle preserves states by keeping to the discipline that the city establishes.]7.
- 8 Cf. C. Collard (1975), p. 198-199, in part. ad 352-3.
7Therefore Theseus refuses to help those who caused so much harm to his fellow citizens: but then the speech of his mother Aethra convinces him that the defense of the suppliants is the most just and pious choice. In conformity with the freedom that characterizes his government, Theseus leaves it up to the citizens to decide on the war against Thebes (349-353): they agree with him on the need to undertake it to defend the values dear to Athens (393-394)8. The victory thus allows funeral honours to be given to the deceased, and Adrastus to dedicate a eulogy to the seven leaders; and among their celebrated virtues are those of Parthenopaeus, who, Arcadian by birth, always defended Argos and never sowed discord in his adopted homeland (890-898):
Ἀρκὰς μὲν ἦν, ἐλθὼν δ᾿ ἐπ᾿ Ἰνάχου ῥοὰς 890
παιδεύεται κατ᾿ Ἄργος. ἐκτραφεὶς δ᾿ ἐκεῖ
πρῶτον μέν, ὡς χρὴ τοὺς μετοικοῦντας ξένους,
λυπηρὸς οὐκ ἦν οὐδ᾿ ἐπίφθονος πόλει
οὐδ᾿ ἐξεριστὴς τῶν λόγων, ὅθεν βαρὺς
μάλιστ᾿ ἂν εἴη δημότης τε καὶ ξένος. 895
λόχοις δ᾿ ἐνεστὼς ὥσπερ Ἀργεῖος γεγὼς
ἤμυνε χώρᾳ, χὠπότ᾿ εὖ πράσσοι πόλις
ἔχαιρε, λυπρῶς δ᾿ ἔφερεν εἴ τι δυστυχοῖ.
- 9 Cf. G. Besso (2002), passim.
He was an Arcadian, but he came to the streams of the Inachus and was raised in Argos. Since he was reared to manhood there, in the first place—as befits all foreign visitors—he caused no pain or resentment to the city and was never a wrangler in words, which is what most makes both citizen and foreigner hard to bear. He took his place in the military companies like an Argive born and fought for his country. When the city prospered, he was glad, but he grieved if it met with any misfortune9.
8The most vivid Euripidean representation of civil war and its terrible consequences is found in Heracles, set over against the characterization of Lycus. In this sense, the words with which Amphitryon presents his enemy in the prologue are emblematic. A stranger, Lycus managed to regain power in the city once governed by his father of the same name by taking advantage of internal conflicts, a real ‘disease’ (32-34):
Καδμεῖος οὐκ ὢν ἀλλ᾿ ἀπ᾿ Εὐβοίας μολών,
κτείνει Κρέοντα καὶ κτανὼν ἄρχει χθονός,
στάσει νοσοῦσαν τήνδ᾿ ἐπεσπεσὼν πόλιν.
- 10 For Heracles, here and below, I reproduce the text and translation of D. Kovacs (1998).
no Cadmean but an immigrant from Euboea, killed Creon and having killed him rules the land: he attacked the city when it was suffering from civil discord10.
9The image is significantly taken up by Corypheus in the first episode. It was madness, brought about by stasis, that induced the city to welcome the terrible tyrant who would then lead it to devastation; and for this reason the Corypheus can exhort the Theban people to a sedition, which would become exceptionally just (254-257, 272-274):
οὐ σκῆπτρα, χειρὸς δεξιᾶς ἐρείσματα,
ἀρεῖτε καὶ τοῦδ᾿ ἀνδρὸς ἀνόσιον κάρα 255
καθαιματώσεθ᾿, ὅστις οὐ Καδμεῖος ὢν
ἄρχει κάκιστα τῶν ἐτῶν ἔπηλυς ὤν;
will you not take up the staves that prop your right hands and bloody this man’s godless head? He is no true Theban, and rules most wrongfully over the citizens since he is an immigrant.
ἐν αἷς σὺ χαίρεις· οὐ γὰρ εὖ φρονεῖ πόλις
στάσει νοσοῦσα καὶ κακοῖς βουλεύμασιν.
οὐ γάρ ποτ᾿ ἂν σὲ δεσπότην ἐκτήσατο·
Thebes is not in its right mind, it suffers from civil strife and bad counsel. Otherwise it would never have taken you for a master.
10In the second episode, other painful details on Lycus’ seizure of power become a serious warning about the negative values that generate civic conflicts with bloody consequences. Megara tells Heracles that her father was one of Lycus’ victims and that he was killed in the dying divided city (539-543):
Με. τεθνᾶσ᾽ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πατὴρ οὑμὸς γέρων.
Ηρ. πῶς φῄς; τί δράσας ἢ μόρου ποίου τυχών;
Με. Λύκος σφ᾽ ὁ καινὸς γῆς ἄναξ διώλεσεν.
Ηρ. ὅπλοις ἀπαντῶν ἢ νοσησάσης χθονός;
Με. στάσει· τὸ Κάδμου δ᾿ ἑπτάπυλον ἔχει κράτος.
- 11 On the metaphor of νόσος in these verses cf. G. W. Bond (1981), p. 203 ad 542.
Me. My brothers and my old father are dead. He. What is this? What did he do or what was the fate he met? Me. Lycus, the new ruler of the land, killed him. He. Did he meet them in battle? Or was it because of faction in the city? Μe. It was faction. He now rules over seven-gated Thebes11.
11Amphitryon explains that those who triggered the civil conflict and then supported the tyrant were decayed nobles, eager to seize other people’s property (588-592):
[πολλοὺς πένητας, ὀλβίους δὲ τῷ λόγῳ
δοκοῦντας εἶναι, συμμάχους ἄναξ ἔχει,
οἳ στάσιν ἔθηκαν καὶ διώλεσαν πόλιν 590
ἐφ᾿ ἁρπαγαῖσι τῶν πέλας, τὰ δ᾿ ἐν δόμοις
δαπάναισι φροῦδα διαφυγόνθ᾿ ὑπ᾿ ἀργίας].
[The king has as allies many men, poor but reputed to be rich, who have formed a faction and destroyed the city in order to plunder their neighbors’ possessions since through extravagance and laziness their own property is dissipated].
12The topoi that have emerged so far in the representation of the civil war substantiate fundamental moments of some plays of Euripides’ later production. In particular, the subtle rhetoric of demagogues is once again an instrument of conflict within a people, faced with an ethical and political dilemma as in the Children of Heracles: in Iphigenia in Aulis, Agamemnon resigns himself to the sacrifice of the girl for the fear of the revolt of his followers, fomented by Odysseus (506-545); and in Orestes, the accusation of an ambiguous wordsmith prevails in the trial of the protagonist, stirring up the violent instincts of the crowd, while the balanced defense of an honest autourgos succumbs (866-956). Even in Ion the protagonist fears that words may cause stasis. The young man imagines that the powerful of Athens could use tendentious speeches to foment hatred and obstructionism against him, as a foreigner as well as an illegitimate son of the king; and he fears not being able to count on the support of chrestoi citizens, who remain extraneous to politics (595-606):
[ἢν δ᾿ ἐς τὸ πρῶτον πόλεος ὁρμηθεὶς ζυγὸν 595
ζητῶ τις εἶναι, τῶν μὲν ἀδυνάτων ὕπο
μισησόμεσθα· λυπρὰ γὰρ τὰ κρείσσονα.
ὅσοι δέ, χρηστοὶ δυνάμενοί τ᾿ εἶναι σοφοί,
σιγῶσι κοὐ σπεύδουσιν ἐς τὰ πράγματα,
γέλωτ᾿ ἐν αὐτοῖς μωρίαν τε λήψομαι 600
οὐχ ἡσυχάζων ἐν πόλει φόβου πλέᾳ.
τῶν δ᾿ αὖ †λογίων τε† χρωμένων τε τῇ πόλει
ἐς ἀξίωμα βὰς πλέον φρουρήσομαι
ψήφοισιν. οὕτω γὰρ τάδ᾿, ὦ πάτερ, φιλεῖ·
οἳ τὰς πόλεις ἔχουσι κἀξιώματα, 605
τοῖς ἀνθαμίλλοις εἰσὶ πολεμιώτατοι.]
- 12 For the Ion, I reproduce the text and translation of D. Kovacs (1999).
[If I attempt to be somebody by aspiring to the city’s helm, I shall be hated by the powerless: men always hate what is above them. As for all those who are of good character and have an aptitude for wisdom but live quietly and do not exert themselves in public affairs, they will think I am laughably foolish not to keep quiet in a city full of fear. But if I invade the prestige of those who speak in public and engage in politics, by their votes I will be kept in check even more. That is the way things usually happen, father. Those who hold office in their cities are always most hostile to their competitors]12.
- 13 Ιο. πρὸς δὲ τῆς τύχης νοσῶν / ἀρὰς ἀρᾶται παισὶν ἀνοσιωτάτας, «Made sick by what had befallen him, (...)
- 14 81-82 Ιο. ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἔριν λύουσ᾽ ὑπόσπονδον μολεῖν / ἔπεισα παιδὶ παῖδα πρὶν ψαῦσαι δορός. «To try to e (...)
13In the Phoenician Women the role of speech is even more decisive: it is at the origin of the conflict and has the power to quell or trigger it. The tragedy stages not a civil war, but a fratricidal war – the same one criticized in the Suppliant Women. It is in fact the curse of Oedipus that pits his sons Eteocles and Polynices against each other (66-67)13: their rivalry explodes due to a betrayed promise, the pact of alternation in sovereignty betrayed by Eteocles. Jocasta invites her sons to a verbal confrontation to find an agreement (81-82, 444-445)14. But this possibility is nullified by the feelings and desires of the brothers, most harmful to the State and reaffirmed in an agôn logôn. Polynices is moved by anger at being exiled, which also becomes social envy, since as a foreigner he is forced to live in poverty and submit to the power of the rich. Cf. e.g. 388-393, 439-442:
Iο. τί τὸ στέρεσθαι πατρίδος; ἦ κακὸν μέγα;
Πο. μέγιστον· ἔργῳ δ᾽ ἐστὶ μεῖζον ἢ λόγῳ.
Iο. τίς ὁ τρόπος αὐτοῦ; τί φυγάσιν τὸ δυσχερές; 390
Πο. ἓν μὲν μέγιστον, οὐκ ἔχει παρρησίαν.
Iο. δούλου τόδ᾽ εἶπας, μὴ λέγειν ἅ τις φρονεῖ.
Πο. τὰς τῶν κρατούντων ἀμαθίας φέρειν χρεών.
- 15 Cf. also 404-405: Iο. οὐδ᾽ ηὑγένειά σ᾽ ἦρεν εἰς ὕψος μέγαν; / Πο. κακὸν τὸ μὴ 'χειν· τὸ γένος οὐκ ἔ (...)
Jo. What is it like to be deprived of your country? Is it a great calamity? Po. The greatest: the reality far surpasses the description. Jo. What is its nature? What is hard for exiles? Po. One thing is most important: no free speech. Jo. A slave’s lot this, not saying what you think. Po. You must endure the follies of your ruler15.
Πο. [τὰ χρήματ᾿ ἀνθρώποισι τιμιώτατα
δύναμίν τε πλείστην τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἔχει. 440
ἁγὼ μεθήκω δεῦρο μυρίαν ἄγων
λόγχην· πένης γὰρ οὐδὲν εὐγενὴς ἀνήρ].
Po. [money is held in the highest esteem by mortals, and of all that is in the world of men it has the greatest power. It is to get this that I have come here with ten thousand spearmen. The nobleman who is poor is nothing].
- 16 See 531-534 Ιο. τί τῆς κακίστης δαιμόνων ἐφίεσαι / Φιλοτιμίας, παῖ; μὴ σύ γ᾿· ἄδικος ἡ θεός· / πολλ (...)
14Eteocles obeys Ambition (Philothymia), which is a thirst for power but also for wealth16. Jocasta uses another speech to try to restore peace. It celebrates Equality (Ἰσότης), the positive principle that regulates the universe and which must also be respected in the government to save the city (535-540):
[…]. κεῖνο κάλλιον, τέκνον, 535
Ἰσότητα τιμᾶν, ἣ φίλους ἀεὶ φίλοις
πόλεις τε πόλεσι συμμάχους τε συμμάχοις
συνδεῖ· τὸ γὰρ ἴσον νόμιμον ἀνθρώποις ἔφυ,
τῷ πλέονι δ᾿ αἰεὶ πολέμιον καθίσταται
τοὔλασσον ἐχθρᾶς θ᾿ ἡμέρας κατάρχεται. 540
Far finer, my son, to honor Equality, which binds friends to friends, cities to cities, and allies to allies. For Equality, men find, conduces to lawfulness, whereas the lesser is always hostile to the greater and making war against it.
15But such wise considerations can do nothing against the blaze of selfish passions: thus the war breaks out with terrible violence, culminating in a fratricidal duel between Eteocles and Polynices.
16These images of the civil war partially outlined in Euripides’ plays therefore allow us to reconstruct a fundamental dynamic of the phenomenon: the population rises up against an unpopular tyrant, perhaps foreign, certainly cruel in imposing terrible choices such as war or a sacrifice; however, this domination is often imposed thanks to a rift between the wealthier citizens, who arrogantly wanted to prevail, and the less wealthy, exasperated by their living conditions and envious of the wealthier. Such clashes are fomented out of self-interest by skilled but dishonest speakers. In the vast corpus of the poet’s fragments there are other texts, of limited extent but capable of completing the picture of civil war and clarifying its meanings and intentions. Even more than war against foreigners, civil war highlights a degeneration of social and individual morality, which perverts the behavior of rulers and the governed.
17The oikeios polemos is at the center of two fragments. Fr. 173 of the Antigone defines it as an internal division of the polis:
οἰκεῖος ἀνθρώποισι γίγνεσθαι φιλεῖ
πόλεμος ἐν ἀστοῖς, ἢν διχοστατῇ πόλις.
- 17 For Euripides’ fragments, here and below, the text and numbering of R. Kannicht (2004) are reproduc (...)
Men usually have internal feudings occur among citizens, if their city is divided17.
- 18 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 200; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 157.
- 19 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 269 (and p. 286, n. 63 with the cited bibliography); C. Colla (...)
18Critics generally consider it plausible that the sentence refers to the consequences of Creon’s edict, and therefore that it refers, as in other plays, to an ethically controversial order of an authoritarian tyrant18. Even the most famous Euripidean verses on stasis, fr. 453 of Cresphontes, appear connected to the criticism of a tyrannical government, as well as to the resolution of a family conflict. This choral song on the joy and harmony guaranteed by peace probably prepares or inspires the protagonist’s revenge against Polyphontes19; in the finale the painful criticism of the hateful (echtra) sedition is still described as a ‘crazy’ explosion of violence:
Xo. Εἰρήνα βαθύπλουτε καὶ
καλλίστα μακάρων θεῶν,
ζῆλός μοι σέθεν, ὡς χρονίζεις.
δέδια δὲ μὴ πρὶν πόνοις 4
ὑπερβάλῃ με γῆρας,
πρὶν σὰν προσιδεῖν χαρίεσσαν ὥραν
καὶ καλλιχόρους ἀοιδάς
φιλοστεφάνους τε κώμους· 8
<ἴθ’> ἴθι μοι, πότνια, πόλιν.
τὰν δ’ ἐχθρὰν στάσιν εἶργ’ ἀπ’ οἴ-
κων τὰν μαινομέναν τ’ Ἔριν
θηκτῷ τερπομέναν σιδάρῳ 12
- 20 The translation is adapted from that of C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a).
Peace, with your depths of wealth, fairest of the blessed gods, I pine for you, so long you are in coming; I fear old age may overwhelm me with hardships before I can look upon your graceful beauty, your songs adorned with dancing, your garland-loving revels. Come, come, mistress, to my city! Ban from our homes the hateful discord, and raging Strife that delights in whetted iron20.
- 21 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 200; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 157.
19Therefore, frequent reflections are dedicated by the poet to the importance for the city of wisely choosing a leader who respects the law and his people. On this theme, frr. 171 and 172 of Antigone can be placed in speeches of blame towards Creon21:
δεῖ τοῖσι πολλοῖς τὸν τύραννον ἁνδάνειν
The king must please the many.
οὔτ’ εἰκὸς ἄρχειν οὔτ ἐχρῆν † εἶναι νόμον †
τύραννον εἶναι· μωρία δὲ καὶ θέλειν
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
ὃς τῶν ὁμοίων βούλεται κρατεῖν μόνος
- 22 The translation is adapted from that of C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a).
It is neither reasonable to rule, nor ought there † to be a law † to be a king. It is folly (for a man) even to want < . . . > who wishes to hold sole power over his peers22.
20In the well-known fr. 626 of Pleisthenes (fr. 626), the trust granted to evil tyrants is significantly represented as affliction, a metaphor, as seen, typical for civil war itself:
δήμῳ δὲ μήτε πᾶν ἀναρτήσῃς κράτος,
μήτ’ αὖ κακώσῃς, πλοῦτον ἔντιμον τιθείς.
μηδ’ ἄνδρα δήμῳ πιστὸν ἐκβάλῃς ποτέ
μηδ’ αὖξε καιροῦ μεῖζον’, οὐ γὰρ ἀσφαλές, 4
μή σοι τύραννος λαμπρὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ φανῇ.
κώλυε δ’ ἄνδρα παρὰ δίκην τιμώμενον·
πόλει γὰρ εὐτυχοῦντες οἱ κακοὶ νόσος
- 23 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 555; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008b), p. 80 and 83. As noted by (...)
Do not attach power wholly to the people, nor on the other hand degrade them by privileging wealth. Never expel a man who is trusted by the people, and do not let him grow greater than he should be, for that is unsafe, in case he should turn into a manifest tyrant. Check a man who gains esteem unjustly, for base men prospering are an affliction to a city23.
- 24 Danae, fr. 325 κρείσσων γὰρ οὐδεὶς χρημάτων πέφυκ’ ἀνήρ, / πλὴν εἴ τις – ὅστις δ’ οὗτός ἐστιν, οὐχ (...)
21The verses insert the motif into a broader criticism not only of the foolishness of the popular class, but of the contemporary crisis of values, in particular of a real cult of wealth. This imbalance, already included among the remote causes of city unrest in extant tragedies, is extensively reconstructed and analyzed by Euripides in the production known to us in fragments. In many texts, the socially recognized primacy of wealth is bitterly noted (Danae, fr. 325, Eurystheus, fr. 378)24. It thus becomes, for the majority of men, the main objective of existence, to which everything else and anyone else is subordinated. This false accusation is addressed by Odysseus – with his tendentious oratory art – to Palamedes in fr. 580:
Ἀγάμεμνον, ἀνθρώποισι πᾶσαν αἱ τύχαι
μορφὴν ἔχουσι, συντρέχει δ’ εἰς ἓν τόδε·
τούτου δὲ πάντες, οἵ τε μουσικῆς φίλοι
ὅσοι τε χωρὶς ζῶσι, χρημάτων ὕπερ 4
μοχθοῦσιν, ὃς δ ἂν πλεῖστ’ ἔχῃ, σοφώτατος
- 25 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 500; R. Falcetto (2002), p. 79-95 ad Fr. III.
Agamemnon, men’s fortunes take every form, but there is concurrence upon one thing: of this all, both those friendly to the arts, and those who live without them, labour for wealth; and whoever has most, is wisest25.
22Above all, it is significant that the head of the Trojan embassy uses this argument to convince Philoctetes to betray his people (fr. 794):
ὁρᾶτε δ’ ὡς κἀν θεοῖσι κερδαίνειν καλόν,
θαυμάζεται δ’ ὁ πλεῖστον ἐν ναοῖς ἔχων
χρυσόν. τί δῆτα καὶ σὲ κωλύει <λαβεῖν>
κέρδος, παρόν γε, κἀξομοιοῦσθαι θεοῖς; 4
- 26 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2002), p. 293, who attribute it to Paris; C. W. Müller (2002), p. 408-4 (...)
You see that making a profit is honourable among the gods too, and that the one with most gold in his temples is admired! What prevents you too from <taking> profit, then, when it is quite possible, and from making yourself like the gods?26
23This exaltation of wealth corresponds to a contempt of poverty. This is in fr. 248 of Archelaus, attributed by critics to a negative character such as the perfidious advisor who persuades Cisseus to ambush the protagonist:
οὐκ ἔστι Πενίας ἱερὸν αἰσχίστης θεοῦ.
μισῶ γὰρ ὄντως οἵτινες φρονοῦσι μέν,
φρονοῦσι δ’ †οὐδενός τε† χρημάτων ὕπερ
- 27 Cf. A. Harder (1985), p. 240-243 ad Fr. 248 = 22 A; F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 285, with the (...)
There is no shrine of Poverty, that vilest of deities. I truly detest those who are capable of thought, but think … over money27.
24For this reason, in Erechtheus, fr. 362, 16-17, the king, in giving his son instructions for good government, is forced to admit the importance of getting possessions:
ἐν τῷ πένεσθαι δ’ ἐστὶν ἥ τ’ ἀδοξία,
κἂν ᾖ σοφός τις, ἥ τ’ ἀτιμία βίου.
- 28 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 105; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 365; M. Sonnino (2010) (...)
poverty brings disrepute and low esteem in life, even if one is wise28.
- 29 On Danae, frr. 326 and 327 cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 58; I. Karamanou (2006), p. 87-93 (...)
25The necessary unity in citizenship is undermined by differences in wealth. This is evident in verses in which economic privilege is placed before the qualities of nobility and honesty of the protagonists of the respective dramas (Danae, fr. 326, 327; Andromeda, fr. 142; Cretan Women, fr. 462)29. Emblematic is the famous meditation of Bellerophon, fr. 285, 3-17:
τρισσῶν δὲ μοιρῶν ἐγκρινῶ νικᾶν μίαν,
πλούτου τε, χὤτῳ σπέρμα γενναῖον προσῇ, 4
πενίας τ’· ἀριθμὸν γὰρ τοσόνδε προυθέμην.
ὁ μὲν ζάπλουτος, εἰς γένος δ’ οὐκ εὐτυχής,
ἀλγεῖ μὲν, ἀλγεῖ, παγκάλως δ’ ἀλγύνεται
ὄλβου διοίγων θάλαμον ἥδιστον χερί. 8
ἔξω δὲ βαίνων τοῦδε, τὸν πάρος χρόνον
πλουτῶν, ὕπ’ ἄτης ζεῦγλαν ἀσχάλλει πεσών.
ὅστις δὲ γαῦρον σπέρμα γενναῖόν τ’ ἔχων
βίου σπανίζει, τῷ γένει μὲν εὐτυχεῖ, 12
πενίᾳ δ’ ἐλάσσων ἐστίν, ἐν δ’ ἀλγύνεται
φρονῶν, ὑπ’ αἰδοῦς δ’ ἔργ’ ἀπωθεῖται χερῶν.
ὁ δ’ οὐδὲν οὐδείς, διὰ τέλους δὲ δυστυχῶν,
τοσῷδε νικᾷ· τοῦ γὰρ εὖ τητώμενος 16
οὐκ οἶδεν, αἰεὶ δυστυχῶν κακῶς τ’ ἔχων.
- 30 On the interpretation of the text cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 11; M. Curnis (2003), p. 10 (...)
but of (life’s) three estates I’ll judge one superior—wealth, noble blood in a man, and poverty: that is the total number I advance. The man with great wealth, but unlucky in his birth, hurts at this, he hurts, but it is a quite splendid pain for him when he opens his wealth’s treasure-chamber to his hand’s great pleasure; when he leaves it, however, after his riches before, he is distressed at falling under ruin’s yoke. The man of proud and noble descent who wants for a livelihood, has the good fortune of birth but is diminished by poverty, and is pained moreover by thinking of it; but out of shame he rejects manual work. The absolute nobody, however, in continual misfortune, is superior inasmuch as his deprivation of good keeps him unaware of it, being in constant misfortune and evilly situated30.
- 31 Cf. Pleisthenes, fr. 632 πολλῶν δὲ χρήματ᾿ αἴτι᾿ ἀνθρώποις κακῶν «Money is the cause of many evils (...)
- 32 On Alexander, fr. 55 cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (199), p. 50; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008), p. 36; (...)
- 33 On Alexander, fr. 54 cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 50; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008), p. 36; (...)
26Material wealth, however, is almost never combined with spiritual wealth31. This is claimed by virtuous heroes in battle with the antagonists who threaten them: Alexander in fr. 55, Archelaus in fr. 235, Dictys in fr. 341, Phaeton in fr. 776, 164-16732. Living in poverty instead leads to cultivating more important and lasting personal qualities: thus in Alexander, fr. 54, Hippolytus Veiled, fr. 438, Polyidus, fr. 64133.
27Beyond the characteristics of the social parts, their opposition can only cause damage to the polis. If, as seen, the thirst for wealth and power never quenches, those who have the most wealth become increasingly aggressive towards others, as observed in famous gnomai, although of uncertain contextualization. The fr. 7a of Aegeus is perhaps part of an attempt by the wicked Medea to discredit her stepson Theseus:
ἀνὴρ γὰρ ὅστις χρημάτων μὲν ἐνδεής,
δρᾶσαι δὲ χειρὶ δυνατός, οὐκ ἀνέξεται·
τὰ τῶν ἐχόντων χρήμαθ’ ἁρπάζειν φιλεῖ.
- 34 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 6; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 4; and the discussion an (...)
A man who lacks possessions but has the ability to act forcefully will not hold back; he likes to seize the possessions of those who are well off34.
28Fr. 92 of Alcmene could instead refer to the deceptive seduction suffered by the protagonist:
ἴστω τ’ ἄφρων ὢν ὅστις ἄνθρωπος γεγώς
δῆμον κολούει χρήμασιν γαυρούμενος
- 35 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 128; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 102.
A man who is merely human yet disdains the people and prides himself on his wealth should understand that he is a fool35.
29And if wealth fuels vices, the questions about its contribution to the common good are rhetorical, in the deceptive speeches of Archelaus, fr. 247 and Ino, fr. 407:
τί δ’ οὐκ ἂν εἴη χρηστὸς ὄλβιος γεγώς;
- 36 Cf. A. Harder (1985), p. 239-240 ad Fr. 247 = 21 A; F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 285-287, with (...)
Why would he not give good service once he is wealthy?36
ἀμουσία τοι μηδ’ ἐπ’ οἰκτροῖσιν δάκρυ
στάζειν· κακὸν δέ, χρημάτων ὄντων ἅλις,
φειδοῖ πονηρᾷ μηδέν’ εὖ ποιεῖν βροτῶν
- 37 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 194; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 439.
Just as it’s boorish, I tell you, to shed no tear even for those deserving pity, so it is bad, when there is money enough, not to help any man through cheap thriftiness37.
- 38 νικᾷ δὲ χρεία μ’ ἡ κακῶς τ’ ὀλουμένη / γαστήρ, ἀφ’ ἧς δὴ πάντα γίγνεται κακά «I am subdued by need (...)
30On the other hand, as shown in fr. inc. 915, those who are or become poor will be willing to do anything, also, to change their status38; and, as stated in fr. 201 of the Antiope, this can become a serious public danger:
(Αμ.) καὶ μὴν ὅσοι μὲν σαρκὸς εἰς εὐεξίαν
ἀσκοῦσι βίοτον, ἢν σφαλῶσι χρημάτων,
κακοὶ πολῖται· δεῖ γὰρ ἄνδρ’ εἰθισμένον
ἀκόλαστον ἦθος γαστρὸς ἐν ταυτῷ μένειν 4
- 39 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 231; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 172.
Look! All those whose regimen of life is to acquire a fine physique are bad citizens if ever their money fails; for once a man is accustomed to undisciplined habits of appetite, he inevitably stays in that condition39.
- 40 See the bibliography cited in V. Caruso (2018), p. 96-100.
31According to a principle of atavistic wisdom, for the salvation and peace of the State a balance is necessary that calms the selfish and destructive instincts of the different social groups and, contrarily, fruitfully channels their qualities and their means. The praise of the virtuous public and private behavior of the ‘middle class’, seen in the Suppliant Women, is embodied, in extant plays, by two farmer characters – the husband of the protagonist of Electra and the defender of Orestes in the drama of the same name40. It finds correspondence in the ideal of a government in which rich and poor collaborate, having equal rights, which Erechtheus proposes to his son as future sovereign (fr. 362, 7-8):
τῷ πλουσίῳ τε τῷ τε μὴ διδοὺς μέρος
ἴσον σεαυτὸν εὐσεβῆ πάσιν δίδου.
- 41 Cf. M. Sonnino (2010), p. 302-303 ad Fr. 16, 7-8; F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 105; C. Collard(...)
give equal weight to rich and poor alike, and show yourself respectful to everyone41.
32Aeolus admits the same thing to Macareus, reflecting on the importance of the criterion of wealth in choosing the marital destiny for his daughters (fr. 21):
δοκεῖτ’ ἂν οἰκεῖν †γᾶν†, εἰ πένης ἅπας
λαὸς πολιτεύοιτο πλουσίων ἄτερ;
οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο χωρὶς ἐσθλὰ καὶ κακά,
ἀλλ’ ἔστι τις σύγκρασις, ὥστ’ ἔχειν καλῶς. 4
ἃ μὴ γάρ ἐστι τῷ πένητι, πλούσιος
δίδωσ’· ἃ δ’ οἱ πλουτοῦντες οὐ κεκτήμεθα,
τοῖσιν πένησι χρώμενοι †τιμώμεθα†.
- 42 The translation is adapted from that of C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a). S. Jäkel (1979), p. 105 attr (...)
Do you think you could live in a country, if the entire population of its poor governed the city without the rich? Good and bad would not be separate; yet there is a mixture of them where things can be well. What the poor man does not have, the rich one gives; and what we rich do not possess, we get through our dealings with the poor: honour42.
- 43 Cf. also fr. inc. 910 ὄλβιος ὅστις τῆς ἱστορίας / ἔσχε μάθησιν, / μήτε πολιτῶν ἐπὶ πημοσύνῃ / μήτ᾿ (...)
33If the fracture in the polis reflects a cultural void and a moral distortion, the reconstitution of a peaceful balance requires everyone to become aware: private citizens will not only have to avoid violent and abusive behavior, but actively put their abilities at the service of the homeland43. Fr. 91 of Alcmene therefore exhorts the good politês to justice:
ἀτρέκεια δ᾿ ἄριστον ἀνδρὸς ἐν πόλει δικαίου
- 44 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 128.
A just man’s honesty is a city’s best asset44;
34fr. 187 of Antiope to altruism:
<Ζη.> ἀνὴρ γὰρ ὅστις εὖ βίον κεκτημένος
τὰ μὲν κατ᾿ οἴκους ἀμελίᾳ παρεὶς ἐᾷ,
μολπαῖσι δ᾿ ἡσθεὶς τοῦτ᾿ ἀεὶ θηρεύεται,
ἀργὸς μὲν οἴκοις καὶ πόλει γενήσεται, 4
φίλοισι δ᾿ οὐδείς· ἡ φύσις γὰρ οἴχεται,
ὅταν γλυκείας ἡδονῆς ἥσσων τις ᾖ
- 45 The translation is adapted from that of C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a). Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy ( (...)
A man who possesses a good livelihood but neglects matters in his own house and lets them slip, and from his pleasure in singing pursues this all the time, will become idle at home and for his city, and a nobody for those close to him: a man’s nature is lost and gone when he is overcome by pleasure’s sweetness45;
35fr. 239 of Archelaus to courage:
ὁ δ᾿ ἡδὺς αἰὼν ἡ κακή τ᾿ ἀνανδρία
οὔτ᾿ οἶκον οὔτε πόλιν <ἀν>ορθώσειεν ἄν
- 46 Cf. A. Harder (1985), p. 223-225 ad Fr. 239 = 13 A; F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 285, 287, wit (...)
A pleasant life and base unmanliness cannot restore a family or a city46;
36fr. 512 of Melanippe captive to virtue:
ἀργὸς πολίτης κεῖνος ὡς κακός γ᾿ ἀνήρ
That man is a useless citizen, for he is a worthless man;
37fr. inc. [886] to prompt generosity:
μισῶ πολίτην, ὅστις ὠφελεῖν πάτραν
βραδὺς πέφυκε, μεγάλα δὲ βλάπτειν ταχύς,
καὶ πόριμον αὑτῷ, τῇ πόλει δ’ ἀμήχανον.
- 47 The translation is adapted from that of J. Henderson (2002).
I detest the citizen who will be slow to aid his country, quick to do her great harm, resourceful for himself, incompetent for the city47.
- 48 Antiope fr. 200 (Αμ.) γνώμαις γὰρ ἀνδρὸς εὖ μὲν οἰκοῦνται πόλεις, / εὖ δ᾿ οἶκος, εἴς τ᾿ αὖ πόλεμον (...)
38The rulers will have to do the same thing indiscriminately towards all the members of the city48. In this sense, the careful use of speech will be fundamental. As seen in extant Euipidean plays, words can also separate blood relatives and incite war; their use in inopportune ways or times can therefore corrupt the city in various ways. Fr. 61 of Alexander warns of these consequences:
†μισῶ σοφὸν ἐν λόγοισιν, ἐς δ’ ὄνησιν οὐ σοφόν†
- 49 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 50; C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a), p. 36; L. Di Giuseppe (201 (...)
I detest a man who is clever in words but not clever at doing good service49.
39Another reflection, complementary to this one, is proposed in the fr. 219 of Antiope and fr. 411 of Ino. Sometimes it is necessary to know how to keep silence to protect the State from destructive rivalries:
κόσμος δὲ σιγῆς στέφανος ἀνδρὸς οὐ κακοῦ·
τὀ δ’ ἐκλαλοῦν τοῦθ’ ἡδονῆς μὲν ἅπτεται,
κακὸν δ’ ὁμίλημ’, ἀσθενὲς δὲ καὶ πόλει
- 50 The translation is adapted from that of C. Collard & M. Cropp (2008a). Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy ( (...)
The ornament of silence is a crown for a man without vice; while chattering of this kind fastens upon pleasure, and makes bad company, and is a weakness too for a city50.
ἴστω δὲ μηδεὶς ταῦθ’ ἃ σιγᾶσθαι χρεών·
μικροῦ γὰρ ἐκ λαμπτῆρος Ἰδαῖον λέπας
πρήσειεν ἄν τις, καὶ πρὸς ἄνδρ’ εἰπὼν ἕνα
πύθοιντ’ ἂν ἀστοὶ πάντες {ἃ κρύπτειν χρεών} 4
- 51 Cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (2000), p. 191, 194, with the bibliography and other interpretations cit (...)
And let no one know these things which ought to be kept quiet. Just as one could set fire to the slopes of Ida from a small torch, so from one’s word to a single man all citizens could find out {what one ought to conceal}51.
- 52 See also Antiope, fr. 202 (Αμ.) ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ᾄδοιμι καὶ λέγοιμί τι / σοφόν, ταράσσων μηδὲν ὧν πόλις (...)
40On the contrary, if rulers and ruled use rhetorical skill for good, they will be able to save the city from internal and external dangers. Therefore this ability is an integral part of the ideal of virtue, which is both public and private, outlined by Aeolus in the drama of the same name (fr. 16), as well as in the sententious fr. 729 of the Temenidae52:
λαμπροὶ δ’ ἐν αἰχμαῖς Ἄρεος ἔν τε συλλόγοις,
μή μοι τὰ κομψὰ ποικίλοι γενοίατο,
ἀλλ’ ὧν πόλει δεῖ μεγάλα βουλεύοντες εὖ
- 53 On the interpretation of the text cf. S. Jäkel (1979), p. 104; nonché F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998) (...)
May they be brilliant amid the spears of War and in debates, not devious I hope with sophistries but good with counsel needed by the city upon great matters53.
εἰκὸς δὲ παντὶ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ μηχανῇ
πατρίδος ἐρῶντας ἐκπονεῖν σωτηρίαν
It is to be expected that men should love their country and strive for its preservation with every kind of argument and device.
41So it is fundamental for those who lead the polis to fully understand the potential of their words, as recalled in the gnomai of the Alcmena (fr. 94) and of the Dictys (fr. 335)
τῶν γὰρ δυναστῶν πλεῖστος ἐν πόλει λόγος
- 54 On the interpretation of the text cf. F. Jouan & H. van Looy (1998), p. 128.
What the powerful say carries the most weight in a city54.
τυραννικόν τοι πόλλ’ ἐπίστασθαι λέγειν
- 55 On the interpretation of the text cf. I. Karamanou (2006), p. 135, 187‑190 ad Fr. 5; as well as F. (...)
It is the quality of a ruler, I tell you, to know how to say much55.
42The idea is clearly expressed through the Autolycus’ famous verses criticizing athletes (fr. 282, 23-28); sovereigns, just and wise men can benefit the city and the entire Greek land first of all with words, the only ones capable of quelling the staseis:
[…]. ἄνδρας χρὴ τοὺς σοφούς τε κἀγαθούς
φύλλοις στέφεσθαι, χὤστις ἡγεῖται πόλει 24
κάλλιστα σώφρων καὶ δίκαιος ὢν ἀνήρ,
ὅστις τε μύθοις ἔργ’ ἀπαλλάσσει κακά
μάχας τ’ ἀφαιρῶν καὶ στάσεις· τοιαῦτα γάρ
πόλει τε πάσῃ πᾶσί θ’ Ἕλλησιν καλά 28
- 56 For the interpretation of the fragment and in particular of these verses cf. N. Pechstein (1998), p (...)
Wreathing with leaves should be for men who are wise and brave, and for the man who leads a city best through being prudent and just, and whose words deliver it from evil acts by removing feuds and factions: such are the things good for every city and all Greeks56.
43Therefore, the constant attention and vehement condemnation of the mechanisms that generate and are generated by stasis reflects a clear awareness of Euripides: historical and political defeats - such as that of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, a decisive background to the poet's production - are ultimately determined by the clash of ideals and human interests. The staging of conflicts within the city allows the public of the fifth century B.C. as well as today to recognize not only the negative feelings that animate them, but also the hypocritical or blind acceptance of them in the choice of rulers and in their own participation in civic life. This warning therefore takes on fundamental value: in the recognition and reflection on such emotional movements can reside the hope of the reconstitution of a generous virtue and an intelligent respect in the soul of individuals, an essential condition for the just and free conduct of the State.
Kannicht, R. (ed), 2004. Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta (TGrF), Voll. 5.1-5.2, Euripides, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.