As Pure As Ever

Euripides, Hippolytus. 73-87.

Hippolytus’s prayer to Artemis:

I bring you, mistress, this plaited garland
I have fashioned from an untouched meadow.
No shepherd leads his animals there to graze,
And iron has never been there. Instead–
The spring bee crosses the untouched meadow,
And Reverence nurtures it with flowing waters.

Not those who’ve been taught, but those who by nature
Possess equal modesty in all things
May pick flowers there. Bad men may not.
So, dear mistress, from my pious hand
Accept this wreath for your golden hair.

I am the sole mortal with this honor:
I am in your presence and speak with you,
Hearing your voice, though not seeing your face.
May I finish my life as I began it.

σοὶ τόνδε πλεκτὸν στέφανον ἐξ ἀκηράτου
λειμῶνος, ὦ δέσποινα, κοσμήσας φέρω,
ἔνθ’ οὔτε ποιμὴν ἀξιοῖ φέρβειν βοτὰ
οὔτ’ ἦλθέ πω σίδαρος, ἀλλ’ ἀκήρατον
μέλισσα λειμῶν’ ἠρινὴ διέρχεται,
Αἰδὼς δὲ ποταμίαισι κηπεύει δρόσοις·
ὅσοις διδακτὸν μηδέν, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ φύσει
τὸ σωφρονεῖν εἴληχεν ἐς τὰ πάνθ’ ὁμῶς,
τούτοις δρέπεσθαι, τοῖς κακοῖσι δ’ οὐ θέμις.
ἀλλ’, ὦ φίλη δέσποινα, χρυσέας κόμης
ἀνάδημα δέξαι χειρὸς εὐσεβοῦς ἄπο.
μόνῳ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτ’ ἐμοὶ γέρας βροτῶν·
σοὶ καὶ ξύνειμι καὶ λόγοις ἀμείβομαι,
κλύων μὲν αὐδήν, ὄμμα δ’ οὐχ ὁρῶν τὸ σόν.
τέλος δὲ κάμψαιμ’ ὥσπερ ἠρξάμην βίου.

Color picture of an oil painting self portrait of the artist Max Beckman, mostly in yellow tones with his arms crossed.
Max Beckmann.
Self-Portrait Yellow-Pink.
1943. Private Collection.

Larry Benn has a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College, an M.Phil in English Literature from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Making amends for a working life misspent in finance, he’s now a hobbyist in ancient languages and blogs at featsofgreek.blogspot.com.

Honoring the Dead with the Dead

Euripides, Hecuba 303-316

“I will not deny what I said to everyone:
Now that Troy has been taken we should give your child
To be sacrificed to the first man of the army when he asks it.

Here is where many cities start to stumble—
When there is some excellent and willing man
Who earns no greater than the lesser mob.
Achilles is worthy of our honor, Ma’am,
Because he died most nobly for Greece.

Wouldn’t it be shameful if we used him as a friend
When he was watching but stopped when he was dead?
What would someone say if there was some new reason
To gather an army and lead it against an enemy?
Will we fight or will we worry about our lives
Once we see that the dead are not honored?”

ἃ δ᾿ εἶπον εἰς ἅπαντας οὐκ ἀρνήσομαι,
Τροίας ἁλούσης ἀνδρὶ τῷ πρώτῳ στρατοῦ
σὴν παῖδα δοῦναι σφάγιον ἐξαιτουμένῳ.
ἐν τῷδε γὰρ κάμνουσιν αἱ πολλαὶ πόλεις,
ὅταν τις ἐσθλὸς καὶ πρόθυμος ὢν ἀνὴρ
μηδὲν φέρηται τῶν κακιόνων πλέον.
ἡμῖν δ᾿ Ἀχιλλεὺς ἄξιος τιμῆς, γύναι,
θανὼν ὑπὲρ γῆς Ἑλλάδος κάλλιστ᾿ ἀνήρ.
οὔκουν τόδ᾿ αἰσχρόν, εἰ βλέποντι μὲν φίλῳ
χρώμεσθ᾿, ἐπεὶ δ᾿ ὄλωλε μὴ χρώμεσθ᾿ ἔτι;
εἶἑν· τί δῆτ᾿ ἐρεῖ τις, ἤν τις αὖ φανῇ
στρατοῦ τ᾿ ἄθροισις πολεμίων τ᾿ ἀγωνία;
πότερα μαχούμεθ᾿ ἢ φιλοψυχήσομεν,
τὸν κατθανόνθ᾿ ὁρῶντες οὐ τιμώμενον;

Sebastiano Ricci (Belluno 1659-Venice 1734) – The Sacrifice of Polyxena –

Ignoring the Cause, Assailing the Symptoms

Euripides, Andromache 26-31

“Before, even though I was buried in sorrows
Hope always led me to this child who, if saved
Might provide some kind of defense or aid.

But once my husband married that Spartan Hermione
He has spurned my slave’s bed and I
Have been battered down by her evil tortures.”

καὶ πρὶν μὲν ἐν κακοῖσι κειμένην ὅμως
ἐλπίς μ᾿ ἀεὶ προσῆγε σωθέντος τέκνου
ἀλκήν τιν᾿ εὑρεῖν κἀπικούρησιν κακῶν·
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν Λάκαιναν Ἑρμιόνην γαμεῖ
τοὐμὸν παρώσας δεσπότης δοῦλον λέχος,
κακοῖς πρὸς αὐτῆς σχετλίοις ἐλαύνομαι.

387-393

“You do huge things for minor reasons—
Listen to me! Why are you hurting me? What’s the reason
What city did I betray? Which child of yours did I kill?
What home did I burn down? I was forced to bed
With my master. You’ll kill me and not him
When he is the cause of these things? You’ll ignore
The cause and just keep pounding on the symptom?”

ὦ μεγάλα πράσσων αἰτίας σμικρᾶς πέρι,
πιθοῦ· τί καίνεις μ᾿; ἀντὶ τοῦ; ποίαν πόλιν
προύδωκα; τίνα σῶν ἔκτανον παίδων ἐγώ;
ποῖον δ᾿ ἔπρησα δῶμ᾿; ἐκοιμήθην βίᾳ
σὺν δεσπόταισι· κᾆτ᾿ ἔμ᾿, οὐ κεῖνον κτενεῖς,
τὸν αἴτιον τῶνδ᾿, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀφεὶς
πρὸς τὴν τελευτὴν ὑστέραν οὖσαν φέρῃ;

Colin Morison (1732-1810) – Andromache Offering Sacrifice to Hector’s Shade

413-420

“Child, I who bore you go to Hades now
So you may not die. If you outrun this fate,
Remember your mother, all I suffered and how I died.
Go to your father and through kisses
Tell him what I died while shedding tears
And throwing your arms around him.
Children are the soul of all humankind—
Whoever has no children mocks them and
While they may feel less pain, feel sadder happiness too”

ὦ τέκνον, ἡ τεκοῦσά σ᾿, ὡς σὺ μὴ θάνῃς,
στείχω πρὸς Ἅιδην· ἢν δ᾿ ὑπεκδράμῃς μόρον,
μέμνησο μητρός, οἷα τλᾶσ᾿ ἀπωλόμην,
καὶ πατρὶ τῷ σῷ διὰ φιλημάτων ἰὼν
δάκρυά τε λείβων καὶ περιπτύσσων χέρας
λέγ᾿ οἷ᾿ ἔπραξα. πᾶσι δ᾿ ἀνθρώποις ἄρ᾿ ἦν
ψυχὴ τέκν᾿· ὅστις δ᾿ αὔτ᾿ ἄπειρος ὢν ψέγει,
ἧσσον μὲν ἀλγεῖ, δυστυχῶν δ᾿ εὐδαιμονεῖ.

Check out Tamieka Chavis’ fabulous reading as Andromache

 

A Bad End

Euripides. Bacchae. 1114-1136

His priestess-mother got the killing going,
attacking him. He tore off his headdress
so she would know him and not kill him,
poor Agave. Touching her face, he said:
“It’s me, mother. Your son, Pentheus.
You bore me in Echion’s house.
O mother, have mercy on me.
Don’t kill your son over his mistake.”

Foaming at the mouth and wild eyes whirling,
she did not think as thinking requires:
in thrall to Bacchus, she was unmoved.
She gripped his left arm below the elbow,
jammed her foot against the poor man’s ribs,
then ripped arm from shoulder with strength not her own.
The god had made it easy for her hands.

Ino all the while worked his other arm,
ripping flesh. Autone and the Bacchic pack
grabbed at him too, screaming in unison.
While he groaned (all that his breathing allowed)
theirs were shouts of joy. One left with his arm;
one his foot, the shoe still on. The mauling
exposed his ribs. And then, with hands blood stained,
as they would a ball, they tossed around his flesh.

πρώτη δὲ μήτηρ ἦρξεν ἱερέα φόνου
καὶ προσπίτνει νιν: ὃ δὲ μίτραν κόμης ἄπο
ἔρριψεν, ὥς νιν γνωρίσασα μὴ κτάνοι
τλήμων Ἀγαύη, καὶ λέγει, παρηίδος
ψαύων: Ἐγώ τοι, μῆτερ, εἰμί, παῖς σέθεν
Πενθεύς, ὃν ἔτεκες ἐν δόμοις Ἐχίονος:
οἴκτιρε δ᾽ ὦ μῆτέρ με, μηδὲ ταῖς ἐμαῖς
ἁμαρτίαισι παῖδα σὸν κατακτάνῃς.
ἣ δ᾽ ἀφρὸν ἐξιεῖσα καὶ διαστρόφους
κόρας ἑλίσσουσ᾽, οὐ φρονοῦσ᾽ ἃ χρὴ φρονεῖν,
ἐκ Βακχίου κατείχετ᾽, οὐδ᾽ ἔπειθέ νιν.
λαβοῦσα δ᾽ ὠλένης ἀριστερὰν χέρα,
πλευραῖσιν ἀντιβᾶσα τοῦ δυσδαίμονος
ἀπεσπάραξεν ὦμον, οὐχ ὑπὸ σθένους,
ἀλλ᾽ ὁ θεὸς εὐμάρειαν ἐπεδίδου χεροῖν:
Ἰνὼ δὲ τἀπὶ θάτερ᾽ ἐξειργάζετο,
ῥηγνῦσα σάρκας, Αὐτονόη τ᾽ ὄχλος τε πᾶς
ἐπεῖχε βακχῶν: ἦν δὲ πᾶσ᾽ ὁμοῦ βοή,
ὃ μὲν στενάζων ὅσον ἐτύγχαν᾽ ἐμπνέων,
αἳ δ᾽ ἠλάλαζον. ἔφερε δ᾽ ἣ μὲν ὠλένην,
ἣ δ᾽ ἴχνος αὐταῖς ἀρβύλαις: γυμνοῦντο δὲ
πλευραὶ σπαραγμοῖς: πᾶσα δ᾽ ᾑματωμένη
χεῖρας διεσφαίριζε σάρκα Πενθέως.

Hans Bellmer. La Poupee. c.1938

Larry Benn has a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College, an M.Phil in English Literature from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Making amends for a working life misspent in finance, he’s now a hobbyist in ancient languages and blogs at featsofgreek.blogspot.com.

Don’t Worry, Everything Turns Out Awful in the End!

Euripides, Hecuba 956-961

“Shit.
Nothing is credible, not a good reputation
Nor that one who is lucky will not do badly in the end.
The gods churn these waters up back and forth
Mixing in confusion so that we worship them
In our ignorance. But why mourn at all?
It has no effect on our sufferings to come.”

φεῦ·
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν πιστόν, οὔτ᾿ εὐδοξία
οὔτ᾿ αὖ καλῶς πράσσοντα μὴ πράξειν κακῶς.
φύρουσι δ᾿ αὐτὰ θεοὶ πάλιν τε καὶ πρόσω
ταραγμὸν ἐντιθέντες, ὡς ἀγνωσίᾳ
σέβωμεν αὐτούς. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν τί δεῖ
θρηνεῖν, προκόπτοντ᾿ οὐδὲν ἐς πρόσθεν κακῶν;

1023-31

“You haven’t paid up, but perhaps you’ll pay soon.
Like a man who has fallen into water with no harbor
You’ll fall far from your heart’s desire
And lose your life. The meeting place
Of debt to Justice and to the gods
Is a terrible, terrible place.”

οὔπω δέδωκας, ἀλλ᾿ ἴσως δώσεις δίκην·
ἀλίμενόν τις ὡς ἐς ἄντλον πεσὼν
λεχριος ἐκπεσῇ φίλας καρδίας,
ἀμέρσας βίον. τὸ γὰρ ὑπέγγυον
Δίκᾳ καὶ θεοῖσιν οὗ ξυμπίτνει,
ὀλέθριον ὀλέθριον κακόν.

1187-1194

“Agamemnon, it’s not right for people
To possess tongues stronger than deeds.

If someone has done good things, then they ought to speak well
If they do evil things, well, their words are rotten too,
And they are incapable of ever speaking of injustice well.

Wise are those who have become masters of precise speech!
But even they cannot be wise all the way to the end.
They all die terribly. There’s no escape from that.”

Ἀγάμεμνον, ἀνθρώποισιν οὐκ ἐχρῆν ποτε
τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν γλῶσσαν ἰσχύειν πλέον·
ἀλλ᾿ εἴτε χρήστ᾿ ἔδρασε, χρήστ᾿ ἔδει λέγειν,
εἴτ᾿ αὖ πονηρά, τοὺς λόγους εἶναι σαθρούς,
καὶ μὴ δύνασθαι τἄδικ᾿ εὖ λέγειν ποτέ.
σοφοὶ μὲν οὖν εἰσ᾿ οἱ τάδ᾿ ἠκριβωκότες,
ἀλλ᾿ οὐ δύνανται διὰ τέλους εἶναι σοφοί,
κακῶς δ᾿ ἀπώλοντ᾿· οὔτις ἐξήλυξέ πω.

 

Relief image of a young hero with a sword pulling it while looking at an elderly man seated
Achilles and Agamemnon, Roman Mosaic from Pompeii

Check out these readings from Hecuba

Who Punishes Gods for Doing Wrong?

Euripides Ion, 329-443

“Why does this woman abuse the god with words
And twist him up with constant riddles?
Is it because she loves the women she gets oracles for?
Is she keeping something silent because she needs to?
But why does Erekhtheus’ daughter matter to me?
She’s nothing to me! I will go to fill
The purificatory vessels with golden cups of water

I need to criticize Apollo. What’s he thinking?
He keeps ruining girls for marriage with rape
And producing children in secret only to ignore them
As they die. Don’t act this way, but since you can,
Pursue excellence. The gods punish any mortal
Who does wrong. How is it right for those who write
The laws for mortals to lead lawless lives?”

τί ποτε λόγοισιν ἡ ξένη πρὸς τὸν θεὸν
κρυπτοῖσιν αἰεὶ λοιδοροῦσ᾿ αἰνίσσεται;
ἤτοι φιλοῦσά γ᾿ ἧς ὕπερ μαντεύεται,
ἢ καί τι σιγῶσ᾿ ὧν σιωπᾶσθαι χρεών;
ἀτὰρ θυγατρὸς τῆς Ἐρεχθέως τί μοι
μέλει; προσήκει γ᾿ οὐδέν. ἀλλὰ χρυσέαις
πρόχοισιν ἐλθὼν εἰς ἀπορραντήρια
δρόσον καθήσω. νουθετητέος δέ μοι
Φοῖβος, τί πάσχει· παρθένους βίᾳ γαμῶν
προδίδωσι; παῖδας ἐκτεκνούμενος λάθρᾳ
θνῄσκοντας ἀμελεῖ; μὴ σύ γ᾿· ἀλλ᾿, ἐπεὶ κρατεῖς,
ἀρετὰς δίωκε. καὶ γὰρ ὅστις ἂν βροτῶν
κακὸς πεφύκῃ, ζημιοῦσιν οἱ θεοί.
πῶς οὖν δίκαιον τοὺς νόμους ὑμᾶς βροτοῖς
γράψαντας αὐτοὺς ἀνομίαν ὀφλισκάνειν

501-508

“Play your pipe, Pan
In your caves
Where some pitiful girl
Gave birth to a child with Apollo
And then exposed it as a feast
For the birds and beasts
The insult of their bitter ‘marriage’.
Never at the loom or in tales have I heard of
Mortal women having divine children and good fortune.”

συρίζεις, ὦ Πάν,
τοῖσι σοῖς ἐν ἄντροις,
ἵνα τεκοῦσά τις
παρθένος μελέα βρέφος
Φοίβῳ πτανοῖς ἐξόρισεν
θοίναν θηρσί τε φοινίαν
δαῖτα, πικρῶν γάμων ὕβριν·
οὔτ᾿ ἐπὶ κερκίσιν οὔτε †λόγοις† φάτιν
ἄιον εὐτυχίας μετέχειν θεόθεν τέκνα θνατοῖς.

Color photograph of an oil panel painting  Laomedon Refusing Payment to Poseidon and Apollo. An old figure in front is waving off two figures behind him

Law & Human Pliancy

Law and the administration of law are distinct things. The latter can undermine the former and it can be at odds with a certain conception of justice.

Hegel reflects on the interplay of law, the execution of law, and justice in his early essay “The Spirit of Christianity and its Fate” (Der Geist des Christentums und sein Schicksal).

This triad of themes figures prominently in Antigone of course. In what follows I find in the tragedy analogues to Hegel’s early ideas, ideas separate from those developed in his later, (in)famous reading of Antigone in The Phenomenology of Spirit.

The law is the law

Hegel:

“The law cannot waive punishment. It cannot be lenient. For then it would annul itself. [When] the law has been broken by the transgressor, its content no longer exists for him; he has annulled it . . .”

“[D]as Gesetz kann die Strafe nicht schenken, nicht gnädig sein, denn es höbe sich selbst auf; das Gesetz ist vom Verbrecher gebrochen worden, sein Inhalt ist nicht mehr für ihn, er hat ihn aufgehoben . . .”

Antigone:

This is a defining dilemma in Antigone. Creon’s edict prohibits, on pain of death, the burial of Polynices. In knowingly violating the edict, Antigone denies the new law respect. The Law is fixed but its execution is inconstant and alterable.

Hegel:

“The living being who has united his power with the law, the law’s administrator, . . . is not abstract justice. Rather, he is a person, and justice is only one of his aspects.

Transgression of the law automatically merits punishment; that’s established. But the execution of justice is not automatic. And because justice is only an aspect of the administrator, that aspect can give way and another aspect can appear. In this respect justice is contingent.”

“[D]as Lebendige, dessen Macht sich mit dem Gesetze vereinigt hat, der Exekutor, . . . ist nicht die abstrakte Gerechtigkeit, sondern ein Wesen, und Gerechtigkeit nur seine Modifikation. Die Notwendigkeit des Verdienens der Strafe steht fest, aber die Übung der Gerechigkeit ist nichts Notwendiges, weil sie als Modifikation eines Lebendigen auch vergehen, eine andere Modifikation eintreten kann; und so wird Gerechtigkeit etwas Zufälliges . . .”

Antigone:
Haemon recognizes that Creon makes the law but is not identical with it. He can be separated from the law; that is to say, he can be persuaded to waive its execution (705-718):

Don’t dress yourself in only one way of thinking,
Believing that you, but no one else, is right . . .
Instead, retreat from anger and be open to changing.

μή νυν ἓν ἦθος μοῦνον ἐν σαυτῷ φόρει,
ὡς φὴς σύ, κοὐδὲν ἄλλο, τοῦτʼ ὀρθῶς ἔχειν . . .
ἀλλʼ εἶκε καὶ θυμῷ μετάστασιν δίδου.

And Creon does ultimately demonstrates the distance which exists between law and its administration. In speaking with the chorus he first waivers (1102):

Is this what you recommend? Should I back down?
καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐπαινεῖς καὶ δοκεῖς παρεικαθεῖν;

And then he retreats outright (1111-1112):

My decision is now reversed,
and since it was I who imprisoned her,
I will be there to set her free.

ἐγὼ δʼ, ἐπειδὴ δόξα τῇδʼ ἐπεστράφη,
αὐτός τʼ ἔδησα καὶ παρὼν ἐκλύσομαι.

Color photograph of an oil painting of Hegel

Larry Benn has a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College, an M.Phil in English Literature from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Making amends for a working life misspent in finance, he’s now a hobbyist in ancient languages and blogs at featsofgreek.blogspot.com.

Tyranny, Terror, and Mutilation

CW: Violence, torture, killing

Homer, Odyssey 22.474-477 

“They took Melanthios out through the hall and into the courtyard.
They cut off his nose and ears with pitiless bronze.
Then they cut off his balls and fed them raw to the dogs;
And they cut off his hands and feet with an enraged heart.”

ἐκ δὲ Μελάνθιον ἦγον ἀνὰ πρόθυρόν τε καὶ αὐλήν·
τοῦ δ’ ἀπὸ μὲν ῥῖνάς τε καὶ οὔατα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ
τάμνον μήδεά τ’ ἐξέρυσαν, κυσὶν ὠμὰ δάσασθαι,
χεῖράς τ’ ἠδὲ πόδας κόπτον κεκοτηότι θυμῷ.

Ekhetos is mentioned again at 18.116 and 21.308.

Od. 18.83-87

“If this one defeats you and proves stronger,
I will send you to the shore, throw you in a black ship,
And ship you off to king Ekhetos, the most wicked man of all.
He will cut off your nose and ears with pitiless bronze
And after severing your balls, he will feed them raw to his dogs.”

αἴ κέν σ’ οὗτος νικήσῃ κρείσσων τε γένηται,
πέμψω σ’ ἤπειρόνδε, βαλὼν ἐν νηῒ μελαίνῃ,
εἰς ῎Εχετον βασιλῆα, βροτῶν δηλήμονα πάντων,
ὅς κ’ ἀπὸ ῥῖνα τάμῃσι καὶ οὔατα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ
μήδεά τ’ ἐξερύσας δώῃ κυσὶν ὠμὰ δάσασθαι.”

Schol ad. Hom. Od. 18.85 QV

“Ekhetos was the son of Boukhetos, after whom there is also a city named in Sicily. He is said to have been tyrant of the Sicilians. The story is that he did every kind of mischief to the inhabitants of his land and killed foreigners by mutilating them. He exhibited so much wickedness that even those who lived far off would send people to him to kill when they wanted to punish someone. He developed all kinds of unseemly methods. This is why the people would not endure so bitter a tyranny, and they killed him by stoning.”

εἰς ῎Εχετον βασιλῆα] ῎Εχετος ἦν μὲν υἱὸς Βουχέτου, ἀφ’ οὗ καὶ ἐν Σικελίᾳ πόλις Βούχετος καλεῖται. Σικελῶν δὲ τύραννος λέγεται. τοῦτον τοὺς μὲν ἐγχωρίους κατὰ πάντα τρόπον σίνεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ ξένους ἀναιρεῖν λωβώμενον· τοσαύτην δὲ κακίαν ἔχειν ὡς καὶ τοὺς μακρὰν οἰκοῦντας ὅτε θέλοιεν σφόδρα τινὰ τιμωρῆσαι καὶ ξένῳ περιβαλεῖν θανάτῳ ἐκπέμπειν αὐτῷ. πολλὰς γὰρ μηχανὰς ἐξευρεῖν τοῦτον αἰκίας. ὅθεν τὸν λαὸν οὐχ ὑπομένειν τὴν πικρὰν ταύτην τυραννίδα, λίθοις δὲ αὐτὸν ἀνελεῖν.

A lingering interpretive problem for the Odyssey is why the epic  introduces this torture and attributes it to a very bad person, only to have Odysseus commit the very same act later in the epic. A pressing question for modern readers of Homer is why so few of us have bothered to worry about this at all.

Combined with the hanging of the enslaved women, this should be an indictment of Odysseus and support for the rebellion against him in book 24.

From the Suda:

“Tyrannos: The poets before the Trojan War used to name kings (basileis) tyrants, but later during the time of Archilochus, this word was transferred to the Greeks in general, just as the sophist Hippias records. Homer, at least, calls the most lawless man of all, Ekhetos, a king, not a tyrant. Tyrant is a a name that derives from the Tyrrenians because these men were quite severe pirates.* None of the other poets uses the name tyrant in any of their works. But Aristotle in the Constitution of the Cumaeans says that tyrants were once called aisumnêtai, because this name is a bit of a euphemism.”

Τύραννος: οἱ πρὸ τῶν Τρωϊκῶν ποιηταὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς τυράννους προσηγόρευον, ὀψέ ποτε τοῦδε τοῦ ὀνόματος εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας διαδοθέντος κατὰ τοὺς Ἀρχιλόχου χρόνους, καθάπερ Ἱππίας ὁ σοφιστής φησιν. Ὅμηρος γοῦν τὸν πάντων παρανομώτατον Ἔχετον βασιλέα φησί, καὶ οὐ τύραννον. προσηγορεύθη δὲ τύραννος ἀπὸ Τυρρηνῶν: χαλεποὺς γὰρ περὶ λῃστείας τούτους γενέσθαι. οὐδεὶς δὲ οὐδὲ ἄλλος τῶν ποιητῶν ἐν τοῖς ποιήμασιν αὐτοῦ μέμνηται τὸ τοῦ τυράννου ὄνομα. ὁ δὲ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν Κυμαίων πολιτείᾳ τοὺς τυράννους φησὶ τὸ πρότερον αἰσυμνήτας καλεῖσθαι. εὐφημότερον γὰρ ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὄνομα. ὅτι καὶ ἕτεροι ἐτυράννησαν, ἀλλ’ ἡ τελευταία καὶ μεγίστη κάκωσις πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσιν ἡ Διονυσίου τυραννὶς ἐγένετο.

Theodor van Thulden, 1606 – 1669,

Ignorance of Animals

In the world of Sophocles’s Antigone, birds and dogs are instruments of defilement associated with the corpse of Polynices:

Creon to the Chorus (203-206):

Regarding this man, it’s been proclaimed to this city
That no one honor him with burial or mourn him,
And his body be left unburied for the birds
And dogs, ravaged fare, and for all to see.

τοῦτον πόλει τῇδʼ ἐκκεκήρυκται τάφῳ
μήτε κτερίζειν μήτε κωκῦσαί τινα,
ἐᾶν δʼ ἄθαπτον καὶ πρὸς οἰωνῶν δέμας
καὶ πρὸς κυνῶν ἐδεστὸν αἰκισθέν τʼ ἰδεῖν.

Tiresias to Creon (1015-1018):

There’s plague in the city because of what you concocted.
All our altars and hearths are clogged
With the carcass scraps, carried by dogs and birds,
Of the ill-fated, fallen son of Oedipus.

καὶ ταῦτα τῆς σῆς ἐκ φρενὸς νοσεῖ πόλις.
βωμοὶ γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐσχάραι τε παντελεῖς
πλήρεις ὑπʼ οἰωνῶν τε καὶ κυνῶν βορᾶς
τοῦ δυσμόρου πεπτῶτος Οἰδίπου γόνου.

Wild animals can trouble corpses too, but in Antigone they are associated with corpses other than Polynices’. Wild animals are absent from Creon’s prescription for Polynices’ remains and absent from Tiresias’s account of what befell them.

Dogs and birds are certainly a threat to all unburied corpses, but the involvement of wild animals marks corpses as not-Polynices’:

Tiresias to Creon (1080-1083):

All the cities are vibrating with hate:
Bits and pieces of their dead have been hallowed
By dogs, wild animals, or some winged bird transporting
The unholy stench into the hearth-bearing city.

ἐχθραὶ δὲ πᾶσαι συνταράσσονται πόλεις,
ὅσων σπαράγματʼ ἢ κύνες καθήγνισαν
ἢ θῆρες ἤ τις πτηνὸς οἰωνός, φέρων
ἀνόσιον ὀσμὴν ἑστιοῦχον ἐς πόλιν.

If this is a plausible reading of dogs, birds, and wild animals, then something must be said about the guard.

The guard, a curious figure in many respects, speaks of Polynices’ corpse in relation to wild animals and dogs, a combination absent from the authoritative discourses of Creon and Tiresias:

The guard to Creon (253-258):

When the first watch of the day showed us,
Amazement hard to grasp came over us all:
The man could not be seen! He was not entombed,
But there was fine dust on him.
It was as if someone had done it to avoid pollution.
Also, there were no signs a wild animal
Or dogs had come and torn the body.

ὅπως δʼ ὁ πρῶτος ἡμὶν ἡμεροσκόπος
δείκνυσι, πᾶσι θαῦμα δυσχερὲς παρῆν.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἠφάνιστο, τυμβήρης μὲν οὔ,
λεπτὴ δʼ, ἄγος φεύγοντος ὥς, ἐπῆν κόνις·
σημεῖα δʼ οὔτε θηρὸς οὔτε του κυνῶν
ἐλθόντος, οὐ σπάσαντος ἐξεφαίνετο.

I’m going to suggest the guard’s invocation of animals is at odds with Creon’s and Tiresias’s precisely because the guard does not know the identity of his dead charge.

That is why the guard speaks of “the corpse” (τὸν νεκρόν), “he” (ὁ), “the man” (τὸν ἄνδρʼ), and “a body” (σῶμα). He never says “Polynices,” “the son of Oedipus,” or anything of the kind.

Consistent with that, the guard also does not know the identity of the woman he’s arrested. That is why he says “she” (ἦ), “this woman” (ταύτην), and “the girl” (ἡ παῖς). He never says “Antigone,” “the dead man’s sister,” or anything of the kind.

Black and white bird sitting on back of german shepherd

Larry Benn has a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College, an M.Phil in English Literature from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Making amends for a working life misspent in finance, he’s now a hobbyist in ancient languages and blogs at featsofgreek.blogspot.com.

Antigone, Dragging

Pausanias, Description of Greece: Boeotia 25

“Not too far off from Menoeceus’ grave is where people claim that Oedipus’ sons fought each other in single combat and died at each other’s hands. The battle is commemorated by a pillar on top of which is a stone shield. They also mark out the place where the Thebans claim Hera was tricked by Zeus into nursing Herakles as a child.

The whole area is called Antigone’s Drag. When she realized that she did not have the strength to carry her brother’s body, even though she wanted to, she came up with the back-up plan of dragging him. So she hauled him right up to Eteokles’ burning pure and pushed him on top.”

 τοῦ δὲ Μενοικέως οὐ πόρρω τάφου τοὺς παῖδας λέγουσιν Οἰδίποδος μονομαχήσαντας ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ ἀλλήλων· σημεῖον δὲ τῆς μάχης αὐτῶν κίων, καὶ ἀσπὶς ἔπεστιν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ λίθου. δείκνυται δέ τι χωρίον ἔνθα Ἥραν Θηβαῖοί φασιν Ἡρακλεῖ παιδὶ ἔτι ἐπισχεῖν γάλα κατὰ δή τινα ἀπάτην ἐκ Διός· καλεῖται δὲ ὁ σύμπας οὗτος τόπος1 Σῦρμα Ἀντιγόνης· ὡς γὰρ τὸν τοῦ Πολυνείκους ἄρασθαί οἱ προθυμουμένῃ νεκρὸν οὐδεμία ἐφαίνετο ῥᾳστώνη, δεύτερα ἐπενόησεν ἕλκειν αὐτόν, ἐς ὃ εἵλκυσέ τε καὶ ἐπέβαλεν ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἐτεοκλέους ἐξημμένην τὴν πυράν.

Juvenal, Satire 8 227-230

“Have the ancestors’ statues wear the prizes from your voice.
Put on your long Thyestes outfit in front of Domitius’ feet
Or maybe the mask of Antigone or Melanippe
And hang your lyre from a marble colossus.”

maiorum effigies habeant insignia vocis,
ante pedes Domiti longum tu pone Thyestae
syrma vel Antigones aut personam Melanippes,
et de marmoreo citharam suspende colosso.

Greek Anthology, 8.37.5-8

“You have obtained a blessed station! What about the mask
Of the girl in your hand, what play is she from?

Call her Antigone if you want or Electra–you’re not wrong either way
For both are at the peak of the playwright’s achievement.”

Ὄλβιος, ὡς ἁγνὴν ἔλαχες στάσιν· ἡ δ᾿ ἐνὶ χερσὶν
κούριμος, ἐκ ποίης ἥδε διδασκαλίης;
α. Εἴτε σοι Ἀντιγόνην εἰπεῖν φίλον, οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις,
εἴτε καὶ Ἠλέκτραν· ἀμφότεραι γὰρ ἄκρον.

Sallustius, Arg, in Soph Ant ii.

‘There’s some conflict in the stories about the heroine Antigone and her sister Ismene. For example, Ion claims in his dithyrambs that both sisters were burned to death in the temple of Hera by Laodamas, Eteocles’ son. Mimnermus, however, insists that Ismene was killed by Tydeus at Athena’s direction as she had sex with Periklymenos. These are the strange stories recorded about the heroines.”

στασιάζεται δὲ τὰ περὶ τὴν ἡρωίδα ἱστορούμενα καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς Ἰσμήνην. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἴων ἐν τοῖς διθυράμβοις) καταπρησθῆναί φησιν ἀμφοτέρας ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τῆς Ἥρας ὑπὸ Λαοδάμαντος τοῦ Ἐτεοκλέους· Μίμνερμος δέ φησι τὴν μὲν Ἰσμήνην προσομιλοῦσαν Περικλυμένῳ ὑπὸ Τυδέως κατὰ Ἀθηνᾶς ἐγκέλευσιν τελευτῆσαι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐστιν τὰ ξένως περὶ τῶν ἡρωίδων ἱστορούμενα.

Nikiforos Lyrtras, “Antigone in front of the dead Polynices” 1865