The Suppliants by Euripides

First produced:Hiketides, c. 423 b.c.e. (English translation, 1781)

Type of work: Drama

Type of plot: Tragedy

Time of plot: Antiquity

Locale: Eleusis, near Athens, Greece

Principal characters

• Theseus, king of Athens
• Aethra, his mother
• Adrastus, king of Argos
• Evadne, Capaneus’s wife
• Iphis, her father
• Children of the Slain Chieftains,
• The Goddess Athena,
• Herald of Creon,
• Chorus of Argive Mothers,

The Story:

Adrastus, the Argive king who led the disastrous war of the Seven against Thebes and alone escaped with his life, brings the mothers and the children of the slain chieftains to Athens, the most democratic and hospitable city of Greece. There they gather at the temple of Demeter at Eleusis, and when Aethra, the mother of Theseus, comes to pray, they form a ring of supplication about her, begging for help in recovering the dead bodies of their sons for burial according to the prescribed rites. The anguish of the mothers so moves Aethra that she sends at once for her own son.

The powerful young king closely cross-examines the defeated old ruler and refuses to help after discovering that Adrastus foolishly married off his daughters to quarrelsome exiles, Tydeus and Polynices, and engaged in war against Thebes despite the advice of the prophet Amphiaraus. Aethra, however, discreetly reminds her son that, although his logic is sound as far as it goes, he is nevertheless obligated by honor and the religious customs of Attica to go to the aid of all who seek proper burial and funeral rites for the dead. Theseus, recognizing the wisdom and humanity of her counsel, departs to seek a vote of the Athenian assembly on the matter.

Upon his return, Theseus announces that, with the support of the assembly, he is ready to send two messages to Creon, king of Thebes. The first is a polite request for permission to bury the dead. If this one is refused, the second is a warning that his armies are on their way. He is interrupted by the arrival of an insolent herald from Creon who demands in the name of his despot that Adrastus be driven from Athens. The herald adds that courageous wisdom calls for peace. Theseus, although detesting war, feels obligated by the ancient laws of the gods to bury the dead, by force of arms if necessary. After a heated exchange of words, the Theban herald withdraws, and Theseus prepares for battle. He rejects Adrastus’s offer of aid, for he is unwilling to blend his fortunes with those of a king who brought upon himself the wrath of the gods. As Theseus marches off with his troops, the chorus chants fear of the fickleness of heaven and prays for deliverance.

Soon a messenger brings news of Theseus’s victory, describing how the Athenians arrived at the Theban gates, expressed an intent to avoid war if they were permitted to bury the Argive chieftains but finally found it necessary to fight the Thebans. Theseus, refusing to enter the gates and sack the city, personally gathered together the dead bodies and washed their wounds. Adrastus, deeply moved, lamented that the Thebans did not learn the lesson of compromise from his own experience and wished that he, too, had died with his fellow warriors.

When the bodies are brought to Athens, Adrastus delivers a eulogy over each (Capaneus, Eteocles, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeus, Tydeus, and Polynices) before they are prepared for cremation on the funeral pyre. Suddenly Evadne, widow of Capaneus, appears on a rock overhanging the burning pyre, determined to be with Capaneus in death as she was in life. Her aged father, Iphis, pleads with her in vain. Dressed in festive garments, she leaps into the fire. As the children of the cremated warriors carry away the ashes in funeral urns, the grief-stricken Iphis withdraws to the dark interior of his house to die.

Marching in a funeral procession, the children (thereafter known as the Epigoni) chant an oath with the chorus to avenge their fathers. Theseus extracts from them a promise that they and all their children will always remember the kindness they received from Athens and honor the city of democracy. Before the children can carry off the ashes of their fathers, however, the goddess Athena appears in midair and calls upon Theseus not to permit the ashes to be returned to Argos. Instead, after appropriate animal sacrifices, they must be delivered to the safekeeping of the oracle at Delphi. Then, turning to the children, Athena prophesies that when they reach adulthood they will successfully sack the city of Thebes and avenge the slaughter of their fathers.

Bibliography

Conacher, D. J. Euridipean Drama: Myth, Theme, and Structure. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 1967. Argues against the prevailing belief that Euripides destroyed Greek drama. Maintains that, while he never accepted myth as the basis for tragedy, Euripides continually created new dramatic structures to suit new perceptions of human tragedy.

Euripides. Suppliant Women. With introduction, translation, and commentary by James Morwood. Oxford, England: Aris & Phillips/Oxbow, 2007. The text of the play is presented in Greek, with the English translation on the facing pages. The introduction places the work in its historical and literary context, while the commentary clarifies allusions and references and provides other information that enhances understanding of the play.

Grube, G. M. A. “Euripides and the Gods.” In Euripides: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Erich Segal. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Argues that the divine framework is still an important aspect of Euripides’ drama, though he used a different concept of the gods than other dramatists did.

Halleran, Michael R. Stagecraft in Euripides. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble, 1985. Examines specific aspects of Euripides’ technique, such as stage actions, entrances, surprises, exits, and lyrics. Discusses how Euripides changed the basic structural pattern of Greek drama in many of his plays.

Harsh, Philip Whaley. A Handbook of Classical Drama. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1944. A classic survey of the range of Greek and Roman drama, arguing for the greatness of the achievement and for its influence on modern literature. Skillful thematic reading of The Suppliants and the Euripidean plays leading up to it.

Mendelsohn, Daniel Adam. Gender and the City in Euripides’ Political Plays. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Analyzes the Athenian idea of politics and the feminine as demonstrated in The Suppliants and Children of Herakles.

Morwood, James. The Plays of Euripides. Bristol, England: Bristol Classical, 2002. Morwood provides a concise overview of all of Euripides’ plays, devoting a separate chapter to each one. He demonstrates how Euripides was constantly reinventing himself in his work.

Zuntz, G. The Political Plays of Euripides. Oxford, England: Manchester University Press, 1955. Foundational study of political ideas in The Suppliants and other political dramas. Zuntz explains that the play greatly impressed Euripides’ contemporaries and does not deserve the low status assigned to it by modern critics.