A commentary on the Herakleidae of Euripides

Abstract

The commentary is composed of two parts, Introduction and Commentary proper (including a Metrical Appendix).The Introduction discusses the legends, the date of the play, the treatment of the legends by Euripides, the suspected mutilation of the text, the themes of the play, and the transmission of the text. It is argued that the text is substantially correct and unrevised, and that the "epeisodic" nature of the play is satisfactorily explained by the main theme, Athens' successful defence of suppliants against an arrogant invader of Attica, a theme full of rapid action far removed from the plots of Euripides' "psychological" dramas. The date is established as Spring 430 B.C., just prior to the second invasion of Attica by the Peloponnesian forces. Therefore much emphasis is evident in the play on the correct behaviour of the Athenians, their suppliants and particularly that of Iolaos as opposed to that of Eurystheus and his herald. The Commentary owes much, as all commentaries must, to the work of previous editors, in particular to that of A.C. Pearson whose edition of the Herakleidae in 1907 is the latest of that play in English. Apart from the essential treatment of grammatical and syntactical difficulties, the Commentary is concerned with dramatic interpretation and with contemporary Athenian attitudes to morality. The text on which the Commentary is based is, for reasons of convenience, that of G. Murray (Oxford Classical Texts, 1901), but I have discussed in the Commentary many emendations of my own and of others which i believe should be incorporated in any future revision of the text. The work of G. Zuntz on the Byzantine Transmission of the plays of Euripides (v. Bibliography) has formed the basis of my attitude to the text.