HESPERIA 76 (2007) PERSEUS, THE MAIDEN Pages 73-ios MEDUSA, AND THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION

ABSTRACT

on Classical the author that the of Focusing red-figure vases, argues appearance the beautiful Medusa, which has been explained previously as an evolutionary development from the monstrous Archaic type, is determined by discursive context rather than by chronology. Painters used the beautiful Gorgon to certain about Perseus's it is not clear convey messages victory, though always whether she ismeant to evoke humor or pathos. The author further shows that Medusa's death was figured as a perversion of the erotic abductions common s to many Greek myths, and points out the beautiful Gorgon affinities with as abducted maidens such Persephone, Thetis, and Helen.

on Among the events depicted the Pseudo-Hesiodic shield of Herakles is scene the flight of Perseus from Medusas sisters.1 The poet renders the in unforgettably vivid terms:

Tai ?? uet' ccutov Topyovec ccttatito? xe koci on (paxal eppcoovio ??peva? uocTc?eiv. etc! ?? %?copou ??auocvxo? on 1. For useful suggestions drafts ?awouaecov ??%eoK? gcxko? juey?Acoopuuay?q) of this article, I thank Hedreen, Guy Kai em ?? Laurialan Reitzammer, Albert Hen ?c^?a ?ay?co?/ ?covpoi ?pcxKovxe ?OIG) richs, and the two anonymous Hes ?7Ul?)p?UVT' ?7UK\)pTG)OVT? Kapnva. reviewers. I am also to xco peria grateful Atxjia?ov ?' apa y?* p?v?i ?' ?x?paaaov o?ovxa? and to Melissa Haynes audiences ?ypia ?Epicopivco. ?nl ?? ?Eivo?ai Kapf|voi? at and Harvard Rutgers University Topy??oi? ??ov??TO p?ya? Oo?oc. University for their advice and sug and to the of gestions, Department And after him rushed the Gorgons, unapproachable and unspeakable, at Classics Harvard University, which as longing to seize him: they trod upon the pale adamant, the shield covered the cost of the illustrations. a rang sharp and clear with loud clanging. Two serpents hung down at I am especially indebted to Gloria were numerous their with heads curved forward: their Ferrari Pinney, who read girdles tongues flickering, at and their teeth with and their And drafts and provided advice every gnashing fury, eyes glaring fiercely. was stage. upon the awful heads of the Gorgons great Fear quaking.2 2. Hes. [Si] 229-237, trans. H. G. This of the as creatures whose monstrousness is so Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Mass., description Gorgons 1914. seems a startling that the shield itself cries out under their feet fitting

? The American School of Classical Studies at Athens 74 KATH RYN TOPPER

^ .' ^ j"" ^^^^^HH|H^^^^^^^ H ^^K^Ta^^^IB Figure 1.Gorgoneion, painted at ^^M^BBB^^^W / ^^?T'j?i'-^^?B??? metope,Temple ofApollo ^^^^^^HIHI^^H^H^^HV 1 V ^^k/ivJ^^H?' Thermon, ca. 625-600 b.c.Athens, National Museum. '*\^^^^M?S^m^K^M^Kmm ^^^^^^^^AAj^^^HHp' ' Archaeological ^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^BF |H[H|ill^^^^HBi^ AntDenk2, pi.52, Berlin 1908, after water i color E. Gillieron. Fine Arts ^B^^B^^^^W|^^mB||WJ|[|^^-' ^MHI^^^^^^^^^^HV"- by Courtesy i^^^Sfc--- ^" . :r\-/Kf *^^^^~Z^ Library, Harvard College Library

literary counterpart to the numerous images in Greek art of bearded, are fanged, and grimacing Gorgons whose heads covered with snakes as and whose penetrating frontal stare, Fran?oise Frontisi-Ducroux has seems to on observed, disrupt the very two-dimensionality of the surfaces are no which the images painted (Fig. I).3 It is wonder that these creatures a source remain of fascination for commentators, especially those interested in issues of representation?for the Gorgon, as Jean-Pierre Vernant has as perceptively remarked, presents herself "amonster whose horror thwarts at every attempt figuration."4 even a Yet, glance at the images reveals that Medusa and her sisters a sometimes assumed quite different face from the one that has held so as many scholars transfixed. Some images present the Gorgons distinctly or beautiful, virtually indistinguishable from goddesses human maidens.5 on a A good example appears red-figure pelike from the middle of the to a 5th century, which shows Perseus about behead Gorgon whose only a extrahuman feature is pair of wings (Fig. 2).6 Her face, presented in an even three-quarter view, is that of ordinary sleeping woman, and her more hair, which falls in tight curls around her face, is no snakelike than

3. National s.v. Athens, Archaeologi pp. 285-330, Gorgo, Gorgones burg, State Hermitage Museum cal Museum. Frontisi-Ducroux 1988; (I. Krauskopf and S.-C. Dahlinger). St. 1918. even 6. 1995, pp. 65-74. OccasionaUy, Medusa lacks the New York, Metropolitan Museum 4. Vernant see also or no. 1991b, p. 144; wings discreetly placed snakes that of Art 45.11.1; ARV2 1032, 55; Mack 2002. her from usually distinguish human Paralipomena 442; Beazley Addenda2 5. Partial of the women: catalogues images Berlin, Staatliche Museen 318. include Floren 1977; LIMC IV, 1988, F 3022; LCS 487, no. 335. St. Peters THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 75

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that of her attacker. As Rainer Mack has recently suggested, the Gorgons' transformation "from terror to need not be taken as ... an evacuation beauty sense no of the original' of the image," since beauty, less than monstrosity, holds the power to fascinate.7 Nevertheless, the logic underlying the variety evident in the remains obscure?that we are at a loss representations is, to explain why creatures famous for their horrible appearance should also as a uncover appear bevy of beauties. It is this logic that I attempt to here, on come as focusing what has to be known the "beautiful" type. on Previous scholarship the Gorgons has framed their shifting ap terms. pearance in evolutionary Adolf Furtw?ngler's entry in the Ausf?hr on liches Lexikon der griechischen und r?mischen Mythologie, which relied a tripartite typology that showed monstrous Archaic Gorgons evolving 7. Mack 2002, 599, n. 4. p. into Hellenistic and Roman set the course for sub 8. gradually beauties, Furtw?ngler 1886-1890. Typo or which has this account almost without logical iconographical studies that sequent scholarship, accepted Closer examination of shows retain Furtw?ngler's system of classifi question.8 Furtw?ngler's typology, however, cation include Floren LIMC 1977; IV, it to be fraught with difficulties, not the least of which is the resistance of 1988, 285-330, s.v. pp. Gorgo, Gorgo the three types?Archaic ("archaische"), middle ("mittlere"), and beauti nes (I. and S.-C. Krauskopf Dahlinger). ful ("sch?ne")?to the neat he Belson 1980 modifications to chronological sequence imposed. Though suggests art as not rare, with human features appear in Greek Furtw?ngler's chronology but does Gorgons ordinary early as the 7th B.c. A from the of question the usefulness of his larger century fragmentary metope Temple Apollo at a system. Thermon shows Perseus carrying away head that ismostly concealed 76 KATHRYN TOPPER

lege Library

a by the kibisis (Fig. 3),9 but which forms stark contrast to the grimacing, on a masklike gorgoneion preserved nearby metope (Fig. 1). The latter shows the Gorgon with beard, fangs, and protruding tongue, and her are so creases eyes wide that they form in her face. What is visible of the Gorgon in the kibisis, by contrast, is strikingly human, and her tranquil, are half-closed eyes remarkable not only because they differentiate her from were her glaring counterpart, but also because the eyes the primary source of the Gorgon's potency.10 Although much of her face remains concealed treatment in Perseus's pouch, the of her eyes suggests that the early paint were not so as ers' conceptions of the Gorgons quite rigid Furtw?ngler's account would have us imagine. In the Classical period, Furtw?ngler's transitional phase, the situation even more now is complex, for Gorgons with various types of appearances our coexist in the images, sometimes defying easy classification. Turning to two we attention mid-5th-century beU kraters by the Villa Giulia Painter, can see vases the difficulty clearly (Figs. 4,5).11 Both show Medusa sleep as ing peacefully Perseus, flanked by Athena and Hermes and armed with a the harpe, cautiously approaches her. In both scenes, the Gorgon has wide nose and a and her hair is bound in two small protruding tongue, neatly 9. Athens, National Archaeological on on Museum 13401. buns the sides of her face. Only the London krater, however, has we 10. On the eyes, see espe the painter given her fangs (Fig. 4). Using Furtw?ngler's terminology, Gorgons' a cially Vernant 1991a, 1991b. might safely label this figure "middle" Gorgon, but it is less clear what 11. 4: London, British Museum we are to more on Fig. make of her counterpart the krater in no. human-looking E 493; ARV2 619, 18. Fig. 5: Madrid this not strike us as (Fig. 5:c). Although Gorgon may beautiful, Madrid, Museo Arqueol?gico Nacional no so 19. she is nevertheless very human in appearance; she has fangs, only 11010;^F2619,no. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION JJ

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to her wings suggest that she is something else. Applied examples like seem to the Villa Giulia Painter's Gorgons, Furtw?ngler's labels lose their even we were to to an descriptive power?and if refine his criteria such a we no extent that classifying the images became simple task, would be a as wiser about why particular Gorgon looks she does. does not accommodate the wide Furtw?ngler's system, moreover, easily same variations among images of Gorgons produced in the period. The not seem Villa Giulia Painter's Gorgons may beautiful, but they also lack we see on a contem the overtly masklike qualities in the Gorgon roughly now porary hydria in Richmond (Fig. 6).12 There Medusa's face is round an and oversized, with thickly painted eyebrows and exaggerated grimace. a a The absence of visible neck contributes to the impression of mask, again on in contrast to what we find the Villa Giulia Painter's Gorgons. Both the Richmond Gorgon and the Villa Giulia Painter's Gorgons, moreover, differ we saw on markedly from the Gorgon Polygnotos's pelike above (Fig. 2), whose face not only is entirely human, but is shown in three-quarter pro file, rather than confronting its viewer directly. The diversity among the are Gorgons in these four scenes, which all approximately contemporary, suggests that far from being subject to impersonal evolutionary forces, a at were the painters had number of options their disposal when they how to the does little to 12. Richmond, Virginia Museum deciding depict Gorgons. Furtw?ngler's typology us as of Fine Arts 62.1.1; ARV21683, help understand why painters chose to represent them they did in no. 452. instance. 4%bis; Paraltpomena any given KATHRYN TOPPER

b THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 79

Figure 5 (opposite and right). Perseus man approaching Medusa, and old with fleeing maidens, Attic red ca. figure bell krater, 460-450 b.c., Villa Giidia Painter, (a) obverse; (b) reverse; (c) detail of obverse. Madrid, Museo Arqueol?gico Nacional 11010. Photos courtesy Archivo Fotogr?fico, Museo Arqueo l?gico Nacional

Figure 6. Perseus beheading the Attic Gorgon Medusa, red-figure ca. hydria, 450-425 b.c., attributed to the Nausikaa Painter. Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 62.1.1. Photo courtesy the Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund. ? Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

not The problem lies only in the empirical challenges the images pres ent to an this typology, but in the assumption that essentially descriptive 13. constitutes an tool.Within the Furt Accepting that representations typology adequate explanatory system of the foUow a evolu the becomes a that Gorgon single w?ngler constructed, Gorgon single entity experienced scholars have a over a tionary path, attempted single gradual change period of centuries, and the beautiful type to locate specific elements within more a is nothing than the end result of long, and largely unexplained, these that have representations may no room process of transformation.13 This account leaves for the possibility prompted the Gorgon's transformation that we are several trends rather than a one, from monster to beautiful woman; see, observing single evolutionary or that discursive context?rather than e.g., Phinney 1971, pp. 450-451; context?specifically, chronology Vernant a 1991b, pp. 148-150. determined how the Gorgon should look in given situation. 8o KATHRYN TOPPER

For all these reasons, I suggest that we can understand the beautiful as a Gorgon only by abandoning Furtw?ngler's typology?both system of as an classification and explanatory tool?and by inquiring, instead, how beautiful Gorgons operate within the discursive contexts in which they on on occur.14 My argument focuses the Classical period and draws South as as Italian well Attic examples; while I do not wish to deny the differ ences am that developed between the two artistic traditions, I primarily concerned with what I believe was a trend common to both.15 Most of are scenes vase my examples in painting, each of which (unlike the iso a lated gorgoneia found in architecture) clearly belongs to larger narrative can an context that furnish clues about how image is to be understood.16 not The story of Perseus and Medusa does exist outside of the specific as as instances in which is it represented?visual well verbal?and each a representation is constructed according to logic that must be uncovered we if are to understand any particular element within it. Just as we cannot a understand literary motif without an awareness of the conventions of our the genre inwhich it operates, interpretation of visual motifs depends a on our to significant degree ability to discern the generic conventions same of the images in which they appear. An epic Cyclops is hardly the as a same we creature satyric Cyclops; in the way, I suggest, cannot under we are stand the images of the beautiful Medusa unless know whether they meant to to to glorify Perseus, evoke sympathy for the monster, provoke or to a laughter, produce different reaction altogether. occur a Beautiful Gorgons in variety of scenes, the tone of which is announce not always possible to discern. The images, after all, do not their genres in the same ways that contemporary texts do, and as modern we more observers, tend to be skilled in dealing with the latter form of a as a evidence?we generally find it easier, that is, to classify play comedy a or tragedy than to recognize the humor or pathos of an image. I have a adopted here Tzvetan Todorov's definition of genre as codification of a or discursive properties, that is, elements that create for reader viewer about how a is to be understood.17 expectations particular representation as a as Todorov treats genre primarily verbal phenomenon, but insofar a it is property of discourse, genre also belongs to nonverbal forms of representation, including images.18 As Todorov notes, every culture has its own system of genres, and insiders to a culture become familiar with its generic system through everyday experience.19 As outsiders, however, we must develop other ways of determining the genres to which given

I Furtw?n to women their of 14. Although abandon images of human and decapitated head Medusa itself" I monstrous gler's tripartite system, retain?largely distance from the type. (2002, p. 585). Although Mack may be term an for the sake of convenience?his 15. On the relationship between correct, analysis of isolated gorgo to Attic and Italian vase neia would a set of methods "beautiful" ("sch?ne") designate South painting, require resemble see I in Gorgons whose facial features Trendall 1990,1991;Taplin 1993. different from those employ my women 16. of the scenes on the vases and those of human (or goddesses) Mack has recently addressed the analysis vase is best left for a in red-figure painting, although question of whether every isolated gor separate project. be face to the narrative of 17.Todorov the hair may unkempt, the may goneion belongs 1990, esp. pp. 10,18 or he 19. grimace, small snakes may surround Perseus's victory, and suggests that are is to 18. For discourse as the head. Notions of beauty culture "the gorgoneion linked the Perseus extending our own to act see Ferrari bound, and for my purposes, legend through reference the of beyond language, 2002, it would be 86 on Benveniste aesthetic judgments regarding the decapitation. Indeed, pp. 23-25, (relying are our to the motif is images less important than abil possible argue that 1971). to ity recognize their close resemblance nothing other than the image of the 19.Todorovl990,p.l9. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 8l

our to representations?in case, images?are likely have belonged, and to noting the ways inwhich they relate comparable representations, literary as well as visual, is the first step in this process. Of the images that show s scenes as the moments surrounding Medusa death, three kinds of emerge an s especially good candidates for such investigation; these involve Perseus on flight from Medusas sister, his attack the sleeping Medusa, and various actions that unfold in the presence of satyrs. Each type of scene evokes a can us rich network of associations that help understand the role of beauty in the Greeks' conception of the Gorgons. a In every case, the Gorgons' beauty, rather than marking highly an evolved phase in the iconography, introduced element of incongruity a a into what had become conventional image of Perseus slaying monstrous Gorgon. This incongruity, moreover, acquired its significance from ap parent affinities between the story of Medusas death and the scenario of a or a the maiden who is carried off by god hero from circle of her peers, a paradigm that Claude Ca?ame exposed in his detailed study of female a choruses.20 My argument begins with small group of images that show Perseus fleeing Medusas beautiful sister. I suggest that these images pres s as a a ent Perseus flight form of erotic pursuit, and the substitution of a monstrous one one beautiful Gorgon for is only of several reversals that scene. us hint at the bizarre nature of the These images show a world in are which monsters beautiful and heroes flee maidens, and they belong, I a argue, to comic tradition of making heroes the objects of jokes. on The images of the attack the sleeping Medusa, which make up my case a second study, place Perseus in similarly awkward position. Both her to as sleeping posture and her beauty contribute the definition of Medusa a on desirable maiden, and the emphasis her femininity renders the hero's at actions questionable best. The images of the sleeping Medusa, I argue, as a over redefine Perseus's conquest victory of the strong the obviously a seem or on weak, victory that may either laughable pitiable, depending context scene. context the discursive framing the Although this is lost to us most in cases, I consider both tragic and humorous readings of these

images. case scenes accom In the third study, which consists of inwhich satyrs pany Perseus, the role of the beautiful Gorgon is clearer. These images surely on belong to the world of satyr play, a genre that relied the juxtaposition of incongruous elements to achieve a humorous effect. Within this context, s as a the Gorgon beauty functions humorous device, appearing in situations we to amore where might expect find terrifying creature. The unexpected juxtaposition of incongruous elements within the monster has a parallel in Euripides' Cyclops, the only complete satyr play to have survived from an awareness can antiquity, and of the humor that characterizes the Cyclops us help to understand the images of Perseus and Medusa.

a in 20. Ca?ame 1997. Already in 1954, there may have been similar pattern, early-6th-century Rhodian plate Lon Webster seems to aware and less have been of ugly leader ugly chorus" (p. 11). don (BritishMuseum A 748).Web the of "beautiful leader and less he a ster's main in such pattern Interestingly, places Gorgon-faced purpose mentioning beautiful chorus" that Ca?ame Artemis at the head of such a choruses is to a for would chorus, suggest visual origin treat in some two are uncon at detail decades later but his arguments otherwise the personifications of Ate and Litai to of //. (Webster 1954, pp. 11-12; Ca?ame nected the myth the Gorgons and 9.502; the choruses themselves, More rest on a monstrous or 1977). importantly for my pur instead the appearance of such otherwise, constitute little further is in an more a poses, Webster suggests "that figure?if she fact Artemis?on than passing reference. 82 KATHRYN TOPPER

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7. a Figure Apollo pursuing maiden, Attic ca. 450 THE PARADIGM: MAIDEN CHORUSES AND red-figure hydria, 440 EROTIC ABDUCTIONS b.c., Coghill Painter. London, British Museum E 170. Photo ? are ac Trustees of the British Museum Ca?ame has shown that female choruses inGreek myth configured a recur: cording to particular paradigm, and that certain features therefore are to one are these groups consist of maidens who close another in age, who a or called by collective name, and who share specific familial geographical to associations. One maiden (who corresponds the figure of the choregos) stands out from the rest because of her superior beauty, and she is abducted a as from the group by male aggressor she is approaching marriageable age. are Thetis, Helen, and Persephone among the most prominent examples of maidens whose stories follow this pattern,21 and representations of maidens' are as as are abductions consistent in the images they in the literature. The shoulder of a hydria in London carries a standard image of such an abduc an as tion, with Apollo and unidentified maiden the protagonists (Fig. 7).22 arm The outstretched of the pursuer, the backward glance of the maiden, and the fleeing female companion are all typical features in this kind of so even an scene, the iconography of which became standard that excerpt consisting of one or two figures was sufficient to characterize a scene as an erotic pursuit (Fig. 8).23

no. 21. Ca?ame 1997, esp. pp. 19-88. Addenda2 320. In other scenes, the pur Museum B 194; ARV2 487, 61; On maiden see Power suer extends both 512. On visual choruses, also arms; see, e.g., many Paralipomena represen in see 2000. of the images collected Kaempf tations of the "band of maidens," scenes 22. London, British Museum Dimitriadou 1979. Ferrari 2002, pp. 43-47. On of no. vase see E 170; ARV2 1042, 2; Beazley 23. St. Petersburg, State Hermitage erotic pursuit in painting, THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 83

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8. Youth a Figure pursuing maiden, we to It is against this background that may begin understand the Attic red-figure amphora, Early a as we on pictures of Perseus fleeing from beautiful Gorgon, such find Classical, Hermonax. (a) obverse; a kantharos in 9).24 This shows reverse. St. State late-5th-century Strasbourg (Fig. image (b) Petersburg, the hero with in one hand and Medusa's head in the Museum B running harpe Hermitage 194. his head to back at the who him. Photos courtesy the State Hermitage other, turning glance Gorgon pursues St. arms Museum, Petersburg The Gorgon runs with her outstretched; her face, like Medusa's, is a human, her hair is bound in tight bun behind her head, and only her as an not wings mark her something other than ordinary maiden. It is only the Gorgons' beauty that makes these images unusual; while Perseus's was a art flight well-established theme in both and literature by this time, out the images that show him fleeing the beautiful Gorgon stand because their formal composition places them firmly within the realm of erotic

Zeitlin no. and both are listed in the Kaempf-Dimitriadou 1979; di Spina 2512; ARV2 1206, 2; Para opinion, Sourvinou-Inwood Stewart 344 second edition o? Attic 1986; 1987; lipomena 463; Beazley Addenda2 Red-Figure as are 1995; Frontisi-Ducroux 1996; Osborne (oinochoe).The third dates to about Vase-Painters South Italian; they a as 1996;McNiven 2000; Lefkowitz 2002. century later: London, British Mu listed Attic, however, in LIMC VII, Institut d' arch?olo seum no. no. s.v. Perseus 24. Strasbourg, F 500; LCS 255, 194 (hydria). 1994, p. 340, 142, (L. J. no. 2. as to If are South Italian gie classique 1574; ARV21361, Scholars disagree whether the R?ceos). they early I three other such are to have been heav have found scenes, kantharoi in Strasbourg and Taranto? vases, they likely in date to the last are influenced Attic aU red-figure. Two which nearly identical in iconogra ily by contemporary of the 5th or and to have reacted to Attic third century: Taranto, phy?are Attic early South Italian pieces Museo no. 1 see Trendall 218. Nazionale;^?F2 1361, pieces. Beazley originally judged them traditions; 1990, p. (kantharos). Ferrara, Museo Nazionale to be Attic but later amended his ?4 KATHRYN TOPPER

9. Figure Gorgon pursuing Perseus, The of both Perseus and the them with the ca. 420-400 pursuit.25 poses Gorgon align red-figure kantharos, b.c., more scenes as protagonists in traditional of abduction, does the profile view Class of Bonn 94. (a) obverse; of a creature for whom is the norm.26 reverse. Institut the Gorgon, frontality Particularly (b) Strasbourg, scenes at 1574. telling in these is the hero's backward glance his pursuer: given the d'arch?ologie classique 2. nature of the creature he is at, the makes little sense Schauenburg 1960, pi. 17, figs. 1, looking gesture except Harvard an a Courtesy College Library in the context of erotic pursuit, where it is standard element.27 are to It is important to recognize that these images likely have been as to their viewers as are to us. Scenes of startling contemporary they numerous vase abduction are certainly in painting?Andrew Stewart has vases counted over 750 on Athenian alone?but the only female aggressor, or human divine, who appears with any frequency is Eos, who pursues the or on a Trojan prince Tithonos the hunter Kephalos number of vases.28 scenes Like the of Eos and her victims, the images of Gorgons pursuing women were Perseus reverse the typical order inwhich the figures pursued;29 a reverse moreover, like the images that show Eos chasing hunter, they an an the patterns of victim and aggressor, showing armed male fleeing unarmed female.

scene on erotic while the turn of the to so 25. The the oinochoe in pursuit; tend be shown frontally, that he head is a common feature of these not into their faces. Ferrara (Museo Nazionale di Spina does look directly see n. it is not In as into a discussion 2512; above, 24) is slightly dif scenes, mandatory. fact, Without entering of ferent from the other three, since the Frontisi-Ducroux (1996, p. 83) notes, the ways in which one may or may not a this occurs less often in scenes look at a on painter has added third figure (Athena), gesture safely Gorgon (a point not turn to at of Eos men than in not and Perseus does look the pursuing young which Greek thought may have This those that show a male been we ob Gorgon. painter does, however, pursuer. entirely consistent), may a 26. Frontisi-Ducroux serve that in the scenes that concern us sometimes include stationary third 1988; 1995, scenes as on 65-74. Perseus is shown figure in of erotic pursuit, pp. here, looking directly an on a 27. The of the back at the who oinochoe which youth pursues significance the face of Gorgon pursues scenes no a young woman in the presence of a ward glance in of pursuit is him?an action that in event would man debated: Stewart stationary old (Ferrara, Museo 1995, pp. 79, 83-84; have been safe. Nazionale di Spina 2505; ARV2 1206, Frontisi-Ducroux 1996, pp. 83, 87-88; 28. Stewart 1995, pp. 74, 87-88. no. Ad Osborne 66. Perseus some 29. On scenes of Eos 3; Paralipomena 463; Beazley 1996, p. pursuing times turns to look at the monstrous see denda2 344). The fact that Perseus does young men, especially Osborne not turn not who as weU. In 1996. his head does preclude the Gorgons pursue him, scene as one these the interpretation of this of scenes, however, Gorgons THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 85

The images of Perseus and the Gorgons incorporate yet another aspect of the imagery of abduction, the sisters (or other female companions) of the are scenes abducted maiden. These figures standard in of abduction, where run or as scene they flee, to their father, make other gestures of alarm, in the on shown above the hydria in London (Fig. 7). Although the girls' poses may vary, they commonly echo the pursuers' pose?on the London hydria, at run both Apollo and the fleeing girl the far right forward with the left arm outstretched. This potential overlap between the pose of the pursuer a our and that of the fleeing companion adds further dimension to under standing of the beautiful Gorgons whom Perseus flees (Fig. 9): although are the Gorgons undoubtedly the pursuers in these scenes, the painters have exploited the ambiguity of their poses in order to mark them simultaneously as pursuers of the hero and as sisters of the violated maiden. Images of the beautiful Gorgon pursuing Perseus clearly violate the norms us of erotic pursuit, but they leave asking what might have inspired such a treatment of the story of Medusas death. The answer must be an found through interrogation of the notion, suggested by the images, of as an on Medusa abducted maiden. My insistence the Gorgons' maidenly seems character is not wholly new; Emily Vermeide to have anticipated such a discussion when she remarked that the myth of the Gorgons resembled "aCinderella story, three sisters with the interesting one marked out for a love by the sea-king Poseidon who lay with her in soft meadow among more spring flowers." For Vermeule, the "Cinderella" format did little than a to an drain the interest from story that belonged properly "old world of magic and fear"?that is, to Near Eastern myth.301 believe, however, that a a were ut the tensions created by the story of maiden killed by hero of most to interest the painters, for they heightened both the tragic and the humorous potential of the tale. I return to this point below, but first it is necessary to establish the nature of the connection between Medusa and the paradigm of the abducted maiden.

THE PARADIGM REVERSED: PERSEUS, MEDUSA, AND THE MYTHICAL ABDUCTION

s Literary accounts of Medusa death generally conform to the pattern of was the mythical abduction, and the connection already several centuries were old by the time the images I have discussed above produced. The ele ments are of the mythical abduction firmly in place in Hesiods Theogony we are (270-281), where told that the Gorgons, daughters of Phorkys and Keto, live together in the borderlands between Ocean and Night. Two of are the sisters, Sthenno and Euryale, immortal and ageless, but Medusa is 30. Vermeule 1979, pp. 136-139, and she alone of the three "suffers a fate" esp. p. 139 (quotation). Although mortal, grievous (A/uyp? Tta?ouaa, a Vermeule is not concerned with maiden 276). She couples with Poseidon in soft meadow among the spring flow in choruses, she includes the Gorgons ers (?v uocXocKO)Xei|na)vi Kai avOeenv eiapivo?oiv, 279), and when Perseus crea "a series of lovely and cuts dangerous off her head, Pegasos and Chrysaor?the children of her union with tures" (p. 136) who live on the borders Poseidon?spring forth. of Ocean, implicitly suggesting their in account an as Several details this suggest with the affinity with female groups such the affinity paradigm Sirens of the abduction. smaller than most of the and the Hesperids. mythical Though groups 31. Ca?ame 23. are a same 1997, p. treated by Ca?ame,31 the Gorgons group of sisters born in the 86 KATHRYN TOPPER

a generation (and thus contemporary with each other in age), who share name one collective (ropyo?c, 274) and live together. Of the three sisters, as is distinguished exceptional, and she alone becomes the object of male attention. What is remarkable about this account is that the poet says noth or ing of either the physical appearance of the Gorgons the dangers involved some in looking at them?although he does not hesitate, 15 lines later, to describe the monstrous Echidna in vivid detail (295-305). The Gor are are gons of the Theogony simply three sisters, two of whom immortal; one the mortal couples with Poseidon, is killed by Perseus, and through to her death gives birth Pegasos and Chrysaor. In fact, the only physical can monstrosity that be ascribed to Hesiod's Medusa is her unusual way of giving birth. more The most significant difference between Medusa's story and tra accounts ditional of abducted maidens is its preoccupation with mortality, for Perseus does not rape or marry Medusa, but kills her. Still, we do not have to look far to find that the connection between death and marriage was our strong in Greek thought. Perhaps the most apt comparison for to purposes is the Homeric Hymn Demeter, in which Persephone's seizure by the lord of the Underworld is equal parts death and rape.32Medusa, a too, is raped by god before the arrival of Perseus, and Vernant has noted koci the parallel between the flowery meadow (ev pxxtaxKCp?,?i|ia>vi avOeaiv serves as event eiapivoicjiv, Hes. Theog. 279) that the setting for that and .. the soft meadow (Xei|icov\ (iocaxxkov,Horn. Hymn Dem. 7) where Hades finds Persephone and her companions gathering flowers.33 Despite its on account a emphasis mortality, Hesiod's of the Gorgons contains strong even sense sexual element, and Medusa's death resembles marriage in the that both produce children. As the earliest surviving description ofMedusa's death, the account in attests to the Theogony the antiquity of the Gorgon's association with the a or us even maiden who is raped by god hero. It also shows that in this was as a early period, her death figured perversion of the erotic abduction. on Her fame rested her mortality rather than her beauty; her fate, likewise, was a death that produced prodigious offspring. Subsequent accounts, both literary and visual, distorted the paradigm further: the maidens became to hideous monsters deadly to behold, and Perseus turned from pursuer was to pursued when he forced flee the dead Medusa's sisters. Despite their effect on individual elements of the story, these reversals did not violate

For not on 32. other mythical maidens death" metaphor reUed the or are ani who die transformed (into structural identity of marriage and or at see on the the two mals trees) marriageable age, death, but fact that Dowden 1989. Dowden argues that were construed as alternatives. 33. 123. marriage, death, and transformation Vernant 1991a, p. Ca?ame are connected because they aU "serve (1997, p. 154) also includes theHesi to in his of eroti terminate maidenhood" (p. 3). On odic meadow discussion and cized meadows that serve as the set the conflation of the wedding see the funeral, Rehm 1994. More tings for maidens' rapes. On eroticized in see recently, Ferrari (2002, pp. 190-194; meadows Greek thought, also 2004) has argued that the "bride of Power 2000, p. 79. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 87

its basic framework, which remained consistent with the paradigm of the a as maiden taken from circle of her peers, I hope the following examples will show.34 we If consider that the practice of distinguishing the abducted girl from the others in her group may explain why Medusa sometimes appears vase we can to see physically different from her sisters in painting, begin evidence for the pattern in the early visual record. On the famous Proto as Attic neck amphora in Eleusis, all the Gorgons appear monsters, but Medusa ismuch larger than her sisters and has a rounder torso.35 Similar can occur are distinctions when the Gorgons beautiful maidens: although on a both Gorgons mid-5th-century white-ground pyxis in Paris have on as human faces, the Gorgon the left (usually identified Medusa, prob a ably because of her proximity to Perseus), has round, upturned nose, in contrast with her sister's straighter nose, and their chitoniskoi differ in color.36 vase were em The painters not alone among their contemporaries in phasizing Medusa's affinities with the abducted maiden. In Pindar's account of Perseus's victory in the Twelfth Pythian Ode (6-17), the parallels with are the traditional erotic abduction striking. Here Pindar specifies that the are Gorgons maidens (jcocpOevioi?, 9), and while noting the forbidding ap ... pearance of the two sisters (rcapoevioi? aTc?-axoi? ?cp?covKecpa?m?, 9), out . . . he singles Medusa for her beauty (exmccp?ou MeSoioa?, 16). His on focus the Gorgons' dirge (Opfjvov, 8) for their dead sister strengthens to a the connection maiden choruses: the threnos typically consisted of ac monodic performance with choral accompaniment, and in Pindar's count of Medusa's death, the sisters' dirge accompanies Perseus's shout (a?oev, 11). Since the story of Medusa's death plays upon the theme of we even the maiden's abduction, moreover, might understand the threnos as a sung byMedusa's sisters replacement for the epithalamium they would have sung if her story had adhered to the traditional pattern of abduction for marriage.37 as an Pindar's definition ofMedusa object of erotic desire corresponds a to larger pattern in epinician poetry that Timothy Power has recently to explored with reference Bacchylides 13. In this ode, the maiden choregos as a ... appears leaping, carefree fawn (rj?xe ve?p?c ?7tev[0fi? OpcoiOKOuaa, a 87,90) dancing with her companions in flowery landscape (?vOejioevxa?

34. between He thrusts his sword at one s.v. Perseus The paraUel Perseus woman, p. 231, (L. J. R?ceos). is and both raise their arms in in a and the mythical abductor strength terror, 35. Eleusis Museum 2630. The three scheme famiUar from on the ened by 6th-century black-figure black-figure flowers the back of amphora, of The identities of where to amphoras that show him, identified images abduction. Medusa's body has faUen, caU over the women on these serve by the kibisis slung his shoulder, amphoras have mind the flowery meadows that two women: as on standing between fleeing been disputed, but regardless of who settings for maidens' abductions, the that see Heidelberg, Ruprecht-Karls-Univer they are, images suggest the which above. sit?t S 1%4;ABV394.5,696. New connection between Perseus and the 36. Paris,Mus?e du Louvre 1286; abductor was of interest to York, MetropoUtan Museum of Art mythical ARV2 755,1669. no. Attic the 6th For 37. On threnodies and see 41.162.179; ABV373, 174; Beazley painters by century. epithalamia, 99. the women as see Howe Addenda2 W?rzburg, Universit?t, maenads, Ca?ame 1997, pp. 82-85. For the vocal von women as mae Martin Wagner Museum L 213; 1954, p. 220; for the and aural aspects of Pindar's treatment ABV395, no. 6; Beazley Addenda2103. nads or Gorgons, see LIMC VII, 1994, of the myth, see Segal 1995,1998. 88 KATHRYN TOPPER

871 as an [' oxOod?, 88).38 Power argues that the ode presents the choregos an idealized marriage partner for the victor, and that their union has one analogue in of the heroic labors narrated in the poem: "I propose that a as Herakles' subjugation of person of hubris hupsinoos, figured the defeat of the Nemean lion, in the ode's first myth narrative (44-49) is a model for the victor's subjugation and acculturation (through marriage) of the as a hupsauches (84) choregos,who is figured wild fawn. Indeed, the sexualized women women acculturation of wild (or guarded by antisocial wild men) or a common on by god hero is fairly theme in the epinikia."39 Power goes to list Pelops and Hippodameia (Pind. 01.1) and Apollo and Cyrene (Pind. as to Pyth. 9) examples of such pairings, and his list I would add Perseus and Medusa in Pythian 12. Equal parts maiden and beast,40 Medusa is the woman to seems to perfect wild for the epinician hero subdue, and it be in keeping with this tradition of erotic subjugation in the epinikia that Pindar has emphasized her maidenly beauty. Returning to the images of the beautiful Gorgon pursuing Perseus we are now a see to (Fig. 9), in position to that their resemblance traditional an images of erotic pursuit, far from being coincidental, is rooted in ancient as a on understanding ofMedusas death variation the theme of the maidens a abduction by hero. This double characterization of the Gorgons made as an as was a Perseus much abductor of maidens he slayer of monsters, and the two roles did not fit together comfortably. Under these circumstances, Medusas death could at best be envisioned as an erotic abduction with a monsters series of horrifying twists: the maidens become fanged, bearded a one able to kill with glance; of them, exceptional for her mortality rather turns than her beauty, is killed instead of abducted; and the hero himself from predator to prey when the surviving sisters, rather than fleeing in terror, as we see on pursue him. In itsworst form, the story plays out many of the vases: a hero kills a maiden and, still armed, flees her beautiful sister. at We might ask this point why the painters would have interpreted a Perseus's actions in such way?why, that is, would they have chosen to his as creatures no more and no less expose opponents threatening, nor desirable, than ordinary maidens? Neither the conquest its aftermath a a admits flattering portrait of the hero, who?far from being victorious a slayer of monsters?appears barely capable of surviving confrontation with young women. The key to understanding these scenes may lie in the recognition of their humorous potential: these images, I suggest, constitute 38. Power 79) notes the parodies inwhich Perseus himself is the object of the joke. As such, they (2000, p. leimones a parallel with the flowery and have a contemporary counterpart in comedy, genre whose mythological that are eroticized in remains indicate that it the deeds of heroes kepoi typically fragmentary targeted particular Greek literature. On choral dancers and for comic mistreatment, the lives of and Herakles see Odysseus being especially animal metaphors, Henrichs 1996, n. popular subjects.41 pp. 36-38, p. 70, 38. to 39. Power 79. We need not find exact parallels in the dramatic fragments suggest 2000, p. 40. asso same to On the Gorgon's animal that the images of Perseus could function in the way, but it helps see Vernant to ciations, 1991a, pp. 116, note that both the literary and artistic record reveal his life have been 123-125,132-134. a of at least occasional humorous treatment. Several subject fragments by 41. See Phillips 1959; Hunter 1983. Kratinos attest to his inOld and a chous from to of in presence Comedy, red-figure For parallels this type comedy a who and vase see Ferrari 1984. the middle of the 5th century shows figure brandishes harpe painting, Pinney THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 89

on a a kibisis dancing stage before small audience.42 Because the surface vase are of the is badly worn, certain details of the dancer's features dif as a ficult to discern, but E. Gilli?ron's reconstruction of the figure dwarf is consistent with what remains visible.43 Other scholars, such as Semni seen as a Karouzou and J. D. Beazley, have the dancing figure comic actor; was a less plausibly, Frank Brommer suggested that he satyr.44Their dif ferences notwithstanding, these interpretations all agree that the figure's a pose and physiognomy would have lent him certain comic indignity in a Greek eyes; the pose, in particular, has counterpart in the dancing satyr on the slightly later Pronomos vase, who shares his frontal body, raised arm, and raised, bent leg.45 One is perhaps also reminded of Xenophon's description of the buffoon Phillip flailing about for the amusement of the at guests Kallias's symposium (Symp. 2.21-23). or an ever a Whether not actor playing Perseus performed such dance on a as a real stage, the painter's choice of the hero subject for comic treat scene our ment is significant. This is clearest indication that Perseus himself serve as a could visual stimulus to humor: the dance, his physical form, on us see a and his presence stage all invite to him as, literally, spectacle. on The humor of this image relies the manipulation of his body, and to recognize it, we must be familiar with the conventions the Greek artists to employed represent the ideal heroic body. With the depictions of Per seus a our being pursued by beautiful Gorgon, ability to recognize the humor on our awareness relies instead of the artists' manipulation of his role in the narrative and of the conventions of erotic pursuit.46 This interpretation we on acquires additional force when consider that the Strasbourg kantharos can never (Fig. 9), the hero and the Gorgon be visible to the viewer at once. The time required for the viewer to rotate the vessel and take in the entire scene an as allows for element of surprise, it becomes clear that, against all no more a expectations, the creature that Perseus flees is threatening than an maiden, and the figure that the maiden pursues is armed hero.47 In fact, given the potential overlap between the pose of the fleeing maiden and we saw on the pose of the pursuer?as the London hydria (Fig. 7)?we or cannot be certain whether the Gorgon is the pursuer the pursued in this scene we until have turned the kantharos around to find Perseus, fleeing for his life.

42. Kratinos: frr. 218-232 KA. 45. Naples, Museo Archeologico Chous: Athens, M. Vlasto;^F21215, Nazionale 3240; ARV21336, no. 1; no. Addenda2 34%. 1; Beazley Paralipomena 480; Beazley Addenda2 43. Pickard-Cambridge 1968, fig. 76. 365. For about scenes Greek attitudes dwarfism, 46. The of Perseus fleeing see Garland are not 1995, pp. 84-86,116 beautiful Gorgons the only 117. ones in which the painters exploited 44. Karouzou 1945, p. 42, pi. 5; the humorous potential of the imagery no. Brommer see Beazley, ARV21215, 1; of pursuit; MitcheU 2004, 1944, p. 28. See also Green 1991, p. 31. pp. 19-21. extent are To the that his features legi 47.1 thankAnn Kuttner for this the to lack the to ble, figure appears round, observation, which also appUes the nose upturned and bald head that char kantharos in the Museo Nazionale in so n. acterize many red-figure satyrs. Taranto (see 24, above). 9o KATHRYN TOPPER

THE PARADIGM EVOKED: BEAUTIFUL GORGONS AND SLEEPING GORGONS

scenes us a The of the flight give glimpse of the profoundly destabilizing on our effect the Gorgons' beauty may have perception of Perseus's vic as tory. By depicting Medusa and her sisters beautiful maidens who are at home in narratives of pursuit and rape, the painters draw attention to their as roles particular kinds of victims, and in doing so, they place Perseus in an sort unexpected of danger. As visibly nonthreatening opponents, the beautiful Medusa and her sisters pose a clear threat to the hero's honor, and the threat has several potential consequences. In the scenes of Perseus's norms flight, which clearly overturn the of erotic pursuit, the effect seems us to have been humorous: these pictures show a world in reverse where monsters become beautiful, maidens turn aggressive, and their pursuer runs for his life. In the second type of image I consider, which shows Perseus's a more encounter with sleeping Gorgon, the character of the threat is dif ficult to establish. scenes The of Perseus confronting the sleeping Medusa (Figs. 2,4-6), as we a have seen, present particular challenge to Furtw?ngler's system of an classification, and the variations they show suggest that interpretation scenes on as of these that relies the Gorgons' physical appearance its sole criterion will be of limited value. In the images of pursuit, we saw that the one Gorgons' appearance is only factor that contributes to the message of a scene. The same, I believe, is true of the images of sleeping Gorgons, are most as a which profitably considered single group within the larger context vase of sleeping figures in painting. Scenes of Perseus and the sleeping Gorgon consist, in their simplest rests form, of the hero approaching the sleeping Medusa, who usually under a or on a one or tree small hill. She occasionally sleeps in the company of more some of her sisters, and Perseus is often accompanied by Athena, and or times also by Hermes and Poseidon. Typically, the hero bends crouches over as to one scene Medusa he prepares kill her (Figs. 4-6); shows him in once the act of beheading her (Fig. 2); and he appears stealing away with Medusa's head while her sisters continue to sleep, undisturbed.48 as a Medusa's capacity to be represented both monster and a maiden our scenes. is crucial to understanding of these Sheila McNally has ob served that sleeping figures in Greek and Roman art typically fall into women two categories, and beings she describes as "something more or vase less than human"; in painting, the latter category consists chiefly of a on giants and the Cyclops.49 Frontisi-Ducroux, in study focused Athenian serves vases, summarizes: "the motif of sleep above all to make obvious or or the vulnerability of the sleeper to ridicule him her and applies thus or or only to weak creatures (woman, child, slave) the marginal alienated 48. Berlin, StaatlicheMuseen F 3022; seen (barbarian, giant)."50 We have that Medusa fits both descriptions at LCS487,no.335. once. 49. 1985, p. 154. As Perseus's monstrous adversary, she resembles Alkyoneus and Poly McNally are 50. Frontisi-Ducroux 1996, p. 87. phemos, who attacked by Herakles and Odysseus, respectively, in their 51. Melbourne, National Gallery of As a desirable she is in the of sleep (Fig. 10).51 maiden, however, company Victoria 1730-D4; ARV2125, no. 20; the who are ravished and Addenda2 sleeping nymphs repeatedly by satyrs (Fig. 11), Paralipomena 333; Beazley one to 176. of the sleeping Ariadne, who is abandoned by lover only be found THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 91

10. Herakles Figure approaching scenes are moments later by the next.52 All of these important components Alkyoneus, Attic red-figure cup, late in our of the Medusa. 6th interpretation sleeping century B.c., Pamphaios (potter), much about the scenes described above remains Nikosthenes Painter (attributed to). Unfortunately, poorly understood. should not be assumed to be less nuanced than Melbourne, National Gallery of Still, they any the scenes of Perseus and the Medusa. In several consider Victoria 1730-D4. Felton Bequest, sleeping fact, us 1957. Photo courtesy National Gallery of ations caution against interpreting the images of Odysseus and Herakles Victoria, Melbourne as attacking the sleeping giants portraits of ideal heroic behavior. The satyrs that sometimes accompany Odysseus and Polyphemos suggest possible connections between these pictures and satyr play, and the images of to Herakles attacking the sleeping Alkyoneus have long proven difficult not no interpret, least because they have parallel in the surviving literary on record.53 It is also significant that the heroes who attack sleeping giants ones are the vases, Odysseus and Herakles, are the whose exploits known a to have provided especially rich fodder for comedy, fact that suggests that were as as were their exploits potentially laughable they admirable.54 a Although none of these factors points to conclusive interpretation some of these scenes, they do suggest of the problems raised by the image on us of the hero's attack his sleeping enemy; in particular, they caution a against assuming that to represent hero's behavior is to endorse it. Yet,

11: Museum of who that the female 53. with and 52. Fig. Boston, 1994, argues satyrs' Satyrs Odysseus Poly no. are not Fine Arts 01.8072; ARV2 461, 36; companions maenads, but phemos: London, British Museum Addenda2 For a list of scenes LCS no. 85. Andreae Paralipomena 377; Beazley nymphs. showing 1947.7-14.8; 20, see a of 244. On sleeping nymphs, especially satyrs approaching sleeping nymphs, 1962 provides survey the images see nn. the McNally 1984 and Lissarrague 1990a, Osborne 1996, pp. 78-80, 30 of Herakles killing sleeping Alkyo to as see neus. who refer these figures maenads. 31. On the sleeping Ariadne, I follow the arguments of Hedreen McNally 1985. 54. Phillips 1959. 92 KATHRYN TOPPER

11. a Figure Satyrs attacking sleep all these uncertainties, these may us a little closer to despite pictures bring ing nymph, Attic red-figure kylix Perseus's encounter with the for however understanding sleeping Medusa, (detail), ca. 490 b.c., Makron. we should understand the heroes' attacks on the it seems sleeping giants, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. we clear that only the cowardly satyrs attack sleeping maidens. Once again Henry LiUie Pierce Fund, 01.8072. a seem Photo ? 2007, Museum of Fine Arts, find Perseus in precarious position, for although his actions may Boston a monster can fitting when he is faced with whose glance kill, they look a distinctly out of place when directed toward sleeping maiden. a This situation has parallel in epic tradition in the death of Thersites, who is slain by Achilles in the Aithiopis after taunting him for loving the Amazon Penthesileia, whom the hero has killed in battle (Proel. Chresto mathia 2).55 As Josine Blok has demonstrated, Thersites' definition of as a woman Penthesileia desirable is dangerous because it undermines status as as as Achilles' triumphant hero, which remains intact only long as a as as his opponent is perceived formidable warrior?only long, that is, worse the Amazon's femininity is denied. It is all the for Achilles, then, that as Penthisileia's femininity is doubly determined in this episode: a living a a Amazon, she possesses masculine thumos in female body, but upon her a death, the thumos departs, leaving only the body of woman.56 Here the parallel with Medusa becomes evident, for if death turns Penthesileia into a same woman, sleep does the forMedusa. Although she occasionally retains or a her broad face, grimace, fangs (Figs. 4-6), sleeping Gorgon resembles is a dead Amazon in the sense that both lack the features that make them 55. This tradition also preserved a in the Posthomerica of Quintas of worthy opponents for hero. In this respect, Perseus's adversary is unlike 1.666-668 (Achilles'love those faced Herakles and for as a creature whose Smyrna: by Odysseus, only weapon for the dead Amazon), 1.722-747 is her Medusa is disarmed Whatever do to gaze, singly by sleep. sleep may (Thersites' mockery of Achilles). the 56. Blok 195-288. opponents of Herakles and Odysseus, the giants' massive bodies, which 1995, pp. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 93

as function their chief weapons, remain visible, and Alkyoneus sometimes continues to clutch his club (Fig. 10). The immediate threat is diminished, a but the source of the danger is readily visible. By contrast, Gorgon with a closed eyes appears at clear disadvantage.57 If the danger rests in her eyes, seem then sleep temporarily negates the threat and leaves her, the pictures as as a to say, harmless maiden. as as more a Insofar they expose Perseus's opponent nothing than on vases assume same as sleeping maiden, the images the much the role Thersites, who defines Penthesileia as more woman than warrior when he mocks Achilles' alleged love for her (tov etci xv[ rievoerjiAE?oc Xey?uEvov an eparca, Proel. Chrestomathia 2). As Blok observes, this taunt is implicit challenge to the hero's honor, since "Thersites has represented him at less we than his true worth."58 As attempt to understand the messages conveyed seem by the images of Perseus attacking the sleeping Medusa, which to represent Perseus at less than his true worth, it is important to note that a the episode in the Aithiopis reveals distinct ambivalence about the threat that the desirable female opponent poses to the hero's honor. What Ther to a a sites understands be fodder for good joke is for Achilles matter of life we and death, and it is crucial that recognize that the conflict between them not a a as is simply quarrel that escalates to fatal point. Rather, Gregory as an Nagy has demonstrated, Thersites intrudes into epic unwelcome guest from another genre, blame poetry, and his quarrel with Achilles is therefore as a as a much clash of genres it is conflict between individuals. Trapped within the epic, the purpose of which is to celebrate the hero, Thersites and the tradition of blame poetry he embodies are bound to lose.59 In a different genre, he might gain the upper hand, and then we, too, would at a woman be laughing the hero who compromised his honor by killing to in battle. Our understanding of the Amazon's death is closely tied the genre inwhich it is represented. to we Returning the images of Perseus and the sleeping Medusa, find our ourselves impeded by ignorance of the genre to which the pictures scenes belong. Unlike the of pursuit that show the weak in pursuit of the strong, the armed fleeing the unarmed, and the maiden desiring the on a hero, the attack the sleeping Medusa does not fit neatly into scheme are of comic reversals. The images of the sleeping Medusa arguably far more on one unsettling, for they show the strong preying who is obviously were weak, but whether they intended to provoke laughter at the hero or sympathy for the maiden is unclear. We know from surviving fragments 57. On the see Ver Gorgon's eyes, and summaries of Aeschylus's Phorkides that the sleeping Gorgon could be nant 1991a. as a interpreted tragic figure, but these remains otherwise shed little light 58. Blok 1995, 209. p. on how the theme might have been 59. Nagy 1999, pp. 259-264. developed.60 It is also that in some a 60. Radt, TrGFlll 362-364 fr. 262 clear situations, sleeping Gorgon could be was more are as even (Phorkides). The theme not, funny, for satyrs?who generally accepted markers of humor, over, confined to it also no consensus were tragedy; appears if there is about how they funny?sometimes appear in in Pherecydes' account (Wendel 1958, pictures in which the closed eyes of the gorgoneion suggest that Medusa p. 320, Unes 11-13). was when Perseus found her.61With the of Perseus ap 61. Paris,Mus?e du Louvre CA sleeping images the we lack the cultural 1728; ARV2 677, no. 10. Taranto, Mu proaching sleeping Medusa, however, knowledge to us seoNazionale 8263; LCS 55, no. 280. necessary identify the clues that might otherwise help to place the im On and see below. a a case satyrs humor, ages in particular genre (or genres). One might make for interpreting 94 KATHRYN TOPPER

some scenes as humorous: Perseus's occasional bent or crouching posture to to (Figs. 4-6) maybe intended liken him the satyr,62 the only other figure vase women in painting who attacks sleeping (Fig. 11). The conflation of the hero with the notoriously cowardly satyr is not unimaginable, since we seen a have already him running fully armed from beautiful maiden. we can This interpretation is at best hypothetical, however, and the most generally say about the pictures of Perseus and the sleeping Medusa is that to or they hold the potential have been either humorous pitiful, depending on nuances we unaware. imparted by clues of which remain case scenes It is clear in any that, like the of pursuit, the images of as the sleeping Gorgon play upon her double nature monster and maiden, on vases are and although the principles that govern the pairing of images one vase seems still poorly understood, to make the thematic connection two scene between the types of explicit (Fig. 5). On the obverse of the we Villa Giulia Painter's bell krater inMadrid, find Perseus, flanked by on Hermes and Athena, about to attack the sleeping Medusa; the reverse, an old man with a scepter stands between two running women who throw up their arms in alarm, a gesture familiar from scenes of abduction where the maiden's sisters run to their father in terror. Francisco Alvarez-Ossorio women on were suggested in 1910 that the the Madrid krater Medusa's a scene sisters fleeing after Perseus's attack,63 but such would be without are parallel in the imagery, especially since Gorgons in this period always shown with wings, and never in the presence of their father. Still, the scene us clearly belongs to the iconography of abduction,64 and it thus invites to two are consider the possibility that the sides united by this theme. Alvarez scenes same Ossorio understood the to belong to the narrative?Perseus attacks Medusa and her sisters flee?but if the women on the reverse are

not Gorgons, his reading becomes difficult to sustain. It is conceivable, however, that the painter has emphasized the abnormality of Medusa's an a more abduction by juxtaposing it with excerpt from traditional nature once one, placing the questionable of the hero's actions again in high relief.

THE BEAUTIFUL GORGON AMONG SATYRS

62. See also Athens, National Ar The uncertainties that hinder our efforts to understand the Me sleeping chaeological Museum 10459; Wolters dusa are less of a in another set of inwhich the problem images, presence 1940, pi. 24.1-3. assures us were 63. Alvarez-Ossorio 70. of satyrs alongside Perseus and Medusa that these pictures 1910, p. some scenes 64. Cf. Leroux 1912, pp. 93-94; understood in way to be funny. Although these do not all depict CIA, Madrid?Mus?e the same moment in Perseus's encounter with Medusa, the presence of satyrs arch?ologique national 2 [Espagne 2], p. 8. us to consider them because it suggests that the scenes are permits together, 65. Jahn 1847, pp. 289-292; 1868; connected to drama and be The idea satyric may interpreted accordingly. Brommer 1937, pp. 38-48; 1944, scenes one or more that the with satyrs reflect the influence of satyr plays pp. 25-29; Webster 1967, pp. 169-170; about Perseus is not new.65 Nevertheless, because discussions of representa TrendaU and Webster 1971, pp. 11-13, on vases on 38-39; Simon 1982, p. 139; LCS 55, tions of satyr plays have concentrated almost exclusively the no. 280; Sutton 1984, pp. 125-126; question of how these images should be identified?and then, sometimes, Schefold and Jung 1988, p. 114; LIMC how be used to reconstruct the content of known they might satyr plays VII, 1994, p. 346, s.v. Perseus (L. J. from titles or textual little attention has been only fragments?relatively R?ceos); Krumeich, Pechstein, and devoted to identifying the elements of humor that should be present if Seidensticker 1999, pp. 661-664. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 95

ill J"

-*"* lull

12. Figure Hermes, Perseus, Athena was these images do represent satyr plays.66 The humor that characteristic with and gorgoneion, satyr, Apulian to our of satyr play, however, is crucial interpretation of these images. ca. red-figure beU krater, 380-360 b.c., I suggest not that the of Perseus, Medusa, and the satyrs Graz Painter. only images Leipzig, Universit?t, are associated with satyr plays, but also that the satyric context is the key Institut fur Klassische Arch?ologie to the beautiful in these scenes. Otto ad und Antikenmuseum T 83. Photo understanding gorgoneia Jahn vanced a similar in an 1847 article about an bell krater in M. Wenzel, courtesy Antikenmuseum der argument Apulian Universit?t scene Leipzig Leipzig (Fig. 12) ;67for him, however, the humor of the derived from a or what he believed to be not the actual gorgoneion, but doll effigy with which Perseus practiced for his task, and which frightened the cowardly terror a was satyrs. The satyrs' at such harmless object, Jahn suggested, in keeping with the principles of satyr play, which contrasted the hero's brav ery with the satyrs' cowardice.68 Neither the textual nor the visual record us a reason a provides with compelling to hypothesize, with Jahn, about an version of the myth inwhich Perseus used effigy of Medusa to prepare for his confrontation with the monster herself.69 Still, the suggestion that

66. An to this exception general 67. Jahn 1847. Leipzig, Universit?t, is the work of who pattern Hedreen, Institut f?r Klassische Arch?ologie und comments (1994, pp. 65-69) on humor Antikenmuseum T 83; RVAp I 161, in his discussion of a group of vases no. 218. that a may show satyr play involving 68. Jahn 1847, pp. 289-292. most recent seems nymphs. Otherwise, 69. Jahn himself to have to the humor associ attempts explain abandoned this interpretation by the ated with in vase have satyrs painting time he addressed the subject again not to been made by scholars who do in 1868. There he refers the head that had as direct as accept satyric drama simply the gorgoneion, and he cites an influence on vase as is often in painting parallels Pompeian wall paintings Moret 139 in thought; see, e.g., 1984, pp. which Perseus shows the gorgoneion to a 142; Lissarrague 1990b;Mitchell 2004, Andromeda by reflecting it in 21-32. of water pp. body (pp. 11-12). 96 KATHRYN TOPPER

an an as ancient audience would have regarded such image funny?and, moreover, that itwould have located at least some of the humor in the ap more accurate pearance of the gorgoneion?is probably than subsequent return to studies have recognized.701 this point below, after first outlining vases the connection between these and satyr play.

Images of Perseus with Satyrs

scenes Satyrs appear in 11 red-figure of Perseus's encounter with Medusa.71 a a Of these 11 pieces, only mid-5th-century lekythos that shows satyr running with harpe, kibisis, and gorgoneion is from the Greek mainland.72 are The remaining pieces South Italian and range in date from the late B.c. 5th century to the late 4th century In every case, the Gorgon's face a is human.73 Only the lekythos shows satyr taking any significant part in the action of the scene; some scholars have identified the satyr as Perseus a himself, but it is possible that he has simply stolen the hero's attributes, occurs some prank that also in images of Herakles with the satyrs, at least can of which be associated with satyr play.74 In two cases, satyrs appear at (or shortly after) the beheading, both as once as times spectators, and witness to the birth of Pegasos and Chrysaor are from Medusa's neck.75 Most frequently, however, satyrs shown simply reacting in horror?turning their heads, covering their eyes, throwing up

70. the that this This point is occasionaUy noted of vases, the Apulian calyx krater likely gorgoneion had human but never in features. On the Bari the face of developed. Schauenburg Bari (Museo Archeologico 12013; krater, not no. the is and (1960, pp. 97-98), while discussing RVAp I 212, 248) and the ApuUan gorgoneion slighdy broader, humor in these at in the hair is more but both the images any length, beU krater Leipzig (Fig. 12),Medusas unkempt, s same no accepts Jahn argument that the face is longer visible. Jahn, who dis size of the head and the inclusion of of humor is as cusses krater in the neck that the facial features principle operating here the Leipzig detail, also suggest in seems to uncer of this were human. satyr play, although he himself does have been somewhat gorgoneion, too, not tain the of the 74. For the as Perseus himself: beUeve that the Leipzig krater rep about appearance gor satyr resents a Twice he mentions that it LIMC no. s.v. Perseus satyr play. goneion. VII, 1994, 31, a scenes 71. The nude male figure holding resembles "eine b?rtige Maske" (1847, (L. J. R?ceos). On of satyrs on a see Lis thyrsus fragmentary ApuUan calyx p. 289; 1868, p. 12), but the drawing stealing Herakles' weapons, vase a krater in Bari (Museo Archeologico of the that accompanies his de sarrague 1995. The presence of for no. a aulos in some of 12013; RVAp I 212, 248) may also scription simply shows the face of mally dressed player a woman these scenes that be satyr, but because only his lower sUghtly grimacing old (1847). suggests they belong no con to half survives, and tail is visible, the The drawing should probably be satyr play (e.g., Padula, Museo not secure. are identification is The major sidered unreUable, since the Unes Archeologico d?lia Lucania Occiden as a in of the argument for identifying this figure least certain the portion tale; ARV21699). On the aulos player is scene that is Neither as an of see satyr the thyrsus. Schauenburg (1960, missing today. indicator theatricality, on vase nor p. 78) argues that the thyrsus identifies the image that survives the Beazley 1955. as a or the figure either satyr Dionysos, the drawing explains what inspired 75.Marseilles, Mus?e Bor?ly 1427; since is of the as LCS no. 862. Museo but Dionysos otherwise absent Jahns description gorgoneion 151, Naples, in scenes a bearded and it seems best to Nazionale 1767.1 involving Perseus and the mask, Archeologico have seems consider the face as seen the in beautiful Gorgon, the figure simply missing. neither latter piece person more to be a fron We that the head nor a of Ukely satyr (whose may note, however, found published photograph resembles Athena's head in its size and the full but the of the taUy turned body may have made the scene, description a as weU as in the at which inclusion of tail unnecessary). shape, angle piece by Jahn (1868, pp. 8-9) confirms are as 72. Paris,Mus?e du Louvre CA 1728 it is held. Monstrous gorgoneia usuaUy that the Gorgons represented n. women. (see p. 93, 61, above), from Boiotia. have larger heads and broader faces young 73. It should be noted that on two (and are not shown with necks), so it is THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 97

or their arms, running away?at the display of the gorgoneion; in these as a scenes, they appear both alone with Perseus and part of larger group.76 a The presence of satyrs in these scenes suggests connection with satyr play, consensus on but in the absence of scholarly how to identify the influence vase some of satyr play in painting, justification for this proposal is required. I begin by briefly summarizing the terms of the debate. a One popular position holds that satyr play lies behind any image or no that shows satyrs with gods heroes with whom they otherwise have or known association, that shows them taking part in activities unassoci ated with the Dionysiac thiasos.77While the inclusion of formal theatrical as or a detail, such costume formally dressed aulos player, may strengthen case the for connecting these images to the theater, such detail is not considered necessary; it has been amply demonstrated that the inclusion of explicit theatrical detail had less to do with producing literal images of the stage than with emphasizing the theatrical context of the scene.78 The more skeptical position, articulated most forcefully by Fran?ois Lissarrague, a grants the images greater degree of independence from the stage.79 In this view, the satyrs place the images not in the realm of theater, but in to the world of the polis overturned. The key this interpretation lies in the as identity of the satyrs "antitypes of the Athenian male citizenry [who] us an present with inverted anthropology (or andrology) of the ancient city-state."80 They perform and parody the tasks of heroes and citizens, creating what Lissarrague calls "an anthropology of laughter." In this view, on vases are as the images the connected to the theater only insofar both

we cannot 76. With Perseus: Baltimore, Art 1984, pp. 119-120; Lissarrague visual remains, however, Market; Jahn 1868, pi. 1, fig. 3;Howe 1990b, pp. 231-232). Nevertheless, expect that every satyr play known is not from sources wiU a 1954, fig. 8; Brommer 1973, p. 288, the approach without founda the Uterary have no. s.v. in remains in nor can D9, Perseus verscheidenen tion; the literary of satyr plays, paraUel the visual remains, we Szenen. Bonn, Akademisches Kunst while fragmentary, frequently show expect every suspected visual rep museum I no. 83. Part involved in situations resentation of a to corre 79; RVAp 77, satyrs becoming satyr play a Akademi that are as out to a known title or of larger group: Bonn, apparently of character spond fragment. sches Kunstmuseum 2667; LCS 113, for them as the scenes on the vases 78. Green 1991. The so-caUed no. Institut seem to vase in 584. Leipzig, Universit?t, be (Seaford 1984; Hedreen Pronomos the Museo Archeo in furKlassische Arch?ologie und 1992, p. 105). Moreover, the assump logico Nazionale Naples (see p. 89, n. Antikenmuseum T 83; RVAp 1161, tion that the images of satyrs with 45, above), in which the details of no. or to costume are 218 (Fig. 12). Naples, Museo strange gods heroes refer lost the shown with varying us to a a ex Archeologico Nazionale 82039 myths would require invent degrees of explicitness, is good no. Pe whole host of variants for of the atti (H 2562); RVAp 1198, 52. St. mythical ample painters' complex we no tersburg, State Hermitage Museum which have attestation apart tudes toward depicting the theater; St. I no. 77. from move that is on this see Pickard 1609; RVAp 272, Taranto, these images?a piece, especiaUy no Museo Nazionale 124007; RVAp I 38, ultimately less speculative than Cambridge 1968, p. 187; Seaford 1984, no. 18. the invention of otherwise unattested p. 3; Lissarrague 1990b, p. 230; Green on the basis these 77. Jahn 1868; Brommer 1944, satyr plays of 1991, pp. 44-45; Hedreen 1992, costume pp. 7-8; Simon 1982. The difficulty images. More cautious proponents pp. 107-111. On the issue of we are on see with this position is that less of this hypothesis have focused and other theatrical detail, also content can well informed than ancient audiences images whose be matched Hedreen 1994, pp. 67-68. would have been about what consti with titles or of 79. For surviving fragments Lissarrague 1990b. this posi tutes a see normal range of activities and satyr plays (Webster 1967, pp. 137 tion, also Moret 1984, pp. 139-142; associations it is for satyrs, and risky 170; Simon 1982; Sutton 1984, MitcheU 2004, pp. 21-32. to on the basis of such Because of the speculate neg pp. 119-120). fragmen 80. Lissarrague 1990b, p. 235. nature ative evidence (Webster 1950; Sutton tary of both the literary and the 98 KATHRYN TOPPER media produce comic incongruities through the manipulation of symbols, but one medium need not derive from the other.81 over Without wishing to become entangled in the general debate how vase case to identify satyr plays in painting, I suggest that in the of Perseus we can and the satyrs, saywith reasonable certainty that the images belong to the world of satyr play. The literary and epigraphic record provides indi no on rect support for this position: while play the Perseus theme survives no in full, surviving titles and fragments attest that, beginning later than the first half of the 5 th century, playwrights (both comic and tragic) found a we Perseus's life to be suitable subject for the stage.82 Moreover, since seen vases to have that painters of found such performances be suitable we subjects for representation,83 should not be surprised to find references on vases. to satyr play among the images the The images themselves bear out this expectation. It is true that some as Lissarrague's notion of parody could apply to pictures, such the on satyr-Perseus the Boiotian lekythos in Paris discussed above.84 Even if we are meant to understand that this satyr is not Perseus himself, but a we are an a satyr who has stolen his attributes, still left with image of satyr that closely parallels known images of the hero.85 More often, however, the seem satyrs do not to stand in for anyone in particular, and in such cases, the vase notion of parody is difficult to sustain.86 The only person in painting to as as whom Perseus displays the gorgoneion frequently he shows it to the

81. 232. at 84. See nn. above. Lissarrague 1990b, p. For have been performed the Dionysia pp. 93,96, 61, 72, b.c. 85. S?o Museum the relationship between image and of 339 (JGII/IIP 2320 ii; Snell, Paolo, University theater (as weU as other forms of TrGFl 14 [DID A 2a, 30], 26).The of Archaeology and Ethnology 67.1; in vase were re literature) ApuUan painting, possibility that earlier plays ARV21668. see a in 86. In GiuUani 1996, who also takes vived performance during the 4th fact, Lissarrague's (1990b) view in skeptical of what he caUs the century South Italy and Greece also suggestion that the satyrs may be sepa cannot be out. if rated from the theater is a "philodramatic" position. ruled Indeed, Taplin potentiaUy 218 is correct 82. Comedy: Kratinos: frr. (1993) that the so-called problem. Hedreen (1992, pp. 155-157) vases revivals has that the ico 232 KA. Tragedy: Aeschylus: Radt, phlyax show of Attic argued persuasively in TrGF III 161-174 frr. 46a-49 (Dik comedies rather than local Italian nography of satyrs originated the then the between tyoulkoi), 302 (Polydektes), 361-364 phlyakes, relationship performative rather than the visual vase arts frr. 261-262 (Phorkides). Sophocles: Attic drama and South Italian and that they therefore from the even was once Radt, TrGFTV 136-140 frr. 60 (57)-76 painting is closer than beginning carried connotations of not (73) (Akrisios), 156-160 frr. 126 (122) thought. For the appearance of Greek performance. It is impossible that over 136 (132) (Andromeda), 173-175 drama in 4th-century South Italian this relationship changed time vase see and that con frr. 165 (168)-170 (173) (Danae), 334 painting, also Trendall 1990, the satyrs acquired other 336 frr. 378 (348)-383 (352) (Lari 1991. notations within the context of the 83. The comes in saioi). It is unclear whether these frag best evidence from visual arts, but the period with which ments to or one. the so-called "Perseus dance" we are when was belong three plays chous, concerned, satyr play a in it Euripides: Kannicht, TrGF V 233 discussed earlier (Athens, M. Vlasto; prominent part of life the polis, see n. scenes seems 260 frr. 114-156 (Andromeda), 371 42, above). For that have Ukely that the satyrs would have connections to 380 frr. 316-330a (Danae), 381-389 been connected (with considerably less retained strong popular to theatrical In the frr. 330b-348 (Diktys). certainty) tragic tetralogies involving performance. end, a see Howe Hedreen's view us closer than In addition, fragmentary inscrip Perseus, 1953; Oakley 1982, brings a mar to an tion records that Perseus took second 1988; Simon 1982, p. 139. The Lissarrague's does understanding at b.c. location of the home of the of Perseus and the beau prize the Dionysia of 467 (IG 11 ginal Gorgons' images tiful the two 977a; SneU, TrGFl 5 [DID C 4], 85). may also have made the myth attractive Medusa, although posi treatment to on tions need not be Less is known of the of the satyric playwrights; the geograph always mutuaUy of see exclusive. theme by 4th-century playwrights, ically marginal settings satyr play, a seems to although satyric Phorkides Voelke 2001, pp. 37-51. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION 99

never a satyrs is Polydektes, but there is any indication that satyr ismeant at to be standing in for Polydektes. When satyrs appear the beheading of a scene. Medusa, they play subsidiary role in the action of the In short, the satyrs inmost of these scenes seem to fill much the same role that a chorus on of satyrs would have filled the stage.87 It is possible, moreover, that certain facets of Perseus's character made him especially suited to representation in satyr play.88 Although the literary remains of the genre, particularly Euripides' Cyclops, suggest that in many cases reason the satyric hero retained his tragic dignity,89 there is also to some a common believe that heroes of satyr play had good deal in with the satyrs themselves. The classic example isHerakles, who featured in satyr plays but also resembled the satyrs, with his boundless appetites, his boor we ish table manners, and his tendency to become enslaved.90 Perseus, too, have seen, shared certain features with the satyrs: like them, he could be as a construed (largely unsuccessful) rapist, and like them, he perpetrated women. sneak attacks on sleeping In other words, the very behaviors that as were ones could be construed cowardly and laughable the that he shared with the satyrs, which suggests that, like Herakles, Perseus was a prime on candidate for representation the satyric stage.91 a While I argue for theatrical connection in these images, I have admit tedly defined the connection loosely. Such imprecision is, for my purposes, am not to reconstruct permissible; since I interested in attempting the content of lost satyr plays from the surviving images, the degree to which vases the provide literal representations of actual performances is unimport context ant.92 In the of the present discussion, the connection with satyr play us matters because it provides with clues about how to understand these images. Putting aside all questions of how literally the images reproduce on we can what happened the stage, still observe that if the images bear

87. aulos man et Loraux 123 and the show the battle described The formaUy dressed player al.); 1995, esp. pp. satyrs in zone an 125 his and in the later not least because Dio the lower of early-4th-cen (on gluttony); Kirkpatrick texts, Dunn 2002. Also is Hera tury Lucanian volute krater may pro significant nysos is absent from the images. If the a kles' role in the was not vide additional evidence for theatrical "prosatyric" Alcestis, tradition of the battle entirely context on which see Burnett Mar the have of the images of Perseus and 1971, p. 44; late, however, images may at in the satyrs (Taranto, Museo Nazionale shaU2000, p. 234. been motivated least part by the 91. It is also in addi 8623; LCS 55, no. 280). Because the possible that, antagonism between the hero and the aulos on vase tion to their shared Perseus On the of a connection player and the dancers this behaviors, god. possibility are in a zone Perseus had a narrative connection to the between this and the represented below satyrs. legend pictures, a see and the satyrs, we cannot be certain We have late evidence for tradition of Jahn 1847, pp. 290-291. two scenes are between Perseus and Dio 92. On this it should be suf that the related, although antagonism point, some seem in which the hero the ficient to note connection does likely. On nysos, fought god that the image showing see and his foUowers at this point, Beazley 1955, p. 315. Argos (Euphorion Pegasos being born from Medusa's neck owe fr. 18 Paus. 88.1 many of the ideas in this PoweU; 2.20.4,2.22.1, (Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazio to Nonnus Dion. A nale see n. us paragraph suggestions from Guy 2.23.7; 47.498-741). 1767; 75, above) pushes of Pindar that seems to con in a Hedreen. dithyramb the direction of less literal reading cern and of a 89. Seaford 1984, pp. 51,56; Lissar Perseus, Dionysos, Argos these scenes, hypothesis that meth have seem to rague 1990b, pp. 235-236. (fr. 70a) may dealt with this theme, odological considerations sup the text it vase 90. On Herakles and the satyrs, although fragmentary makes port. On the nonliteral character of see to know for certain what its to see Lissarrague 1995; Voelke 2001, impossible paintings that allude theater, Lis was. On this see van pp. 329-339. On the complexity of subject dithyramb, sarrague 1990b; Green 1991; Hedreen in see derWeiden 34-51. It is diffi 67-69. Herakles Greek mythology, 1991, pp. 1994, pp. to LIMC TV, 1988, s.v. Herakles (J. Board cult argue that the images of Perseus IOO KATHRYN TOPPER

same any relation at all to satyric drama, they should be governed by the principles of humor that governed satyr play.93 Very little attention has yet been devoted to how these principles might manifest themselves in the are visual record, since scholars still largely caught up in the difficulty of vase establishing acceptable criteria for detecting satyr plays in painting. we can While admitting that this issue is far from resolved, nevertheless note that the scenes of Perseus and the satyrs do seem to bear some relation to the theater, and we may therefore ask where the humor in them resides. At this point, it becomes necessary to turn to the literary evidence, because we can a it is there that begin to understand what made satyr play funny to its ancient audience.

Humor in Satyr Play

text The literary remains of satyr play consist of the full of Euripides' Cyclops, numerous re about half of Sophocles' Ichneutai, and fragments. From these mains, scholars have been able to draw some conclusions about the themes, most meter, and language that characterized satyr play,94 but discussions on of the humor of the genre have focused analysis of the Cyclops. Since an awareness can of the way in which humor operates in this play bring us a vase step closer to understanding how it operates in satyric paintings, I begin by reviewing the major theories about humor in the Cyclops.9^ at In the Cyclops, Odysseus arrives the home of the Cyclopes (here on near to a en located Sicily Aetna) find band of satyrs who have been slaved by Polyphemos. The play follows itsHomeric model in its inclusion of the basic elements of Odysseus's arrival, his intoxication and subsequent blinding of the monster, and his escape from the island?which, in this version, includes the release of the satyrs?but it differs in its treatment some of them. Richard Seaford has discussed in detail the discrepancies in medium, social and intellectual environment, and genre between the two versions;96 for our purposes, the most important difference lies in the treatment of the monster himself. con As Seaford and others have noted, the Euripidean Cyclops is siderably more sophisticated than his Homeric counterpart. His first a concern words to Odysseus betray for matters of the polis (275-276); answers a reverence he the hero's plea for mercy with speech that replaces reverence toward traditional gods and nomoi with for his own wealth and care appetites (316-346); and he takes remarkable in preparing his victims to be eaten (241-249). Seaford summarizes: "He is a man of substance, to a so equipped with slaves, cattle in addition his Homeric sheep, and phisticated ideology. And yet he is still the Homeric savage. Indeed, his intellectual, sacrificial, and culinary sophistication is actually employed in

com 93. Cf. Hedreen's (1994, p. 69) 94. Seaford 1984, pp. 33-48. ments on a 95. For a and discussion of different group of images: summary ... were the theories about the function "the painters thinking along major same as if not see the lines the playwrights, of satyr play, Griffith 2002. an sketching actual performance." 96. Seaford 1984, pp. 51-59. THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION IOI

the service of his cannibalism. The force of this caricature derives from the seem combination of these apparent opposites."97 Incongruities like these to have featured prominently in satyr play, and it is generally agreed that the genre derived much of its humor from the juxtaposition of incongruous or elements within individual characters (as in the Cyclops) within the play as a whole (which often juxtaposes the dignity of the tragic hero with the irreverence of the satyrs).98 to The specific ways in which the incongruities functioned produce humor is less immediately clear. Dana Sutton, who considers the func one tion of satyr play to have been of comic relief from the seriousness of tragedy, understands the characterization of the Cyclops to be in keeping a a with this purpose. The reduction of normally threatening giant to creature full of comic inconsistencies, he argues, parallels the way inwhich satyr play deflates the seriousness of the preceding tragedies; for Sutton, the message of satyr play is simply that "menace is unreal."99 As Seaford no was meant has pointed out, however, there is evidence that satyr play to provide comic relief, and since that could have been provided equally was more well by comedy, it follows that the role of satyr play somewhat complex than Sutton has hypothesized. Euripides' Polyphemos, Seaford a suggests, is not simply threatening figure brought down to the level of the at same comically ridiculous; rather, he is the time savage and sophisticate, even a a perhaps caricature of kind of contemporary aristocrat that Seaford finds exemplified in the Kallikles of Plato's Gorgias.100 more we In the absence of examples like this one, cannot know whether over every monster in satyr play would have incorporated the political tones that Seaford observes in the Cyclops. Since the Cyclops embodied a was a particular kind of primitivism, however, it is likely that he better concerns vehicle than most ogres for the humorous exploration of about state the and its nomoi that Seaford and others have found in the Cyclops.101 It is difficult to saywhat kinds of serious messages other satyric monsters, including Medusa, may have conveyed. Nevertheless, Seaford's analysis of as the Cyclops is useful insofar it shows how the playwright's basic strategy was in portraying the monster the juxtaposition of incongruous elements. a an For creature like the Cyclops, who plays active role in the confronta tion with Odysseus, the playwright might accomplish this juxtaposition various of the monster's behavior. With 97. Seaford 1984, pp. 51-53. by manipulating aspects Medusa, a no 98. Arrowsmith [1959] 1989, the situation is different: in many respects, she is passive threat with Sutton Sea never nor p. 179; 1980, pp. 130-133; behavior to manipulate. She fights the hero in any way, is she ford 1984, p. 56; Lissarrague 1990b, as an portrayed imminent threat; in fact, Perseus must seek her out to kill p. 236. her. Throughout the literary and visual record, Medusa is consistently 99. Sutton 1980, pp. 133,167. identified not what she does, but what she is?and, more 100. Seaford 1984, pp. 26-27, by by specifically, what she looks like. If a wished to some of 52-56. Seaford (p. 52) summarizes by playwright manipulate aspect Kallikles' individuals to a to argument: "strong her in order achieve perceptible incongruity, it is reasonable expect have a based on cp?oic, to same duty, satisfy that he might begin with her appearance. In the way that Euripides' their desires at the expense of v?uoi, appears as a civilized savage beast, a Medusa which are to be as the creation Polyphemos satyric might despised as amonstrous a an appear maiden, creature with ordinary female face that of the weak majority." is to behold. In other she as the we see 101. Seaford 1984, pp. 52-59, with deadly words, might appear figure on vases bibliography. the with Perseus and the satyrs. I02 KATHRYN TOPPER

CONCLUSION

I have attempted here to reorient the discussion of the Gorgon's beauty away from evolutionary models, suggesting that discursive context provides more own fertile ground for analysis. This approach carries its set of prob success on lems, for its relies the interpreter's ability to place the images within particular genres of representation?to decide, that is,whether they or functioned like tragedies, comedies, epic poetry, another genre of expres we are sion altogether. At present, less skilled at recognizing markers of we are genre in the pictures than at assigning literary fragments to tragedy or or or comedy history epic; for practitioners of the latter task, themes, serve as language, and poetic meter may all valuable clues. seen some are more We have that images readily understood than others: the presence of satyrs tells us to look for certain kinds of humor in as some images, and the systematic reversals that characterize others, such scenes a a the of Perseus fleeing beautiful Gorgon, suggest affinities with kind of comedy that made heroes the objects of laughter. At other times, we the message of the images is harder to understand, as saw in the scenes sense in which Perseus attacks the sleeping Medusa. We may that there a a is something wrong with the image of hero killing sleeping maiden, we are or but whether meant to laugh at the hero feel pity for the maiden more is unclear. What is needed is detailed study of the devices used by no as a the painters to convey particular moods, since there is such thing neutral of an event.102 representation While one purpose of this article has been to argue for the neces a sity of paying attention to the genres to which images belong, second more is specifically connected to the myth of Perseus and the Gorgons. was not as a Perseus's confrontation with Medusa envisioned only hero's a as a confrontation with deadly opponent, but also perversion of the type as of abduction experienced by maidens such Thetis, Helen, and Perse on our phone. This point bears directly understanding of the iconography, see for it allows us to that the appearance of the beautiful Medusa signals a not radical change in the Greeks' conception of the Gorgons, but rather a shifting emphasis between two sets of characteristics?monstrous and our sources maidenly?that coexist even in earliest for the myth.103 The on was a emphasis the Gorgons' beauty, moreover, less function of chro a nology than of discursive context; the beautiful Gorgon appeared when or an a painter author needed to make particular point that involved her identity as a maiden. By establishing Medusa's place in the paradigm of erotic abduction, room more I to have made for nuanced readings of the images. hope 102.MitcheU (2004) has recently some Scholars have observed the evident in of beauti to the fore the of long pathos images brought problem ful but the of their affinities with maidens like in the on Gorgons,104 recognition discerning humor images us to more the vases. Persephone, Thetis, and their companions allows explore fully as a 103. See Hes. 270-281; the ways inwhich Medusa could be envisioned sympathetic figure. Our Theog. Eleusis 2630 n. a Museum (see 35, acknowledgment of the Gorgons' maidenly qualities also adds dimension above). to our of her confrontation with Perseus. Mack has understanding recently 104. Furtw?ngler 1886-1890; Phin the between Perseus's Ufe and the explored correspondences Indo-European ney 1971, pp. 450-451. hero we have now also to a 105.Mack 2002. pattern;105 Medusa, seen, corresponds pattern THE IMAGERY OF ABDUCTION IO3

common a in Greek thought, for she exists at the center of complex web as a of associations that extends far beyond her role hero's monstrous ad versary. What we find in Perseus's encounter with Medusa is a confronta tion between two paradigms?the monster-slaying hero and the abducted our maiden?and the tensions created by their coexistence must inform understanding of monstrous and beautiful Gorgons alike.

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Kathryn Topper

Harvard University

department of the classics

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