APPENDIX B

PLOT SUMMARIES

The following is an alphabetical list of plot summaries of the Greek plays that have received sustained discussions. The plays are readily accessible in English in the Greek series published by Univer• sity of Chicago Press.

Ajax (, mid 5th c.) Ajax, the greatest Greek in the to survive , fails to receive due recognition when Achilles' arms are awarded to . He plots vengeance against the Greek leaders, but in a fit of madness caused by mistakenly slaughters cattle. When he regains his sanity, his shame and anger are so great that, despite attempts by loyal friends to dissuade him, he commits suicide using 's, the Trojan warrior, sword. His half-brother, Teucer, and the Greek leaders debate his disposal, but Odysseus humanely inter• venes and Ajax receives due burial.

Alcestis (, 438) , in gratitude to for the hospitality he had received while serving his penance in recompense to for the murder of the , cheated the Fates of Admetus' death by providing a substitute for him. , Admetus' aged father, and his mother refuse, but , his wife, agrees. At the point of death, Alcestis extracts a promise of celibacy from Admetus. arrives and though Admetus' house is in mourning, he is nevertheless entertained since Admetus places great emphasis on hospitality. Heracles eventu• ally learns what has happened, fights death and brings Alcestis back to life and Admetus and Alcestis are reunited in marriage.

Andromache (Euripides, mid 420s?) , widow of Hector and concubine of , takes refuge at the altar of from , wife of Neoptolemus, PLOT SUMMARIES 181

who wishes to kill Andromache and her son. Hermione, frightened and spiteful, blames Andromache for her recent marital problems and her barrenness; she and , her father, are on the verge of murdering the two when , Achilles' father, arrives in the nick of time. When Menelaus withdraws his support of Hermione, she attempts to kill herself, but offers a different means of escape: marriage to him after he has Neoptolemus killed at . Thetis, as dea ex machina, rescues Peleus from his despair, and Andromache and her son go to Molossia where she marries Helenus.

Antigone (Sophocles, mid 5th c.) , daughter of and sister of Polyneices and Eteocles, defies her uncle Creon's order and buries Polyneices who had at• tacked Thebes in an effort to regain the throne. After her act is discovered, Haemon, Creon's son and Antigone's betrothed, attempts in vain to convince Creon to relent from his order that Antigone be buried alive. Teiresias, the seer, prophesies doom and Creon relents, though too late. At the cave at the side of Antigone who has hanged herself, Haemon unsuccessfully attacks Creon with his knife and then stabs himself. After a messenger relates these events to , Creon's wife, she stabs herself while cursing Creon.

Children of Heracles (Euripides, 429?) The aged lolaus, a friend of Heracles, fleeing the wrath of Eurystheus, king of Argos, arrives at Marathon with the children of Heracles to seek sanctuary with Demophon, king of Athens. Demophon, impressed by their aristocratic notions of death before dishonor, agrees to pro• tect them but finds himself on the brink of war with Argos and in disfavor with his own people. An oracle has demanded that a young female be given as a victim to , and Macaria, one of the children of Heracles, volunteers to die. A messenger of Hyllus, the grandson of Alcmene and son of Heracles, announces that Hyllus has brought reinforcements for Demophon. Upon victory, Demophon sends Eurystheus in chains to Marathon, and after a lengthy and vitu• perous debate with Alcmene, Eurystheus is removed for destruction.