© 2017 Scott Asher William Barnard ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ACTORS AND CONSPIRATORS: CIVIC ANXIETY IN LATE ATTIC TRAGEDY By SCOTT ASHER WILLIAM BARNARD A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Classics Written under the direction of James F. McGlew And approved by ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May, 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ACTORS AND CONSPIRATORS: CIVIC ANXIETY IN LATE ATTIC TRAGEDY By SCOTT ASHER WILLIAM BARNARD Dissertation Director: James F. McGlew In the year 411 BC, Athens endured a brief but violent political revolution at a moment when the city’s fortunes were declining in the late stage of the Peloponnesian War. This “coup of 411” was driven by a relatively small number of oligarchic sympathizers who conspired in secret to overthrow the democratic Athenian government and install themselves at the head of a new oligarchic regime, that, they believed, would secure desperately needed aid from the Persian Empire against their Spartan enemies. For all of the civic turbulence these oligarchic conspirators caused, their government collapsed after only a few months and Athenian citizens were left to reinstall their fragile democracy. In the aftermath of the coup of 411 (and other conspiracies that preceded it) the citizens of Athens were particularly agitated by the possibility that other conspiracies may have been active in the city, and there is evidence that a sense of mutual suspicion was pervasive. And yet, in spite of the political upheaval many of Athens’ civic and cultural institutions remained active – including the annual celebration of the City Dionysia, the festival that served as the venue for the production of Greek tragedy. As a genre, Greek tragedy is keenly sensitive to the civic experiences of its audience, and symbiotically it is informed by and helps its audience process ii the political realities in existence outside of the theater. As it happens, three tragedies – Euripides’ Phoenissae (410 BC), Sophocles’ Philoctetes (409 BC), and Euripides’ Orestes (408 BC) – survive from these apprehensive years in Athens, and each depicts the formation and implementation of a conspiracy alongside all of the ethical complexities conspirators raise. After closely examining the languge at critical moments in all three plays, I conclude that these dramas helped Athenian citizens contemplate the answers to questions still lingerieng in the city: namely, how co-conspirators or political allies can make distinctions between trustworthy and untrustworthy citizens, and the efficacy for those engaged in conspiracies to provide safety for those under their protection. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DEDICATONS I dedicate this work to my wife, Erin Barnard, without whose love, support, and patience none of this would have been possible. I also dedicate this work to my children, Evan and Madeleine Barnard, who are the sources of my deepest pride. *** I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the following people, without whose tireless aid and belief it would not have been possible to complete this project: To the faculty of the Department of Classics at Rutgers University, all of whom contributed to the formation of this work in essential ways, and whose example as scholars, teachers, and friends I will carry with me in all of my pursuits. To Professor James McGlew, for your abundant support and enthusiasm, both in this work and in my development as an aspiring scholar. To Professor Emily Allen-Hornblower, for the depth of your knowledge and your gift for sharing it with your students. To Professor Thomas Figueira, for your generosity of time and attention, and for your keen and patient editorial eye. To Professor Bruce King, for your unique perspective that enriched this dissertation, and for your help in exploring exciting new directions it might take. To my Cohors Classica — Aaron Beck-Shachter, Steve Brandwood, Isaiah Clough, Nicole Freeto, Aaron Hershkowitz, Brian Hill, Alicia Matz, Ella Wallace, Katheryn Whitcomb, Lisa Whitlatch, and David Wright —my classmates and very dear friends, for your aid and camaraderie at every step. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract of the Dissertation…..…………………………………………...ii Acknowledgements and Dedications……………………………………..iv Chapter 1: General Introduction .........................................................................1 The Study of Civic and Dramatic Performance ...........................................3 Φιλία and Conspiracy: Aristotle’s Rhetoric ...............................................14 Terminology and Methodology .................................................................17 Context and Scope .....................................................................................22 A Brief History of Tragic Scholarship .......................................................26 Chapter 2: Historical Context.............................................................................32 Chapter Synopsis and Introduction ............................................................32 Thucydides 3.82-84: The “στάσις Model”.................................................34 Alcibiades in Public and Private Life ........................................................37 Criminal Complicity Establishes Trust: Andocides and the Hermokopidai ...................................................................................42 The Coup of 411 Part I: Violent Upheaval in Thucydides ........................50 The Coup of 411 Part II: Orderly Reform in Aristotle’s Atheneion Politeia ..............................................................................................74 Conclusion .................................................................................................81 Chapter 3: Euripides’ Phoenissae ......................................................................84 Chapter Synopsis and Introduction ............................................................84 Sources of Fraternal Strife .........................................................................91 The Fractured Alliance of Polynices and Eteocles ....................................97 Creon and Menoeceus: When Conspiracies Fail .....................................106 Conclusion ...............................................................................................114 Chapter 4: Sophocles’ Philoctetes .....................................................................117 v Chapter Synopsis and Introduction ..........................................................117 The Oath of Demophantos: A Call for Vigilance ....................................126 The Boundaries of Trust: Competing Notions of γενναῖος and σωτηρία 133 The Merchant Scene: Metatheater and the Poetics of Conspiracy ..........145 The Chorus as Actor ................................................................................156 Odysseus and Heracles or Odysseus as Heracles? ...................................162 Conclusion ...............................................................................................167 Chapter 5: Euripides’ Orestes ...........................................................................170 Introduction and Chapter Synopsis .........................................................170 The Metatheatrics of the Orestes ............................................................176 Orestes and Electra: γενναιότης and Pity ................................................179 Whom to Trust and How: Menelaus and Tyndareus ..............................188 Forming the Conspiracy: Orestes and Pylades .......................................206 The Poetics of Affinity............................................................................221 Electra: The Conspirator Actress ............................................................227 Conclusion ..............................................................................................231 General Conclusion ............................................................................................235 Future Iterations of This Project………………………………………...237 Final Questions………………………………………………………….264 Bibliography .......................................................................................................250 vi 1 CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a thorough and comprehensive study of Sophocles’ and Euripides’ depiction of mythological figures engaged in conspiracies and secret plots, the civic and political context surrounding the presentation of these figures, and the ways in which tragic poetry articulates and explores the civic anxieties conspiracies create. Tragic poetry, the occasion of the City Dionysia as a whole, and the mythological material contained therein provided an important vehicle for their audiences to reflect upon a variety of tensions arising from life in the πόλις.1 Indeed, at different points tragic poetry investigates and complicates virtually all of the major points of “civic ideology,” and it invites an audience to view them as dynamic and intricate issues: citizenship, aristocracy, rhetoric, education, and beyond. As an expensive, publicly funded, and competitive festival the City Dionysia was an occasion when the Athenian πόλις in its collective unity