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Pre-Socratic Thought in Sophoclean Tragedy University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2006 Pre-Socratic Thought in Sophoclean Tragedy Meggan Jennell Arp University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Ancient Philosophy Commons, and the Classical Literature and Philology Commons Recommended Citation Arp, Meggan Jennell, "Pre-Socratic Thought in Sophoclean Tragedy" (2006). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 473. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/473 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/473 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Pre-Socratic Thought in Sophoclean Tragedy Abstract This dissertation investigates the relationship between the plays of Sophocles and the philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The question considered is whether or not Sophocles' tragedies were influenced by pre- Socratic thought in distinction from Sophistic thought. Scholars generally have recognized the impact of the Sophists on Sophoclean tragedy and determined it to be evidence of Sophocles' primarily negative dramatic treatment of so-called 'Enlightenment' thought of the 5th century B.C.E. This study determines the presence of pre-Socratic thought in the tragedies of Sophocles and views its influence as a primarily positive instance of 5th century 'Enlightenment' thought in these plays, in contrast to the general depiction of Sophistic thought. Three works of Sophocles' extant plays are examined in separate chapters. A chapter on Sophocles' Philoctetes elucidates traces of the philosophy of Heraclitus in this tragedy. Sophocles deploys certain Heraclitean images in the character portrayal of Philoctetes, whose moral outlook contrasts with the Sophistic vision of Odysseus. A second chapter, on the Trachiniae, argues that this tragedy recalls the philosophy of Heraclitus, as well as 'Enlightenment' thought of the Ionian scientific tradition in general. This evidence is significant ot the construction of the various images, themes, and character portrayals in this tragedy. Lastly, in a third chapter, on the Antigone, the pre-Socratic views of Heraclitus, Xenophanes, and Anaximander, as well as ideas of the pre-Socratics in general, are instrumental in defining the character of Antigone, who adheres to a pre-Socratic vision of nature, law, and justice, and conflicts with Creon, who embraces the Sophistic praise of man's conquest of nature and the severance of nature from law, justice, and the gods. Two opposing philosophical systems, pre-Socratic philosophy (which also ultimately defines the views of Haemon and eirT esias) and the ideas of the Sophists, are essential to defining the conflict between the characters in the Antigone. This dissertation concludes that pre-Socratic philosophy influences the creation of Sophocles' plays, both thematically and with respect to character portrayal; and that Sophocles' dramatic representation of pre-Socratic thought serves as an example of his positive reception of 'Enlightenment' thought. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Classical Studies First Advisor Sheila Murnaghan Subject Categories Ancient Philosophy | Classical Literature and Philology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/473 PRE-SOCRATIC THOUGHT IN SOPHOCLEAN TRAGEDY Meggan Jennell Arp A DISSERTATION in Classical Studies Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2006 /L . h f t ^ Supervisor of Dissertation Graduate Group Chairperson Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COPYRIGHT Meggan Jennell Arp 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For my family iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the multiple people whose support was vital throughout the process of writing this dissertation and throughout graduate school in general. First, I am indebted to my husband Ryan for his continuous encouragement and support during the vicissitudes of this process. Without the pillar of his support and love, none of this would have been possible. The constancy of my parents’ encouragement and aid has fortified me throughout my life. Thank you for lauding my career path and for relentlessly reminding me of the ideals that inspired its course. To my sisters, Shaune and Kimberly, I will forever treasure our many consoling conversations, which were a source of great comfort during the past few years of research and writing. My family’s unwavering love and support have propelled me forward to the completion of this dissertation. I dedicate this work to them with all of my love and gratitude. My dissertation committee has been outstanding. I am very grateful to Sheila Mumaghan for serving as my director and for her numerous, incisive insights into my work. She has been the driving force behind my development as a writer and scholar. To Emily Wilson, I owe the greatest thanks for reading countless drafts of my dissertation and for her detailed feedback, which aided in my ability to develop the inchoate ideas in individual chapters into a coherent whole in a relatively short period of time. I am also very grateful to Charles Kahn for serving as the philosophical bedrock of my committee. His own scholarly work on the pre-Socratics was an invaluable resource for the philosophical foundation of this dissertation. Also, I am very grateful to him for compelling me to pursue further research that often resulted in the development of more refined and cogent claims in my argumentation. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I would also like to pay tribute to my professors at Amherst College. My own undergraduate experience studying under professors devoted to the liberal arts mission in undergraduate education was the inspiration behind my initial pursuit of this career path. To Peter Marshall, in memoriam, thank you for exposing me to an area of scholarship in my first academic work, my senior thesis, which ultimately culminated in the research pursued in this dissertation. To Rebecca Sinos, thank you for mentoring me at Amherst and in life beyond; for believing in my abilities as a teacher and scholar, and for providing me with the invaluable opportunity of teaching at myalma mater next year. Finally, to Kenneth Rau, my firstmagister in Latin: thank you for unlocking the door to the world of the Classics that has brought enrichment and direction to my life. V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT PRE-SOCRATIC THOUGHT IN SOPHOCLEAN TRAGEDY Meggan Jennell Arp Sheila Mumaghan This dissertation investigates the relationship between the plays of Sophocles and the philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The question considered is whether or not Sophocles’ tragedies were influenced by pre-Socratic thought in distinction from Sophistic thought. Scholars generally have recognized the impact of the Sophists on Sophoclean tragedy and determined it to be evidence of Sophocles’ primarily negative dramatic treatment of so-called ‘Enlightenment’ thought of the 5th century B.C.E. This study determines the presence of pre- Socratic thought in the tragedies of Sophocles and views its influence as a primarily positive instance of 5th century ‘Enlightenment’ thought in these plays, in contrast to the general depiction of Sophistic thought. Three works of Sophocles’ extant plays are examined in separate chapters. A chapter on Sophocles’Philoctetes elucidates traces of the philosophy of Heraclitus in this tragedy. Sophocles deploys certain Heraclitean images in the character portrayal of Philoctetes, whose moral outlook contrasts with the Sophistic vision of Odysseus. A second chapter, on the Trachiniae , argues that this tragedy recalls the philosophy of Heraclitus, as well as ‘Enlightenment’ thought of the Ionian scientific tradition in general. This evidence is significant to the construction of the various images, themes, and character portrayals in this tragedy. Lastly, in a third chapter, on theAntigone, the pre-Socratic views of Heraclitus, Xenophanes, and Anaximander, as well as ideas of the pre-Socratics in general, are vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. instrumental in defining the character of Antigone, who adheres to a pre-Socratic vision of nature, law, and justice, and conflicts with Creon, who embraces the Sophistic praise of man’s conquest of nature and the severance of nature from law, justice, and the gods. Two opposing philosophical systems, pre-Socratic philosophy (which also ultimately defines the views of Haemon and Teiresias) and the ideas of the Sophists, are essential to defining the conflict between the characters in the Antigone. This dissertation concludes that pre-Socratic philosophy influences the creation of Sophocles’ plays, both thematically and with respect to character portrayal; and that Sophocles’ dramatic representation of pre-Socratic thought serves as an example of his positive reception of ‘Enlightenment’ thought. vii Reproduced with permission
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