The “Tragic” Father of Gods and Men
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE “TRAGIC” FATHER OF GODS AND MEN A STUDY AND COMPARISON OF EURIPIDES’ ZEUS AND SENECA’S JUPITER CONSTANCE SLEETH A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. 27 March 2014 ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study and comparison of the gods Zeus and Jupiter within various tragedies of Euripides and Seneca. It is concerned above all with the tragic representation of the two gods and the various levels of meaning that can be ascribed to individual references to each of them in a given play. The study furthermore discusses similarities and differences that exist between Euripides’ representation of Zeus and Seneca’s of Jupiter and how those changes affect the interpretation of the god and of each drama. The study is comprised of three “Parts” each subdivided into chapters. Part I (“The Cosmos”) is concerned with broad notions of fate, justice and nature, with a chapter devoted to each concept. Part II (“Family”) analyzes Zeus and Jupiter’s familial relationships with other deities and mortals in four chapters: two devoted to Zeus and Jupiter as “Father of Gods” and two to “Father of Men.” Finally, Part III (“Challengers”) discusses the potential for threats to Zeus and Jupiter’s supreme position, by looking first at the early cosmogonic enemies of the gods (the Titans, Giants and Typhoeus) and two figures molded in their image (Capaneus and Ajax). The final chapter is a study of Seneca’s Medea and Atreus as two opponents of Jupiter who are successful theomachists; Medea as a threat to Jupiter’s world-order and Atreus as Jupiter’s successor. I demonstrate that while Zeus and Jupiter share many similar qualities and are represented as being concerned with the same issues in a general way, the two gods differ substantially in each playwright’s corpus in specific situations. Moreover, Euripides’ Zeus is shown to be far more secure in his position as Lord of Olympus than his Senecan counterpart. Jupiter, although he remains a sovereign deity, is plagued by threats to his imperium; indeed by the end of Seneca’s Thyestes Jupiter is forced to leave the play-world and his own position in the heavens. i DEDICATION For all those whom I never had the chance to say farewell and for the one I never had the chance to meet. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are numerous people whom I need to thank, for without them this project would not have come to fruition. First and foremost, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Arlene Allan and Professor William Dominik. Arlene in particular has been hugely supportive of my research – long before I ever came to Otago to undertake a PhD. It was due largely to her encouragement whilst I was still an undergraduate that I was spurred on to hone, enhance and develop my skills, knowledge and love of Classics. Her guidance has been instrumental in seeing this dissertation through to completion. Bill has been no less supportive of me during my time at Otago (and after); his thoughtfulness and generosity of time has been greatly appreciated. They have both read and commented on numerous reincarnations of this dissertation and at each stage of the process have helped me to bring it to its final form. I cannot thank each of you enough. I would also like to extend a thank-you to my examiners, whose comments and corrections have been greatly appreciated and enormously helpful. Any remaining errors are, of course, my own. Secondly, I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the University of Otago for their generous scholarship which enabled me to travel to New Zealand in the first place and to the various levels of administration for their support and aid at various times. Special thanks to the Classics department administrator, Anne Hewton, for her patience in answering the many questions I had and for helping me to navigate my way in a new school and, indeed, a new country. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the other graduate and postgraduate students of the department for their part in helping to keep me sane during the long process that is the PhD. You all made me feel very welcome. To John, Matt, Andrew, Stephan, Jamie, Nick, Dustin and Kyle for the many Friday afternoons of discussion and enjoyment of Dunedin culture, cheers! Finally, I will be forever grateful for the tremendous support of my family and friends both while I was still in New Zealand and after I returned home to finish writing iii up. In particular, my parents Fred and Wendy have been very understanding of my busy schedules and have encouraged me all along; and my future in-laws Brad and Debbie graciously opened their home to me during the final stages of completing my project. I could not have managed without all of your support. And last, but certainly not least, to my partner and fiancé Jim, a thank you could never suffice for your unwavering dedication and belief in my abilities. You have been there every step of the way. Ago tibi multas gratias. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v List of Abbreviations viii Introduction 1 Aims and Scope 1 Past Discussions 6 Outline of Chapters 14 Part I: The Cosmos 20 Chapter 1: Fate and Fortune 21 The Eye of Zeus: Sight and Knowledge 23 Fate: Life and Death 34 Tyche: (Mis)Fortune 46 Jupiter, Fate and Fortune 49 Concluding Remarks 58 Chapter 2: Justice 60 Zeus and Dikē 61 Justice Repaid: Themis and Pietas 69 Spirits of Vengeance: Erinyes and Furies 76 Concluding Remarks 89 Chapter 3: Nature and the Elements 92 Jupiter and Natura 93 Lightning as an Instrument of Retribution 97 The Wrath of Zeus Horkeios 101 The Reversal of the Sun 106 Concluding Remarks 112 Part II: Family 114 Chapter 4: Father of Gods I: The First Generation 115 Marital Relations: Hera and Juno 116 Zeus, Heracles and Hera: A Family Model 117 Jupiter, Hercules and Juno: Breaking the Model 128 Sibling Rivalry: Hades and Dis 134 The Other Brother: Poseidon and Neptune 142 Concluding Remarks 148 Chapter 5: Father of Gods II: The Second Generation 151 Arrows of Love: Eros and Cupid 154 Love and Marriage: Aphrodite and Venus 157 v The Child of the Lightning Bolt: Dionysus and Bacchus 162 The Potential of Patronymics 167 Ares 168 Epaphus, Apollo and Athena 171 Helen and the Dioscuri 175 Concluding Remarks 180 Chapter 6 – Father of Men I: Heracles and Hercules 183 Zeus and Heracles: Responsibilities and Expectations 185 Jupiter and Hercules: Like Father, Like Son 193 Concluding Remarks 202 Chapter 7 – Father of Men II: Other Progeny 204 The Favoured Family: Zeus, Jupiter and the Atreids 205 Divine Protection: Supplication and Sanctuary 215 The Victors and the Vanquished: Sacrifice and Trophy 223 Zeus Tropaios 229 Concluding Remarks 235 Part III: Challengers 238 Chapter 8: Unsuccessful Theomachists 239 Overt Usurpers: Titans, Typhoeus and the Giants 240 Euripides’ Titans: Hecuba, the Peplos of Athena and a “Living Death” 245 Seneca’s Titans I: Agamemnon and the Cyclical Nature of Revenge 247 Seneca’s Titans II: Hercules Furens and the Nature of Succession 249 Heracles/Hercules and the Gigantomachy: Whose War? 252 The Giants of Seneca’s Thyestes: Re-Living Enemies of the Past 259 Seneca’s Typhoeus: Jupiter’s Demise? 262 Overt Threats: Capaneus and Ajax 264 Capaneus and Zeus: Euripides’ Phoenissae 265 Ajax and Zeus: Euripides’ Trojan Women 271 Ajax and Jupiter: Seneca’s Agamemnon 274 Concluding Remarks 281 Chapter 9: Successful Theomachists 283 Covert Threat: Medea 283 Divine Heritage I: “Granddaughter of the Sun” 284 Chariots of Fire: Medea and Phaëthon 288 “Fire is her Patrimony, as Snakes are her Familiars” 291 Divine Heritage II: Granddaughter of the Ocean 296 Medea and Prometheus: Images of a Golden Age 301 The Last of the Titans? Medea versus Jupiter 304 The Fusion of Fire and Water: An (Un)Natural Combination 305 Voce non fausta 309 Medea Theomacha 314 vi Covert Usurper: Atreus 315 Knowledge is Power: The Pursuit of Omniscience 316 Achieving Divinity: Apotheosis and Ritual Perversion 321 Dispenser of Justice: Jupiter’s Heir 328 Concluding Remarks 333 Conclusion 335 Appendix A 340 Index of Passages 341 Bibliography 343 vii ABBREVIATIONS A&A Antike und Abendland AHR American History Review AJA American Journal of Archaeology AJPh American Journal of Philology ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt CB Classical Bulletin CJ Classical Journal ClAnt Classical Antiquity Colby Colby Quarterly CPh Classical Philology CQ Classical Quarterly CW Classical World DHA Dialogues d’Histoire Ancienne EducTheatreJ Educational Theatre Journal G&R Greece & Rome GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Hellen. Hellenika HSCP Hellenic Studies in Classical Philology ICS Illinois Classical Studies IG Inscriptiones Graecae JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion JDTC Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism JFamHist Journal of Family History JHI Journal of the History of Ideas JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies Logeion Logeion: A Journal of Ancient Theatre Mètis Mètis. Anthropologie des mondes grecs anciens MD Materiali e discussion per l’analisi dei testi classici Mnem Mnemosyne NewTheatQ New Theatre Quarterly PCPS Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society PEG Poetae Epici Graecae, ed. A. Bernabé PMLA Publications of the Modern Language Association QUCC Quaderni urbinati di cultura classica REG Revue des études grecques RhM Rheinisches Museum RHR Revue de l’histoire des religions SO Symbolae Osloenses SyllClass Syllecta classica TAPhA Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association TheatreJ Theatre Journal YCS Yale Classical Studies viii INTRODUCTION Aims and Scope Zeus, Father of Gods and Men, as he is dubbed in the Homeric poems, seems to be everywhere in extant Greek tragedy: the recipient of many prayers, as supplicandus to many suppliants, as the divinity whom all others, mortal and divine, fear and obey before all others.