Biographical Representations of Euripides. Some Examples of Their Development from Classical Antiquity to Byzantium
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Durham E-Theses Biographical representations of Euripides. Some examples of their development from classical antiquity to Byzantium Knobl, Ranja How to cite: Knobl, Ranja (2008) Biographical representations of Euripides. Some examples of their development from classical antiquity to Byzantium, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2190/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Biographical Representations of Euripides. Some Examples of their Development from Classical Antiquity to Byzantium Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Durham University in Accordance with the Requirements for the Degree of a Doctor in Philosophy (Ph.D.) Ranja Knob! 2008 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. Declaration I declare that the work of this thesis is my own. It is submitted for the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy and it is my own original work except where otherwise stated. It has not been submitted at any other University. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without prior consent of the author, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. Table of Contents Abstract of the thesis iv Acknowledgements v List of abbreviations vi Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Euripides in Comedy 17 Chapter 2 Euripides in Hellenistic Poetry 74 Chapters Euripides in Hellenistic Prose 134 Chapter 4 Euripides Author of Letters 189 Chapter 5 Euripides in Handbooks 259 Conclusion 305 Bibliography 311 in Biographical Representations of Euripides. Some Examples of their Development from Classical Antiquity to Byzantium Ranja Knobl 2008 Abstract This thesis analyses the most significant biographical representations of Euripides in antiquity, covering depictions of Euripides in Greek comedy, an imaginary dialogue of late Hellenistic origin, selected Hellenistic epigrams, a late imperial novel in letters, a passage in Gellius' Altic Nights, the anonymous Genos Euripidoii, and the Siicia lexicon. In chapter 1, I explore the representation of Euripides in Greek comedy, both in the extant plays of Aristophanes and in selected fragments from Old and Middle Comedy. I argue that the fourth century BC witnessed a major transformation in the representation of Euripides, as discussions about the work become detached from discussions about the author. This claim is supported by my fmdings in chapters 2 and 3, which discuss Helle• nistic accounts of the life of Euripides in a group of Hellenistic epigrams and in Satyrus' Bios Eiiripicioii: representations of Euripides now mirror the processes of canonisation. In chapter 4, I contend that the nan-ative function and coherence of the pseudo-Euripidean letters have not received the scholarly attention they deserve. I am proposing a new way of looking at these letters in the literary and philosophical context of the Second Sophistic, hi chapter 5, I identify the depiction of Euripides in Gellius' Attic Nights, the anonymous Genos Euripidoii, and the Siida lexicon, and propose a new appreciation of these later attestations of a biographical interest in Euripides. In the conclusion 1 give a synopsis of my results and an outlook on the questions raised by my thesis. 1 argue that a re-assessment of the much neglected ancient sources concerning the life of Euripides contributes to a better understanding of the ancient mechanisms of reception and canonization of Euripides and his work. IV Acknowledgements Any errors and mistakes in this thesis are entirely my own. For inspiration, academic advice, and generous sharing of their expertise, 1 wish to thank Peter Bing, Patrick Finglass, Martin Hose, Mary Leflcowitz, Peter von Mollendorff, Luke Pitcher, P.J. Rhodes, Ralph Rosen, Elizabeth Scharffenberger, Stefan Schom, ineke Sluiter, and Oliver Taplin. Most thanks are of course owed to my supervisor Barbara Graziosi for her enthusiasm and patience while this study was evolving. For moral support and practical help I would like to thank St. John's College Durham, Lilian Brandtstaetter, Judith Glaesser, Helmut Hofbauer, Oliver Lobschat, Katja Mellmann, Edward Rendell, and Steven Sykes. List of Abbreviations A.-B. Colin Austin and Giuseppe Bastianini (eds.), Poscidippi Pcllaei quae superswit omnia, Milan: Edizione Universita Facolta di Lettere, Economia e Diritto 2002. DK Herman Diels and Walter Kranz (eds.), Die Fragmenle der Vorsokratiker Mil, Berlin: Weidmam/M951-2. FGrHisl Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker I-IU, ed. Felix Jacoby, Leiden: Brill 1923-1958. /G Inscriptiones Graecae, ed. by PreuBische (Berlin-Brandenburgische) Akademie der Wissenschaften (ed.), Berlin: Georg Reimer 1873 - . ^1913 -, ^1983 - . K.-A. Rudolf Kassel and Colin Austin (eds.), Poetae Comici Graeci 1-VllI, Berlin: de Gruyter 1983-2001. Kannicht Richard Kannicht (ed.)., Tragiconim Graecorum fragmenta. Vol. 5.1 and 5.2, Gottingen: Vandenhoeck&Rupprecht 2004. Kovacs David Kovacs, Ewipidea, Leiden: Brill 1994. LGPN II M.J. Osborne and S.G. Byrne (eds.), A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, vol. 11: Attica, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1994. LSJ H.G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. Stuart Jones (eds.), A Greek-English Lexicon. With Revised supplement, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. Naiick' Augustus Nauck (ed.), Tragiconim Graecorum Fragmenta, Leipzig: Teubner -1889. Pfeiffer Rudolf Pfeiffer (ed.), Callimachus. 2 vols., Oxford: Oxford University Press 1949-53. RE Paulys Realencyklopddie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft. Neue Bearbeitung von G. Wissowa, W. Kroll and K. Ziegler, Stutgail: Alfred Druckenmiiller 1893 -. SH Supplementum llellenisticum, ed. by Hugh Lloyd-Jones and Peter Parsons, Berlin: de Gruyter 1993. Suda Suda lexicon I-V, ed. by Ada Adler, Leipzig: Teubner 1923-1935. TrGrF Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, eds. Bruno Snell, Rudolf Kannicht and Stephan Radt, Gottingen: Vandenhoeck&Rupprecht 1971 -. VI Introduction This thesis deals with biographical representations of Euripides from the classical period to the Roman Empire and beyond. Investigating how the poet and his work were seen by different writers and communities, it aims to shed light on the ancient reception of Euripides, but also to show - and this is new - how biographical representations of Euripides change in the course of time and how they reflect different stages in the reception and canonization of Euripides. A biographical focus on Euripides offers the unique opportunity to trace the evolution of the biographical representations of a Greek poet, not only because we have more biographical material about his life than about any other Greek poet - with the possible exception of Homer - but also because biographical representations of Euripides can be dated to different centuries, which enables the chronological approach I adopt in this thesis. In the course of my discussion, I explore the nature of eight different forms of ancient representations of Euripides in their cultural and historical context, suggest ways of thinking about their possible functions, and discuss their significance as evidence for the reception of Euripides, and for the evolution of his biography in antiquity. 1 proceed chronologically, and my analysis of these eight instances of ancient biographical representations of Euripides is organised in five chapters. Chapter I covers two different forms of biographical representations in the fifth and fourth century BC, the depiction of Euripides in three extant plays by Aristophanes {Acharnians, Thesmophoriazoiisae, and Frogs) and in selected fragments from lost comedies by Aristophanes and others. Chapter 2 analyses the depiction of Euripides in Hellenistic poetry, while chapter 3 discusses the portrayal of the tragedian in Satyrus' Bios Eiiripidou. A discussion of the pseudo-Euripidean letters in chapter 4 is followed by the examination of three biographical narratives of Euripides from a third-person perspective in chapter 5, a passage in Gellius' Attic Nights, three different narratives called the Genos Eiiripidou and the Siida entry on Euripides. Methodological starting-points Classical scholars have recently begun to appreciate biographical representations of ancient poets for what they can tell us about the societies that produced them.' A starting point for this new development was offered by Mary Lefkowitz, who exposed the fictionality of ancient biographical narratives about Greek poets.' Lefkowitz' conclusion was that the ancient literary accounts of the lives of Greek poets were disappointing and, because of their fictionality, of little historical value - a