Euripides and the Language of Craft
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EuripidesandtheLanguageofCraft Mnemosyne Supplements Monographs on Greek and Latin Language and Literature Editorial Board G.J. Boter A. Chaniotis K.M. Coleman I.J.F. de Jong T. Reinhardt VOLUME 327 Euripides and theLanguageofCraft By Mary Stieber LEIDEN • BOSTON 2011 On the cover: Red-figure olpe from Capua showing Athena fashioning a horse, ca. 470 B.C., (Berlin F 2415). With kind permission of the Berliner Antikenmuseum. Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stieber, Mary C. (Mary Clorinda) Euripidesandthelanguageofcraft/byMaryStieber. p. cm. – (Mnemosyne supplements. Monographs on Greek and Roman language and literature, ISSN 0169-8958 ; 327) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-18906-5 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Euripides–Literary style. 2. Euripides–Language. 3. Euripides–Knowledge–Art. 4. Visual perception in literature. 5. Allusions in literature. I. Title. PA3992.S75 2011 882'.01–dc22 2010041730 ISSN 0169-8958 ISBN 978 90 04 18906 5 Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. CONTENTS Acknowledgments..................................................... vii Preface ................................................................. ix Abbreviations..........................................................xxv ChapterOne:Architecture............................................ 1 Introduction......................................................... 1 TheTopographyoftheCity......................................... 12 Walls................................................................. 16 TheLanguageofArchitecture...................................... 23 Foundations...................................................... 24 ColumnsandSupportingMembers............................. 36 Superstructures................................................... 48 τς/τες ........................................................ 84 “Cyclopean”Masonry............................................... 90 πυργ ω.............................................................. 104 Conclusion.......................................................... 110 Chapter Two: Sculpture . ............................................. 115 Introduction......................................................... 115 γαλμα and γλματα ............................................. 116 TheAestheticsofStatuary .......................................... 145 HerLivingImage ................................................... 162 WipedClean........................................................ 172 ACrownofGlory................................................... 178 TheWoodenHorse ................................................. 185 Conclusion.......................................................... 192 ChapterThree:Painting............................................... 195 Introduction......................................................... 195 Landscape in Phaethon’s“Dawn-song” ............................ 203 Polyxena,Again..................................................... 215 PaintingsasInstructors............................................. 218 FurtherTechnicalDevelopments................................... 232 Vase-painting ....................................................... 241 ThePortrayalofCharacter.......................................... 255 vi contents Ganymede........................................................... 267 Conclusion.......................................................... 273 Chapter Four: Ion ...................................................... 275 Introduction......................................................... 275 Ion andtheAcropolis............................................... 278 TheEkphrasisoftheParodos.......................................284 TheTent............................................................. 302 TheArtofWeaving................................................. 315 ThePeplos........................................................ 321 Many-coloredThreads........................................... 325 WeavingMetaphors.............................................. 331 Conclusion.......................................................... 334 ChapterFive:APracticedHand....................................... 337 Introduction......................................................... 337 IntheStudio ........................................................ 340 TheLanguageofArtCriticism..................................... 360 σμα............................................................. 361 υμ ς/ερμως ............................................... 365 δα ............................................................... 371 παρδειγμα ...................................................... 372 τπς ............................................................. 373 κανν and στμη .............................................. 380 μ!μημα and μιμμαι ............................................ 397 Wonderworking..................................................... 400 The Hand That is Σ# ς ............................................ 415 Conclusion.......................................................... 426 Epilogue................................................................ 429 WorksCited............................................................ 435 GeneralIndex.......................................................... 461 EuripidesPassageIndex............................................... 485 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my thanks to various individuals and groups who, over the years, have helped in one way or another to bring this project to fruition. First and foremost, for his support from its inception until just short of its completion, to John Walsh, together with whom I read all of Euripides’ extant plays and most of the longer fragments in the early stages of gathering material. I am also indebted to John for the example set by his own scholarship. To my colleague Brian Swann, for unflag- ging encouragement especially through the most trying of times and, though Greek is not his field, who gamely read several portions of the text and made useful suggestions from an experienced literary critical perspective. To the organizers of the Banff conference on Euripides in , Martin Cropp and the late Kevin Lee, who, when I had just begun work, offered me the opportunity to present my preliminary findings at a major international conference, and encouraged me to follow through on the project. To my former student Eduardo Escobar, for reading por- tions of the manuscript and tracking down some last minute references. To the countless libraries who were willing to lend their materials; with- out the services of Interlibrary Loan I would not have been able to con- duct my research. At my home institution, for their assistance, advice, and understanding in the publication phase of the project, special thanks are due to Catherine Siemann, my indexer, Katherine Apolito, Bill Ger- mano, and Hadi Jammal. The editors at Brill, especially Caroline van Erp, were as efficient and patient as can be. Thanks also to Brill’s two anonymous referees, a philologist and an archaeologist, whose invalu- able suggestions, comments, and corrections have been incorporated into the text and notes, without acknowledgement. I hope they will notice in the finished product where and how I have followed through on each one of their expert observations. Finally, to all the truly great Euripi- deans, whose work is acknowledged throughout, who have graciously made room for an interdisciplinary interloper. I hope that my own con- tribution will serve as a not unworthy tribute to theirs. PREFACE The extant works of the three major fifth-century tragedians offer a rich and relatively untapped resource for understanding how Classical Greeks responded to their visual arts. While there have been many studies of the influences of contemporary politics, current events, and social issues on the Athenian dramatists,1 few have been devoted to if and how the material culture with which the playwrights interacted on a daily basis found its way into their works. This is a study of one tragic poet, Euripides, and his relationship with the visual arts. Why focus on Euripides, among the three great Athenian tragedians? The answer is simple: He refers or alludes to art and architecture more often, more tangibly, and with a keener eye for accuracy than either of his two compatriots, Aeschylus or Sophocles. For the dramatist most attuned to the expansive visual culture of his era, it offered an array of alternative aesthetic viewpoints, some convenient tropes and plot devices, and a vocabulary rich with metaphoric and figurative potential. We shall explore all of these categories in the pages that follow. In the course of a relatively short history, research on the relationships between the ancient dramatists