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"Sophia" and "Sophrosyne" in Euripides' "Andromache"

1966; Classical Association of Canada; Volume: 20; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1086315

1929-4883

Patricia Neils Boulter,

Philippine History and Culture

LIKE SO MANY Euripidean plays, the Andromache lacks a central unifying character, and for this reason seems to fall into two parts. Criticism has centred upon this disunity, either attempting to explain it away' or simply condemning it as a major flaw in construction.2 A frequent explanation of the two-part structure is that it reflects the joining of two separate legends, one concerning Andromache, the other, Neoptolemos and Hermione.3 But in fact, the legendary material concerning Andromache before Euripides' time seems to have been very slight. In the Iliou Persis Andromache was given to Neoptolemos after the fall of Troy. Euripides undoubtedly used local material for Thetis' prophecy that Andromache would marry Helenos and that her son Molossos would rule over Epirus.4 Between these two given points Euripides freely invented the action of the drama. Similarly with Hermione; earlier writers noted that she had been promised by Tyndareus at the same time to both Orestes and Neoptolemos. Euripides altered this detail for his characterization of Menelaos; in the Andromache, Menelaos had himself made the promise to Orestes and then reneged when it seemed expedient (966-970). According to earlier legend Neoptolemos was killed at Delphi, and after his death Hermione was returned to Orestes. Here again Euripides made a slight change, for Orestes enters the story before the death of Neoptolemos and in fact contrives it. Thus the idea that two separate legends were patched together and resulted in a two-part plot structure does not really explain much. Euripides was clearly free to invent his story in whatever way he chose, and even to alter certain details of the legend between the two given points, beginning with the known fact that Neoptolemos took Andromache after the fall of Troy, and ending with his death at Delphi and Hermione's subsequent marriage to Orestes. Therefore we must assume that Euripides deliberately constructed the plot as we have it, and that he did so with a purpose. Many attempts have been made to find a unifying element that binds the two parts of the play together, but they have met with little success.