the motif of love in euripides' works helen and medea

296 Pages·2010·2.7 MB·English

THE MOTIF OF LOVE IN THE HELEN AND THE
ALCESTIS OF EURIPIDES

by

Eleftheria N. Athanasopoulou

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree

DOCTOR LITTERARUM ET PHILOSOPHIAE

in

GREEK

in the

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR J. L. P. WOLMARANS

JANUARY 2008
For my family,
and especially for my children…

«Αν κάποιος προηγείται απλώς του καιρού του,
κάποια μέρα ο καιρός θα τον προλάβει».
(Wittgenstein, L. 1986).

«Η θάλασσα που μας πίκρανε είναι βαθιά
κι ανεξερεύνητη
και ξεδιπλώνει μιαν απέραντη γαλήνη».
(Seferis, G. 1967).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made to Prof. J. L. P. Wolmarans for his advice,
patience and assistance. This work would not have been completed without his
encouragement. Indeed, his criticism was beneficial to the development of my ideas.

It is of special significance to acknowledge the support given to me by some friends. I
am particularly indebted to them for various favours.

I also thank my husband for his advice, so that I could look afresh at a large number
of questions.

I wish to thank the anonymous reader for the improvements (s)he suggested.

Johannesburg 2008
CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABSTRACT xiii
ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ xi

I. INTRODUCTION
The Helen and the Alcestis 1
Rationale 3
Problem Statement 5
Methodology 6
Layout and Structure 8
Overview of Literature 12
Note to the Reader 14

II. THE PHILOSOPHY OF EURIPIDES AND WITTGENSTEIN
Euripides’ Profile: Life and Works 15
Wittgenstein’s Profile: Life and Works 23
Euripides and Wittgenstein: Parallel Patterns of Thought 33
The Motif of Love, Language and Gloss analysis 37

III. THE ROLES OF MALE AND FEMALE IN ANCIENT GREEK SOCIETY
Athenian Ideology–The Life of Athens 44
Leisure and Ancient Greek Drama 55
The Character of the Family–Οἶκος 61
Woman and Marriage: A Guided Story 65

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IV. THE MOTIF OF LOVE IN THE HELEN OF EURIPIDES
From Tradition to Literary Text: The Image of Helen 71
The Motif of Love 77
The Theme of Illusion 89
The Female Character 98
The Male Character 103

V. GLOSS ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIF OF LOVE IN THE HELEN OF
EURIPIDES
The Use of Language 107
Philosophical Grammar 115
The Theme of Illusion as a Language Game 120
The Cubist Helen of Euripides 127

VI. THE MOTIF OF LOVE IN THE ALCESTIS OF EURIPIDES
From Tradition to Literary Text: The Image of Alcestis 132
The Motif of Love 137
The Theme of Restoration 153
The Female Character 160
The Male Character 163

VII. GLOSS ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIF OF LOVE IN THE ALCESTIS OF
EURIPIDES
The Use of Language 167
Philosophical Grammar 175
The Theme of Restoration as a Language Game 181
The Post–modern Perspective 190

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VIII. EPILOGUE 226
BIBLIOGRAPHY 256
Primary Sources 256
Secondary Sources 257

GLOSSARY 271

List of Diagrams, Figures and Tables iv

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LIST OF DIAGRAMS, FIGURES AND TABLES

DIAGRAMS

2.1 Language, Grammar, Philosophy and Reality 26
3.1 Male and Female Class System 48
3.2 Civic Characterisation of an Athenian Family Unit 64
4.1 Structure of the Helen of Euripides 75
4.2 Helen’s Ethos 78
4.3 Menelaus’ Ethos 84
4.4 Cardiograph of the Helen 89
5.1 The Function of Helen’s Ethos 111
5.2 The Function of Menelaus’ Ethos 112
5.3 The Philosophical Grammar of Helen’s Ethos 116
5.4 The Philosophical Grammar of Menelaus’ Ethos 118
5.5 The Order of Propositions A1 123
5.6 The Order of Propositions B1 125
5.7 The Order of Propositions C1 126
5.8 The Cubist Helen 130
6.1 Structure of the Alcestis of Euripides 134
6.2 Alcestis’ Ethos 137
6.3 Admetus’ Ethos 144
6.4 Cardiograph of the Alcestis 152
6.5 The Theme of Restoration 156
7.1 The Function of Alcestis’ Ethos 170
7.2 The Function of Admetus’ Ethos 172

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7.3 The Philosophical Grammar of Alcestis’ Ethos 177
7.4 The Philosophical Grammar of Admetus’ Ethos 179
7.5 The Order of Propositions A2 184
7.6 The Order of Propositions B2 188
7.7 The Order of Propositions C2 189
8.1 Mythic, Tragic and Social Realities of Euripides 229
8.2 The Characters in the Helen and the Alcestis 248

FIGURES

1. Euripides, the Dramatist 22
2. Wittgenstein, the Philosopher of Language 32
3a. A plan of the Athenian Agora 53
3b. Bust of Pericles 53
4. A Symposium–Scene 54
5. The Head of the Wine–God, Dionysos 59
6. Plan of an Ancient Theatre 60
7a. Women at Home 70
7b. Helen and Menelaus 70
8a. The Traditional Myth of Alcestis 159
8b. Hermes Assists Heracles to Bring Alcestis Back to Life 159

TABLES

2.1 Chronology of Euripides’ Life and his Age 17
2.2 Chronology of Wittgenstein’s Life and his Age 24

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2.3 Euripides and Wittgenstein: Parallel Patterns of Thought 33
4.1 The Personality System of Freud Applied to Epic
and Euripidean Helen 87
4.2 The Theme of Illusion 92
4.3 The Form of ε(cid:31)δωλον 92
4.4 Helen’s Character 100
4.5 Menelaus’ Character 105
5.1 The Theme of Illusion as a Language Game 121
5.2 The Theme of Illusion in Modern Society 124
6.1 The Personality System of Freud Applied to the Alcestis of Euripides 162
6.2 Alcestis’ Character 174
6.3 Admetus’ Character 177
7.1 The Theme of Restoration as a Language Game 182
7.2 The Theme of Restoration in Modern Society 186
8.1 The Attic Value System 236

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1. Wittgenstein’s published works (translated from German into English).

BB The Blue and Brown Books (1958. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
OC On Certainty (1969. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
PG Philosophical Grammar (1974. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
PI Philosophical Investigations (1974. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
PR Philosophical Remarks (1975. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
RC Remarks on Colour (1977. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
TLP Tractatus Logico Philosophicus (1996. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).
WL Lectures: Cambridge 1932–1935 (1979. Oxford: Basil Blackwell).

2. References

MIET Educational Foundation of the National Bank.
OEΔΒ Organisation for the Publication of Didactic Books.

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