The setting of a drama often entails significant political implicatons. My paper focuses on Sophocles’ fragmentary Tereus, which is a version of the nightingale-myth different from the one attested by Homer (Od. 19.518-524), Pherecydes... more
The setting of a drama often entails significant political implicatons. My paper focuses on Sophocles’ fragmentary Tereus, which is a version of the nightingale-myth different from the one attested by Homer (Od. 19.518-524), Pherecydes (vol. 3 fr. 124 Jacoby) and Aeschylus (Suppl. 58-76). First of all, Sophocles’ Thracian setting is an innovation which can be read as a criticism towards Thrace itself. This can be demonstrated through an analysis of the allusions to the myth included in two other Sophoclean plays — Ai. 623-634 and El. 145-152 — in which the story of the nightingale shows a paradigmatic function. Although briefly mentioned, the two mythical exempla seem on the one hand to allude to the contrast between civilization and barbarism, on the other hand to stress the metapoetic function of the nightingale’s song. The first of the two motifs that emerges from Ajax and Electra can be compared with some aspects of Tereus: the differentiation between «foreigners» and «barbarians» presented in fragment 583 Radt; the glossectomy which Tereus inflicted on Philomela (referring to the hostility of the barbarians towards ἰσηγορία); Tereus’ transformation into a hoopoe (whose typical traits recall the characterization of the Thracians: fr. 581 Radt). It is therefore possible to demonstrate that Sophocles re-read the nightingale-myth in political terms to criticize any possible alliance with Thrace.
L’obiettivo di questo contributo è di chiarire la ricezione del mito tebano di Zeto e della sua sposa Aedon in epoca classica attraverso un’analisi dei suoi adattamenti e interpretazioni. Lo spostamento dello sfondo del mito in Tracia può... more
L’obiettivo di questo contributo è di chiarire la ricezione del mito tebano di Zeto e della sua sposa Aedon in epoca classica attraverso un’analisi dei suoi adattamenti e interpretazioni. Lo spostamento dello sfondo del mito in Tracia può essere letto come una critica nei confronti di questa regione, con la quale Atene aveva in quegli anni dei rapporti difficili. Alcuni elementi deducibili dal Tereo, come la «voce della spola», monstrano che Sofocle ha proposto una rilettura del mito dell’usignolo in termini politici: in questo modo egli intese esprimere la sua avversità a proposito di una possibile alleanza ateniese con la Tracia. Si tratta di un problema capitale nel dibattito politico ateniese all’epoca del regno tracio di Tere e di Sitalce.
L’objectif de cette contribution est de clarifier la réception à l’époque classique du mythe du cycle thébain de Zéthos et son épouse Aédon à travers une analyse de ses adaptations et interprétations. Le déplacement du décor du mythe en Thrace peut être lu comme une critique envers cette région, avec laquelle Athènes avait des rapports difficiles à l’époque. Il y a des éléments déductibles du Térée, comme la « voix de la navette », qui montrent que Sophocle a proposé une relecture du mythe du rossignol en termes politiques : par ce moyen, il veut exprimer son aversion contre la possibilité d’une alliance athénienne avec la Thrace. Il s’agit d’un problème capital dans le débat politique athénien au moment du gouvernement de la Thrace par Térès et Sitalcès.
By analyzing its adaptations and interpretations, this paper will shed light on the reception, in the classical period, of the Theban cycle myth of Zethus and his bride Aëdon. The myth’s displacement resulting from its setting in Thrace can be read as a critique of Thrace itself, with which Athens had difficult relations with at the time. Some topics recognisable from Tereus, such as the “voice of the shuttle”, show that Sophocles re-read the myth of the nightingale in political terms. The re-reading expresses Sophocles’ aversion to any possible alliance with Thrace, a central issue in the Athenian political debate at a time when Thrace was under Teres’ and Sitalces’ government.
