Euripides Hippolytus analysis. Characteristics of heroes according to the tragedies of Euripides. Dramatic activity of Euripides and the attitude of his contemporaries towards it

Ministry of Education of Ukraine

Zaporozhye State University

Faculty of Foreign Philology

Department Foreign literature

Coursework

on the topic :_____Ancient world in the tragedies of Euripides “Hippolytus” and Seneca “Phaedra”

Completed Bekhteeva Svetlana Vladimirovna

Art. groups _______________________________________________

Supervisor associate professor _____________________Emirsuinova N.K.

Standard controller___________________________________________

Zaporozhye

1. coursework assignment 1

2. ABSTRACT 1

3. Introduction........................................................ ..................................... 2

4. comparative analysis tragedies................................... 9

5. poets’ views on modern problems 12

5.1 interpretation of religion and gods in the works of Euripides “Hippolytus” and Seneca “Phaedra”;

5.2 Hippolytus – “man of good”; the fate of a mortal is in the hands of the gods;

5.3 PHAEDRA – THE DEGREE OF TRAGIC IMAGE IN BOTH WORKS;

5.4 THE MAIN QUESTION OF THE WORKS IS “WHAT IS EVIL?”

6. conclusions......................................................... ........................................... 19

7. List of used literature...... 219

For course work students

Bekhteeva Svetlana Vladimirovna

1. Topic of work The ancient world in the tragedies of Euripides “Hippolytus” and Seneca “Phaedra”

2. Time for student to submit completed work _________

3. Initial data for work Texts of works by Seneca and Euripides, literary and philosophical works devoted to this problem.

4. List of issues to consider

1. Comparative analysis of tragedies.

2. Interpretation of religion and gods in the works of Euripides “Hippolytus” and Seneca “Phaedra”.

3. The concept of a “good man” and the fate of a mortal in the hands of the gods.

4. The tragedy of the image of Phaedra in the tragedies of Euripides and Seneca.

5. Date of assignment ________________________________

text of the course work 19 pp., 8 sources.

Object of study in this work are texts works of art Euripides (“Hippolytus”), Seneca (“Phaedra”, “Letters to Lucilius”), biographical sources and philosophical theses.

The purpose of the work is to study the problem of the literary traditions of antiquity through the study of particular examples of the artistic and philosophical worlds of Euripides and Seneca. The study is expected to solve the following problems:

– Establish the main features and differences in the manner of writing the work by Greek and Roman authors;

– Reveal the degree social influence and the historical basis of both tragedies and the work of these authors in general;

– Carry out an independent analysis of intertextual connections and differences, their dependence on the social environment of the authors.

Research methods– system analysis and comparative method.

Scientific novelty This work is an attempt to identify the direct dependence of the historical basis, social environment and views of two ancient authors, Seneca and Euripides, their approaches to contemporary problems and the plot of the same ancient myth in particular.

Scope of application– teaching literature and philosophy.

MAN OF GOOD, TRAGIC IMAGE, HISTORICAL BASIS, SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, STOICISM, “NEW” STYLE, POLICE SYSTEM, ROCK, PROVIDENCE.

Through the centuries, from deep antiquity, heroes of mythological stories come to us, preserving their morals, customs, and identity. But, passing through the prism of time and distance, their basic ideas, partly their characters, views and the very essence of their actions change. There is no exception to the plot in which Phaedra, the wife of the Athenian king Theseus (Theseus), fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus. Rejected by him, she commits suicide, discrediting Hippolytus and accusing him of an attempt on her honor. So this plot was used by the great Greek tragedian Euripides, Seneca, the Roman master of the “new style”, and Racine in his work “Phaedra”, written in the best traditions of French classicism (1677).

Of course, every work is the brainchild not only of its author, but also of the people, social status in society, political system, existing at that time, and, often, just emerging new thoughts and trends, as was the case with the work of Euripides “Hippolytus”.

So, find the differences and differences in the works of Euripides and Seneli, the reasons for their occurrence and the degree of influence public opinion and the surrounding reality on them is our task.

In my opinion, the roots of the theme, the ideas of each work and the reasons that prompt the author to do so should be sought in his origin, education, way of thinking and action, and the surrounding reality.

Isolation of personality and a critical attitude towards thym - both of these trends in the new worldview were in sharp contradiction with the ideological foundations of the tragedy of Aeschylus and Sophocles; nevertheless, they received their first literary embodiment within the tragic genre, which remained the leading branch of Attic literature of the 5th century. New trends in Greek social thought found a response in the works of Euripides, the third great poet of Athens.

Dramatic creativity Euripides took place almost simultaneously with the activities of Sophocles. Euripides was born around 406. His first plays were staged in 455, and from that time on, for almost half a century, he was the most prominent rival of Sophocles on the Athenian stage. He did not achieve success with his contemporaries soon; success was not lasting. Ideological content and the dramatic innovations of his tragedies met with sharp condemnation among the conservative part of the Athenians and served as the subject of constant ridicule in fifth-century comedy. Over twenty times he performed his works at tragic competitions, but the Athenian jury awarded him only five prizes during all this time, last time already posthumously. But later, during the period of decomposition of the polis and in the Eliistic era, Euripides became the favorite tragic poet of the Greeks.

The most reliable biographical sources depict Euripides as a solitary thinker - a book lover. He was the owner of a fairly significant book collection. IN political life He did not take an active part in Athens, preferring leisure time devoted to philosophical and literary pursuits. This way of life, unusual for citizens of the polis, was often attributed by Euripides even to mythological heroes.

The crisis of traditional polis ideology and the search for new foundations and ways of worldview were very clearly and completely reflected in the tragedy of Euripides. A solitary poet and thinker, he sensitively responded to pressing issues of social and political life. His theater is a kind of encyclopedia of the mental movement of Greece in the second half of the 5th century.

In the works of Euripides, various problems were posed that interested Greek social thought, new theories were presented and discussed, ancient criticism called Euripides a philosopher on stage.. However, he was not a supporter of any philosophical teaching, and his own views were neither consistent nor constant.

It is important for us that Eripidas’ aggressive attitude evokes a negative attitude. foreign policy democracy. He is an Athenian patriot and an enemy of Sparta. Euripides is alien to the philosophical views of Roman society.

Seneca, like Euripides, was a son of his state, and this influenced the character of his work “Phaedra”, as well as all of his work. The structure of the empire created by Augustus (“Principate”) lasted over 200 years after the death of its founder, until the crisis of the 3rd century. The military dictatorship was the only one state form, in which ancient society, corroded by the contradictions of slavery, could continue to exist after the collapse of the polis system.

Despite all the appearance of prosperity, symptoms of the approaching decomposition of the slave system soon began to appear. It is in Italy that the signs of economic decline are most clearly revealed, but while the economic decline was only approaching, the social and moral decline of Roman society was already evident. General lack of rights and loss of hope for the possibility of a better order corresponded to general apathy and demoralization. The bulk of the population demanded only “bread” and “circuses”. And the state considered it its direct responsibility to satisfy this need.

Slavery, open pursuit of material wealth, weakening social feelings, fragility of family ties, celibacy and a drop in the birth rate are characteristic features of Roman society in the 1st century.

On this ground, the level of Roman literature declines, and individual brilliant exceptions do not change big picture. Characteristic feature « silver age"-appearance large number provincials among literary figures. In particular, Spain, the oldest and most culturally mature of the Romanized western provinces, gave a whole series significant writers - Seneca, Lucan, Quintilian and others. The style, created by the “reciters” of the time of Augustus, became most widespread in the middle of the 1st century. Writers of the 1st century they call it a “new” style, in contrast to the “ancient” style of Cicero, whose long speeches, philosophical discussions, strictly balanced periods now seemed sluggish and boring. Literary traditions“Asianism” found fertile soil in Rome at the beginning of the 1st century. with his thirst for brilliance, the desire for a proud pose and the pursuit of sensually vivid impressions. best master"new" style in the middle of the 1st century. – Lucius Annaeus Senela. Born in Spain, in the city of Corduba, but grew up in Rome. Seneca received an education in the spirit of new rhetoric and expanded it with philosophical knowledge. In his youth, he was interested in fresh philosophical trends, and in the 30s he became a lawyer and entered the Senate. But, having gone through the hellish circles of political intrigue, ups and downs, he moved away from the court and took up literary and philosophical activities.

Brief description

The tragedy “Hippolytus”, staged three years after “Medea” and awarded the first award, is dedicated to the theme of the struggle of passions, the source of human suffering. The tragedy is based on the myth of the Athenian king Theseus, the legendary founder of the Athenian state. The myth about the love of Theseus's wife for her stepson Hippolytus is intertwined with the famous folklore motif the criminal love of a stepmother for her stepson and the seduction of a chaste young man. But Phaedra Euripides is not like the vicious wife of the dignitary Pentephry, who, according to the biblical legend, seduces the beautiful Joseph. Phaedra is noble by nature: she tries in every way to overcome unexpected passion, ready to die rather than reveal her feelings.

Attached files: 1 file

Analysis of Euripides' tragedy "Hippolytus"

Completed:

1st year student

Faculty of Philology

groups FL-RLB-11

Hayrapetyan Alina

Euripides (c. 480 - 406 BC) - the last in a line of great tragic poets Ancient Greece. It is known that he received good education: studied with the philosophers Protagoras and Anaxagoras, was friends with the philosophers Archilaus and Prodicus, was the owner of an extensive library. Unlike Aeschylus and Sophocles, who was more inclined to a solitary creative life, Euripides did not take direct part in public life. However, the playwright's works contain abundant responses to pressing issues of our time. At the same time, the author’s position, as well as his aesthetic attitudes, often enters into polemics with tradition, which caused discontent among many contemporaries.

It is known that throughout his life Euripides won only five first victories, although he wrote and staged a large number of works (from 75 to 98 dramatic works are attributed to him); Only 18 plays of Euripides have reached us.

Naturally, in the new historical conditions, Euripides is primarily interested in the individual, private person, the sphere of his personal, and not public life. In accordance with such a shift in the angle of view, Euripides transfers the collision of a person with opposing forces, which is necessary for tragedy, to the plane of the human soul, depicting a person’s conflict with himself. The actions, and as a result, their misfortunes and sufferings of the heroes usually stem from their own characters. Thus, in comparison with his predecessors, Euripides focuses more on depicting the inner world of the heroes. The playwright creates a number of diverse characters, depicting various emotional impulses, contradictory states, revealing their regularity and the inevitability of a tragic outcome. The viewer is present at the subtlest emotional experiences of the characters and discovers the complexity of human nature. The emphasis on depicting the psychology of the characters leads to the secondary importance of dramatic intrigue. Euripides no longer pays as much attention to the construction of action as, say, Sophocles, although the dramatic conflicts in his plays are sharp and intense. But let us pay attention, for example, to the beginnings and ends of his dramas. Often in the prologue, Euripides not only gives the beginning of the tragedy, but also tells its main content in advance, in order to, as a result, switch the viewer’s attention from the intrigue to its psychological development. The endings of Euripides' dramas are also indicative. He neglects the natural development and completeness of the action and therefore in the finale he often offers a sudden, external, artificial denouement, usually associated with the intervention of a deity appearing on a special theatrical machine.

The tragedy “Hippolytus”, staged three years after “Medea” and awarded the first award, is dedicated to the theme of the struggle of passions, the source of human suffering. The tragedy is based on the myth of the Athenian king Theseus, the legendary founder of the Athenian state. The myth about the love of Theseus's wife for her stepson Hippolytus is intertwined with the well-known folklore motif of the criminal love of a stepmother for her stepson and the seduction of a chaste young man. But Phaedra Euripides is not like the vicious wife of the dignitary Pentephry, who, according to the biblical legend, seduces the beautiful Joseph. Phaedra is noble by nature: she tries in every way to overcome unexpected passion, ready to die rather than reveal her feelings. Her sufferings are so great that they even transformed the appearance of the queen, at the sight of whom the choir exclaims in amazement:

How pale! How worn out
How the shadow of her eyebrows grows, darkening!

The goddess Aphrodite, angry at Hippolytus who neglected her, instilled love in Phaedra. Therefore, Phaedra is not in control of her feelings. The old, devoted nanny does not leave the sick mistress, trying to understand the cause of her illness. Everyday experience helps the old woman: she cunningly elicits Phaedra’s secret, and then, wanting to help her, without her knowledge, begins negotiations with Hippolytus. The nanny’s words strike the young man, causing him anger and indignation:

Father
Sacred she dared the bed
I, my son, should offer it.

Cursing the old woman, Phaedra and all women, Hippolytus, bound by an oath, promises to remain silent. In the first unpreserved version of the tragedy, Phaedra herself confessed her love to Hippolytus, and he fled from her in fear, covering his face with his cloak. To the Athenians, such behavior of a woman seemed so immoral that the poet redid this scene and introduced an intermediary-nanny. Further fate The tragedy took place contrary to the verdict of Euripides' contemporaries. Seneca and Racine turned to the first edition as more believable and dramatic.

Having learned Hippolytus's answer, Phaedra, exhausted by suffering and offended in her feelings, decided to die. But before committing suicide, she wrote a letter to her husband, naming Hippolytus as the culprit of her death, who allegedly dishonored her. Returning Theseus finds the corpse of his beloved wife and sees a letter in her hand. In despair, he curses his son and expels him from Athens. Theseus turns to his grandfather Posidon with a prayer: “Let my son not live to see this night, so that I can trust your word.” The father's wish is fulfilled. The chariot on which Hippolytus leaves Athens overturns and breaks into pieces. The dying youth is brought back to the palace. The patron saint of Hippolyta Artemis comes down to Theseus to tell his father about his son’s innocence. Hippolytus dies in his father's arms, and the goddess predicts immortal glory for him.

The rivalry between Aphrodite and Artemis led to the death of innocent and wonderful people, dealt a blow to Theseus and, finally, presented both goddesses in an unsightly light. With their intervention, Euripides explained the origin of human passions, continuing the Homeric tradition. But in an objective assessment of the activities of the gods, he acted from the position of a rationalist criticizing traditional religion. The unexpected appearance of Artemis in the epilogue of the tragedy allowed Euripides, albeit through external means, to resolve the complex conflict between father and son.

Euripides was the first to introduce drama love theme, which became central in some of his tragedies. The arguments of the poet’s opponents, who cruelly condemned the bold innovation, are given in abundance by Aristophanes, who accused Euripides of corrupting the Athenians and reproached him for creating the image of a woman in love, while “the artist should hide these vile ulcers.”

From goodies, who most express the poet’s sympathies, we must first of all indicate Hippolytus. He is a hunter and spends his life in the lap of nature. He worships the virgin goddess Artemis, who is represented not only as the goddess of the hunt, but also as the goddess of nature. And in nature, modern philosophers saw their highest ideal. From this it is clear that the basic concept of the image was suggested to the poet by modern philosophy. Hippolytus alone has the opportunity to communicate with the goddess, listen to her voice, although he does not see her. He often spends time in her cherished meadow, where ordinary people do not set foot; He makes wreaths from flowers for the goddess. In addition, he is initiated into the Eleusinian and Orphic mysteries, does not eat meat, leads a strict lifestyle and, naturally, under such conditions, shuns carnal love. He hates women and that passion that is alien to his ideal and is represented in the person of Aphrodite (Artemis herself considers her her worst enemy). Shyness is his innate quality. He speaks better in a small circle of select people than in front of a crowd. He is a scientist. The philosopher, as Hippolytus seems to be, cannot be captivated by power, honor, or glory. At the same time, it should be noted his unyielding firmness in keeping the oath, albeit carelessly given: for it he pays with his life. In the heat of indignation, he uttered the words: “My tongue swore, but my heart did not.” But he is faithful to his oath, and if Aristophanes interprets these words as an example of double-dealing, then this is a clear injustice. The general severity of his character also explains his attitude towards Phaedra, his menacing diatribe and curse on women.

“There are many temptations in our lives,” says Phaedra, “long conversations, idleness is a sweet poison.” Honest by nature, she realized her own powerlessness before the passion that had captured her and wanted to die silently, without revealing her secret to anyone.

But the environment ruined her. The tragedy shows her experiences very vividly. We see how she, exhausted by hunger, immersed in thoughts, involuntarily reveals her secret passion: either she wants to drink water from a mountain spring, then she wants to direct the dogs at a wild deer or throw a spear at her. In all her strange impulses, a secret desire is revealed to be closer to her loved one. She is ashamed, noticing the madness of her words. The poet tries to exalt the feeling itself, saying that “Eros teaches a person and makes him a poet, even if he was not one before.” Phaedra revealed her secret to the nanny, and she, experienced in such matters, undertook to help her without asking her consent. Ignorant, having learned from the street sages to find justification for any meanness, she disarmed the exhausted Phaedra with her determination. It is not without reason that Hippolyte sees the greatest evil in such confidantes: they should be kept away from their wives. The nanny's intervention led to disaster. Hippolyte is indignant at the vile proposal conveyed by the nanny. And Phaedra, feeling insulted, turns into an embittered avenger who spares neither herself, nor even the enemy who learned her secret. Aphrodite's malign intervention evokes compassion for her victim.

The prologue of the tragedy belongs to Cyprus. This is a divine threat to the son of the Amazon for being arrogant about the power of the goddess of love. Phaedra, according to Cypris, will also die, not through her own fault, but because Hippolytus must be punished through her. The goddess also outlines the third participant in the future tragedy - Theseus. Posidon promised him the fulfillment of three wishes, and the father’s word would destroy his son.

Although Aphrodite speaks of Hippolytus as her personal “enemy” who will “pay” her, when restoring the aesthetic power of the prologue it should be remembered that the gods of Euripides left Olympus long ago. “I don’t envy,” says the goddess “Hippolyta,” “why do I need this?” Cyprida has already lost the naive appearance of the protector of Paridas in order to rise to a sophisticated symbol of power and become an indisputable force, “great for mortals and glorious in heaven”; in the goddess of Euripides there is also a new self-consciousness that bears the stamp of the century. “Even in the divine race,” says Aphrodite, “human honor is sweet.”

Punishment coming from such a symbolic, reflected goddess was supposed to have a less offensive influence on the moral feeling of the viewer, and Euripides, arousing a tender emotion of compassion in the crowd, not without subtle artistic calculation, from the very first steps of the tragedy, with the cold, majestic appearance of his goddess, seemed to protect sensitive hearts from the heavy breath of untruth.

IN final scene In the tragedy, Artemis’s monologue sounds, in which the goddess addresses Theseus with words of reproach. The appearance of Artemis as a deus ex machina in the final scene of the drama symbolizes the apogee of the entire catastrophe that occurred in the house of Theseus. Euripides attributes to her purely human forms of relationships - Artemis shames Theseus, reprimanding him in the way that is customary among people. Euripides, through the mouth of Artemis, accuses Theseus of the death of Hippolytus, explaining to the unfortunate father that he is the culprit of what happened, since he neglected witnesses, fortune-telling, did not sort out the evidence, sparing time for the truth.

In her monologue, Artemis first addresses Theseus with an accusatory speech, and then summarizes the content of the drama as a whole, from the birth of Phaedra’s passion to the appearance of her accusatory letter, which gives Theseus the opportunity to now find out the truth and seek reconciliation. This divine support in the reconciliation of father and son increases the pathetic effect of the scene, lifts them both above reality, distinguishing them from other characters in the tragedy. At the same time, Artemis reveals the truth to Theseus, declaring Phaedra’s passion for Hippolytus to be the work of Aphrodite: “After all, wounded by the motives of the most hated of goddesses for us, to whom virginity is a pleasure, she passionately fell in love with your son.”

The goddess does not do anything miraculous or supernatural here. The function of Artemis in tragedy, as researchers put it, is “fundamentally dramatic.”

List of used literature:

1. Tronsky I.M. History of ancient literature / Fifth edition M., 1988. Part 1. Section II. Chapter II. pp. 142-143
2. Radzig S.I.. History of Ancient Greek Literature / 5th ed. M., 1982. Ch. XII. pp. 261-271

1. Annensky I.F. The tragedy of Hippolytus and Phaedra / M., "Science", 1979

The work is based on the ancient plot of the love of a stepmother for her stepson.

The first edition of the tragedy caused a storm of public indignation and was declared immoral. One of the main characters, Phaedra, opens up in love to her stepson Hippolytus. The failure was also facilitated by the fact that no attention was paid to the individual experiences of the individual at that time.

Today we have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with only the second version of the tragedy, where Phaedra does not confess to Hippolytus, but takes her own life, knowingly leaving her husband a note slandering her stepson.

One of Euripides' innovations is that the tragedy takes an important place female image. Moreover, it is completely far from ideal.

It is also important that the gods of Euripides are endowed with human traits. So, in this tragedy, Artemis and Aphrodite are two eccentric goddesses, the subject of their dispute is Hippolytus.

The main character of the tragedy is destroyed by his commitment to Artemis and complete disregard for Aphrodite. Thus, for the first time in the history of ancient theater, Euripides raised the question of whether all the actions of the gods can be considered justified and fair.

Plot

Translations

On English language The play has been translated several times:

• Edward P. Coleridge, 1891 - prose: full text
• Gilbert Murray, 1911 - verse: full text
• Arthur S. Way, 1912 - verse
• Augustus T. Murray, 1931 - prose
• David Grene, 1942 - verse
• Philip Vellacott, 1953 - verse
• Robert Bagg, 1973. ISBN 978-0-19-507290-7
• David Kovacs, 1994 - prose: full text
• David Lan, 1998
• Anne Carson(2006). Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides. New York Review Books Classics. ISBN 1-59017-180-2.
• Jon Corelis, 2006: Performance version in verse.

The classic Russian translation remains that of Innokenty Annensky.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Hippolytus (anti-pope)
• Ippolit Alexandrovich Vrevsky

See what “Hippolytus (tragedy)” is in other dictionaries:

Tragedy- a large form of drama, a dramatic genre opposed to comedy (see), specifically resolving the dramatic struggle with the inevitable and necessary death of the hero and characterized by a special character dramatic conflict. T. is based not... Literary encyclopedia

Tragedy- TRAGEDY. There is a tragedy dramatic work, in which the main thing character(and sometimes other characters in side encounters), distinguished by the maximum strength of will, mind and feeling for a person, violates a certain generally binding (with... ... Dictionary of literary terms

HIPPOLYTUS- (Ίππόλυτος), in Greek mythology son of the Athenian king Theseus and the Amazon queen Antiope (options: Hippolyta or Melanippe). I. despised love and was famous as a hunter and admirer of the goddess of the maiden huntress Artemis, for which he experienced the wrath of Aphrodite,... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

Hippolytus- son of Theseus and the Amazon Antiope or Hippolyta. The myth about his tragic death is very well known. Theseus's second wife, Phaedra, whose love he rejected, slandered him before his father; Theseus cursed I. and the god Neptune, summoned by him in anger, unexpectedly sent a wave... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Hippolytus (mythology)- Wikipedia has articles about other people named Hippolytus. Death of Ipp ... Wikipedia

Hippolytus in mythology- son of Theseus and the Amazon Antiope or Hippolyta; The myth about his tragic death is very well known. Theseus's second wife, Phaedra, whose love he rejected, slandered him before his father; Theseus cursed I., and the god Neptune, summoned by him in anger, unexpectedly sent... ...

Hippolytus, son of Theseus- and the Amazons Antiope or Hippolyta are very famous for the myth about his tragic death. Theseus's second wife, Phaedra, whose love he rejected, slandered him before his father; Theseus cursed I., and the god Neptune, summoned by him in anger, unexpectedly sent a wave to... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

tragedy- TRAGEDY (Greek τραγῳδία, lit. goat song, from τραγος goat and ᾠδή song) stage work, which depicts a sharp clash of a heroic personality with the opposing forces of society, the state, or with the elements of nature, in... ... Poetic dictionary

Shpazhinsky, Ippolit Vasilievich- Ippolit Vasilyevich Shpazhinsky Aliases: Ivan Vezovsky Date of birth: April 1, 1844 (1844 04 01) Date of death: February 2, 1917 (1917 02 02) (72 ... Wikipedia

Optimistic Tragedy (film)- This term has other meanings, see Optimistic tragedy. Optimistic tragedy... Wikipedia

Books

• Ancient Greek tragedy. We present to your attention a collection that includes works by the most prominent representatives ancient tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides...

In ancient Athens, King Theseus ruled. Like Hercules, he had two fathers - an earthly one, King Aegeus, and a heavenly one, the god Poseidon. He accomplished his main feat on the island of Crete: he killed the monstrous Minotaur in the labyrinth and freed Athens from tribute to him. The Cretan princess Ariadne was his assistant: she gave him a thread, following which he came out of the labyrinth. He promised to take Ariadne as his wife, but the god Dionysus demanded her for himself, and for this Theseus was hated by the goddess of love Aphrodite.

Theseus's second wife was an Amazon warrior; She died in battle, and Hippolyta left Theseus.

The son of an Amazon, he was not considered legitimate and was raised not in Athens, but in the neighboring city of Troezen. The Amazons did not want to know men - Hippolytus did not want to know women. He called himself a servant of the virgin goddess-hunter Artemis, initiated into the underground mysteries, which the singer Orpheus told people about: a person must be pure, and then he will find bliss beyond the grave. And for this, the goddess of love Aphrodite also hated him.

Theseus's third wife was Phaedra, also from Crete, the younger sister of Ariadne. Theseus took her as his wife in order to have legitimate children-heirs. And here Aphrodite's revenge begins. Phaedra saw her stepson

Hippolyta fell in love with him with mortal love. At first she overcame her passion: Hippolytus was not around, he was in Troezen. But it so happened that Theseus killed his relatives who rebelled against him and had to go into exile for a year; together with Phaedra he moved to the same Troezen. Here the stepmother's love for her stepson flared up again; Phaedra was distraught over her, fell ill, and no one could understand what was wrong with the queen. Theseus went to the oracle; It was in his absence that the tragedy occurred. In fact, Euripides wrote two tragedies about this. The first one has not survived. In it, Phaedra herself revealed her love to Hippolytus, Hippolytus rejected her in horror, and then Phaedra slandered Hippolytus to the returning Theseus: as if her stepson had fallen in love with her and wanted to dishonor her. Hippolytus died, but the truth was revealed, and only then did Phaedra decide to commit suicide. It was this story that posterity remembered best. But the Athenians did not like him: Phaedra turned out to be too shameless and evil here. Then Bvripidas composed a second tragedy about Hippolytus - and it is before us.

The tragedy begins with a monologue from Aphrodite: the gods punish the proud, and she will punish the proud Hippolytus, who abhors love. Here he is, Hippolytus, with a song in honor of the virgin Artemis on his lips: he is joyful and does not know that today punishment will fall on him. Aphrodite disappears, Hippolytus comes out with a wreath in his hands and dedicates it to Artemis - “pure of pure.” "Why don't you honor Aphrodite?" - the old slave asks him. “I read it, but from a distance: the night gods are not to my heart,” answers Hippolytus. He leaves, and the slave prays to Aphrodite for him: “Forgive his youthful arrogance: that is why you gods are wise, to forgive.” But Aphrodite will not forgive.

A chorus of Troezen women enters: they have heard a rumor that Queen Phaedra is sick and delirious. Why? Anger of the gods, evil jealousy, bad news? Phaedra is brought out to meet them, tossing about on her bed, with her old nurse with her. Phaedra raves: “Let’s go hunting in the mountains!” To the Artemidin flower meadow! To the coastal horse lists” - all these are Hippolytus’s places. The nurse persuades: “Wake up, open up, have pity, if not for yourself, then for the children: if you die, it will not be they who will reign, but Hippolytus.” Phaedra shudders: “Don’t say that name!” Word by word: “the cause of the disease is love”; “the reason for love is Hippolytus”; "There is only one salvation - death." The nurse opposes: “Love is the universal law; to resist love is sterile pride; and for every disease there is a cure.” Phaedra takes this word literally: maybe the nurse knows some healing potion? The nurse leaves; the choir sings: “Oh, let Eros blow me!”

There is noise from behind the stage: Phaedra hears the voices of the nurse and Hippolytus. No, it wasn’t about the potion, it was about Hippolytus’s love: the nurse revealed everything to him - and in vain. So they go on stage, he is indignant, she prays for one thing: “Just don’t say a word to anyone, you swore an oath!” “My tongue swore, my soul had nothing to do with it,” answers Hippolyte. He utters a cruel denunciation of women: “Oh, if only it were possible to continue our race without women! A husband spends money on a wedding, a husband receives in-laws, a stupid wife is difficult, a smart wife is dangerous - I will keep my oath of silence, but I curse you! He leaves; Phaedra, in despair, brands the nurse: “Curse you! By death I wanted to save myself from dishonor; Now I see that death cannot escape him. There is only one thing left, the last resort,” and she leaves without naming him. This means is to blame Hippolytus against his father. The choir sings: “This world is terrible! I should run away from it, I should run away!”

From behind the scene there is crying: Phaedra is in a noose, Phaedra has died! There is anxiety on the stage: Theseus appears, he is horrified by the unexpected disaster, the palace swings open, and general crying begins over Phaedra’s body. But why did she commit suicide? She has writing tablets in her hand; Theseus reads them, and his horror is even greater. It turns out that it was Hippolytus, the criminal stepson, who encroached on her bed, and she, unable to bear the dishonor, committed suicide.

“Father Poseidon! - Theseus exclaims. “You once promised me to fulfill three of my wishes, - here is the last of them: punish Hippolytus, let him not survive this day!” Hippolytus appears; he is also struck by the sight of the dead Phaedra, but even more so by the reproaches that his father brings down on him. “Oh, why are we not able to recognize lies by sound! - Theseus shouts. - Sons are more deceitful than fathers, and grandchildren are more deceitful than sons; Soon there won't be enough room on earth for criminals. A lie is your holiness, a lie is your purity, and here is your accuser. Get out of my sight - go into exile! - “Gods and people know - I have always been pure; “Here’s my oath to you, but I’m silent about other justifications,” answers Ippolit. “Neither lust pushed me to Phaedra the stepmother, nor vanity to Phaedra the Queen.” I see: the wrong one came out of the case clean, but the truth did not save the clean one. Execute me if you want.” - “No, death would be a mercy for you - go into exile!” - “Sorry, Artemis, sorry, Troezen, sorry, Athens! You didn’t have a person with a purer heart than me.” Hippolytus leaves; the choir sings: “Fate is changeable, life is scary; God forbid I know the cruel laws of the world!

The curse comes true: a messenger arrives. Hippolytus rode out of Troezen in a chariot along a path between the rocks and the seashore. “I don’t want to live as a criminal,” he appealed to the gods, “but I only want my father to know that he is wrong, and I am right, alive or dead.” Then the sea roared, a shaft rose above the horizon, a monster rose from the shaft, like a sea bull; the horses gave way and ran away, the chariot hit the rocks, and the young man was dragged along the stones. The dying man is carried back to the palace. “I am his father, and I am dishonored by him,” says Theseus, “let him not expect either sympathy or joy from me.” But here Artemis, the goddess Hippolyta, appears above the stage. “He's right, you're wrong,” she says. - Phaedra was also wrong, but she was motivated by the evil Aphrodite. Weep, king; I share your sorrow with you."

Hippolytus is carried in on a stretcher, he groans and begs to be finished off; whose sins is he paying for? .Artemis leans over him from a height: “This is the wrath of Aphrodite, it was she who destroyed Phaedra, and Phaedra Hippolytus, and Hippolytus leaves Theseus inconsolable: three victims, one more unfortunate than the other. Oh, what a pity that the gods do not pay for the fate of people! There will be grief for Aphrodite too - she also has a favorite - the hunter Adonis, and he will fall.”

Hippolytus - main character tragedy. The main feature of I.'s image is his piety. At the same time, his main virtue is his virgin purity. I. does not doubt his virtue and considers himself superior to all people in it. However, the flip side of his complete devotion to Artemis is the natural disdain he shows for the goddess Aphrodite. I. resolutely rejects all attempts of his old servant to protect him from arrogance in front of Aphrodite. He spreads his hatred to all women and angrily attacks Phaedra, who does not deserve his reproaches. I. hates women not at all because, from his point of view, Phaedra’s behavior turned out to be vicious; on the contrary, he judges Phaedra’s behavior this way because of his hatred of women. And it was this unfair attitude that ultimately became the direct cause of his death. In a fit of anger and indignation, I. threatens to break the oath of silence given to him, not condescending to any of the nurse’s requests. Phaedra hears these cries of indignation and, preparing to die, prepares the death of I. An additional characteristic of I.’s image is the emphasized elitism of his lifestyle, which also could not be clearly received positive assessment from even a fully educated and modern ancient viewer of this tragedy.

In this tragedy, I.’s main antagonist is Phaedra. In her image, the same theme is developed - the relationship between true piety and observance of purity. In this sense, the images have a parallel development. However, in relation to Phaedra, the theme develops in a positive way: Phaedra resists passion so as not to violate traditional moral norms, and such resistance can cause nothing but praise. As for I., in his image the theme receives a rather negative interpretation. In this sense, the images of Phaedra and I. are contrasted with each other.

Helen is a character in three of Euripides' tragedies: The Trojan Women, Helena and Orestes. Two of them, “The Trojan Women” and “Orestes,” represent the traditional image of E., the unfaithful wife who ran away with Paris and the culprit of the troubles that befell Hellas. In the tragedy “Helen”, Euripides portrays Helen as innocent. The tragedy "The Trojan Women" depicts the leading away of famous Trojan women into slavery. Among the prisoners is E., whom the Greeks handed over to Menelaus with the desire to kill or take back to Greece.

Having met her husband at the end of the Trojan War, E. does not feel embarrassed or ashamed, but tries to cover up her betrayal with a speech full of deception and sophistical tricks. E. claims that divine necessity prompted her to commit a crime, and old Hecuba shows that it was a passion for Paris and untold riches. E. insists that after the death of Paris she lived in Troy as a captive, meanwhile, according to Hecuba, all this time she enjoyed the luxury of Asian life and never wanted to leave Troy. The scene takes on a special meaning because everyone knows that E. will not be killed by Menelaus, but will subjugate him and return home safely. In this regard, her image contrasts with the images of other captives: Cassandra, Andromache, Hecuba, Polyxena, who, without any guilt behind them, endure violence, bullying, and some even death. The tragedy "Orestes" depicts E.'s arrival from Troy to Argos, where Menelaus, fearing the wrath of the crowd, secretly sent her before his own arrival.

In the interpretation of E.'s image, two aspects stand out from this tragedy. On the one hand, this is E. as she is perceived by the Greeks - the “queen of evil,” the culprit of the war and all the troubles caused by the war. E. is surrounded by hatred from both the crowd and household members, who consider her the cause of the misfortunes that befell their home. On the other hand, it is emphasized that in addition to the attitude of the fathers and mothers of the dead heroes towards E., in addition to her crime against Greece, there is a divine plan of which she was an instrument. E. is to become a goddess, and the features of the divine are discernible in some of the features of her behavior. Excessive passions bypass her; in contrast to other participants in the drama, she maintains moderation in her experiences. Her sadness about the fate of the house of Agamemnon is balanced by her joy for her daughter Hermione. Being, according to all participants in the tragedy, the main culprit of the intrigue, E. alone does not experience much suffering. When the desperate Orestes and Pylades want to kill her as the culprit of all evils, Apollo takes her to heaven, for she is not subject to human judgment.

In the tragedy “Helen”, Euripides sets out a version according to which it was not Helen herself who was taken by Paris to Troy, but her ghost, woven by Hero from the ether. During the Trojan War, E. herself was transferred by Hermes to Egypt to the pious king Proteus, where she had to, remaining faithful to Menelaus, wait until he, by the will of the gods, ended up in this land.

Electra is a character in the tragedies “Electra” and “Orestes”. In the tragedy "Electra" E. was given by Aegisthus and Clytemnestra in marriage to a poor peasant. However, this marriage remains fictitious, since the peasant realizes that he received E. not by right. While going to fetch water, E. meets Orestes at the source, who, together with Pylades, secretly arrived in Argos and, from E.’s conversation with the choir, recognized her as his sister. A plan for revenge is drawn up, and Orestes becomes confused, not knowing how to cope with Aegisthus and his mother at the same time. E. offers her help in relation to the mother: according to the plan she came up with, she must lure Clytemnestra into the house under the pretext of the birth of her first child. Before the arrival of Clytemnestra, Orestes is overcome by doubts and horror, so that he is completely ready to abandon the idea of ​​​​killing her, and only E.’s persistence and inflexibility returns him to his original plan. E. greets Clytemnestra with a speech full of hatred and reproaches and takes her to the house where Orestes kills her. Immediately after the murder of his mother, E. and Orestes start crying about what they have done, and E. takes all the blame upon himself.

In building an image main character Euripides uses his favorite technique, common to all his so-called “revenge dramas” (cf. “Medea”, “Hecuba”). The essence of this technique comes down to the fact that, despite the legitimate desire for revenge, the wicked passion for revenge possessing the heroine is portrayed as lawless, which in the finale turns the situation in the opposite direction to that intended at the beginning, depriving the accomplished revenge of any legitimate justification. This effect is achieved, as a rule, by the fact that the criterion for evaluating all the actions of the tragedy is the standard of ordinary human morality.

30. Genre varieties of Euripides’ tragedies. Drama "Alcestes".

The change in the tragic conflict affects the change in the genre nature of the works of Euripides. First of all, he wrote tragedies, but unusual ones, which is why they are called either “psychological tragedies” or “pathetic dramas.” The second is social, everyday or family dramas: “Alcesta”, “Elena”, “Ion”.

Social drama depicts ordinary people, not heroes, not outstanding in any way. Even if a myth is used, then only the name remains of this mythical hero. The story here is not about high problems, but the tragedy is confined to the home, the family. In the socio-psychological drama they depict ordinary people with their individual inclinations and impulses, passions and internal struggle. There is always an element of the comic, there is always a happy ending. The first surviving play is from 438 - Alcestes. The plot opened up truly great opportunities for creating a classic tragedy. In the prologue, we learn the story of Admetus, for whom Apollo served, who allowed him to persuade someone to die in his place. No one wants to die for Admet: neither slaves, nor parents - only the young wife Alceste. A sacrificial wife, passionately loving her husband, ready to give her life for him. She makes Admet promise that he will not bring his stepmother into the house. Euripides managed to show a person with a split consciousness. Tragicomic scene over a corpse. A drunken Hercules appears, here he is presented as narrow-minded, not very smart. Admet accepts it, maybe. He observes the law of hospitality. One old slave shames Hercules for his noisy fun. He understands Admetus’s sacrifice, wants to help him, at midnight crawls into the crypt, catches Thanatos, who gives back his soul. Hercules brings her to Admetus, everything ends well. Admet is a dual figure; he cannot be defined as good or bad. Alcestes" is a unique play not only among the surviving works of Euripides himself, but also among all extant examples of ancient Greek theatrical art, casting a bright and at times shocking light on the position of women in ancient Greek society, on the fundamental themes of life and death, and life after death, on the complex relationships in the ancient Greek family and on the integration of mythology into the process of perception of everyday reality. Some of the concepts expressed in Alcestes are necessary for a correct understanding of the ancient Greek mentality.

31. Features of Euripides’ psychological tragedy “Medea”.

At first glance, it seems that the drama, as is in keeping with tradition, is written on a mythological plot. However, it is noteworthy that the playwright chooses that fragment of the myth when the heroic past of the heroes is behind him, and depicts a personal, family drama. The dynamics of feeling and passion are one of Euripides’ favorite themes. It's his first time in ancient literature clearly poses psychological problems, especially the problems of female psychology, and the significance of Euripides for world literature is based primarily on his female images.

Among the most powerful tragedies of Euripides is “Medea” (431). Medea is a mythological figure from the cycle of tales about the Argonauts, the granddaughter of Helios (the Sun), a sorceress capable of the most terrible crimes. in 431 to the image of Medea and gave the tragedy of a woman who passionately loved but was deceived.

And as the bearer of a new attitude towards marriage, Medea gives a speech to the choir of Corinthian women about the difficult position of women in the family, about unequal morality, which requires fidelity from a woman, but does not extend this requirement to a man. Jason, whose second marriage was dictated by the desire to create a “support for the home” and ensure the future of his children, follows traditional views on the tasks of the family, but Euripides does not spare colors in order to depict his baseness, cowardice and insignificance. Jason's response to Medea's reproaches of ingratitude is an example of the sophistic art of “proving” any position and defending an unjust cause.

"Medea" is indicative of the dramaturgy of Euripides in many respects. The depiction of the struggle of feelings and internal discord is something new that Euripides introduced into Attic tragedy. Along with this, there are numerous discussions about family, marriage, fatherhood, and the perniciousness of passions: not only Medea, but also the choir, and even the old woman-nurse discusses.

The heroine does not consider her fate to be exceptional; she expresses sad reflections about the subordinate, dependent fate of a woman, her defenselessness and lack of rights:

However, Medea herself, in accordance with the nature and integrity of her character, is not able to put up with humiliation. with the same force that she loved, she begins to hate Jason and look for a way to take revenge on him. The idea of ​​infanticide is finally suggested by a meeting with the childless Athenian king Aegeus. In a conversation with him, she understands how a childless man suffers, and decides to take away the most precious thing from Jason. But this blow is simultaneously directed against herself, so Medea does not immediately and with terrible anguish decide to take this step. The heroine changes her intention several times, conflicting feelings struggle within her, and yet gradually a terrible decision matures within her.

Before Euripides, the prevailing version of the myth was that children were killed by angry Corinthians upon learning of the death of their king and young princess. Euripides left it to the heroine herself to do this, convincingly showing that, no matter how terrible this act is, Medea, who belongs to proud, powerful natures, unable to forgive insults, could have done this. The viewer cannot accept and forgive Medea for her actions, but understands by whom and how she was driven to the crime

At first glance, it seems that the drama, as is in keeping with tradition, is written on a mythological plot. However, it is noteworthy that the playwright chooses that fragment of the myth when the heroic past of the heroes is behind him, and depicts a personal, family drama. Before us is the grief of a lonely, deceived, abandoned woman. Deviations from traditional mythological versions are often found in the tragedies of Euripides. A certain tendency is noticeable behind this: for Euripides, myth is not the sacred history of the people, but material for creativity. In fact, Euripides constrains the framework of myth: the new social and everyday content of his tragedies comes into conflict with the old mythological form. Essentially, Euripides would need to abandon myth, but this would be too bold and decisive a violation of tradition, however, he certainly brought closer the destruction of the mythological basis of the tragedy. Euripides was one of the first to turn to the depiction of a love conflict in drama and made love passion the driving motive of events . In Sophocles' Antigone, a bright female character was created and the theme of love was present (the line of Antigone and Haemon), but as a secondary and non-self-sufficient one, subordinate to the choice of the civic position of the heroes. For Medea, her passion is the main basis of life. She sacrificed her loved ones, her homeland, and her good name as a sacrifice to her passion, but after a number of years of marriage, Jason treacherously neglected her for the sake of low calculation.

Medea plans the murder of Creon and the princess in cold blood, without any doubt about the correctness of the chosen decision; the only thing that “confuses” her is that “on the way to the bedroom” or “on business” she can be “captured... and the villains will get to mock,” and the conversation with Jason only strengthens Medea in her intention to do this .

In a verbal duel with Jason, she exposes him as a complete nonentity and a scoundrel.

hot, passionate, emotional, driven by feelings and instincts, proud, harsh, unrestrained and immeasurable. Medea is immeasurable in everything: in love, hatred, revenge. It is because of this that other characters in the tragedy do not understand her.

Medea acts out the scene of reconciliation with Jason

Medea's egoism: she does not think about what is better for her children, to live or die, to stay in the city or wander with her, she is driven only by her own feelings and her own desires.

The ending of the tragedy is very bright: Medea appears in a chariot drawn by dragons, which Helios sent her. With her are the corpses of her children. Her last dialogue with Jason takes place, which somewhat changes the nature of the drama

Tragedy carries within itself a sense of the absurdity of existence: there is no justice in the world, no boundary between good and evil, no measure, no truth, no happiness. Medea makes you doubt the highest values, the existence of the gods (she calls for their help, but they do not help her in any way), and her view of the world.

the choir is on the side of Medea,

Medea is the undoubted center of the work, the world of tragedy revolves around her, she focuses on herself all the emotional and psychological content of the drama; willy-nilly you begin to empathize with her, her tossing causes a reciprocal storm of feelings. It seems that Euripides himself was fascinated by the image of the murderous sorceress.

Innovation: The duality of her character - she mourns and takes pity on children, and kills. Before E., the inner world of a person was not depicted. The depiction of the struggle of feelings and internal discord is something new that Euripides introduced into Attic tragedy. Along with this, there are numerous discussions about family, marriage, fatherhood, and the perniciousness of passions: not only Medea, but also the choir, and even the old woman-nurse discusses.

32. Innovation of Euripides the playwright. Analysis of the tragedy "Hippolytus".

All of Euripides' dramas are associated with the topical philosophical and ethical problems of their time, first put forward during the Pelopnesian War. You should pay attention to such innovations of Euripides in the field of dramatic technique, such as the introduction of solo arias - monodies, and a decrease in the role of the choir. The prologue, in which the content of the tragedy is outlined, acquires a unique role, and a denouement appears with the help of “deus ex machina” (“god from the machine”). This innovation in dramatic technology is explained, on the one hand, by the poet’s peculiar, critical attitude to mythology as the basis of folk religion, inspired by the views of the sophists and Greek natural philosophers. Euripides recognizes some kind of divine essence, ruling the world, but the gods of traditional mythology almost always receive a negative connotation in his works; the moral content of myths causes his objections. Since direct denial of popular religion was impossible in the conditions of the Athenian theater, Euripides limited himself to expressions of doubt and hints. The second most important feature of Euripides’s work, which explains many innovations in dramatic technique, was the playwright’s enormous interest in the human personality and its subjective aspirations. He depicted the collision of a person with opposing forces, which is necessary for tragedy, as a struggle between a person and himself. Inner world man, his psychology were not the object of artistic depiction in the works of playwrights preceding Euripides. Euripides' innovation lies in the fact that he depicted the struggle of feelings and the internal discord of his hero, and was the first to introduce a love theme into the drama, which became central in some of his works. Euripides often makes significant changes to the traditional myth, the plot of which becomes just a shell, little connected with the vital, truly human content of the work and contradicting the ideological and artistic orientation of the tragedy. Euripides introduces a new theme. For the first time, they raise the topic of love. Particularly interesting in this regard

Tragedy "Hippolytus". "Hippolytus" - 434 BC The gods here are criminals, doing senseless things. This tragedy was a success, but it had to be rewritten twice. The plot is also known in the Bible - a variant of the plot about the treacherous wife. In Euripides, Phaedra (the second wife of Theseus) loves her stepson, but the audience is shocked that she herself admits this to him. Then Euripides changed this. "Ippolit" won in the agon. Euripides' favorite aphorism is “Nothing in excess.” Violation of it by the heroes leads to their death. Hippolytus is the son of Theseus from his first marriage to an Amazon. The tragedy opens with a prologue, where Aphrodite says that she is offended by Hippolytus because he spends all his time with Artemis. Aphrodite sends Phaedra into passion for Hippolytus. Passion and coldness - Aphrodite and Artemis. Phaedra and Hippolytus, Aphrodite and Artemis never appear on stage at the same time. This vindictiveness attributed to Aphrodite is one of Euripides’ usual attacks against the traditional gods. The goddess Artemis, who patronizes Hippolytus, appears at the end of the tragedy to reveal the truth to Theseus and console Hippolytus before his death. It turns out that she could not come to the aid of her admirer in a timely manner, since the custom among the gods is not to go against each other. Phaedra is dying, the reason is love, the nurse decides to tell everything to Hippolytus. He is warned that feelings should not be excessive. Phaedra is afraid that Theseus will kill her children. She decides to kill herself, and leaves a note in her hand accusing Hippolyte of harassment. Theseus expels and curses Hippolytus. He dies. Then Artemis appears, who says that Hippolytus is not to blame for this tragedy. Hippolytus understands that Cypris took not one, but three victims: he, his father and Phaedra. He feels sorry for his father and says that his fate is worthy of crying. Theseus wants to replace his son, calls his sin an eclipse, a terrible gift of the gods. Father hugs his son. The son removes the burden from his father, asks for forgiveness from his father, Theseus says that his son will overcome death, says goodbye to him, Cypris left the mark of suffering on his soul. The myth of Hippolytus is one of the Greek variants of the widespread plot of a treacherous wife who slanderes a chaste young man who did not want to share her love to her husband (cf. the biblical tale of Joseph). The picture of Phaedra's love torments is painted with great force. The new Phaedra languishes from passion, which she tries in vain to overcome: in order to save her honor, she is ready to sacrifice her life. The refusal of the indignant Hippolytus forces Phaedra to carry out a suicide plan, but now with the goal of preserving her good name with the help of dying slander against her stepson.

Already Phaedra found herself a powerless victim of a passion with which she was unable to cope. In the later works of Euripides, the point of man’s dependence on randomly acting forces both inside and outside him, on sudden impulses, on turning points of fate, on the play of chance, is even more highlighted.

33. Problems of education and criticism of new philosophical movements in Aristophanes’ comedy “Clouds”.

In 423, Aristophanes, who had already received the first two awards at the Lenaea, decided to stage a new comedy "Clouds" at the Great Dionysia. The comedy received the third award. However, the poet himself considered “Clouds” his best play and subsequently reproached the audience for the fact that they, accustomed to rude jokes, did not understand the refined wit and deep meaning of his comedy. Even earlier, Aristophanes more than once lamented the decline of morals in Athens and connected political turmoil with the moral character of public figures and rulers of Athens. In "Clouds" he cruelly ridicules the new principles of education promoted by the sophists, and those new teachings about nature and society, which, in his opinion, undermined the foundations of polis ideology. The comedy is named after the choir, whose image is complex and fantastic. At the beginning of the comedy, a chorus of clouds depicts the soaring of lofty poetic thought; later on, the clouds are either new deities invented by fashionable scientists, or the embodiment of their vague ideas. At the end of the comedy, where the sought-after truth is established, the choir of clouds sings on behalf of the eternal Olympian gods. The main object of Aristophanes' attacks becomes Socrates, a complex generalized image of Aristophanes' ideological opponents. Aristophanes' Socrates inherited something from his real prototype, the Athenian philosopher, a contemporary of the poet, but in addition he is endowed with the traits of a sophist and a learned charlatan, a constant hero of folk everyday scenes. In sophistry, he is frightened by the separation from polis ethics: the new education does not lay the foundations for civic virtues. From this point of view, the choice of Socrates as a representative of new movements was not an artistic mistake. No matter how great the differences between Socrates and the Sophists were on a number of issues, he was united with them by a critical attitude towards the traditional morality of the polis, which Aristophanes defends in his comedy.

Aristophanes holds the same views in relation to new literary trends. He often ridicules fashionable lyric poets, but his main polemic is directed against Euripides

Different from regular comedies. The problem of youth education, the problem of fathers and children. Until the 5th century, education was public; from that time on, they entrusted their children to sophists. They develop students, but this education runs counter to the needs of the policy. Socrates is equated with the Sophists. He tried to find objective truth, he is inclined towards monotheism. Aristophanes did not understand his views, so he ridiculed him. Socrates had a strange appearance, but he always maintained kindness and openness, young people loved him, and a circle of young people always formed around him. To the Athenians, eternal problems seemed boring. “Clouds” turned out to be fatal in the life of Socrates. Denunciation of godlessness, immorality and corruption of youth. At the trial, the play was read out as an accusation. Old man Stripsiad is worried about his son - he is playing at the races and has lost his entire fortune. Stripsiades learns that there is a think tank in Athens and wants to go there to study. Meets Socrates there. The real Socrates was not such a funny fool. While the historical Socrates usually spent all his time in the Athenian square, the learned charlatan of the “Clouds” is engaged in nonsense research in a “thought room” accessible only to initiates; surrounded by “faded” and skinny students, he, in a hanging basket, “floats in the air and reflects on the sun. The pointless and vague wisdom of the sophists is symbolized in the chorus of “divine” clouds, the veneration of which must henceforth replace traditional religion. In the future, both the natural science theories of the Ionian philosophers and new sophistic disciplines, such as grammar, are parodied. in the “agon” Pravda (“Fair Speech”) and Falsehood (“Unfair Speech”). The Athenians forgave Socrates his appearance for his thoughts. He was always ready for a conversation - a Socratic conversation - leading a person to a conclusion. Aristophanes made him a collective caricature of sophistry, attributing to him the theories of various sophists and natural philosophers, from which the real Socrates was in many respects very far. In Aristophanes, Socrates is an eccentric sitting in a basket tied to the rafters. This Socrates studies all sorts of rubbish. Problems: what part of the body does the mosquito buzz with? Measures the flea's step. Socrates urges not to believe in Zeus. A chorus of clouds appears and says all sorts of nonsense. Aristophanes gets everything wrong. Stripsiad is kicked out of the think tank, but there are enough ideas to get rid of creditors. Sends his son there. There is a dispute between lies and truth (truth and falsehood) - primarily about the problem of education. In the dispute between Pravda and Falsehood, each of which seeks to win over the old man’s son in its favor, the main theme of the comedy is revealed - the struggle between old, polis, ideas and new, sophistic ones. The opponents are brought into the orchestra in baskets dressed as fighting cocks. The dispute is played out in the form of a cockfight, but its content is very serious. Krivda wins, seducing the young man with the idea that in the school of Socrates he will quickly become corrupted and begin to live happily ever after, since now modest people are not held in high esteem in Athens. Socrates and the Sophists believed that education should be according to inclination. Aristophanes calls this depraved. It all ends with one more agon. Both son and father go to the feast, but the old man wanted to listen to Aeschylus, and the son wanted to listen to Euripides. The son beat his father and argued for it. Strepsiades is ready to admit the strength of this argument, but when Pheidippides promises to prove that it is legal to beat mothers, the enraged old man takes the ladder and sets the torch on fire.

34. Literary views of Aristophanes “Frogs”.

A sample of literary criticism. Issues of literary criticism and the role of art in the life of society were reflected in the comedy "Frogs", staged at Lenaea in February 405. The immediate reason for the creation of this comedy was the news of the death of Euripides, received in Athens in the spring of 406. During the rehearsals of "Frogs" Sophocles died. The further fate of the tragedy seemed unknown to everyone, since outstanding tragic poets did not leave worthy successors. In the comedy "Frogs", the god Dionysus, the patron of theatrical art, decided to descend into the underworld to bring Euripides, whom he considers the best tragic poet, to earth. In an effort to cheer himself up, Dionysus obtains a lion skin and a club from Hercules and, accompanied by a slave, sets off. Dionysus is transported across the Lake of Death by Charon, and the chorus of frogs, from which the comedy takes its name, greets Dionysus as he sits down at the oars. In this comedy, Aristophanes rearranged the traditional comedy parts and began with funny episodic scenes of the adventures of the cowardly dandy Dionysus and his roguish slave, and placed the agon in the second part. In addition, he shortened the parabasa, making it independent and not related to the action. In the parabass, the chorus, on behalf of the poet, calls on the Athenians to heal the severe wounds of the state, to forget the previous political differences, because of which many honest and efficient people were forced into exile. The Athenians liked this parabas so much that they demanded a repetition of the comedy and awarded Aristophanes the rarest award for a poet - a branch of the sacred olive tree.

The second part of the comedy took place in the kingdom of the dead and represented a debate about the tasks of dramatic poetry. The choir in this part consists of mystes, that is, initiates into the Eleusinian mysteries. Dionysus comes to the monastery of the dead at a time when Euripides, having gathered his fans around him, is trying to drive Aeschylus out of the throne given to him as the father of tragedy. Aristophanes also attacked Euripides, ridiculing his tragedies in the comedy “Frogs.” The main reproach he made to the great tragedian was that his tragedies lacked the heroic ideal, which was so necessary for the Greek people during a period of political unrest.

The god of the underworld, Pluto, asks Dionysus to judge his opponents. The main part of the play begins - the competition between Aeschylus and Euripides. The purpose of art for both is indisputable: “to make citizens of their native country smarter and better.” But Aeschylus believes that for this it is necessary to educate citizens to be strong in spirit and brave, to instill in them “sublime thoughts” and address them only in “majestic speeches.” And Euripides believes that people will become “kind and worthy” when poets reveal to them the truth of life, which needs to be spoken about in a simple human voice. Aeschylus objects, arguing that everyday truth usually covers up the basest motives of people and small matters unworthy of the attention of poets. Aeschylus explains the misfortunes of modern Athens by the corrupting influence of the tragedies of Euripides.

The debate continues with a comparison of the artistic merits of the tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides. Both parody each other's artistic style. Then the works of both tragedians are weighed on huge fake scales. The bowl with the verses of Aeschylus is tugging. Dionysus realizes his mistake and, instead of Euripides, takes Aeschylus to earth under the parting song of the choir. The last words of the choir, breaking the stage illusion, are addressed to the audience:

We wish the glorious city happiness, goodness and success.

His god Dionysus is the embodiment of the theater audience with all its comic foibles, great and small. But this general melancholy becomes for Aristophanes the reason for his last and most ambitious dispute with Euripides. He rises above his previous, mostly random, ridicule, which at this moment could not correspond to the prevailing circumstances, and considers the problem with extraordinary depth. Euripides is not valued on his own merits, which he, as a major artist, can certainly claim; to an even lesser extent he is recognized as the measure of his time - Aristophanes contrasts him with Aeschylus as the greatest representative of the religious and moral dignity of tragedy. This simple and highly effective opposition affects the structure of “Frogs” in the fact that in it an agony arises between old and new poetry, just as in “Clouds” - between old and new upbringing. But while in “Clouds” the agon was not decisive for the course of the action, in “Frogs” the entire composition rests on it. Descent into underworld- a favorite motif of comedy, in his performance of Aristophanes' "Frogs" where the former statesmen and generals of Athens emerge from Hades to help the poorly governed city. By combining this idea with the poetic agon, Aristophanes comes to a striking solution: Dionysus, who descended to Hades to bring back his favorite Euripides, after the victory of Aeschylus, instead of a younger competitor, eventually brings the old poet to the surface to save his hometown.