Biographical representations of Euripides. Some examples of their development from classical antiquity to Byzantium

Abstract

This thesis analyses the most significant biographical representations of Euripides in antiquity, covering depictions of Euripides in Greek comedy, an imaginary dialogue of late Hellenistic origin, selected Hellenistic epigrams, a late imperial novel in letters, a passage in Gellius' Attic Nights, the anonymous Genos Euripidou, and the Suda lexicon. In chapter 1, I explore the representation of Euripides in Greek comedy, both in the extant plays of Aristophanes and in selected fragments from Old and Middle Comedy. I argue that the fourth century BC witnessed a major transformation in the representation of Euripides, as discussions about the work become detached from discussions about the author. This claim is supported by my findings in chapters 2 and 3, which discuss Hellenistic accounts of the life of Euripides in a group of Hellenistic epigrams and in Satyrus' Bios Euripidou: representations of Euripides now mirror the processes of canonisation. In chapter 4, I contend that the narrative function and coherence of the pseudo-Euripidean letters have not received the scholarly attention they deserve. I am proposing a new way of looking at these letters in the literary and philosophical context of the Second Sophistic. In chapter 5, I identify the depiction of Euripides in Gellius' Attic Nights, the anonymous Genos Euripidou, and the Suda lexicon, and propose a new appreciation of these later attestations of a biographical interest in Euripides. In the conclusion I give a synopsis of my results and an outlook on the questions raised by my thesis. I argue that a re-assessment of the much neglected ancient sources concerning the life of Euripides contributes to a better understanding of the ancient mechanisms of reception and canonization of Euripides and his work.