Groaning Tears: Ethical and Dramatic Aspects of Suicide in Greek Tragedy

224 Pages·1995·3.88 MB·English

by  Elise P. Garrison

GROANING TEARS
MNEMOSYNE
BIBLIOTHECA CLASSICA BATAV A
COLLEGERUNT
J.M. BREMER· L.F.JANSSEN · H. PINKSTER
H. W. PLEKET • C.J. RUIJGH • P.H. SCHRIJVERS
BIBLIOTHECAE FASCICULOS EDENDOS CURAVIT
C.J. RUIJGH, KIASSIEK SEMINARIUM, OUDE TURFMARKT 129, AMSTERDAM
SUPPLEMENTUM CENTESIMUM QUADRAGESIMUM SEPTIMUM
ELISE P. GARRISON
GROANING TEARS
GROANING TEARS
ETHICAL AND DRAMATIC ASPECTS OF
SUICIDE IN GREEK TRAGEDY
BY
ELISE P. GARRISON
E.J. BRILL
LEIDEN · NEW YORK · KOLN
1995
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garrison, Elise P.
Groaning tears : ethical and dramatic aspects of suicide in Greek
tragedy / by Elise P. Garrison.
p. cm. - (Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava.
Supplementum, 0169-8958; 145)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 9004102418 (cloth : alk. paper)
I. Greek drama (Tragedy)-History and criticism. 2. Suicide
-Moral and ethical aspects. 3. Ethics, Ancient, in literature.
4. Suicide in literature. I. Title. II. Series.
PA3136.G38 1995
882' .0109----dc20 94-45658
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek -CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
[Mnemosyne/ Supplementum]
Mnemosyne : bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum. -
Leiden ; New York ; Koln : Brill.
Friiher Schriftenreihe
Garrison, Elise P.: Groaning tears. - 1995
Garrison, Elise P.:
Groaning tears : ethical and dramatic aspects of suicide in
Greek tragedy / by Elise P. Garrison. -Leiden ; New York ;
Koln : Brill, 1995
(Mnemosyne : Supplementum; 147)
ISBN 90-04-!024 l-8
ISSN 0 169-8958
ISBN 90 04 10241 8
© Copyright 1995 by EJ. Brill, Leiden, The .Netherlands
All rights reseroed. .No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval .rystem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, e/,ectronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
permission .from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal
use is granted by EJ. Brill provided that
the appropriate fies are paid directly to The Copyright
C/,earance Center, 2 2 R2o sewood Drive, Suite 910
Danvers MA 01923, USA.
Fees are su/!iect to change.
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
For Mom, Sara L. and Sara J.

CONTENTS
Preface ...........................................................................................
ix
I. Introduction .......................................................................... .
Pos ;:,en chren: the ethical life . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . 4
Attitudes toward suicide in ancient Greece .. . .. .. .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . l l
Appendix A: the sociology of suicide .. . .. . .. . . .. ... .. .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . 34
II. To endure or to die honorably ........................................... 45
Ajax ............................................................................................. 46
Women ef Trachis ....................................................................... 53
Hippolytus .. .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . .. .. ...... .......... ... .. . . ...... ....... ......... .. .. .... ...... .... 65
Heracles ....................................................................................... 71
III. The suicide note: escape songs ............................... ........... .. 80
Aeschylus' Suppliant Mai,dens .................................................... 81
Women ef Trachis ....................................................................... 87
Hippolytus .. . . . . . . .. . . . .. ..... .... ........... ........ .. .. . ........ ... ... .. .. . . . ... ....... ..... 89
Andromache .................................................................................. 93
Hecuba ........................................................................................ 99
IV. "Groaning tears": suicide from grief ................................... 102
Oedipus the King .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 10 3
Antigone .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Euripides' Suppliant Women ...................................................... 121
Phoenician Women ....................................................................... 126
V. Noble suicide ......................................................................... 129
Antigone ....................................................................................... 132
Phoenician Women .. .. .. .. . . ....... ... .. .. . . . ..... ......... ... .. . . . . . . . . .... ... .. . . . .. .. . 138
Children ef Heracles ..................................................................... 144
Iphigenia in Aulis .. . . . ..... .. .. . . . . . .. .. .. . . . ...... .... .. .. . ... .. .. . .. . ..... ... .. . . ... .. . 149
Hecuba ........................................................................................ 157
Alcestis .. . . ... .. ........ ... .. .... ......... .. .. ..... ........ ........ ... ...... .. ...... ....... ..... 161
VI. Conclusion: suicide in Euripides' Helen . ........ ................ ... ... 168
Incidental suicide ..................................................................... l 76
Appendix B: plot summaries ....................................................... 180
Select bibliography .. .. .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . . .. . ... .. . 186
Index locorum .. .. . . .. . .. .. .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. . . .. . .. ... ... .. . 201
General index ............................................................................... 207

PREFACE
I suppose anyone embarking upon a study of Greek tragedy and
ethics must begin with apologies. The attempt to contribute to our
understanding of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides
requires a certain boldness mixed with extreme humility in the face
of centuries of previous scholarship. In a field so thoroughly probed,
it would be impossible to cover every aspect with the same style,
grace and depth of those who have gone before, and I apologize in
advance for any omissions or superficialities in my treatment or bib
liography. The specific topic, suicide, has received surprisingly little
attention in studies of Greek tragedy, and so a place for a study of
this pervasive and vital topic clearly exists. This book is my modest
attempt to expand and enrich not only our knowledge of fifth-cen
tury tragedy, but also fifth-century ethics and thought in general.
When dealing with Greek tragedy, one must always remember that
first and foremost plays are performed events, appealing because of
their initial impact on an audience. Yet, as Aristophanes, Plato and
Aristotle insist, the tragedians also played the role of moral educa
tors of society, not as preachers but as explorers and questioners of
values that puzzled them as much as their audiences. The deeper
meaning, then, of the texts deserves our attention, and the social
and ethical considerations· of suicidal characters have proven of im
mense utility in uncovering aspects of that complex texture exempli
fied by suicide victims and embedded in the dramas. Throughout
this book I have staunchly resisted excerpting the suicides from the
context of their plays. To some readers it may seem, then, that sui
cide is the excuse for the more general discussions. Yet the social
and ethical environments of the plays, I argue, cause victims to destroy
themselves; therefore, the whole play is of the utmost importance.
I hope the result will be valuable not only to classicists but also to
scholars and students in other disciplines when interdisciplinary stud
ies are becoming more crucial to higher education. To this end I
have translated all Greek quotations and transliterated all Greek words
in the text. In transliterating I indicate omega and eta with a ma
cron (o and e). In transliterating Greek names I have used the most
familiar versions. All translations are mine, except where noted, and
X PREFACE
are literal rather than poetic. Technical textual problems, where
relevant, receive summary discussion in the notes. For the Greek
texts of the tragedians I have used for Aeschylus the Oxford Classi
cal Text of D. Page; for Sophocles the Teubner texts (2 volumes) of
R.D. Dawe; and for Euripides the Oxford Classical Texts for vol
umes I and 2 of J. Diggle and for volume 3 of G. Murray. Any
deviations from these texts are referred to in the notes.
This book is a distant, scarcely recognizable, descendant of my
dissertation (Stanford 1987), and I have continued to rely on my
friend and adviser, Marsh McCall. I remain grateful to other current
and former members of the Classics Department at Stanford for their
continuing support, congeniality, open-mindedness and knowledge,
specifically, to Mark Edwards, Michael Jameson, and Ted and Brenda
Courtney, and to Toni Raubitschek who advised me to give up the
topic if I began to internalize it too much. Fortunately, I'm still smiling.
I very much wish thatJack Winkler were able now to see the finished
product. I am also grateful for the opportunities I have had to present
some analyses to discerning audiences at various conferences and
universities. Chapters I, 2, 4 and 5 incorporate materials published
in Transactions ef the American Philologi,cal Association, Classical World, and
Text and Presentation vols. 9 and l l . I thank the editors of these jour
nals for their helpful criticisms and suggestions, and for permission
to use this material here. I owe a particular debt to Ruth Scodel
who has spent considerable time helping me sharpen my arguments,
and to Mary Lefkowitz and Hugh Lloyd:Jones who were rightly critical
as I entered my professional career. Anton van Hooff posed critical
questions in his own work and to me personally, and to him I owe
charis. I am thankful to Texas A&M University, from which I re
ceived a summer research grant that allowed me the time I needed
to concentrate on and complete this manuscript. My present and
former colleagues at Texas A&M, Steve Oberhelman, Tim Moore
and Craig Kallendorf, have also contributed in many profound ways
to this book, and I am grateful to them for their continuing interest
and support in many aspects of my life.
Elise P. Garrison
College Station, Texas
1994