All these comedies undoubtedly belong to the best works of the ancient stage. But to understand them, you need to be intimately familiar with the life and events of that time. Only such a reader will be able to adequately appreciate the witty allusions, subtle sarcasm, the “Attic salt,” the skill and depth of conception and execution, as well as other beauties of form that gave Aristophanes great

Ancient tragedians most often took ancient myths as the basis for their works, which each of the authors interpreted exclusively in their own way. The same myth could be interpreted so differently by different authors that the heroes of this myth in some works could appear as positive, while in others - as negative. An example of such a phenomenon can be considered a complex of tragedies, which are based on the “myth of the Atrids.” The three greatest ancient Greek tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides - created a number of dramatic works in which they interpreted mythological events in their own way, the conventional chronological framework of which is considered to be the first decade after the Trojan War.

Directly myth

1) The Atrid family begins with Tantalus - the son of Zeus and the nymph Pluto. Tantalus, who ruled the city of Sipila, was a mortal, but considered himself equal to the gods. Because Since he was their favorite, he more than once had to attend their divine feasts, from where he dared to deliver the food of the gods to earth to treat mortals. He tried more than once to deceive the gods, and, in the end, their patience ran out. One day Tantalus decided to test the gods to see how omniscient they were. He killed his son Pelops and decided to treat him to the meat of the gods invited to his feast. The gods, of course, did not succumb to deception, with the exception of Demeter alone. Pelops was resurrected, and Tantalus was punished by the gods, and was the first to bring a curse on his descendants.
2) Pelops, the son of Tantalus, decided to marry the daughter of King Oenomaus - Hippodamia. However, for this he needed to defeat Oenomaus in the races, since he was the best rider at that time. Pelops used cunning to defeat Oenomaus. Before the competition, he turned to Mithril, the son of Hermes, who was watching the horses of Oenomaus, with a request to provide Oenomaus with a chariot that was not ready for the competition. As a result, Pelops won solely thanks to this trick, but did not want to reward Mithril as expected, but simply killed him, receiving a family curse as Mithril’s dying cry. Thus, Pelops brought upon himself and his entire family the wrath of the gods.
3) Atreus and Thyestes are the sons of Pelops. They initially find themselves doomed to commit atrocities: Atreus received power in Mycenae, which is why his brother began to envy him. Thyestes stole his brother's son and instilled in him hatred of his father; as a result, the young man himself fell at the hands of his father, who did not know whom he was killing. Atreus, in revenge, prepared Thyestes a meal from his own sons. The gods cursed Atreus and sent a crop failure to his lands. To rectify the situation, it was necessary to return Thyestes to Mycenae, but Atreus found only his little son, Aegisthus, whom he raised himself. Then the sons of Atreus, Menelaus and Agamemnon, found Thyestes and called him to Mycenae. The brothers - Thyestes and Atreus - never made peace. Atreus ordered Aegisthus to kill Thyestes, who was imprisoned. However, Aegisthus learned that Thyestes was his father. Aegisthus killed Atreus's uncle. And he and his father began to rule together in Mycenae, and Agamemnon and Menelaus were forced to flee. Subsequently, Agamemnon overthrows Thyestes and takes the throne in Mycenae.
4) Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter to Artemis so that she will change her anger to mercy and allow Agamemnon’s ships to reach Troy. Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon, takes revenge on her husband when he returns from Troy for the death of his daughter. Together with Aegisthus, they seize power in Mycenae.
5) Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, almost suffered a terrible fate while still a child. He was the only heir of Agamemnon, so Clytemnestra was interested in him not being there. However, Orestes escapes and is raised for a long time by King Strophius in Phocis. At a conscious age, Orestes returns with his friend Pylades to Mycenae and kills Clytemnestra and Aegisthus as revenge for the death of Agamemnon. Orestes, as a matricide, is pursued by Erinyes, the goddess of revenge. The hero seeks salvation in the temple of Apollo, but Apollo sends him to Athens to the temple of Athena, where Athena institutes a trial over Orestes, during which Orestes is acquitted.
7) Orestes’ wanderings do not end there, and he is forced to go to Taurida for the sacred figurine of Artemis. On the island, he was almost sacrificed to the gods by his own sister Iphigenia, who turns out alive, despite the fact that Agamemnon sacrificed her to the gods (at the last moment, the gods, in order to prevent bloodshed, instead of Iphigenia put a doe on the altar, and Iphigenia is sent to Tauris as a priestess of the temple of Artemis). Orestes and Iphigenia recognize each other, flee Taurida and return to their homeland together.

The last episodes of the Atrid myth are reflected in Aeschylus' trilogy "Oresteia", consisting of parts "Agamemnon", "The Mourner" and "Eumenides", and in the tragedies of Sophocles "Electra" and Euripides "Iphigenia in Aulis", "Electra", "Orestes" ", "Iphigenia in Tauris". A direct comparison of the three author's points of view is possible at the level of Aeschylus's Oresteia and the two tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides.

Aeschylus
In order to understand Aeschylus' point of view, it is necessary to trace how the myth of the Atrids develops, starting with the first part of the trilogy.
The main characters of the first tragedy “Agamemnon” are King Agamemnon himself and his wife Clytemnestra. The events are tied to the tenth year of the Trojan War. Clytemnestra is plotting an evil plan against her husband, wanting to take revenge on him for the murder of her daughter Iphigenia, whom Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice in order to appease Artemis, by whose will his fleet could not go on a campaign against Troy. The king pursued public interests:
In the yoke of fate - once he harnessed his neck,
And a dark thought - once unfortunately,
Having become embittered, he declined, -
He became bold, began to breathe courage.
Having intended evil, a mortal dares: he will gain
The sick spirit is one rage.
This is the seed of sin and punishment!
Daughter condemned to execution by father
Avenger of the brotherly bed, -
If only we could start a war! (replica of the choir, reflecting the author’s position)
Clytemnestra could not come to terms with the death of her daughter and the injustice of fate. Judging by the text of Aeschylus’s tragedy, she was a willful and free woman; she did not want to wait for her husband’s return from the many years of war, and she took a lover in the person of Aegisthus, who was Agamemnon’s cousin. The heroine skillfully hides her feelings under the guise of external chastity.
The house is intact: the Tsarev’s seal has not been removed anywhere.
I wouldn’t be able to tint a copper alloy,
I don’t know such betrayal. Temptation is alien to me.
The slander goes numb. To an honest woman
With this truth, it seems, boasting is not shame.
Gradually, the author’s vision of the problem of the Atrid family is introduced into the tragedy; Aeschylus points to fate as an inevitably and eternally dominant force over all representatives of this family. The motif of fate appears in Aeschylus' tragedy at different levels. In particular, it appears in the remarks of the chorus of the first stasim, where it is said that the war with Troy was also inevitable, since Helen - the main culprit of the famous events - belonged to the Atrid family, since she was the wife of Menelaus, Agamemnon's brother.
She left, the gift of swords to her homeland
And the forest of spears, the sea path, leaving military work,
Bringing destruction to the Trojans as a dowry.
A bird fluttered from the towers! Threshold
The impenetrable has crossed...
It turns out that, through the prism of the author’s vision, the events taking place are dictated by fate and the gods, whom Aeschylus portrays as supreme beings with enormous influence on people. The narration is conducted in such a way that the representatives of the choir know in advance the whole situation unfolding before the reader; in their remarks, hints periodically arise of the terrible ending of the unfolding events:
Herald
Why were the citizens so destroyed? Is there fear for the army?
Leader of the choir
To avoid causing trouble, I’m used to being silent.
Herald
Without a king, did the people begin to fear the strong?
Leader of the choir
Like you, I will say: now even death is red to me.
So, Clytemnestra, as a cunning and dexterous woman, meets her husband with great pomp, skillfully playing the role of a happy wife who rejoiced at the return of her husband. The meeting turns out to be so magnificent that even Agamemnon himself becomes embarrassed in front of the gods for such a luxurious reception in his honor. Clytemnestra clouds his mind with her sweet speeches, and tells him that she sent their son Orestes away from Argos in order to avoid the terrible danger that seemed to await him, although the whole story was invented personally by Clytemnestra herself in order to be able to carry out her insidious plan.
Clytemnestra's true intentions are directly expressed only at the end of the second stasim, when she lures Agamemnon alone into the palace to fulfill her intention.
O supreme Zeus, Zeus the executor, accomplish it yourself,
What I pray for! Remember what you were destined to do!
The feeling of inevitability and tragedy is heightened by the introduction of another significant character into the tragedy - Cassandra, whom Agamemnon brings with him from Troy as a concubine. According to myth, Cassandra had the exceptional gift of seeing the future, but by the will of Apollo, no one believed her words. Thus, the heroine becomes an exponent of the true order of things in the tragedy:
A godless shelter, a concealer of evil deeds!
The house is a knacker! Executioners
Platform! Human slaughter, where you slide in blood.
<…>
Here they are, standing here, witnesses of blood!
Babies cry: "The body is for us
They cut us open and boiled us, and my father ate us."
The speeches of the choir representatives reach an emotional climax at the moment of the murder of Agamemnon, when it becomes clear that even the hero exalted by the gods in numerous battles will not escape the terrible fate of the entire Atrid family:
Exalted by the gods, he came home.
If the king is destined to atone with blood
Ancient blood and, saturating the shadows,
Bequeath blood vengeance to descendants:
Who will boast, hearing the legend that he himself
Is the original untouched by the infection? (remark from the choir leader)
Immediately after the murder, the reader learns about the internal state of Clytemnestra, who in the first hours after the terrible deed felt completely right and spotless before the gods; She justifies herself by saying that she was taking revenge on her husband for the death of her daughter. However, gradually Clytemnestra comes to the realization that her will was subordinated to the force of fate beyond her control:
Now you have found a fair word:
Navi is a demon in his family.
Weaned by blood drinking, but the stomach gnaws
A family infected with an insatiable worm.
And the festering sore in the groin did not heal,
How new ulcers have opened up.
The heroine awakens to fear for what she has done, she is already losing confidence in her rightness, although she is trying to convince herself and reassure herself that she did everything right. However, her remarks about the fate hanging over the family remain key:
It's none of my business, even if my hands are
They brought an ax.
Just think, old man: Agamemnon is my husband!
No! the evil spirit of the ancestral spirit has killed the fatal one,
An ancient ghoul - under the features of his wife -
For Atreev's massacre, parental sin,
Agamemnon as a gift
He gave it to the babies who were martyred.
At the end of the fourth stasim, Clytemnestra herself calls her act an obsession; she sees no way to correct what happened.
The tragedy of Agamemnon ends on neither a sad nor a happy note, which indicates that the main issue of the trilogy has not yet been resolved; further developments occur in the tragedy “The Mourners”.

The tragedy of “The Mourner,” unlike the previous one, reveals the images of two more heroes belonging to the Atride family - Electra and her brother Orestes. The action begins with Orestes arriving with his friend Pylades at his homeland to honor the memory of his father. At the same time, a choir of mourners led by Electra approaches the grave. The heroine complains about her unhappy fate, condemns her mother in every possible way for her actions: the murder of her legal husband, her new husband Aegisthus, cruel treatment, etc.
We were sold. We are homeless, without shelter.
Our mother drives us out of the doorway. I took my husband into the house.
Aegisthus is our stepfather, your enemy and destroyer.
I serve for a slave. Brother in a foreign land,
Robbed, disgraced. For luxury
Screw their arrogance that you have acquired through your labors. (Electra's speech)
Miraculously, a scene of recognition of brother and sister occurs, during which Electra for a long time did not want to believe the words of Orestes, and only indirect evidence managed to convince her, heartbroken, that her brother was really standing in front of her:
Orestes
Didn’t you recognize my cloak that you wove it yourself?
And who wove patterns of these animals on it?
Electra
My desired one, my beloved! You four times
My stronghold and hope; rock and happiness!
Brother and sister unite in their desire to avenge their father. On the one hand, the mourners in the choir convince the heroine of the need for revenge, on the other hand, the god Apollo calls on Orestes to pay tribute to his husband-killer mother. The decisive attitude and hatred of the mother, which grew over time, is passed on from Electra to Orestes. And the heroine’s complaints heat up the atmosphere:
Oh my mother, my evil mother,
You dared to turn the removal into dishonor!
Without citizens, without friends,
No crying, no prayers,
Atheist, bury the ruler in the dust!
Despite the fact that the heroes, at first glance, themselves take responsibility for everything that is destined to happen according to their plans, Aeschylus does not cease to include his key position in the chorus’s remarks, which is that all members of the Atrid family are doomed from the beginning to suffering and misfortune. Despite the apparent freedom of the heroes in making decisions, the motif of fate comes to the fore:
Choir
The destination has been waiting for a long time:
May Rock come to the challenge.
The chorus members are initially aware of how the events connecting Electra, Orestes and Clytemnestra will develop, however, in order to maintain intrigue and emotional intensity that arises almost from the very beginning of the tragedy, the chorus’s remarks are often not direct and sometimes ambiguous. Thus, thanks to the dialogue between the leader of the choir and Orestes, the reader learns that fate haunts Clytemnestra even in her dreams, because she saw a bad omen regarding her own death. In front of the false guest in the person of Orestes, she expresses artificial regret about the death of her son, while we learn about her true thoughts only from the speech of the maid:
...In front of the servants
She is heartbroken, and there is laughter in her eyes
Hiding under a frowning brow. Good luck to her
And at home there is mourning and final destruction, -
What the guests announced with clear speech. (Kilissa)
Meanwhile, a deception is being committed, which turns into another tragedy for the Atrid family in a series of terrible murders. The author, through replicas of the choir, continues to explain the events taking place by fate and divine will:
Destroy the enemy's power!
When the time comes to lower the sword
And the mother will cry out: “Have mercy, son!” -
Just remember your father
And don’t be afraid to strike: dare
The burden of accepting the curse!
And indeed, nothing stops Orestes from committing two murders - first of Aegisthus, and then of Clytemnestra’s mother. Orestes himself understands that he is to some extent weak-willed and, by killing his mother, shows an inability to resist the power of fate and divine influence, and completely refuses to think independently. At the moment of the murder, the hero utters the phrase: “I am not the murderer: you execute yourself,” which reflects the hero’s internal state, shows that the hero either does not think or does not worry about the fact that the murder will be followed by punishment from above. In addition, in Exod, the leader of the choir, among her final remarks, says:
You did the truth. Forbid your lips
To defame your sword. Evil will call forth a slander.
You freed the entire Argive people by cutting down
In one fell swoop, two dragon heads.
However, immediately after the crime, the hero is punished in the form of the terrible Erinyes pursuing him, who want to punish him for the bloody murder he committed. The work ends on a tragic note with a remark from the choir, which includes a question, the answer to which remains unclear:
Calm again - how long? And where will it lead?
And will the curse of the family die out?

The Oresteia trilogy ends with the tragedy of the Eumenides, where the main character is one of the few living descendants of the Atride family, Orestes. The central problem of tragedy is no longer so much the problem of fate as the problem of fair punishment.
Orestes, pursued by the Erinyes, does not find protection in the temple of his patron Apollo, who only briefly puts the Erinyes to sleep, thereby allowing Orestes to flee to Athens to the temple of Pallas Athena and seek protection there. Apollo takes responsibility for the crime committed, but this does not remove the guilt from the main character.
Apollo
I won't change you; your guardian to the end,
Representative and intercessor, am I approaching,
If I stand at a distance, I am threatening to your enemies.
Erinyes and Clytemnetstra, who appears in the tragedy in the form of a shadow coming from the underworld of Hades, thirst for revenge. Their main argument against Orestes is that he killed his mother, committed a blood crime, which cannot be compared with Clytemnestra’s crime - murder of husbands.
Accordingly, a confrontation arises between Apollo, who puts above all else “the oath that Zeus established / With the family Hero...”, and Erinyes, for whom “Manicide is not blood murder.”
Wise Athena decides to arrange a fair trial of Orestes and convenes judges and honorary citizens.
Aeschylus expresses his position in such a way as if he distances himself from what is happening in the tragedy and allows the heroes to solve problems on their own:
The old system has been overthrown,
The century has come - new truths,
If the court now decides:
Killing a mother is no sin,
Orestes is right.
At the trial, the votes are distributed equally, which allows the author to skillfully introduce into the work his vision of the problem of punishment, this time expressed in the remarks of Apollo and Athena:

Apollo
Not the mother of the child born from her,
Parent: no, she is a wet nurse
The perceived seed. Sower
Direct parent. Mother is like a gift, a pledge
Taken for safekeeping from a guest friend, -
What is conceived will flourish, unless God destroys it.

Athena
Everything masculine is kind, only marriage is alien to me;
I am courageous in heart, I am a desperate daughter.
Holier than my husband's blood, as I can honor
The wife who killed the landlord, blood?

Thus, Aeschylus' trilogy has a happy ending, although throughout the three tragedies the heroes had to experience many difficulties and face intractable tasks.
The author offers the reader his interpretation of the myth of the Atrids, the main feature of which is the belief in inevitable fate, in the virtual complete absence of a personal principle in the hero at the time of committing terrible crimes, as for Clytemnestra, within whom doubts quickly arose about her rightness, as soon as she committed a crime, whereas at the time of the murder she had no doubt at all that her act was justified, as well as Orestes, fulfilling the will of the gods in committing the murder of his own mother.

Sophocles
Sophocles also proposed his own dramatic interpretation of the myth of the Atrids in the tragedy “Electra”. From the title alone one can judge that the author’s embodiment of the ancient myth in this work will differ from that proposed by Aeschylus. Sophocles brings out the main character of the tragedy in the title, but from the plays of Aeschylus we know that Electra was not the main character even in the second part of the Oresteia - in The Mourners.
The tragedy opens with a prologue containing monologues of Orestes, Mentor and Electra. Already from the first speech of Orestes, the reader can understand what basic principles Sophocles was guided by when transposing the famous myth in his own way. The heroes of the tragedy are endowed with a large number of individual traits; they are free to make decisions themselves, and do not blindly obey the orders of the gods:
I visited the sanctuary of Python,
Trying to find out how I should take revenge
For the death of the father, how to repay the murderers -
And so the most luminous Phoebus answered me,
That by cunning, without troops, without weapons,
I must take righteous revenge myself. (Orestes speech)
Electra's speeches are not only full of tragedy, but also emotionally rich. Even at the level of purely visual perception of the text, it is difficult not to notice that the heroine’s remarks consist of a large number of exclamatory sentences and unfinished sentences that convey fluctuations in Electra’s internal state:
Ah, noble at heart
Girls! You console my sorrow...
I see and feel, believe me, it’s noticeable to me
Your participation... But no, I'm still
I will begin to moan about what was unfortunately lost
Father... Oh, let it be
We are bound by friendly tenderness in everything,
Leave it, give it to me
Grieve, I pray!..
Sophocles often resorted to the use of contrasts, which were a distinctive feature of his work, and therefore in Electra he uses this technique on many levels.
Thus, to embody the image of Electra, Sophocles introduces another female image into the work - Chrysothemis, Electra’s sister. Both girls experienced the same tragedy, but Chrysothemis accepted her bitter fate, while Electra did not. One sister thirsts for revenge, while the other urges her to calm down and silently endure the state of the humiliated, while the behavior of their mother Clytemnestra and Aegisthus only aggravates the situation, forcing Chrysothemis to suffer even more, and Electra to thirst for cruel revenge.
Chrysothemis
Why try to strike
When you have no strength? Live like me too...
However, I can only give advice,
And the choice is yours... To be free,
I submit, sister, to those in power.

Electra
A shame! Having forgotten such a father,
You please a criminal mother!
After all, all your admonitions are her
Prompted, the advice is not yours.

Sophocles brings to the fore not the problem of fate, as Aeschylus does, but the problem of the internal experience of murder, which seems unfair to Electra. Electra practically never leaves the stage, and the author conducts the entire course of the tragedy through her remarks. She is the only heroine to whom the full horror of what is happening is revealed, because she experiences not only the death of her father at the hands of her own mother, but also the lack of human conditions for life, which is caused by the will of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. However, the heroine is too weak to dare to take revenge on her own, and she does not find support in her sister.
In the tragedy “Electra,” Sophocles uses a number of traditional elements that go back to the works of Aeschylus: the prophetic dream of Clytemnestra, the false death of Orestes, the scene of recognition by a lock of hair, which, as we will see later, will be interpreted in a completely different way by Euripides.
As for the image of Clytemnestra, the author depicted her in a new way. The heroine is fully aware of the crime committed, but she does not experience pangs of conscience:
It's right,
Killed, I don't deny it. But she killed
Not only me: Truth killed him.
If you were smart, you would help her.
Electra cannot agree with her mother’s point of view, but not only because she is heartbroken, but also because she believes that her mother did not have the slightest right to raise a hand against her husband, that in addition to murder, she also committed betrayal of her entire family when placed Aegisthus, an unworthy husband, next to her.
Orestes and the Mentor come up with a tragic story about the alleged death of Orestes in order to lure Clytemnestra and Aegisthus into a trap. Electra has to go through another shock, but even after the news and death of her brother, it cannot be said that she is broken in spirit. She invites Chrysothemis to take just revenge with her, but the sister continues to stand in her position and urge Electra to abandon thoughts of revenge and obey the will of “those in power.”
Electra’s numerous dialogues with her sister, with Orestes (when she did not yet know that her brother was standing in front of her), reflect the emotional state of the main character, her unabated rebellious spirit, which became the key to understanding the author’s interpretation of the myth of Atrid. Sophocles allows the viewer to look into the soul of his heroine - he makes her lines so alive. It becomes clear that for the author of “Electra” it is not so much the twisted and complex plot that is important, but the detail of the characters’ images and their believability. The main subject of Sophocles' depiction is feelings.
The scene of recognition of the heroes occurs not so magnificently, but more vitally - Electra recognizes her brother by her father’s ring. They agree on how they will take revenge, but even here, despite the similarity of the plot lines with the tragedy of Aeschylus, Sophocles introduces a number of his own elements. An interesting detail is that Orestes asks his sister not to reveal her joyful feelings to others for the time being, so that no one - and mainly Clytemnestra and Aegisthus - would suspect something was wrong while Orestes prepares revenge on them. Ultimately, Orestes kills his mother and then Aegisthus. And the final conclusion sounded in the last replica of the choir is this:
O Atreev, who has known all calamities, O race!
Finally you have achieved the desired freedom, -
Happy with the current situation.
It must be said that such a sequence of murders (first Clytemnestra, and then Aegisthus) is found only in Sophocles. It can be assumed that such a rejection of the traditional arrangement of plot elements reflects the author’s desire to show that for him this order does not play such a major role, that for him it is much more important to reveal the image of Electra.
Thus, apparently, Sophocles does not consider it necessary to continue further development of the plot, as Aeschylus did, because he achieved his main goal - the multifaceted and complex character of the main character was revealed. The myth itself acquires a more everyday and reduced sound in contrast to the work of Aeschylus, however, the wealth of images and artistic techniques allows us to call Sophocles a great Greek tragedian.

Euripides
Another ancient Greek tragedy dedicated to the theme of the Atride family is rightfully considered “Electra” by Euripides, written in a fundamentally different manner compared to the previously discussed works. It is obvious that Euripides relied on the experience of his predecessors, but he also showed a lot of originality in his interpretation of the myth of Atrid. Mainly, in his interpretation, the author enters into polemics with Aeschylus. In addition, the question of which “Electra” was written earlier - Sophocles or Euripides - remains open.
The images of characters already known to us are unique. Electra especially stands out from the general background, who in the tragedy of Euripides unexpectedly turns out to be the wife of a simple plowman. Aegisthus, afraid of revenge from his new “relatives,” comes up with a very specific way to protect himself from danger from Electra - he passes her off as a simple person without family or name, assuming that he will not take revenge, since, as a simple person from the people, will not be filled with high feelings, will not strive to restore the honor and nobility of his wife.
Aegisthus
He hoped that by betrothing the princess
Insignificant, it will reduce to nothing
And the danger itself. After all, perhaps
A noble son-in-law would give wings to the rumor,
He would threaten the killer of his father-in-law with punishment... (replica of the choir)
In a unique way, Euripides introduces the motif of recognition of heroes into the work: the author enters into a polemic with Aeschylus, emphasizing the naivety and frivolity of the depiction of the meeting of recognition in the tragedy “The Mourners”. In Aeschylus, Electra recognizes Orestes by the clothes that he himself once wove. According to the myth, we remember that brother and sister separated a long time ago, so it would be unreasonable to assume that since then Orestes has not grown up or worn out his clothes. Aeschylus allows for artistic convention, because focuses his attention on other aspects of the work, but on the basis of this, the following lines appear in Euripides’ Electra:

Old man
And if you compare the footprint of the sandal
With your leg, child, can we find similarities?
<…>
Say again: the work of children's hands,
Do you recognize Orest's clothes?
which you wove for him
Before I carry it to Phocis?
Ultimately, Orestes is recognized by a scar received as a child. Perhaps in this case we are dealing with a connection between the motive of recognition in Euripides and a similar one in Homer, because Odysseus is also recognized by his scar. Thus, we can say that in some ways Euripides, entering into polemics with Aeschylus and Sophocles, turned to an ancient perfect model - the Homeric epic.
In Euripides' tragedy, Electra shows cruelty towards her mother, although she does not provide specific arguments in defense of her point of view. She evaluates her with contempt:
What do she care about children, if only she had husbands...
Together with Orestes, they embark on a cruel plan of reprisal, and Orestes, not yet being recognized, finds out the position of his sister, and she directly expresses her readiness with the words: “The ax is ready, and the blood of the father is not washed away.”
Unlike previous dramas, in Euripides it turns out that all responsibility for the future murders falls on the shoulders of Orestes and Electra, because There are not enough arguments to find Clytemnestra guilty of all the troubles of the Atrid family.
O our father, who has seen the underground darkness,
Killed by misfortune, oh earth -
Lady, my hands are stretched out to you,
Save the king's children - he loved us. (replica of Orestes)
The scene of Orestes killing Aegisthus is depicted with amazing accuracy and with a large amount of detail:
And just above the heart
He bowed attentively, Orestes
The knife also rose on tiptoe
Hit the Tsar in the scruff of the neck, and with a blow
It breaks his back. The enemy has collapsed
And he tossed about in agony, dying. (replica of the Herald)
Electra, with genuine interest, finds out the details of the murder of Aegisthus. Only the mother remains - Clytemnestra. Before committing the murder, feelings awaken in Orestes, he begins to doubt whether he is really right in committing a terrible blood murder. Those. it is implied that Euripides' hero acted not according to the will of the gods, but according to his own conviction.
In this case, Clytemnestra is portrayed as the most sensible person, capable of explaining the reason for her actions:
Oh, I would forgive everything if the city
Otherwise they wouldn’t have taken it if the house
Or did he save the children with this sacrifice,
But he killed the little one for his wife
Depraved, because her husband didn’t understand
The traitor deserves to be punished.
Oh, I kept silent then - I'm heading towards oblivion
I was already preparing my heart to execute
Atrida did not get ready. But from Troy
The king brought a mad maenad
On the wedding bed and stood in the chamber
Keep two wives. O wives, our destiny is
Blind passion. Even if careless
My husband will show us coldness, now
To spite him we take a lover,
And then everyone blames us for everything,
Forgetting the instigators of the offense...
The exponent of the truth, which reflects the author’s point of view, is Corypheus, who responds to Clytemnestra’s speech in the following way:
Yes, you're right, but the truth is your shame:
No, women, if they are mentally healthy,
Submit to your husbands in everything, O sick people
I won't say - those from the accounts...
Clytemnestra sincerely regrets what she did, but Electra remains implacable, as if there was nothing alive in her. “She is in the hands of children - oh, a bitter lot!” - this is how the author characterizes her situation. The author focuses on the fact that all the misfortunes of the Atrid family are connected not so much with fate, but with the personal will of representatives of the same family. That is why the phrase in the exode reads:
There is no home, no one is more unhappy than you,
House of Tantalus... it couldn't be more unfortunate...
Orestes experiences internal disagreements after committing a murder and is put on trial. The author only briefly introduces the story of Orestes' trial and forgiveness, whereas for Aeschylus this topic is the theme of an entire tragedy. Thus, it is obvious that Euripides’ dramatic interpretation of the myth of Atrid differs significantly from the interpretations of Aeschylus and Sophocles, which allows us to talk about the development of a theatrical tradition and the emergence of a wide variety of heroes.
The problems that Euripides raises are embodied, at first glance, as everyday ones (which is facilitated by the specific manner of narration and the images of the heroes), although, of course, such simplicity hides the author’s deep vision of how life works, what place is assigned to fate and fate in it , and what about the heroes’ own decisions.

Conclusions:
1) Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, who lived in the same era, used similar material to create their works. However, each of the authors has their own interpretation of various myths, in this case using the example of the myth of Atrid, and it is determined by the author’s vision of the problems raised in their works and the artistic preferences of each of them.

2) For Aeschylus, the key concept was fate, although one cannot completely deny the author’s attempts to individualize the characters, but nevertheless, predominantly the heroes act not according to their own will, but according to what fate is destined for them, or according to what order they received from the gods . It can also be assumed with considerable probability that in the third part of the Oresteia trilogy, the author sought to express his socio-political views, giving a significant role to the Areopagus in his tragedy. Here we can also talk about the expression of the author’s moral position: Orestes is acquitted if the votes are equal, we can talk about the entry of the court of conscience, in which the decision on the issue of “shed blood” is given to the Areopagus. The tragedy of Aeschylus was in tune with the time in which it was created. Thus, the author’s interpretation allows him, in addition to directly mythological elements, to bring a lot of personality into the work.

3) For Sophocles, the key element of the tragedy of Electra is the detailed depiction of one image, which practically does not disappear from the stage throughout the entire action of the tragedy. The play of contrasts allows Sophocles to introduce new techniques for depicting images into literature, to show that myth does not at all limit the scope of the work and the breadth of disclosure of images.

4) Euripides is most characterized by an innovative approach to the interpretation of myth, because he is the furthest away from the traditional interpretation of the Atrid myth. But at the same time, he brings a lot of new things to the tragedy as a whole, because even at the level of the tragedy “Electra” one can notice an increased interest not so much in social problems as in the problems of a specific individual. The concept of fate and destiny fades into the background, the heroes become more independent.

The following translations of works were used in the work:
Aeschylus "Oresteia" - Vyach. Ivanov.
Sophocles “Electra” - S. Shervinsky.
Euripides "Electra" - I. Annensky

16. Ancient Greek tragedy. Sophocles and Euripides.

Tragedy. The tragedy comes from ritual actions in honor of Dionysus. Participants in these actions wore masks with goat beards and horns, depicting Dionysus' companions - satyrs. Ritual performances took place during the Great and Lesser Dionysias. Songs in honor of Dionysus were called dithyrambs in Greece. The dithyramb, as Aristotle points out, is the basis of Greek tragedy, which at first retained all the features of the myth of Dionysus. The first tragedies set forth myths about Dionysus: about his suffering, death, resurrection, struggle and victory over his enemies. But then poets began to draw content for their works from other legends. In this regard, the choir began to portray not satyrs, but other mythical creatures or people, depending on the content of the play.

Origin and essence. The tragedy arose from solemn chants. She retained their majesty and seriousness; her heroes became strong personalities, endowed with a strong-willed character and great passions. Greek tragedy always depicted some particularly difficult moments in the life of an entire state or an individual, terrible Crimes, misfortunes and deep moral suffering. There was no place for jokes or laughter.

System. The tragedy begins with a (declamatory) prologue, followed by the entrance of the choir with a song (parod), then episodies (episodes), which are interrupted by the songs of the choir (stasims), the last part is the final stasim (usually solved in the genre of commos) and departure actors and choir - exod. Choral songs divided the tragedy in this way into parts, which in modern drama are called acts. The number of parts varied even among the same author. The three unities of Greek tragedy: place, action and time (the action could only take place from sunrise to sunset), which were supposed to strengthen the illusion of the reality of the action. The unity of time and place significantly limited the development of dramatic elements at the expense of epic ones, which is characteristic of the evolution of the genus. A number of events necessary in the drama, the depiction of which would violate unity, could only be reported to the viewer. The so-called “messengers” told about what was happening off stage.

Greek tragedy was greatly influenced by Homeric epic. Tragedians borrowed a lot of legends from him. The characters often used expressions borrowed from the Iliad. For dialogues and songs of the choir, playwrights (they are also melurgists, since the poems and music were written by the same person - the author of the tragedy) used iambic trimeter as a form close to living speech (for the differences in dialects in certain parts of the tragedy, see the ancient Greek language ). The tragedy reached its greatest flowering in the 5th century. BC e. in the works of three Athenian poets: Sophocles and Euripides.

Sophocles In Sophocles' tragedies, the main thing is not the external course of events, but the internal torment of the heroes. Sophocles usually explains the general meaning of the plot right away. The external outcome of his plot is almost always easy to predict. Sophocles carefully avoids complicated complications and surprises. His main feature is his tendency to portray people with all their inherent weaknesses, hesitations, mistakes, and sometimes crimes. Sophocles' characters are not general abstract embodiments of certain vices, virtues or ideas. Each of them has a bright personality. Sophocles almost deprives the legendary heroes of their mythical superhumanity. The catastrophes that befall Sophocles' heroes are prepared by the properties of their characters and circumstances, but they are always retribution for the guilt of the hero himself, as in Ajax, or his ancestors, as in Oedipus the King and Antigone. In accordance with the Athenian penchant for dialectics, Sophocles' tragedies develop in a verbal competition between two opponents. It helps the viewer become more aware of whether they are right or wrong. In Sophocles, verbal discussions are not the center of dramas. Scenes filled with deep pathos and at the same time devoid of Euripidean pomposity and rhetoric are found in all the tragedies of Sophocles that have come down to us. Sophocles' heroes experience severe mental anguish, but the positive characters even in them retain full consciousness of their rightness.

« Antigone" (about 442). The plot of "Antigone" belongs to the Theban cycle and is a direct continuation of the tale of the war of the "Seven against Thebes" and the duel between Eteocles and Polyneices. After the death of both brothers, the new ruler of Thebes, Creon, buried Eteocles with due honors, and forbade the body of Polyneices, who went to war against Thebes, to be buried, threatening the disobedient with death. The sister of the victims, Antigone, violated the ban and buried the politician. Sophocles developed this plot from the angle of the conflict between human laws and the “unwritten laws” of religion and morality. The question was relevant: defenders of polis traditions considered “unwritten laws” to be “divinely established” and inviolable, in contrast to the changeable laws of people. Conservative in religious matters, Athenian democracy also demanded respect for “unwritten laws.” The prologue to Antigone also contains another feature that is very common in Sophocles - the opposition of harsh and soft characters: the adamant Antigone is contrasted with the timid Ismene, who sympathizes with her sister, but does not dare to act with her. Antigone puts her plan into action; she covers Polynices' body with a thin layer of earth, that is, she performs a symbolic burial, which, according to Greek ideas, was sufficient to calm the soul of the deceased. The interpretation of Sophocles' Antigone remained for many years in the direction laid down by Hegel; it is still adhered to by many reputable researchers3. As is known, Hegel saw in Antigone an irreconcilable collision of the idea of ​​statehood with the demand that blood-related ties place on a person: Antigone, who dares to bury her brother in defiance of the royal decree, dies in an unequal struggle with the principle of statehood, but the king Creon, who personifies him, also loses in this clash only son and wife, coming to the end of the tragedy broken and devastated. If Antigone is physically dead, then Creon is crushed morally and awaits death as a blessing (1306-1311). The sacrifices made by the Theban king on the altar of statehood are so significant (let’s not forget that Antigone is his niece) that sometimes he is considered the main hero of the tragedy, who supposedly defends the interests of the state with such reckless determination. It is worth, however, carefully reading the text of Sophocles’ “Antigone” and imagining how it sounded in the specific historical setting of ancient Athens in the late 40s of the 5th century BC. e., so that the interpretation of Hegel loses all the power of evidence.

Analysis of "Antigone" in connection with the specific historical situation in Athens in the 40s of the 5th century BC. e. shows the complete inapplicability of modern concepts of state and individual morality to this tragedy. In Antigone there is no conflict between state and divine law, because for Sophocles the true state law was built on the basis of the divine. In Antigone there is no conflict between the state and the family, because for Sophocles the duty of the state was to protect the natural rights of the family, and no Greek state prohibited citizens from burying their relatives. Antigone reveals the conflict between natural, divine and therefore truly state law and an individual who takes upon himself the courage to represent the state contrary to natural and divine law. Who has the upper hand in this clash? In any case, not Creon, despite the desire of a number of researchers to make him the true hero of the tragedy; Creon's final moral collapse testifies to his complete failure. But can we consider Antigone the winner, alone in unrequited heroism and ingloriously ending her life in a dark dungeon? Here we need to take a closer look at what place her image occupies in the tragedy and by what means it was created. In quantitative terms, Antigone's role is very small - only about two hundred verses, almost two times less than Creon's. In addition, the entire last third of the tragedy, leading the action to the denouement, occurs without her participation. With all this, Sophocles not only convinces the viewer that Antigone is right, but also instills in him deep sympathy for the girl and admiration for her dedication, inflexibility, and fearlessness in the face of death. Antigone's unusually sincere, deeply touching complaints occupy a very important place in the structure of the tragedy. First of all, they deprive her image of any touch of sacrificial asceticism that might arise from the first scenes where she so often confirms her readiness for death. Antigone appears before the viewer as a full-blooded, living person, to whom nothing human is alien either in thoughts or feelings. The more saturated the image of Antigone is with such sensations, the more impressive is her unshakable loyalty to her moral duty. Sophocles quite consciously and purposefully creates an atmosphere of imaginary loneliness around his heroine, because in such an environment her heroic nature is fully manifested. Of course, it was not in vain that Sophocles forced his heroine to die, despite her obvious moral rightness - he saw what a threat to Athenian democracy, which stimulated the comprehensive development of the individual, was at the same time fraught with the hypertrophied self-determination of this individual in her desire to subjugate the natural rights of man. However, not everything in these laws seemed completely explicable to Sophocles, and the best evidence of this is the problematic nature of human knowledge, already emerging in Antigone. In his famous “hymn to man,” Sophocles ranked “thought as swift as the wind” (phronema) among the greatest achievements of the human race (353-355), joining his predecessor Aeschylus in assessing the capabilities of the mind. If Creon’s fall is not rooted in the unknowability of the world (his attitude towards the murdered Polyneices is in clear contradiction with generally known moral norms), then the situation with Antigone is more complicated. Like Yemena at the beginning of the tragedy, so subsequently Creon and the chorus consider her act a sign of recklessness22, and Antigone is aware that her behavior can be regarded in exactly this way (95, cf. 557). The essence of the problem is formulated in the couplet that ends Antigone’s first monologue: although her act seems stupid to Creon, it seems that the accusation of stupidity comes from a fool (469 ff.). The ending of the tragedy shows that Antigone was not mistaken: Creon pays for his foolishness, and we must give the girl’s feat the full measure of heroic “reasonableness,” since her behavior coincides with the objectively existing, eternal divine law. But since Antigone is awarded not glory but death for her fidelity to this law, she has to question the reasonableness of such an outcome. “What law of the gods did I break? - Antigone therefore asks. “Why should I, unfortunate one, still look to the gods, what allies should I call for help if, by acting piously, I have earned the accusation of impiety?” (921-924). “Look, elders of Thebes... what I endure - and from such a person! - although I revered heaven piously.” For the hero of Aeschylus, piety guaranteed final triumph, for Antigonus it leads to a shameful death; the subjective “reasonableness” of human behavior leads to an objectively tragic result - a contradiction arises between human and divine reason, the resolution of which is achieved at the cost of self-sacrifice of heroic individuality Euripides. (480 BC – 406 BC). Almost all of Euripides' surviving plays were created during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, which had a huge influence on all aspects of life in ancient Hellas. And the first feature of Euripides’ tragedies is the burning modernity: heroic-patriotic motives, hostile attitude towards Sparta, the crisis of ancient slave-owning democracy, the first crisis of religious consciousness associated with the rapid development of materialist philosophy, etc. In this regard, Euripides’ attitude to mythology is especially indicative: myth becomes for the playwright only material for reflecting modern events; he allows himself to change not only minor details of classical mythology, but also to give unexpected rational interpretations of well-known plots (for example, in Iphigenia in Tauris, human sacrifices are explained by the cruel customs of the barbarians). The gods in the works of Euripides often appear more cruel, insidious and vengeful than people (Hippolytus, Hercules, etc.). It is precisely because of this that the “dues ex machina” (“God from the machine”) technique became so widespread in the dramaturgy of Euripides, when at the end of the work a suddenly appearing God hastily administers justice. In Euripides' interpretation, divine providence could hardly consciously care about the restoration of justice. However, the main innovation of Euripides, which caused rejection among most of his contemporaries, was the depiction of human characters. Euripides, as Aristotle noted in his Poetics, brought people onto the stage as they are in life. The heroes and especially the heroines of Euripides do not at all have integrity, their characters are complex and contradictory, and high feelings, passions, thoughts are closely intertwined with base ones. This gave the tragic characters of Euripides versatility, evoking a complex range of feelings in the audience - from empathy to horror. Expanding the palette of theatrical and visual means, he widely used everyday vocabulary; along with the choir, increased the volume of the so-called. monody (solo singing by an actor in a tragedy). Monodies were introduced into theatrical use by Sophocles, but the widespread use of this technique is associated with the name of Euripides. The clash of opposing positions of characters in the so-called. Euripides aggravated agons (verbal competitions of characters) through the use of stichomythia, i.e. exchange of poems between participants in the dialogue.

Medea. The image of a suffering person is the most characteristic feature of Euripides's work. Man himself contains forces that can plunge him into the abyss of suffering. Such a person is, in particular, Medea - the heroine of the tragedy of the same name, staged in 431. The sorceress Medea, the daughter of the Colchis king, fell in love with Jason, who arrived in Colchis, and provided him with invaluable help, teaching him to overcome all obstacles and get the Golden Fleece. She sacrificed her homeland, maiden honor, and good name to Jason; the more difficult Medea now experiences Jason’s desire to leave her with two sons after several years of happy family life and marry the daughter of the Corinthian king, who also orders Medea and the children to get out of his country. An insulted and abandoned woman is concocting a terrible plan: not only to destroy her rival, but also to kill her own children; this way she can take full revenge on Jason. The first half of this plan is carried out without much difficulty: having supposedly resigned herself to her situation, Medea, through her children, sends Jason’s bride an expensive outfit soaked in poison. The gift was favorably accepted, and now Medea faces the most difficult test - she must kill the children. The thirst for revenge fights in her with her maternal feelings, and she changes her decision four times until a messenger appears with a menacing message: the princess and her father died in terrible agony from poison, and a crowd of angry Corinthians is rushing to Medea’s house to deal with her and her children. . Now, when the boys are facing imminent death, Medea finally decides to commit a terrible crime. Before Jason returning in anger and despair, Medea appears on a magic chariot floating in the air; on the mother's lap are the corpses of the children she killed. The atmosphere of magic surrounding the ending of the tragedy and, to some extent, the appearance of Medea herself, cannot hide the deeply human content of her image. Unlike the heroes of Sophocles, who never deviate from the path once chosen, Medea is shown in repeated transitions from furious anger to pleas, from indignation to imaginary humility, in the struggle of conflicting feelings and thoughts. The deepest tragedy of the image of Medea is also given by sad reflections on the lot of a woman, whose position in the Athenian family was indeed unenviable: being under the vigilant supervision of first her parents and then her husband, she was doomed to remain a recluse in the female half of the house all her life. In addition, when getting married, no one asked the girl about her feelings: marriages were concluded by parents who were striving for a deal beneficial to both parties. Medea sees the deep injustice of this state of affairs, which places a woman at the mercy of a stranger, a person unfamiliar to her, who is often not inclined to burden himself too much with marriage ties.

Yes, between those who breathe and those who think, We women are none more unhappy. We pay for our husbands, and not cheaply. And if you buy it, then he is your master, not a slave... After all, a husband, when he is tired of the hearth, On the side with love his heart is soothed, They have friends and peers, but we have to look into our eyes hateful. The everyday atmosphere of Euripides's contemporary Athens also affected the image of Jason, which was far from any idealization. A selfish careerist, a student of the sophists, who knows how to turn any argument in his favor, he either justifies his treachery with references to the well-being of the children, for whom his marriage should provide civil rights in Corinth, or explains the help he once received from Medea by the omnipotence of Cypris. The unusual interpretation of the mythological legend and the internally contradictory image of Medea were assessed by Euripides' contemporaries in a completely different way than by subsequent generations of viewers and readers. The ancient aesthetics of the classical period assumed that in the struggle for the marital bed, an offended woman has the right to take the most extreme measures against her husband who cheated on her and her rival. But the revenge to which one’s own children become victims did not fit into aesthetic norms that required internal integrity from the tragic hero. Therefore, the famous “Medea” ended up only in third place during its first production, i.e., in essence, it was a failure.

17. Ancient geocultural space. Phases of development of ancient civilization Cattle breeding, agriculture, metal mining in mines, crafts, and trade developed intensively. The patriarchal tribal organization of society was disintegrating. The wealth inequality of families grew. The clan nobility, which had increased its wealth through the widespread use of slave labor, fought for power. Public life proceeded rapidly - in social conflicts, wars, unrest, political upheavals. Ancient culture throughout its existence remained in the embrace of mythology. However, the dynamics of social life, the complication of social relations, and the growth of knowledge undermined the archaic forms of mythological thinking. Having learned from the Phoenicians the art of alphabetical writing and improved it by introducing letters denoting vowel sounds, the Greeks were able to record and accumulate historical, geographical, astronomical information, collect observations regarding natural phenomena, technical inventions, morals and customs of people. The need to maintain public order in the state demanded the replacement of unwritten tribal norms of behavior enshrined in myths with logically clear and orderly codes of laws. Public political life stimulated the development of oratory skills, the ability to persuade people, contributing to the growth of a culture of thinking and speech. The improvement of production and handicraft labor, urban construction, and military art increasingly went beyond the framework of ritual and ceremonial models consecrated by myth. Signs of civilization: *separation of physical and mental labor; *writing; *the emergence of cities as centers of cultural and economic life. Features of civilization: -the presence of a center with the concentration of all spheres of life and their weakening on the periphery (when urban residents of small towns are called “villages”); -ethnic core (people) - in Ancient Rome - the Romans, in Ancient Greece - the Hellenes (Greeks); -formed ideological system (religion); -tendency to expand (geographically, culturally); cities; -a single information field with language and writing; -formation of external trade relations and zones of influence; -stages of development (growth - peak of prosperity - decline, death or transformation). Features of ancient civilization: 1) Agricultural basis. Mediterranean triad - growing grains, grapes and olives without artificial irrigation. 2) Private property relations, the dominance of private commodity production, oriented primarily to the market, emerged. 3) “polis” - “city-state”, covering the city itself and the territory adjacent to it. Polis were the first republics in the history of all mankind. The ancient form of land ownership dominated in the polis community; it was used by those who were members of the civil community. Under the policy system, hoarding was condemned. In most policies, the supreme body of power was the people's assembly. He had the right to make final decisions on the most important policy issues. The polis represented an almost complete coincidence of political structure, military organization and civil society. 4) In the field of development of material culture, the emergence of new technology and material values ​​was noted, crafts developed, sea harbors were built and new cities arose, and maritime transport was built. Periodization of ancient culture: 1) Homeric era (XI-IX centuries BC) The main form of public control is the “culture of shame” - the immediate condemning reaction of the people to the deviation of the hero’s behavior from the norm. Gods are regarded as part of nature; man, while worshiping the gods, can and should build relationships with them rationally. The Homeric era demonstrates competition (agon) as the norm of cultural creativity and lays the agonistic foundation of the entire European culture 2) Archaic era (VIII-VI centuries BC) The result of a new type of social relations is the law “nomos” as an impersonal legal norm, equally binding for everyone. A society is being formed in which every full-fledged citizen is an owner and politician, expressing private interests through the maintenance of public ones, and peaceful virtues are brought to the fore. The gods protect and support a new social and natural order (cosmos), in which relationships are regulated by the principles of cosmic compensation and measures and are subject to rational comprehension in various natural philosophical systems. 3) The Classical Age (5th century BC) - the rise of the Greek genius in all areas of culture - art, literature, philosophy and science. On the initiative of Pericles, the Parthenon, the famous temple in honor of Athena the Virgin, was erected in the center of Athens on the acropolis. Tragedies, comedies and satyr dramas were staged in the Athenian theater. The victory of the Greeks over the Persians, the awareness of the advantages of law over arbitrariness and despotism contributed to the formation of the idea of ​​​​man as an independent (autarkic) personality. The law acquires the character of a rational legal idea, subject to discussion. In the era of Pericles, social life serves the self-development of man. At the same time, the problems of human individualism began to be realized, and the problem of the unconscious was revealed to the Greeks. 4) Hellenistic era (IV century BC) examples of Greek culture spread throughout the world as a result of the aggressive campaigns of Alexander the Great. But at the same time, the ancient city policies lost their former independence. Ancient Rome took up the cultural baton. The main cultural achievements of Rome date back to the era of the empire, when the cult of practicality, state, and law dominated. The main virtues were politics, war, governance.

Theater as an art form

Theater (Greek θέατρον - the main meaning is a place for spectacles, then - spectacle, from θεάομαι - I look, I see) - a spectacular form of art, which is a synthesis of various arts - literature, music, choreography, vocals, visual arts and others, and has its own specificity: the reflection of reality, conflicts, characters, as well as their interpretation and evaluation, the affirmation of certain ideas here occurs through dramatic action, the main bearer of which is the actor.

The generic concept of “theater” includes its various types: drama theater, opera, ballet, puppet theater, pantomime theater, etc.

At all times, theater has been a collective art; In a modern theater, in addition to the actors and the director (conductor, choreographer), the creation of a performance involves a set designer, composer, choreographer, as well as prop makers, costume designers, make-up artists, stagehands, and lighting technicians.

The development of theater has always been inseparable from the development of society and the state of culture as a whole - its flourishing or decline, the predominance of certain artistic trends in the theater and its role in the spiritual life of the country were associated with the peculiarities of social development.

The theater was born from the most ancient hunting, agricultural and other ritual festivals, which in allegorical form reproduced natural phenomena or labor processes. However, ritual performances in themselves were not yet theater: according to art historians, theater begins where the viewer appears - it involves not only collective efforts in the process of creating a work, but also collective perception, and the theater achieves its aesthetic goal only in that case , if the stage action resonates with the audience.

In the early stages of the development of the theater - in folk festivals, singing, dancing, music and dramatic action existed in an inextricable unity; in the process of further development and professionalization, the theater lost its original synthetism, three main types were formed: drama theatre, opera and ballet, as well as some intermediate forms

Theater of Ancient Greece.

Theater in Ancient Greece Theater in Ancient Greece originates from festivities in honor of Dionysus. Theaters were built in the open air, so they could accommodate a large number of spectators. The art of theater in Ancient Greece is believed to have its origins in mythology. Greek tragedy began to develop rapidly, so not only the life of Dionysus was told, but also about other heroes.

Greek tragedy was constantly replenished with mythological subjects, since they had deep expressiveness. Mythology was formed at a time when the people had a desire to explain the essence of the world. In Greece, it was not forbidden to depict gods as people.

The comedies contained religious and everyday motives. Over time, everyday motives became the only ones. But they were dedicated to Dionysus. The actors acted out comedic everyday scenes. Elements of political and social satire also began to appear in comedy. The actors raised questions about the activities of certain institutions, the conduct of the war, foreign policy, and the political system.

With the development of dramaturgy, production techniques also developed. In the early stages, decorations were used that were wooden structures. Then painted decorations began to appear. Painted canvases and boards were placed between the columns. Over time, theater machines began to be used. The most commonly used platforms were retractable platforms on low wheels and machines that allowed the actor to rise into the air.

Theaters were built so that there was good audibility. To amplify the sound, resonating vessels were placed in the middle of the hall. There was no curtain in the theaters. Usually 3 people took part in the production. The same actor could play several roles. Extras played silent roles. There were no women in the theater at that time.

Women's roles were played by men. The actors had to have good diction, and they also had to be able to sing - arias were performed in pathetic places. Voice exercises were developed for actors. Over time, dance elements began to be introduced into the plays, so the actors learned to control their bodies. The Greek actors wore masks. They could not express anger, admiration or surprise through facial expressions. The actors had to work on expressive movements and gestures.

The performance in the theater lasted from dawn to dusk. The spectators who were in the theater also ate and drank there. The townspeople put on their best clothes and wore ivy wreaths. Plays were presented by lot. If the audience liked the performance, they applauded and shouted loudly. If the play was uninteresting, the audience would scream, stamp their feet, and whistle. Actors could be chased off stage and thrown stones. The playwright's success depended on the audience.

The works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes.

This list can include such famous ancient authors as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Aristotle. They all wrote plays for performances at festivals. There were, of course, many more authors of dramatic works, but either their works did not survive to this day, or their names were forgotten.

In the work of ancient Greek playwrights, despite all the differences, there was much in common, for example, the desire to show all the most significant social, political and ethical problems that worried the minds of the Athenians at that time. No significant works were created in the genre of tragedy in Ancient Greece. Over time, the tragedy became a purely literary work intended for reading. But great prospects opened up for everyday drama, which flourished most in the middle of the 4th century BC. e. It was later called “Novo-Attic comedy.”

Aeschylus

Aeschylus (Fig. 3) was born in 525 BC. e. at Eleusis, near Athens. He came from a noble family, so he received a good education. The beginning of his work dates back to the war of Athens against Persia. From historical documents it is known that Aeschylus himself took part in the battles of Marathon and Salamis.

He described the last of the wars as an eyewitness in his play “The Persians.” This tragedy was staged in 472 BC. e. In total, Aeschylus wrote about 80 works. Among them were not only tragedies, but also satirical dramas. Only 7 tragedies have survived to this day in full; only small pieces have survived from the rest.

The works of Aeschylus show not only people, but also gods and titans who personify moral, political and social ideas. The playwright himself had a religious-mythological credo. He firmly believed that the gods rule life and the world. However, the people in his plays are not weak-willed creatures who are blindly subordinate to the gods. Aeschylus endowed them with reason and will, they act guided by their thoughts.

In Aeschylus' tragedies, the chorus plays a significant role in the development of the theme. All choir parts are written in pathetic language. At the same time, the author gradually began to introduce into the narrative outline pictures of human existence that were quite realistic. An example is the description of the battle between the Greeks and Persians in the play “The Persians” or the words of sympathy expressed by the Oceanids to Prometheus.

To enhance the tragic conflict and for a more complete action of the theatrical production, Aeschylus introduced the role of a second actor. At that time it was simply a revolutionary move. Now, instead of the old tragedy, which had little action, a single actor and chorus, new dramas appeared. In them, the worldviews of the heroes collided, independently motivating their actions and actions. But Aeschylus' tragedies still retained in their construction traces of the fact that they originated from a dithyramb.

The structure of all tragedies was the same. They began with a prologue, which set up the plot. After the prologue, the choir entered the orchestra to remain there until the end of the play. Then came the episodes, which were dialogues between the actors. The episodes were separated from each other by stasims - songs of the choir, performed after the choir entered the orchestra. The final part of the tragedy, when the choir left the orchestra, was called “exodus”. As a rule, a tragedy consisted of 3–4 episodies and 3–4 stasims.

Stasims, in turn, were divided into separate parts, consisting of stanzas and antistrophes, which strictly corresponded to each other. The word "stanza" translated into Russian means "turn". When the choir sang through the stanzas, it moved first one way and then the other. Most often, the choir’s songs were performed to the accompaniment of a flute and were always accompanied by dances called “emmeleya”.

In the play “The Persians,” Aeschylus glorified the victory of Athens over Persia in the naval battle of Salamis. A strong patriotic feeling runs through the entire work, i.e. the author shows that the victory of the Greeks over the Persians is the result of the fact that democratic orders existed in the country of the Greeks.

In the work of Aeschylus, a special place is given to the tragedy “Prometheus Bound”. In this work, the author showed Zeus not as a bearer of truth and justice, but as a cruel tyrant who wants to wipe out all people from the face of the earth. Therefore, he condemned Prometheus, who dared to rebel against him and stand up for the human race, to eternal torment, ordering him to be chained to a rock.

Prometheus is shown by the author as a fighter for the freedom and reason of people, against the tyranny and violence of Zeus. In all subsequent centuries, the image of Prometheus remained an example of a hero fighting against higher powers, against all oppressors of a free human personality. V. G. Belinsky said very well about this hero of the ancient tragedy: “Prometheus let people know that in truth and knowledge they too are gods, that thunder and lightning are not proof of rightness, but only proof of wrong power.”

Aeschylus wrote several trilogies. But the only one that has survived to this day in full is the Oresteia. The tragedy was based on tales of terrible murders of the same family from which the Greek commander Agamemnon came. The first play of the trilogy is called Agamemnon. It tells that Agamemnon returned victoriously from the battlefield, but was killed at home by his wife Clytemnestra. The commander's wife not only is not afraid of punishment for her crime, but also boasts of what she has done.

The second part of the trilogy is called "The Hoephors". Here is the story of how Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, having become an adult, decided to avenge the death of his father. Orestes' sister Electra helps him in this terrible matter. First, Orestes killed his mother's lover, and then her.

The plot of the third tragedy - "Eumenides" - is as follows: Orestes is persecuted by Erinyes, the goddess of vengeance, because he committed two murders. But he is acquitted by the court of the Athenian elders.

In this trilogy, in poetic language, Aeschylus spoke about the struggle between paternal and maternal rights, which was going on in those days in Greece. As a result, paternal, i.e. state, law turned out to be the winner.

In the Oresteia, Aeschylus's dramatic skill reached its peak. He conveyed the oppressive, ominous atmosphere in which the conflict is brewing so well that the viewer almost physically feels this intensity of passions. The choral parts are written clearly, they contain religious and philosophical content, and contain bold metaphors and comparisons. There is much more dynamics in this tragedy than in the early works of Aeschylus. The characters are written out more specifically, with much less generalities and reasoning.

The works of Aeschylus show all the heroism of the Greco-Persian wars, which played an important role in instilling patriotism among the people. In the eyes of not only his contemporaries, but also all subsequent generations, Aeschylus forever remained the very first tragic poet.

He died in 456 BC. e. in the city of Gel, in Sicily. On his grave there is a gravestone inscription, which, according to legend, was composed by him.

Sophocles

Sophocles was born in 496 BC. e. in a wealthy family. His father had a weapons workshop, which generated large incomes. Already at a young age, Sophocles showed his creative talent. At the age of 16, he led a choir of young men who glorified the victory of the Greeks in the battle of Salamis.

At first, Sophocles himself took part in the productions of his tragedies as an actor, but then, due to the weakness of his voice, he had to give up performing, although he enjoyed great success. In 468 BC. e. Sophocles won his first victory in absentia over Aeschylus, which consisted in the fact that Sophocles' play was recognized as the best. In his subsequent dramatic activities, Sophocles was invariably lucky: in his entire life he never received a third award, but almost always took first place (and only occasionally second).

The playwright actively participated in government activities. In 443 BC. e. The Greeks elected the famous poet to the post of treasurer of the Delian League. Later he was elected to an even higher position - strategist. In this capacity, he, along with Pericles, took part in a military campaign against the island of Samos, which separated from Athens.

We know only 7 tragedies of Sophocles, although he wrote more than 120 plays. Compared to Aeschylus, Sophocles somewhat changed the content of his tragedies. If the first has titans in his plays, then the second introduced people into his works, albeit a little elevated above everyday life. Therefore, researchers of Sophocles' work say that he made tragedy descend from heaven to earth.

Man, with his spiritual world, mind, experiences and free will, became the main character in tragedies. Of course, in Sophocles' plays the heroes feel the influence of Divine Providence on their fate. His gods are the same

powerful, like Aeschylus, they can also bring a person down. But Sophocles’ heroes usually do not meekly rely on the will of fate, but fight to achieve their goals. This struggle sometimes ends in the suffering and death of the hero, but he cannot refuse it, since in this he sees his moral and civic duty to society.

At this time, Pericles was at the head of the Athenian democracy. Under his rule, slave-owning Greece achieved enormous internal prosperity. Athens became a major cultural center to which writers, artists, sculptors and philosophers from all over Greece flocked. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis, but it was completed only after his death. Outstanding architects of that period were involved in this work. All sculptures were made by Phidias and his students.

In addition, rapid development occurred in the field of natural sciences and philosophical teachings. There was a need for general and special education. In Athens, teachers appeared who were called sophists, that is, sages. For a fee, they taught those interested in various sciences - philosophy, rhetoric, history, literature, politics - and taught the art of speaking before the people.

Some sophists were supporters of slave-owning democracy, others - of aristocracy. The most famous among the sophists of that time was Protagoras. It was he who said that it is not God, but man, who is the measure of all things.

Such contradictions in the clash of humanistic and democratic ideals with selfish and selfish motives were reflected in the work of Sophocles, who could not accept the statements of Protagoras because he was very religious. In his works, he repeatedly said that human knowledge is very limited, that out of ignorance a person can make one mistake or another and be punished for it, that is, suffer torment. But it is precisely in suffering that the best human qualities that Sophocles described in his plays are revealed. Even in cases where the hero dies under the blows of fate, an optimistic mood is felt in the tragedies. As Sophocles said, “fate could deprive a hero of happiness and life, but not humiliate his spirit, could defeat him, but not defeat him.”

Sophocles introduced a third actor into the tragedy, who greatly enlivened the action. There were now three characters on stage who could conduct dialogues and monologues, and also perform simultaneously. Since the playwright gave preference to the experiences of an individual, he did not write trilogies, in which, as a rule, the fate of an entire family was traced. Three tragedies were put up for competition, but now each of them was an independent work. Under Sophocles, painted decorations were also introduced.

The most famous tragedies of the playwright from the Theban cycle are considered “Oedipus the King”, “Oedipus at Colonus” and “Antigone”. The plot of all these works is based on the myth of the Theban king Oedipus and the numerous misfortunes that befell his family.

Sophocles tried in all his tragedies to bring out heroes with strong character and unbending will. But at the same time, these people were characterized by kindness and compassion. This was, in particular, Antigone.

The tragedies of Sophocles clearly show that fate can subjugate a person’s life. In this case, the hero becomes a toy in the hands of higher powers, which the ancient Greeks personified with Moira, standing even above the gods. These works became an artistic reflection of the civil and moral ideals of slave-owning democracy. Among these ideals were political equality and freedom of all full citizens, patriotism, service to the Motherland, nobility of feelings and motives, as well as kindness and simplicity.

Sophocles died in 406 BC. e.

Euripides

Euripides was born ca. 480 BC e. in a wealthy family. Since the parents of the future playwright were not poor, they were able to give their son a good education.

Euripides had a friend and teacher Anaxagoras, from whom he studied philosophy, history and other humanities. In addition, Euripides spent a lot of time in the company of sophists. Although the poet was not interested in the social life of the country, his tragedies contained many political sayings.

Euripides, unlike Sophocles, did not take part in the production of his tragedies, did not act as an actor in them, and did not write music for them. Other people did it for him. Euripides was not very popular in Greece. During his entire participation in the competition, he received only five first awards, one of them posthumously.

During his life, Euripides wrote approximately 92 dramas. 18 of them have reached us in full. In addition, there are a large number of passages. Euripides wrote all tragedies somewhat differently than Aeschylus and Sophocles. The playwright portrayed people as they are in his plays. All his heroes, despite the fact that they were mythological characters, had their own feelings, thoughts, ideals, aspirations and passions. In many tragedies, Euripides criticizes the old religion. His gods often turn out to be more cruel, vengeful and evil than people. This attitude towards religious beliefs can be explained by the fact that Euripides’ worldview was influenced by communication with the Sophists. This religious freethinking did not find understanding among ordinary Athenians. Apparently, this is why the playwright was not popular with his fellow citizens.

Euripides was a supporter of moderate democracy. He believed that the backbone of democracy was small landowners. In many of his works, he sharply criticized and denounced demagogues who achieve power through flattery and deception, and then use it for their own selfish purposes. The playwright fought against tyranny, the enslavement of one person by another. He said that people cannot be divided by origin, that nobility lies in personal merits and actions, and not in wealth and noble origin.

Separately, it should be said about Euripides’ attitude towards slaves. He tried in all his works to express the idea that slavery is an unjust and shameful phenomenon, that all people are the same and that the soul of a slave is no different from the soul of a free citizen if the slave has pure thoughts.

At that time, Greece was fighting the Peloponnesian War. Euripides believed that all wars are senseless and cruel. He justified only those that were fought in the name of defending the homeland.

The playwright tried to understand the world of emotional experiences of the people around him as best as possible. In his tragedies, he was not afraid to show the basest human passions and the struggle between good and evil in one person. In this regard, Euripides can be called the most tragic of all Greek authors. The female characters in the tragedies of Euripides were very expressive and dramatic; it is not for nothing that he was rightly called a good expert on the female soul.

The poet used three actors in his plays, but the choir in his works was no longer the main character. Most often, the choir's songs express the thoughts and experiences of the author himself. Euripides was one of the first to introduce so-called monodies into tragedies - arias of actors. Sophocles tried to use monody, but they received the greatest development from Euripides. At the most important climactic moments, the actors expressed their feelings by singing.

The playwright began to show the public scenes that none of the tragic poets had introduced before him. For example, these were scenes of murder, illness, death, physical torment. In addition, he brought children onto the stage and showed the viewer the experiences of a woman in love. When the denouement of the play came, Euripides brought out to the public a “god on a machine”, who predicted fate and expressed his will.

Euripides' most famous work is Medea. He took the myth of the Argonauts as a basis. On the ship "Argo" they went to Colchis to mine the golden fleece. In this difficult and dangerous task, the leader of the Argonauts, Jason, was helped by the daughter of the Colchian king, Medea. She fell in love with Jason and committed several crimes for his sake. For this, Jason and Medea were expelled from their hometown. They settled in Corinth. A few years later, having acquired two sons, Jason abandons Medea. He marries the daughter of the Corinthian king. The tragedy actually begins with this event.

Seized by a thirst for revenge, Medea is terrible in anger. First, with the help of poisoned gifts, she kills Jason’s young wife and her father. After this, the avenger kills her sons born from Jason and flies away on a winged chariot.

When creating the image of Medea, Euripides emphasized several times that she was a sorceress. But her unbridled character, violent jealousy, cruelty of feelings constantly remind the audience that she is not Greek, but a native of a country of barbarians. The audience does not take Medea’s side, no matter how much she suffers, because they cannot forgive her for her terrible crimes (primarily infanticide).

In this tragic conflict, Jason is Medea's opponent. The playwright portrayed him as a selfish and calculating person who puts only the interests of his family at the forefront. The audience understands that it was her ex-husband who brought Medea to such a frenzied state.

Among the many tragedies of Euripides, one can highlight the drama “Iphigenia in Aulis”, which is distinguished by its civic pathos. The work is based on the myth of how, at the behest of the gods, Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia.

The plot of the tragedy is as follows. Agamemnon led a flotilla of ships to capture Troy. But the wind died down, and the sailing ships could not go further. Then Agamemnon turned to the goddess Artemis with a request to send the wind. In response, he heard an order to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia.

Agamemnon summoned his wife Clytemnestra and daughter Iphigenia to Aulis. The pretext was the matchmaking of Achilles. When the women arrived, the deception was revealed. Agamemnon's wife was furious and did not allow her daughter to be killed. Iphigenia begged her father not to sacrifice her. Achilles was ready to protect his bride, but she refused help when she learned that she had to accept martyrdom for the sake of her homeland.

During the sacrifice, a miracle happened. After being stabbed with a knife, Iphigenia disappeared somewhere, and a doe appeared on the altar. The Greeks have a myth that says that Artemis took pity on the girl and took her to Tauris, where she became a priestess of the temple of Artemis.

In this tragedy, Euripides showed a courageous girl, ready to sacrifice herself for the good of her homeland.

It was said above that Euripides was not popular among the Greeks. The public did not like the fact that the playwright sought to depict life in his works as realistically as possible, as well as his free attitude towards myths and religion. It seemed to many viewers that he was thereby violating the laws of the tragedy genre. And yet the most educated part of the public enjoyed watching his plays. Many of the tragic poets living in Greece at that time followed the path opened by Euripides.

Shortly before his death, Euripides moved to the court of the Macedonian king Archelaus, where his tragedies enjoyed well-deserved success. At the beginning of 406 BC. e. Euripides died in Macedonia. This happened a few months before the death of Sophocles.

Fame came to Euripides only after his death. In the 4th century BC. e. Euripides began to be called the greatest tragic poet. This statement survived until the end of the ancient world. This can only be explained by the fact that Euripides’ plays corresponded to the tastes and requirements of people of a later time, who wanted to see on stage the embodiment of those thoughts, feelings and experiences that were close to their own.

Aristophanes

Aristophanes was born around 445 BC. e. His parents were free people, but not very wealthy. The young man showed his creative abilities very early. Already at the age of 12-13 he began writing plays. His first work was staged in 427 BC. e. and immediately received a second award.

Aristophanes wrote only about 40 works. Only 11 comedies have survived to this day, in which the author posed a variety of life questions. In the plays "Acharnians" and "Peace" he advocated ending the Peloponnesian War and concluding peace with Sparta. In the plays “Wasps” and “Riders” he criticized the activities of government institutions, reproaching dishonest demagogues who deceived the people. Aristophanes in his works criticized the philosophy of the Sophists and the methods of educating youth (“Clouds”).

Aristophanes' work enjoyed well-deserved success among his contemporaries. The public flocked to his performances. This state of affairs can be explained by the fact that a crisis of slave-owning democracy has matured in Greek society. Bribery and corruption of officials, embezzlement and falsehoods flourished in the echelons of power. The satirical depiction of these vices in the plays found the most lively response in the hearts of the Athenians.

But in the comedies of Aristophanes there is also a positive hero. He is a small landowner who cultivates the land with the help of two or three slaves. The playwright admired his hard work and common sense, which manifested itself in both domestic and state affairs. Aristophanes was an ardent opponent of war and advocated peace. For example, in the comedy Lysistrata, he suggested that the Peloponnesian War, in which the Hellenes killed each other, weakened Greece against the threat from Persia.

In the plays of Aristophanes, the element of buffoonery is sharply noticeable. In this regard, the acting performance also had to include parody, caricature and slapstick. All these techniques caused riotous fun and laughter from the audience. In addition, Aristophanes put the characters in funny situations. An example is the comedy “Clouds,” in which Socrates ordered himself to be suspended high in a basket so that it would be easier to think about the sublime. This and similar scenes were very expressive from a purely theatrical point of view.

Just like tragedy, comedy began with a prologue with the beginning of the action. It was followed by the opening song of the choir as it entered the orchestra. The choir, as a rule, consisted of 24 people and was divided into two semi-choirs of 12 people each. The opening song of the choir was followed by episodes, which were separated from each other by songs. In the episodies, dialogue was combined with choral singing. There was always an agon in them - a verbal duel. In the agony, opponents most often defended opposing opinions, sometimes it ended in a fight between the characters and each other.

In the choral parts there was a parabase, during which the choir took off their masks, took a few steps forward and addressed directly the audience. Usually the parabase was not related to the main theme of the play.

The last part of the comedy, as well as the tragedy, was called exodus, at which time the choir left the orchestra. Exodus was always accompanied by cheerful, lively dancing.

An example of the most striking political satire is the comedy “Riders”. Aristophanes gave it this name because the main character was the choir of horsemen who made up the aristocratic part of the Athenian army. Aristophanes made the leader of the left wing of democracy, Cleon, the main character of the comedy. He called him Tanner and presented him as an arrogant, deceitful man who thinks only about his own enrichment. Under the guise of the old man Demos, the Athenian people appear in the comedy. Demos is very old, helpless, often falls into childhood and therefore listens to the Tanner in everything. But, as they say, a thief stole a horse from a thief. Demos transfers power to another rogue - the Sausage Man, who defeats the Tanner.

At the end of the comedy, the Sausage Man boils Demos in a cauldron, after which youth, reason and political wisdom return to him. Now Demos will never dance to the tune of unscrupulous demagogues. And Kolbasnik himself subsequently becomes a good citizen who works for the good of his homeland and people. According to the plot of the play, it turns out that the Sausage Man was simply pretending to gain the upper hand over the Tanner.

During the Great Dionysius of 421 BC. e., during the period of peace negotiations between Athens and Sparta, Aristophanes wrote and staged the comedy “Peace”. The playwright's contemporaries accepted the possibility that this performance could have a positive impact on the course of the negotiations, which ended successfully in the same year.

The main character of the play was a farmer named Trigeus, that is, a “gatherer” of fruits. The continuous war prevents him from living peacefully and happily, cultivating the land and feeding his family. On a huge dung beetle, Trigaeus decided to rise into the sky to ask Zeus what he intended to do with the Hellenes. Unless Zeus makes any decision, Trigaeus will tell him that he is a traitor to Hellas.

Having risen to heaven, the farmer learned that there were no more gods on Olympus. Zeus moved them all to the highest point of the sky because he was angry with people because they could not end the war. In the large palace that stood on Olympus, Zeus left the war demon Polemos, giving him the right to do whatever he wanted with people. Polemos grabbed the goddess of peace and imprisoned her in a deep cave, and blocked the entrance with stones.

Trigaeus called Hermes for help, and while Polemos was away, they freed the goddess of the world. Immediately after this, all wars stopped, people returned to peaceful creative work and a new, happy life began.

Aristophanes ran through the entire plot of the comedy the idea that all Greeks should forget hostility, unite and live happily. Thus, for the first time, a statement was made from the stage, addressed to all Greek tribes, that there was much more in common between them than there were differences. In addition, the idea was expressed about the unification of all tribes and the commonality of their interests. The comedian wrote two more works that were a protest against the Peloponnesian War. These are the comedies "Acharnians" and "Lysistrata".

In 405 BC. e. Aristophanes created the play "Frogs". In this work he criticized the tragedies of Euripides. As an example of worthy tragedies, he named the plays of Aeschylus, with whom he always sympathized. In the comedy “Frogs,” at the very beginning of the action, Dionysus and his servant Xanthius enter the orchestra. Dionysus announces to everyone that he is going to descend into the underworld to bring Euripides to earth, because after his death there was not a single good poet left. After these words, the audience burst into laughter: everyone knew Aristophanes’ critical attitude towards the works of Euripides.

The core of the play is the dispute between Aeschylus and Euripides, which takes place in the underworld. The actors portraying the playwrights appear in the orchestra, as if continuing the argument that began outside the venue. Euripides criticizes the art of Aeschylus, believes that he had too little action on stage, that, having brought a hero or heroine onto the stage, Aeschylus covered them with a cloak and left them to sit in silence. Further, Euripides says that when the play passed its second half, Aeschylus added more “stilted, maned and frowning words, impossible monsters, unknown to the viewer.” Thus, Euripides condemned the stilted and indigestible language in which Aeschylus wrote his works. Euripides says about himself that he showed everyday life in his plays and taught people simple everyday matters.

Such a realistic depiction of the everyday life of ordinary people drew criticism from Aristophanes. Through the mouth of Aeschylus, he denounces Euripides and tells him that he has spoiled people: “Now there are market onlookers, rogues, and insidious villains everywhere.” Aeschylus further continues that he, unlike Euripides, created works that call the people to victory.

Their competition ends with the weighing of the poems of both poets. Large scales appear on the stage, Dionysus invites the playwrights to take turns throwing verses from their tragedies onto different scales. As a result, Aeschylus's verses outweighed him, he became the winner, and Dionysus must bring him to earth. Seeing off Aeschylus, Pluto orders him to guard Athens, as he says, “with good thoughts” and “to re-educate the madmen, of whom there are many in Athens.” Since Aeschylus returns to earth, he asks to transfer the throne of the tragedian to Sophocles during his absence in the underworld.

Aristophanes died in 385 BC. e.

From the point of view of ideological content, as well as entertainment, the comedy of Aristophanes is a phenomenal phenomenon. According to historians, Aristophanes is both the pinnacle of ancient Attic comedy and its completion. In the 4th century BC. e., when the socio-political situation changed in Greece, comedy no longer had the same power of influence on the public as before. In this regard, V. G. Belinsky called Aristophanes the last great poet of Greece.

Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC)

His work is associated with the era of the formation of the Athenian democratic state. This state was formed during the Greco-Persian wars, which were fought with short interruptions from 500 to 449 BC. and had a liberating character for the Greek city-states.

Aeschylus came from a noble family. He was born in Eleusis, near Athens. It is known that Aeschylus took part in the battles of Marathon and Salamis. He described the Battle of Salamis as an eyewitness to the tragedy of the Persians. Shortly before his death, Aeschylus went to Sicily, where he died (in the city of Gele). The inscription on his tombstone, composed, according to legend, by himself, says nothing about him as a playwright, but says that he proved himself a courageous warrior in battles with the Persians.

Aeschylus wrote about 80 tragedies and satyr dramas. Only seven tragedies have reached us in their entirety; Small excerpts from other works have survived.

Aeschylus's tragedies reflect the main trends of his time, those huge changes in socio-economic and cultural life that were caused by the collapse of the clan system and the emergence of Athenian slave-owning democracy.

Aeschylus' worldview was basically religious and mythological. He believed that there is an eternal world order that is subject to the law of world justice. A person who voluntarily or unwittingly violates a fair order will be punished by the gods, and thereby balance will be restored. The idea of ​​the inevitability of retribution and the triumph of justice runs through all of Aeschylus’ tragedies.

Aeschylus believes in fate - Moira, believes that even the gods obey her. However, this traditional worldview is also mixed with new views generated by the developing Athenian democracy. Thus, the heroes of Aeschylus are not weak-willed creatures who unconditionally carry out the will of the deity: his man is endowed with a free mind, thinks and acts completely independently. Almost every hero of Aeschylus faces the problem of choosing a line of behavior. A person's moral responsibility for his actions is one of the main themes of the playwright's tragedies.

Aeschylus introduced a second actor into his tragedies and thereby opened up the possibility of a deeper development of the tragic conflict and strengthened the effective side of theatrical performance. This was a real revolution in the theater: instead of the old tragedy, where the parts of a single actor and chorus filled the entire play, a new tragedy was born in which the characters collided with each other on stage, and themselves directly motivated their actions.

The external structure of Aeschylus's tragedy retains traces of proximity to the dithyramb, where the lead singer's parts alternated with the choir's parts.

Almost all tragedies that have come down to us begin with a prologue, which contains the plot of the action. This is followed by a parod - a song performed by the choir as they enter the orchestra. Next comes an alternation of episodies (dialogical parts performed by actors, sometimes with the participation of a choir) and stasims (choir songs). The final part of the tragedy is called exodus; exod is a song during which the choir leaves the stage. In tragedies there are also hyporhema (a joyful song of the choir, sounding, as a rule, at the climax, before the catastrophe), kommos (joint lament songs of the heroes and the choir), and monologues of the heroes.

Typically, a tragedy consisted of 3 - 4 episodies and 3 - 4 stasims. Stasimas are divided into separate parts - stanzas and antistrophes, strictly corresponding in structure to one another. When performing stanzas and antistrophes, the choir moved around the orchestra first in one direction and then in the other. A stanza and its corresponding antistrophe are always written in the same meter, and new stanzas and antistrophes are written in a different meter. There are several such pairs in stasima; they are closed by a common epod (conclusion).

The choir's songs were always performed to the accompaniment of a flute. In addition, they were often accompanied by dancing. The tragic dance was called emmeleya.

Of the tragedies of the great playwright that have survived to our time, the following stand out:

· “Persians” (472 BC), which glorifies the victory of the Greeks over the Persians in the naval battle of Salamis (480 BC);

· “Prometheus Bound” is perhaps the most famous tragedy of Aeschylus, telling about the feat of the titan Prometheus, who gave fire to people and was severely punished for it;

· the Oresteia trilogy (458 BC), famous for being the only complete example of a trilogy in which Aeschylus’s mastery reached its peak that has come down to us.

Aeschylus is known as the best exponent of the social aspirations of his time. In his tragedies he shows the victory of progressive principles in the development of society, in the state structure, in morality. The work of Aeschylus had a significant influence on the development of world poetry and drama.

Sophocles (496 - 406 BC)

Sophocles came from a wealthy family that owned an armory and received a good education. His artistic talent manifested itself at an early age: at the age of sixteen he led a choir of young men glorifying the Salamis victory, and later he himself acted as an actor in his own tragedies, enjoying great success. In 486, Sophocles won his first victory over Aeschylus himself at a playwriting competition. In general, all of Sophocles' dramatic activity was accompanied by constant success: he never received a third award - he most often took first and rarely second place.

Sophocles also took part in public life, holding responsible positions. Thus, he was elected strategist (military leader) and, together with Pericles, participated in an expedition against the island of Samos, which decided to separate from Athens. After the death of Sophocles, his fellow citizens revered him not only as a great poet, but also as one of the glorious Athenian heroes.

Only seven tragedies of Sophocles have reached us, but he wrote over 120 of them. The tragedies of Sophocles carry new features. If in Aeschylus the main characters were the gods, then in Sophocles the main characters are people, although somewhat divorced from reality. Therefore, it is said of Sophocles that he made tragedy descend from heaven to earth. Sophocles pays main attention to man and his emotional experiences. Of course, in the destinies of his heroes the influence of the gods is felt, even if they do not appear during the action, and these gods are just as powerful as those of Aeschylus - they can crush a person. But Sophocles depicts, first of all, a person’s struggle to achieve his goals, his feelings and thoughts, and shows the suffering that befell him.

The heroes of Sophocles usually have the same integral characters as the heroes of Aeschylus. Fighting for their ideal, they do not know any mental hesitation. The struggle plunges the heroes into the greatest suffering, and sometimes they die. But Sophocles’ heroes cannot give up the fight, because they are driven by civic and moral duty.

The noble heroes of Sophocles' tragedies are closely connected with the collective of citizens - they are the embodiment of the ideal of harmonious personality, which was created in the heyday of Athens. Therefore, Sophocles is called the singer of Athenian democracy.

However, Sophocles' work is complex and contradictory. His tragedies reflected not only the heyday, but also the brewing crisis of the polis system, which ended with the death of Athenian democracy.

Greek tragedy reaches its perfection in the works of Sophocles. Sophocles introduced a third actor, increased the dialogic parts of the comedy (episodies) and reduced the chorus parts. The action became more lively and authentic, since three characters could simultaneously perform on stage and give motivation for their actions. However, Sophocles' chorus continues to play an important role in the tragedy, and the number of choruses was even increased to 15 people.

Interest in the experiences of an individual prompted Sophocles to abandon trilogies, which usually traced the fate of an entire family. According to tradition, he submitted three tragedies to the competition, but each of them was an independent work.

The introduction of decorative painting is also associated with the name of Sophocles.

The most famous tragedies of Sophocles are from the Theban cycle of myths. These are "Antigone" (about 442 BC), "Oedipus the King" (about 429 BC) and "Oedipus at Colonus" (staged in 441 BC, after the death of Sophocles) .

These tragedies, written and staged at different times, are based on the myth of the Theban king Oedipus and the misfortunes that befell his family. Without knowing it, Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother. Many years later, having learned the terrible truth, he gouges out his eyes and voluntarily goes into exile. This part of the myth formed the basis of the tragedy "Oedipus the King".

After long wanderings, purified by suffering and forgiven by the gods, Oedipus dies in a divine manner: he is swallowed up by the earth. This takes place in a suburb of Athens, Colon, and the grave of the sufferer becomes a shrine of the Athenian land. This is described in the tragedy "Oedipus at Colonus".

Sophocles' tragedies were the artistic embodiment of the civil and moral ideals of ancient slave-owning democracy during its heyday (Sophocles did not live to see the terrible defeat of the Athenians in the Peloponnesian War of 431 - 404 BC). These ideals were political equality and freedom of all full citizens, selfless service to the homeland, respect for the gods, the nobility of the aspirations and feelings of strong-willed people.

Euripides (about 485 - 406 BC)

The social crisis of the Athenian slave-owning democracy and the resulting breakdown of traditional concepts and views were most fully reflected in the work of Sophocles' younger contemporary, Euripides.

Euripides' parents were apparently wealthy people, and he received a good education. In contrast to Sophocles, Euripides did not take a direct part in the political life of the state, but he was keenly interested in social events. His tragedies are full of various political statements and allusions to modernity.

Euripides did not have much success with his contemporaries: throughout his life he received only 5 first awards, and the last one was posthumous. Shortly before his death, he left Athens and moved to the court of the Macedonian king Archelaus, where he was held in high esteem. He died in Macedonia (a few months before the death of Sophocles in Athens).

From Euripides, 18 dramas have come down to us in their entirety (in total he wrote from 75 to 92) and a large number of passages.

The playwright brought his characters closer to reality; he, according to Aristotle, portrayed people as “what they are.” The characters of his tragedies, while remaining, like those of Aeschylus and Sophocles, heroes of myths, were endowed with the thoughts, aspirations, and passions of people contemporary to the poet.

In a number of Euripides' tragedies, religious beliefs are criticized, and the gods turn out to be more insidious, cruel and vengeful than people.

In his socio-political views, he was a supporter of moderate democracy, the support of which he considered small landowners. In some of his plays there are sharp attacks against demagogue politicians: by flattering the people, they achieve power in order to use it for their own selfish purposes. In a number of tragedies, Euripides passionately denounces tyranny: the domination of one person over other people against their will seems to him a violation of the natural civil order. Nobility, according to Euripides, lies in personal merit and virtue, and not in noble birth and wealth. The positive characters of Euripides repeatedly express the idea that the unbridled desire for wealth can push a person to crime.

Euripides' attitude towards slaves deserves attention. He believes that slavery is injustice and violence, that people have the same nature, and a slave, if he has a noble soul, is no worse than a free one.

Euripides often responds in his tragedies to the events of the Peloponnesian War. Although he is proud of the military successes of his compatriots, he generally has a negative attitude towards the war. It shows the suffering that war brings to people, especially women and children. War can only be justified if people defend the independence of their homeland.

These ideas put Euripides among the most progressive thinkers of mankind.

Euripides became the first playwright known to us, in whose works the characters of the characters were not only revealed, but also developed. At the same time, he was not afraid to depict low human passions, the struggle of conflicting aspirations in the same person. Aristotle called him the most tragic of all Greek playwrights.

Fame came to Euripides after his death. Already in the 4th century. BC. he was called the greatest tragic poet, and this judgment about him remained for all subsequent centuries.

Theater of Ancient Rome

In Rome, as in Greece, theatrical performances took place irregularly, but were timed to coincide with certain holidays. Until the middle of the 1st century. BC. There was no stone theater built in Rome. The performances took place in wooden structures, which were dismantled after their completion. Initially, there were no special places for spectators in Rome, and they watched “stage games” standing or sitting on the slope of a hill adjacent to the stage. The Roman poet Ovid describes the general appearance of the theatrical performance of that distant time in his poem “The Science of Love”:

The theater was not marble, the bedspreads had not yet hung,

The scenes have not yet been filled with yellow moisture by saffron.

All that was left was the leaves from the Palatine trees

It just hung around: the theater was not decorated.

At performances people sat on the turf steps

And he covered his hair only with a green wreath.

(Translation by F. Petrovsky)

The first stone theater in Rome was built by Pompey during his second consulate, in 55 BC. After him, other stone theaters were built in Rome.

The features of the Roman theater building were the following: the seats for spectators were an exact semicircle; the semicircular orchestra was not intended for the choir (it no longer existed in the Roman theater), but was a place for privileged spectators; the stage was low and deep.

The productions of the Roman theater were spectacular and were intended mainly for plebeian spectators. "Bread and circuses" this slogan was very popular among ordinary people in Rome. The origins of the Roman theater were people of low rank and freedmen.

One of the sources of theatrical performances in Rome were folk songs. These include fescenins - caustic, angry rhymes that were thrown around by mummered villagers during harvest festivals. Much came to the theater from Atellana - a folk comedy of masks that originated among the Oscan tribes who lived in Italy near the city of Atella.

Atellana brought established masks to the Roman theater that had their origins in the ancient Etruscan Saturnine games, held in honor of the ancient Italic god Saturn. The atellan had four masks: Makk - a fool and a glutton, Bukk - a stupid braggart, an empty talker and a simpleton, Papp - a simple, stupid old man and Dossen - an ugly charlatan scientist. This lovely company has amused honest people for a long time.

Another ancient type of dramatic action should be mentioned - mime. Initially, it was a rough improvisation performed at Italian holidays, in particular at the spring festival of Floralia, and subsequently mime became a literary genre.

Several genres of dramatic performances were known in Rome. The poet Gnaeus Naevius also created the so-called pretextata-tragedy, the characters of which wore pretexta - the clothes of Roman magistrates.

Comedy in Rome was represented by two types; comedy togata and comedy palliata. The first is a cheerful play based on local Itelian material. Its characters were people of ordinary rank. The togata got its name from the outer Roman clothing - the toga. The authors of such comedies, Titinius, Afranius and Atta, are known to us only from individual surviving fragments. The name of the comedy palliata was associated with the short Greek cloak - pallium. The authors of this comedy turned primarily to the creative heritage of Greek playwrights, representatives of Neo-Attic comedy - Menander, Philemon and Diphilus. Roman comedians often combined scenes from different Greek plays into one comedy.

The most famous representatives of the comedy palliata are the Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence.

Plautus, to whom the world theater owes many artistic discoveries (music became an integral part of the action, it was heard in both lyrical and comedic scenes), was a universal personality: he wrote texts, acted in plays that he himself staged (“Donkeys,” “ Pot", "Boastful Warrior", "Amphitryon", etc.). He was a truly people's artist, just like his theater.

Terence is most interested in family conflicts. He expels crude farce from his comedies, makes them refined in language, in the forms in which human feelings are expressed (“The Girl from Andos,” “Brothers,” “Mother-in-Law”). It is no coincidence that during the Renaissance, Terence's experience was so useful to new masters of drama and theater.

The growing crisis led to the fact that ancient Roman drama either fell into decay or was realized in forms not related to the theater itself. Thus, the greatest tragic poet of Rome, Seneca, writes his tragedies not for performance, but as “dramas for reading.” But Atellana continues to develop, the number of its masks is replenished. Her productions often touched on political and social issues. The traditions of atellana and mime, in fact, never died among the people; they continued to exist in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

In Rome, the skill of actors reached a very high level. The tragic actor Aesop and his contemporary, the comic actor Roscius (1st century BC), enjoyed the love and respect of the public.

The theater of the ancient world became an integral part of the spiritual experience of all mankind, laying much of the foundation for what we today call modern culture.

Roman theater, like Roman drama, is modeled on Greek theater, although in some respects it differs from it. The seats for spectators in Roman theaters occupy no more than a semicircle, ending towards the stage along a line parallel to the latter. The stage is twice as long as in Greek, and stairs lead from the audience seats to the stage, which was not the case in Greek. The depth of the orchestra is less with the same width; the entrances to the orchestra are narrower; the stage is closer to the center. All these differences can be observed in the ruins of many Roman theaters, of which the best preserved are in Aspendos in Turkey and in Orange in France.

Vitruvius gives an accurate description of the plan and construction of Roman theaters, as if establishing two types of theaters independent of each other. The deviations of the Roman theater from the Greek are explained by the reduction, then complete abolition of the role of the chorus and, depending on this, the division of the orchestra into two parts: both began with the Greeks and only received complete development among the Romans.

In the Roman theater, as in the Greek, the space for spectators and the stage depended on the main circle and the inscribed figure. For the main figure of the Roman theater, Vitruvius takes four equilateral triangles with vertices at equal distances from one another. The lower edges of the seat for spectators were always parallel to the stage, in contrast to the Greek theater, and walked along a line drawn through the corners of the inscribed figures, closest to the horizontal diameter of the circle, which is why the outer wedges were smaller than the rest. The upper arc of the main circle formed the lower boundary of the spectator seats. This space was also divided by concentric passages (praecinctiones) into two or three tiers, which in turn were divided into wedges (cunei) by staircases along radii. The size of the space for spectators was increased by the fact that the side entrances to the orchestra were covered and were also designated for spectators. In the Roman theater the orchestra is smaller compared to the Greek theater; here were seats for senators; the stage (pulpitum), on the contrary, is expanded, since it was intended not only for actors, but also for all artists; according to Vitruvius, it is significantly lower than the Greek stage, by which he means proscenium, also calling it logeion. He defines the maximum height of a Roman stage as 5 feet, and a Greek stage as 10-12 feet. Vitruvius' fundamental mistake in comparing two types of theaters boils down to the fact that he imagined the Roman stage as a transformation of the Greek proscenium, which he considered to be the place where the actors act, with the difference that in the Roman theater the proscenium was made lower, wider and longer, and moved closer to the audience. In fact, the Roman scene is part of the ancient Greek. orchestras - that part that, with the reduction in the role of choirs in dramatic performances, became superfluous even among the Greeks in the Macedonian period; for the actors, that part of the circle that lay directly in front of the stage and prostage was sufficient; in this case, both parts of the orchestra either remained on the same plane, or the place for the actors could be raised to the level of the lowest row of seats. Some Greek theaters were rebuilt on the model of Roman theaters and new ones were built in Greek cities.

Another important innovation in the Roman theater was the roof, which connected the stage building and audience seats into a single, integral building. The machines and stage costumes in the Roman theater were, in general, the same as in the Greek. The curtain (auleum) was lowered under the stage before the start of the game and raised again at the end. Masks for Roman actors were allowed late, it seems - after Terence; this, however, did not prevent Roman youth from disguising themselves as atellans. Stage performances adorned various annual holidays and were also given on the occasion of important state events, during triumphs, on the occasion of the consecration of public buildings, etc.

In addition to tragedies and comedies, atellans, mimes, pantomimes, and pyrrhichis were performed. It is not known exactly whether there were competitions of poets in Rome. Since the games were organized either by private individuals or by the state, the supervision of them belonged either to private organizers or to magistrates (curatores ludorum). The leadership of the annual stage games was entrusted until Augustus mainly to the curule and plebeian aediles or to the city praetor; Augustus transferred it to the praetors. Extraordinary public holidays were administered by consuls. The entrepreneur (dominus gregis), the main actor and director, the head of the troupe of actors (grex, caterva) entered into an agreement with the person organizing the holiday - official or private; he received the agreed payment. The remuneration to the author of the play was paid by the entrepreneur. Since in Rome stage games had the meaning of fun, and not of serving the deity, the custom was for poets to receive money for plays, which in the eyes of society degraded poets to the position of artisans. In Greece, poets stood high in public opinion, the highest government positions were open to them; in Rome, plays were performed by lower-class people, even slaves. According to this, the craft of an actor was also low valued, lower than the title of equestrian and gladiator; the title of actor imposed a stamp of dishonor.

The actors were usually farts and freedmen. In general, the theater in Rome did not have that high, serious, educational, as if sacred character that it had long distinguished in Greece. Stage games borrowed from Greece little by little gave way to performances that have nothing in common with either tragedy or comedy: mime, pantomime, ballet. The state was unsympathetic to this kind of entertainment. The magistrates who gave the games and private individuals first built wooden stages for the actors themselves, which were destroyed after the performance. The organizers of the games also bore most of the costs, sometimes very significant. The first theater based on the Greek model (theatrum et proscaenium) was built in Rome only in 179 BC. e., but was soon broken. A permanent stone building for the stage was built in 178 BC. e., but there were no places for spectators to sit; the audience stood separated from the stage by a wooden fence; they were not even allowed to take chairs with them into the theater. A completely opposite attitude towards the public was in Greece: the audience took pillows, food, delicacies, and wine with them to the theater. The closest acquaintance with Greek theater began after the conquest of Greece (145 BC). A permanent stone theater, which could accommodate more than 17,000 seats (according to Pliny - 40,000), was built by Pompey in 55 BC. e. The ruins of a theater built in 13 BC have been preserved. e. Octavian.

Visiting the theater was free, equally free for men and women, but not for slaves. In order to win over the audience or surprise them with luxury and splendor, the organizers of the games in later times extended their concerns for the public to the point of strewing the theater with flowers, sprinkling it with fragrant liquids, and decorating it richly with gold. Nero ordered a purple cover, studded with gold stars, with the image of the emperor on a chariot, to be stretched over the audience.

Related information.

The fathers of tragedy are Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.

Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides - these are the three great titans, on whose incomparable creativity the stormy poetry of Her Majesty Tragedy boils, full of unspeakable passions. The most vital intricacies of human destinies fight in an endless battle for unattainable happiness and, dying, do not know the joy of victory. But out of compassion for the heroes, a bright flower of purification is born - and its name is Catharsis.

The first song of the choir from Sophocles' Antigone became a great hymn to the glory of Great Humanity. The hymn states:

There are many wonderful forces in nature,
But there is no stronger person.
He's under the blizzard's rebellious howl
Boldly goes beyond the sea.
Honored among the goddesses, the Earth,
The ever-abundant mother, he tires.

Time has left us too little information about the lives of the great tragedians. Too much of it divides us, and too many tragedies that swept over the earth swept away the stories of their destinies from people’s memories. But only crumbs remained of the enormous poetic heritage. But they have no price... They are priceless... They are eternal...

The very concept of “tragedy,” which carries within itself all the power of fatal events in a person’s fate, his collision with a world filled with an intense struggle of characters and passions bursting into the space of being, translated from Greek simply means “goat song.” Agree, my dear reader, a somewhat strange feeling is born in the soul that does not allow one to come to terms with this unfair combination. Nevertheless, this is so. Where did the “goat song” come from? There is an assumption that the tragedy was born from the songs of satyrs who performed on stage in goat costumes. This explanation, coming from the external appearance of the performers, and not from the internal content of the work being performed, seems somewhat superficial. After all, satyrs should perform plays with a satirical content, and not a tragic one.

Perhaps the “goat song” is the suffering song of those very scapegoats on whom people laid all their sins and released them into the vast distances, so that they would carry these sins away from their homes. The scapegoats told endless distances about the overwhelming burden they had to carry on their innocent shoulders. And it was this story of theirs that became the story of the tragedy of human existence... Perhaps everything was exactly like that? Who knows…

We have already become acquainted with some of the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and they helped us to feel the very spirit of those times, to feel the aroma of living spaces unknown to us.

Aeschylus was a direct participant in wars and knew firsthand what it meant to look death in the eye and be frozen by its chilling gaze. Perhaps it was this meeting that carved into the soul of the tragedian one of the main mottos of his poetry:

To those who are overwhelmed by pride,
Who is full of arrogance, who brings good to the house,
Forgetting about every measure, he carries,
All the more terrible are Ares, the patron of vengeance.
We don't need countless riches -
Needs would not be known and saved from troubles
Modest income, peace of mind.
No abundance
A mortal cannot pay off
If the truth is great
Tramples underfoot.

The poet carefully peers into all manifestations of human existence and decides for himself:

I have to think. To the deepest
Depths of thought let the diver
A keen, sober and calm gaze will penetrate.

Aeschylus understands:

A person cannot live without guilt,
It is not possible to walk on earth without sin,
And from grief, from troubles
No one can hide forever.

For the “father of tragedy,” the gods are the main arbiters of human destinies, and fate is omnipotent and invincible. When a defenseless mortal is attacked

An irresistible stream of boundless troubles,
Then into the raging sea of ​​terrible rock
He gets thrown...

And then he will no longer find a quiet and cozy haven for himself anywhere. If luck turns its face towards him, then that luck is “a gift from the gods.”

Aeschylus was the first poet who began to look closely at the whole cluster of terrible crimes that is hidden in the struggle of greedy heirs for the coveted inheritance. And the richer the family, the more terrible the fight. In a wealthy home, blood relatives have only hatred in common with each other. And there is no need to talk about the royal one. Here

Divides his father's inheritance
Merciless iron.
And everyone will receive land
How much is needed for the grave -
Instead of the expanse of royal lands.

And only when the blood of half-brothers mixes with the damp earth, “the fury of mutual murder subsides and the walls of the home are crowned with lush flowers of sadness,” where the only loud cry is heard, in which

The goddesses curse rings, rejoicing.
It's finished! The ill-fated family collapsed.
The goddess of death calmed down.

Following Aeschylus, a long line of poets and prose writers will develop this topic, which has been vital for all times.

The father of tragedy, Sophocles, was born in 496 BC. He was seven years younger than Aeschylus and 24 years older than Euripides. This is what ancient evidence tells about him: Glorious, he became famous for his life and poetry, received an excellent upbringing, lived in prosperity, distinguished himself both in government and in embassies. So great was the charm of his character that everyone loved him everywhere. He won 12 victories, often took second place, but never third. After the naval battle of Salomina, when the Athenians celebrated their victory, Sophocles, naked, anointed with oils, with a lyre in his hands, led the choir.

The name of the divine Sophocles, a most learned man, was added to the names of philosophers when, after a heavy golden cup was stolen from the temple of Hercules, he saw in a dream God telling him who had done it. He didn't pay any attention to it at first. But when the dream began to repeat itself, Sophocles went to the Areopagus and reported about it: the Ariopagites ordered the arrest of the one whom Sophocles pointed out. During interrogation, the arrested man confessed and returned the cup. After everything happened, the dream was called the appearance of Hercules the Announcer.

Once upon a time, Sophocles’ tragedy “Electra” featured a famous actor who surpassed everyone else in the purity of his voice and the beauty of his movements. His name, they say, was Paul. He skillfully and with dignity played the tragedies of famous poets. It so happened that this Paul lost his beloved son. When, by all accounts, he had grieved long enough over the death of his son, Paul returned to his art. According to his role, he was supposed to carry in his hands an urn with the supposed ashes of Orestes. This scene is designed in such a way that Electra, carrying the remains of her brother, mourns him and grieves over his imaginary death. And Paul, dressed in Electra’s mourning attire, took his son’s ashes and urn from his son’s grave and, squeezing him in his arms as if they were the remains of Orestes, filled everything around with not feigned, acting, but real sobs and lamentations. So when the play seemed to be going on, genuine sorrow was presented.

Euripides corresponded with Sophocles and once sent him this letter in connection with a nearly shipwreck:

“The news has reached Athens, Sophocles, about the misfortune that happened to you during the voyage to Chios; the whole city reached the point where enemies grieved no less than friends. I am convinced that only thanks to divine guidance it could have happened that in such a great misfortune you were saved, and you did not lose any of your relatives and servants who accompanied you. As for the trouble with your dramas, you will not find anyone in Hellas who would not consider it terrible; but since you survived, it can be easily corrected. See that you come back as soon as possible, safe and sound, and if now during the voyage you feel bad from seasickness or the cold is bothering you, breaking your body, or it seems that it will bother you, return calmly immediately. At home, know that everything is in order, and everything that you punished has been fulfilled.”

This is what ancient evidence tells us about the life of Sophocles.

Of his enormous artistic heritage, only seven tragedies remain - an insignificant part... But what!... We know nothing about the rest of the works of the genius, but we know that he never in his life had the opportunity to experience the cooling of the Athenian public, either as an author or as a performer of the main roles in their tragedies. He was equally able to charm the audience with his skill in playing the cithara and the grace with which he played the ball. Truly, the motto of his life could be his own lines:

O thrill of joy! I am inspired, I rejoice!
And if the joy of life
He who lost is not alive for me:
I can hardly call him alive.
Save up wealth for yourself if you want
Live like a king, but if there is no happiness -
I won't give up even a shadow of smoke
For all this, happily comparing.

Sophocles' jubilant, victorious stride through life was not to everyone's liking. One day it came to the point that the ill-fated passion for victory overcame another genius - Aeschylus. When Sophocles won a brilliant victory at the festival of Dionysus, dejected, saddened, and consumed by envy, Aeschylus was forced to retire away from Athens - to Sicily.

“In the terrible years for Athens, when war and epidemic broke through the seemingly strong defensive walls, Sophocles began work on the tragedy “Oedipus Rex,” the main theme of which was the theme of the inevitability of fate, strict divine predestination, hanging like a thundercloud over the one who tried with all his might resist this Oedipus - a hostage of the Moira goddesses of fate, who have woven a web that is too inhuman for him. After all, “if God begins to persecute, and the strongest will not be saved. Human laughter and tears are in the will of the highest,” the poet warns. And it seems that the Athenian tragedy created for his soul that necessary background of hopelessness that the tragedy of King Oedipus breathes.

Independence in their decisions and willingness to take responsibility for their actions distinguishes the courageous heroes of Sophocles. To live beautifully or not to live at all - this is the moral message of a noble nature. Intolerance towards other people's opinions, irreconcilability towards enemies and towards oneself, indomitability in achieving goals - these are the properties inherent in all true tragic heroes of Sophocles. And if in Euripides’ “Electra” the brother and sister feel lost and crushed after taking revenge, then there is nothing similar in Sophocles, because matricide is dictated by her betrayal of her husband, Electra’s father, and is sanctioned by Apollo himself, therefore, carried out without the slightest hesitation.

As a rule, the situation itself in which the heroes are placed is unique. Any girl sentenced to death will mourn her failed calling in life, but not every girl will agree, on pain of death, to violate the king’s ban. Any king, having learned about the danger threatening the state, will take measures to prevent it, but not every king should turn out to be the very culprit he is looking for. Any woman, wanting to regain her husband’s love, can resort to a life-saving potion, but it is by no means necessary that this potion turn out to be a deadly poison. Any epic hero will feel his dishonor hard, but not everyone can be guilty of having plunged himself into this shame due to the intervention of a deity. In other words, Sophocles is able to enrich each plot borrowed from myths with such “details” that unusually expand the possibilities for creating an unusual situation and for demonstrating in it all the various traits in the character of the hero.

Sophocles, who knew how to weave the extraordinary destinies of people in his tragedies, turned out to be not so perspicacious in everyday life. At one time, citizens entrusted him with the important post of strategist and made a mistake, by the way, a very common one. The rich imagination and subtle intuition necessary for a poet are more likely to hinder a politician, who needs cruelty and speed in decision-making. Moreover, a military leader should have these qualities. An intelligent and creative person, when faced with a problem, sees too many ways to resolve it and an endless chain of consequences of each step; he hesitates, remains indecisive, while the situation requires immediate action.” (Kravchuk)

If Sophocles turned out to be not much of a strategist, then there is no doubt about the wisdom of his sayings. Therefore, my dear reader, let me present to you some of the poetic masterpieces of an incomparable master:

Your table is magnificent and your life is luxurious, -
And I have only one food: a free spirit! (Sophocles)

To bright souls
Shame is not nice, their honor lies in good deeds. (Sophocles)

Experience teaches you a lot. None of the people
Don't expect to become a prophet without experience. (Sophocles)

Saved by God, do not anger the gods. (Sophocles)

A person is right - so he can be proud. (Sophocles)

In trouble, the most reliable
Not the one who is powerful and broad-shouldered -
Only the mind prevails in life. (Sophocles)

To work is to multiply labor by labor. (Sophocles)

Not in words, but in their actions
We put the glory on our lives. (Sophocles)

To live without realizing troubles is what is sweet. (Sophocles)

Who asks for what is lawful,
You don't have to ask for a long time. (Sophocles)

When your persistent request
They don’t do it, they don’t want to help,
And suddenly then, when the desire passed,
They will do everything - what good is that?
Then you won’t even have mercy. (Sophocles)

All people are mistaken sometimes,
But who makes a mistake, if he is not flighty?
And not unhappy from birth, in trouble,
Leaving persistence will fix everything;
A stubborn person will be called insane. (Sophocles)

Perhaps not loving the living
The dead will be regretted in difficult times.
A fool has happiness - he doesn’t keep it,
And if he loses happiness, he will appreciate it so much. (Sophocles)

Empty, arrogant people
The gods plunge into the abyss of grave disasters. (Sophocles)

You are not wise if you are beyond the path of reason
You find taste in stubborn conceit. (Sophocles)

Look into yourself, contemplate your torment,
Knowing that you yourself are the culprit of torment, -
This is true suffering. (Sophocles)

I recently realized
That we should hate the enemy,
But to know that tomorrow we can love;
And be a support for a friend, but remember
That he could be an enemy tomorrow.
Yes, the harbor of friendship is often unreliable... (Sophocles)

If someone takes revenge for an insult to the offender,
Fate never punishes the avenger.
If you answer the insidious one with deceit,
Sorrow, and not good for you as a reward. (Sophocles)

Works in the name of loved ones
It should not be considered work. (Sophocles)

What does mother mean? Children insult us
And we don’t have the strength to hate them. (Sophocles)

Husband must
Cherish the memory of the joys of love.
A feeling of gratitude will be born in us
From a feeling of gratitude, - husband,
He who has forgotten the tenderness of caresses is ungrateful. (Sophocles)

Because of empty rumors
You shouldn't blame your friends in vain. (Sophocles)

To reject a devoted friend means
Lose the most precious thing in life. (Sophocles)

Contrary to the truth - and bad ones in vain
Consider the good as friends and enemies.
He who drives out a faithful friend will live
I cut off the color of my favorite one. (Sophocles)

And finally...

Everything in life is impermanent:
Stars, troubles and wealth.
Unsustainable happiness
Suddenly disappeared
A moment - and joy returned,
And behind it - sadness again.
But if the way out is indicated,
Believe me; Any misfortune can become a blessing. (Sophocles)

Information has reached us that Sophocles had a son, Jophon, with whom, in all likelihood, he first developed a wonderful relationship, because they were united not only by their own blood, but also by a love of art. Jophon wrote many plays together with his father and staged fifty of them. But the son forgot the wise instruction of his father:

The small one holds on if the great one is with him,
And the great one - if the little one stands next to him...
But it is in vain to instill such thoughts
For those who are born with a poor mind.

When Sophocles grew old, a lawsuit arose between him and his son. The son accused his father of losing his mind and wasting his children’s inheritance with all his might. To which Sophocles replied:

Y'all are shooting at me
Like an arrow at the target; and even in reproaches
I am not forgotten by you; his relatives
I have been appreciated and sold out for a long time.

Perhaps there was some truth in this lawsuit, because the poet’s indifference to beautiful hetaeras was no secret to anyone. Sophocles was imbued with especially tender and reverent love for the incomparable Archippe, with whom he lived in perfect harmony until a very old age, which gave the opportunity for restless gossips to scratch their tongues to their hearts' content, but did not tame the love of the poet and hetaera, which Sophocles reinforced with concern for his beloved, making her his heir your condition.

Here is what ancient evidence tells about this story: “Sophocles wrote tragedies until he was very old. When the son demanded that the judges remove him as if he were insane from owning household property. After all, according to customs, it is customary to prohibit parents from managing the household if they manage it poorly. Then the old man said: “If I am Sophocles, then I am not mad; if he is mad, then not Sophocles” and recited to the judges the essay he was holding in his hand and had just written - “Oedipus at Colonus” - and asked whether such an essay could really belong to a madman who possesses the highest gift in the art of poetry - the ability portray character or passion. After he finished reading, by decision of the judges he was released from the charge. His poems aroused such admiration that he was escorted out of court, as if from a theater, with applause and enthusiastic reviews. All the judges stood before such a poet, brought him the highest praise for his wit in defense, magnificence in tragedy, and left no sooner than accusing the accuser himself of feeble-mindedness.

Sophocles died at the age of ninety in the following way: after the grape harvest, they sent him a bunch. He took an unripe berry into his mouth, choked on it, suffocated and died. According to other evidence: while reading “Antigone” aloud, Sophocles came across a long phrase at the end that was not marked in the middle with a stop sign, overexerted his voice and with it gave up the ghost. Others report that after the performance of the drama, declared the winner, he died of joy.

Joking lines were written about the reasons for the passing of great people:

Having eaten a raw centipede, Diogenes died immediately.
Sophocles breathed his last after choking on grapes.
Dogs killed Euripides in the distant lands of Thrace.
God-like Homer was killed by severe hunger.

And solemn odes were created about the departure of the great:

Son of Sophil, you, O Sophocles, singer of round dances,
A small measure of earth took into its depths,
Curls of ivy from Acharn were completely wrapped around your head,
The muses of tragedy are the star, the pride of the Athenian land.
Dionysus himself was proud of your victory in the competition,
Your every word shines with eternal fire.
Quietly, spreading ivy, bend over the grave of Sophocles.
Quietly accept him into your canopy, cover him with lush greenery.
Roses, open buds, grapevine stems,
Wrap the flexible shoot around, beckoning with a ripe bunch.
May there be serenity on your grave, God-equal Sophocles,
Ivy curls flow forever around the light foot.
Let the bees, descendants of the oxen, irrigate forever
Your grave is like honey, Hymettian drops are pouring.
The first to erect altars to these deities was Sophocles, equal to God.
He also took precedence in the glory of tragic muses.
You told about sorrowful things with sweet speech,
Sophocles, you skillfully mixed honey with wormwood.

The childhood of another Father of tragedy, Euripides, was barefoot, and sometimes his hungry belly, rumbling gloomily, prevented him from sleeping sweetly on a bed of straw. His mother was not always able to successfully sell vegetables at the market, and then she had to eat those that had already rotted - they were not in demand among buyers. The young man Euripides was not in demand among the fair sex either, because he was not only ugly, but also had some physical defects. But he had one virtue - love of words!

Why,” he asked with inspiration, “
O mortals, we are to all other sciences
Trying to study so hard
And speech, the only queen of the world
Are we forgetting? This is who to serve
Everyone should, for an expensive fee
Bringing teachers together so that the secret of the word
Having learned, convinced - win!

But fate did not give him true victories during his lifetime and denied him the opportunity to soar high into the heavens in their joyful rapture. At poetry competitions, a laurel wreath was rarely placed on the head of Euripides. He never pandered to the wishes of the audience. To their demands to change some episodes, he answered with dignity that he had the custom of writing plays in order to teach the people, and not to learn from them.

To an insignificant boastful poet, who boasted in front of him that he, they say, writes a hundred poems a day, while Euripides is not able to create even three, making incredible efforts, the great poet replied: “The difference between us is that yours The plays will only last for three days, but mine will always come in handy.” And he turned out to be right.

Euripides was unable to find out what kind of glory came to him after passing through millennia. Death has greatly overtaken her. But the adversities that often visited the poet and sought to trample his rushing spirit sometimes suffered crushing defeats, because the poet’s life experience, rich in suffering, told him that

And life is a tornado
Like a hurricane in a field, it does not make noise forever:
The end comes to happiness and misfortune...
Life moves us constantly up and down,
And the brave is the one who does not lose faith
Among the most terrible disasters: only a coward
Loses vigor, seeing no way out.
Survive the illness and you will be healthy.
And if among the evil
Having embraced us, the happy wind again
Will it blow on us?

Then only the last fool will not catch its life-giving tight currents in his sails. Don’t miss the moment of luck and joy, reinforce it with the intoxicating currents of Bacchus. Otherwise you

Madman, so much power, so much sweetness
Opportunities to love, what game
Wine promises freedom... to dance
God calls us and takes away our memory
Past evils...

But evil is eternal, it goes away and returns again. It rages in life and on the darkened sheets of tragedies. In the tragedy “Hippolytus,” a chaste young man avoids female love and affection. He only likes free hunting in the company of the beautiful virgin Artemis. His stepmother Phaedra, who fell madly in love with her stepson Hippolytus, only needs his love. The world is not dear to her without this all-consuming love. But while passion has not yet completely exhausted her, Phaedra tries to hide her misfortune from those around her and especially from her understanding nurse. In vain... Finally she admits:

Woe, woe! For what, for what sins?
Where is my reason? Where is my goodness?
I was completely distraught. Noxious Demon
Defeated me. Woe is me, woe!
I wanted love, like a terrible wound
Transfer with dignity. At first I
I decided to remain silent and not reveal my torment.
After all, there is no trust in the language: the language is much
Just to calm someone else's soul,
And then you won’t end up in trouble yourself.

Unhappy Phaedra is tossing about, unable to find peace. There is no peace, but something completely different, and the old sympathetic nurse:

No, it’s better to be sick than to look after someone who is sick.
So only the body suffers, but here the soul too
There is no peace, and my hands hurt from work.
But human life is one torment
And the tedious work is incessant.

The confessions that escaped from the soul of Phaedra, defiled by the daring, shameful gift of Cypris-Aphrodite, this time requested, terrify the nurse:

O hateful world, where in love and honest
Powerless against vice. Not a goddess, no
Cyprus. If you can be higher than God.
You are above God, dirty mistress.

Cursing the goddess, the nanny tries to calm down Phaedra, who was fed her milk:

My long life has taught me a lot,
I realized that people love each other
It is necessary in moderation so that love is in the very heart
Didn’t penetrate so that I could of my own free will
Then loosen, then tighten again
Bonds of friendship. A heavy burden for that
It falls out who owes one for two
Grieve. And better, for me,
Always stick to the middle in everything,
Why, without knowing the limits, fall into excess.
Anyone who is reasonable agrees with me.

But is love subject to reason?.. No... Phaedra sees one, only one hopeless way out:

I tried
Overcome madness with a sober mind.
But it's all in vain. And finally despairing
In the victory over Cyprida, I considered that death,
Yes, death, don’t contradict me, is the best way.
And my feat will not remain unknown,
And I will leave shame and sin forever.
I know my illness, its infamy
I know well that I am like a woman
Branded with contempt. Oh damn
The scoundrel who is the first with her lover
My wife cheated! This is a disaster
It came from the top and destroyed the female sex.
After all, if the noble are amused by nasty things,
Either vile or even more so - that’s the law.
Those who are under the guise of modesty are despicable
Dissolutely impudent. O foam-born
Lady Cypris, how they look
In the eyes of husbands without fear? After all, the darkness of the night
And the walls, accomplices in crime,
They can give them away! That's why I call death,
My friends, I don’t want dishonor
Execute my husband, I don’t want my children
Shame forever. No, let them be proud
Free speech, with honor and dignity
They live in glorious Athens, not ashamed of their mother.
After all, the daredevil, having learned about the sin of his parents,
Like a vile slave, he will lower his gaze in humiliation.
Indeed, for those who are just in soul,
A clear conscience is more valuable than life itself.

The nurse tries with all her might to dissuade Phaedra:

Really, nothing too scary
It didn't happen. Yes, the goddess is angry
Yes, you do. So what? Many people love it.
And you are ready to die because of love
Doom yourself! After all, if all lovers
They deserved to die, who would want love?
Can't resist the rapids of Cyprus. From her - the whole world.
Its sowing is love, and we all, therefore,
From the grains of Aphrodite they were born.

Phaedra, exhausted by unbearable passion, almost loses consciousness, and the nurse, in order to avert trouble, begins to reproach and admonish the unfortunate woman:

After all, not under special
You walk like gods: everyone is like you, and you are like everyone else.
Or do you think there are no husbands in the world?
Turning a blind eye to their wives' infidelities?
Or are there no fathers who indulge their sons?
In their lust? This is old wisdom -
Do not bring unseemly deeds to light.
Why should we humans be overly strict?
After all, we use a ruler to rafter the roof
We don’t check. How are you, overwhelmed?
Will you escape your fate like waves of rock?
You are a man, and since the beginning is good
There is more evil in you, you are right all around.
Leave, dear child, your dark thoughts,
Down with pride! Yes, he sins with pride
One who wishes to better be the gods themselves.
Don't be afraid of love. This is the highest will.
Is the disease unbearable? Turn illness into good!
It’s better to be saved after sinning
Why give your life for pompous speeches.

The nurse, in order to save her favorite, convinces her to open up to Hippolytus. Phaedra takes the advice. He mercilessly rejects her. And then, in despair, the nurse runs to Hippolytus and once again tries to persuade him to quench Phaedra’s passion, that is, she offers to cover the honor of her own father with shame. Here Hippolytus first unleashes all his unbearable anger on the nurse:

How are you, oh wretch! You dared
To offer me, my son, a sacred bed
Dear father! Ears with spring water
I'll wash it now. After your vile words
I'm already unclean. What is it like for the fallen?

And then anger, a stormy wave, falls on the entire female race:

Why, O Zeus, should a woman be on the woe of mortals?
Have you given me a place in the sun? If the human race
You wanted to grow up, would you be without it?
Couldn't you get by with the treacherous class?
It would be better if we went to your sanctuaries
They took down copper, iron or gold
And they received, each according to their dignity
Your gifts, children's seeds to live
Freer, without women, in their own homes.
What now? We exhaust everything that the house is rich in,
To bring evil and grief into this house.
That wives are evil, there are many examples of this.
I pray that it doesn't happen
Overly smart women in my house.
After all, they are for deceit, for dashing deception
Cyprus pushes. And the brainless one
Poverty of mind will save you from this whim.
And I wouldn’t assign maids to my wives, no,
And the evil beasts are silent, so that the woman
In their chambers under such protection
And I couldn’t exchange a word with anyone.
Otherwise the maid will give her move immediately
Any bad idea of ​​the bad lady.

While Hippolytus curses the female race, Phaedra hides from all eyes and throws a noose around her neck. Her husband Theseus suffers mercilessly for his lost lover:

How much grief fell on my head,
How many troubles are looking at me from everywhere!
No words, no more urine. I'm dead. Died
The children were orphaned, the palace was empty.
You left, you left us forever,
Oh my dear wife. Better than you
There are no and never were women under the light of day
And under the stars of the night!

But Phaedra did not die silently, unanswered, she decided to justify herself to her family and to the world with a false letter in which she slandered Hippolytus, declaring that it was he who allegedly desecrated his father’s bed and thereby forced Phaedra to commit suicide. Having read the letter, Theseus changed his sorrowful speeches to angry ones:

The city is sad,
Hear, hear, people!
To take possession of my bed forcibly
Hippolytus tried, in front of Zeus.
I'll order him
Go into exile. Let one of two destinies
He will punish his son. Or, having heeded my plea,
In the palace of Hades, Poseidon punishes
He will be sent away, either by a stranger
The unfortunate outcast will drink the cup of troubles to the bottom.
O human race, how low you are capable of falling!
There is no limit to shamelessness, no boundaries
Doesn't know arrogance. If this continues
And with each generation it becomes more and more depraved,
The people will be worse and worse, the land will be new
In addition to the old one, the gods must create,
So that for all the villains and criminals
Enough space! Look, my son is standing there,
Flattered on his father's bed
And convicted of meanness by evidence
Dead! No, don't hide. Managed to sin -
Be able to look into my eyes without flinching.
Is it possible for God's chosen hero
An example of integrity and modesty
Should we count you? Well, now you're at liberty
Boast of Lenten food, sing hymns to Bacchus,
Extol Orpheus, breathe the dust of books -
You are no longer a mystery. I give everyone an order -
Saint beware. Their speech is kind,
But thoughts are shameful and deeds are black.
She is dead. But it won't save you.
On the contrary, this death is every evidence
Appears. No eloquence
Will not refute the sad dying lines.

The choir sums up the tragedy they experienced with a terrible conclusion for people:

There are no happy people among mortals. The one who was first
Becomes the last one. Everything is topsy-turvy.

And yet Ippolit tries to explain to his father:

Think about it, there is no young man in the world -
Even though you don’t believe me - more pure,
Than your son. I honor the gods - and this is the first
I see my merit. Only with honest ones
I enter into friendship with those who are their friends
Doesn't force you to act dishonestly
And he himself, to please his friends, will not do any harm.
I don't know how to see my comrades
Scolding is crafty. But most sinless
I am in this, my father, with which you now brand me:
I preserved my innocence, I preserved my purity.
Love is known only by hearsay
Yes, according to the pictures, although without any joy
I look at them: my soul is virgin.
But if you don't believe in my purity,
What could, tell me, seduce me?
Perhaps there was no woman in the world
More beautiful than this? Or maybe,
I tried to take possession of the royal heiress
For her inheritance? Gods, what nonsense!
You will say: power is sweet and chaste?
Oh no, not at all! You have to be crazy
To seek power and take the throne.
I want to be the first only in Hellenic games,
And in the state let it remain with me
Second place. Good comrades,
Prosperity, complete carelessness
Dearer to my soul than any power.

Theseus, deafened by grief, completely rejects such obvious arguments of his own son:

What eloquence! The nightingale sings!
He believes that with his equanimity
Will force the offended father to remain silent.

Then Ippolit makes an attack in his direction:

And I must admit, I marvel at your meekness.
After all, if we suddenly switched places, I would
Killed you on the spot. I wouldn't have gotten away with it
By expulsion he encroached upon my wife.

Theseus immediately finds an answer to his hated son:

You're right, I don't argue. Only you won't die like that
As he prescribed to himself: instant death
It is most gratifying for those who are punished by fate.
Oh no, expelled from home, a cup of bitterness
You will drink to the dregs, living in poverty in a foreign land.
This is the retribution for your guilt.

Hippolytus, perhaps, could still have been saved by the true truth if he had told it to Theseus, but the nobility of his soul did not allow him to open his lips. His wanderings were not long. The moment of Hippolyte’s farewell to life has come. He is mortally wounded. And then the goddess Artemis stands up for his honor, whom the young man unspeakably revered and with whom he surrendered only to the free wind and the hot hunt. She said:

Listen, Theseus,
How can you enjoy your shame?
You killed an innocent son.
Believing unproven, false words,
You, unfortunate one, have proven that you have intelligence
I'm confused. Where will you go from shame?
Will you sink underground?
Or will you fly like a winged bird to the clouds,
To live far from earthly sorrows?
For places in the circle of just people
From now on you are lost forever.
Now listen to how the disaster happened.
My story will not console you, it will only hurt you,
But then I appeared, so that with glory,
Your son ended his life justified and pure
And so that you learn about the passions of your wife
And the nobility of Phaedra. Amazed
The goad of the one who is more hateful than all gods
To us, eternally pure, as your son
My wife fell in love. Overcome passion with reason
She tried, but in the snares of the nurse
Died. Your son, having taken a vow of silence,
I learned a secret from the nanny. Honest young man
Didn't fall into temptation. But how did you not disgrace him?
He did not break his oath to honor the gods.
And Phaedra, fearing exposure,
She treacherously slandered her stepson
And she ruined it. Because you believed her.

Hippolytus, suffering mercilessly from his wounds, utters his last words:

Look, Zeus,
I feared the gods, revered the shrines,
I am the most modest of all, I lived the purest of all,
And now I’ll go underground, to Hades
And I will end my life. Piety's work
I carried in vain and in vain I had a reputation
Devout in the world.
Here we go again, here we go again
The pain took hold of me, the pain dug into me.
Ah, leave the sufferer!
May death come to me as deliverance,
Kill me, finish me off, I pray,
Cut into pieces with a double-edged sword,
Send me a good dream,
Give me peace by ending me.

Artemis, who appeared so late, tries to console both the deceived father and the dying son:

O unfortunate friend, you are yoked to the yoke of misfortune.
Your noble heart has ruined you.
But my love is with you.
The insidious Cypris planned this.
You did not honor her, you kept her clean.
The maiden songs will never cease forever
About Hippolytus, the rumor will live forever
About bitter Phaedra, about her love for you.
And you, son of the Elder Aegean, your child
You should hug him tighter and press him to your chest.
You destroyed him unwittingly. Mortal
It’s easy to make a mistake if God allows it.
My order to you, Ippolit, don’t be angry
To his father. You have fallen victim to fate.
Now goodbye. I shouldn't see death
And defile with the breath of the departing
Your heavenly face.

Euripides, an ardent misogynist, cursed the immortal Cypris in his tragedy, but forgave the mortal Phaedra. The poet placed Chastity on the podium. Hippolytus, a contemplator of nature who passionately reveres the virgin goddess Artemis and despises sensual love for a mortal woman, is the true hero in the imperfect world of gods and people. This is Euripides' passion.

Despite the fact that he curses the women he hates and, perhaps, thanks to this hatred, because the feeling of hatred and the feeling of love are the most acute experiences in the world - Euripides creates the most complex and most vivid images of the fair sex. Rich life observations allow the poet to present to the audience all the diversity of human characters, emotional impulses and violent passions. Unlike Sophocles, who shows people as they should be, Euripides strives to portray people as they are. He concluded the highest statement of justice in these lines:

Isn’t it a mistake to stigmatize people for their vices?..
If the gods are an example before people -
Who is to blame? Teachers. Perhaps…

But the meaning of the tragedy can be revealed in another way. “As in Medea, the action is driven by an internal struggle - only not between two passions, but between passions and reason. Phaedra cannot overcome her love with reason. But the meaning of the tragedy is deeper. Its main character is not the vicious Phaedra, but the innocent Hippolytus. Why is he dying? Perhaps Euripides wanted to show that the position of man in the world is generally tragic, because this world is structured without logic and meaning - it is ruled by the willfulness of the forces that the author clothed in the images of gods: Artemis, the chaste patroness of the chaste Hippolytus, and Aphrodite, his sensual opponent. Or perhaps Euripides, on the contrary, believed that harmony, a balance of forces reigns in the world, and those who violate it suffer, neglecting passion for the sake of reason, like Hippolytus, or not listening to reason in the blindness of passion, like Phaedra.” (O. Levinskaya)

One way or another, Euripides’ man is far from harmony. No wonder Aristotle called him “the most tragic of poets.”

In his tragedy “Electra,” Euripides reveals the full depth of the abyss of endless horror that falls on a person’s thirst for revenge.

I am surrounded by evil and torment, - Electra screams, -
Filled with grief.
Day and night, day and night I
I'm languishing - my cheeks are bleeding
Torn by a sharp fingernail
And my forehead is beaten
In honor of you, the king is my father...
Don't be sorry, don't be sorry.

What brought the poor girl into such despair? And the following happened: her royal mother kills her legitimate husband - the hero of the Trojan War, in order to fall freed into the hot embrace of her lover. Electra, who has lost her father, is expelled from the royal chambers and drags out a miserable, destitute existence in a poor shack. To the girls who invite her to have fun, Electra responds:

Oh, the soul is not torn, maidens,
From my chest to joy.
Gold necklaces
I don’t want to, and I kick
I am flexible among the maidens of Argive
I won’t be in a round dance anymore
Trample the native fields,
My dancing will be replaced by tears...
Look: where is the delicate curl?
You see - the peplos is all in rags
Is this the fate of the royal daughter,
The proud daughter of Atrid?

When Electra’s brother Orestes returns from distant lands, she tells him about everything that happened:

Murderer
With unwashed hands he grabbed
Father's rod - he rides in a chariot,
In which the king rode, and how proud he was!
No one dare water the royal graves.
Decorate with a myrtle branch, fire
The leader did not see the victim, but the grave
A tyrant, drunk with wine, tramples underfoot...

Orestes is horrified by what he heard and Electra convinces his brother to kill his mother’s insignificant lover. The feast of revenge begins.

And then the knife strikes
Opens the chest. And just above the heart
Orestes himself bowed attentively.
The knife also rose on tiptoe
Hit the Tsar in the scruff of the neck, and with a blow
It breaks his back. The enemy has collapsed
And he tossed about in agony, dying.
And so Orestes calls out: “Not a robber
He came to the feast: the king returned home...
I am your Orestes.

And he says to Electra:

Here you are - dead
And if you feed it to the beasts
Or scarecrows for birds, children of the ether,
If you want to nail it to a pole, he's ready for anything.
I agree - he is your slave, yesterday's tyrant.

And Electra, proudly standing over the corpse of her enemy, “unwound the whole ball of speeches and threw it in his face”:

Hear that you must still be alive
Was to listen. Damned, no guilt
Why did you leave us orphans?
Having fallen in love with the leader's wife, the enemy's walls
You didn’t see... And in arrogant stupidity
Murderer, thief and coward, did not dare to dream,
What will be the one caught in adultery?
An exemplary wife for you. If anyone
Having bowed on the bed of caresses by deception
Married, her husband will be
Imagine that she is a modest friend
His palace was decorated, call
He can't be happy. Oh you weren't
As happy with her as he might have dreamed.
The wickedness of the kisses did not wash away
From her soul, and your baseness
Among the ardent caresses she did not forget,
And you both tasted the bitter fruit,
She is yours, and you are her vices.
Oh, greatest of shames,
When in a family the wife is the head, and the husband
So pitiful, so humiliated that among the people
Children are not called by their patronymic.
Yes, a truly enviable marriage - from home
To get the rich and noble
A wife and become even more insignificant with her...
Aegisthus set his sights on gold:
He dreamed of adding weight to himself...

In Electra's soul, the feast of revenge flares up more and more. She tries to persuade Orestes, following his lover, to send their own mother, “beloved and hateful,” to the underworld. Orestes initially resists his sister's pressure. He does not want to embark on a “terrible journey to a terrible feat”, he does not want to put a “bitter burden” on his shoulders. But he does... And now “a mother is in the hands of her children - oh, a bitter lot.”

A bitter fate befalls the murderous son. In a feverish delirium, he keeps repeating and repeating:

Have you seen how bitter she is from under her clothes?
Did you take out your chest so that the killer’s knife would tremble?
Alas, alas! How do I like her
There, crawling on her knees, she tormented her heart!..
Tormented my heart!..
Tormented my heart!

Orestes, having lost his mind, rushes for a long time among the empty, bloody walls of the palace. But time passes and the mind returns to it. After all, justice is carried out not only by the will of Electra, but also by the will of the god Apollo himself.

If in his poetry Euripides lived by passions, penetrating his soul deeply into the inner world of a person overwhelmed by love, jealousy, joy, sadness, then in life, solitude was dearer to him. “The opening of the grotto, in which Euripides often basked, revealed to his gaze the silvery sea. Peace reigned here, disturbed only by the measured splash of waves on the coastal boulders and the plaintive cries of birds nesting on the rocks. The poet brought papyrus scrolls here. He loved books, and although he was not rich, he bought them wherever he could. In the grotto, Euripides read and created. Sometimes, in search of the appropriate word and rhyme, he peered into the sky for a long time or slowly followed with his gaze the boats and ships quietly gliding along the sparkling surface.

Euripides looked out over the sea from the hills of Salamis. Here he was born, here he farmed on a piece of land inherited from his father. He never had any special property, and later many laughed at the fact that the poet’s mother herself sold vegetables at the market.

The cleft in the rock attracted Euripides not only with the beautiful view opening from here, but also with its silence and distance from the noisy crowd. The love of solitude led to the fact that the poet was later accused of being unkind to people in general. Not true! He did not despise people, but the mob. He was disgusted by her loudness, base tastes, naive dexterity and ridiculous self-confidence.

What a fuss! - he complained, -
Call him blessed
Who does not bear evil in the present day?

But before quiet people who were pondering the secrets of the universe, Euripides joyfully opened his heart, “he sought expressions for his thoughts.” Leisurely conversations among a select few were intoxicating with poetry and calm wisdom. Therefore, he often said: “Happy is he who penetrates the secrets of knowledge. He will not be attracted by politics that are disastrous for everyone, he will not offend anyone. As if enchanted, he peers into the eternally young and immortal nature, explores its inviolable order.”

Even over a cup of wine, Euripides did not know how to laugh carefree. How different he was in this sense from Sophocles, who, although he was 15 years older than him, immediately became the soul of every feast, shone, had fun and amused others! The Pyrshe “battlefield” Euripides willingly yielded to this favorite of gods and people. However, he was always upset that, according to the public, he could never compare with him as a poet. Sophocles received his first award at the age of 28, he only at forty. But Euripides did not stop working.” (Kravchuk)

In his tragedies, he does not worship the gods, on the contrary: his gods are endowed with the most disgusting human traits: they are envious, petty, vengeful, capable of destroying a pure, honest, brave person out of jealousy. Such is the fate of Hippolytus, the maddened Hercules, Creusa, who was vilely possessed by Apollo, and then also mercilessly treated the maiden he seduced,

Together with his hero Jonah, Euripides “is indignant that the gods, who created laws for people, themselves trample on them; Therefore, one cannot call people bad if they only imitate the gods. He also does not like the actions of people: royal power is good only in appearance, but in the tyrant’s house it is bad: he selects friends for himself among scoundrels and hates worthy people, fearing to die at their hands. This is not compensated by wealth: it is unpleasant to hold treasures in your hands while hearing reproaches. Good and wise people do not take part in affairs, but prefer to remain silent so as not to arouse the hatred of people in power. Therefore, Jonah likes a moderate life, but free from grief. This mood of Ion was alien to those who occupied an influential place in Athens under Pericles. It is characteristic of people of the next generation, when the vicissitudes of politics forced many to withdraw further from the worries of public life.

In the drama of satyrs, Euripides shows modern man in the images of heroes of mythology. His Polyphemus knows only one god - wealth; everything else is verbal embellishment, hype. How he teaches the “little man” Odysseus who has fallen into his clutches, who in vain tries to convince him of the perils of vile self-interest with arguments from the past of Hellas. Polyphemus despises those who invented the laws. His Zeus is food and drunkenness" (History of Greek Literature)

Euripides knows how many endless misfortunes and bad weather await a person on his life’s path. Experience shows: “If you burn one misfortune, you’ll see: another will come.”

And still

Good prevails, not evil,
Otherwise the light could not have stood.