A STUDY OF PIETY IN THE GREEK 
 TRAGIC CHORUS 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY VOGEL SHELLEY 
 
 A THESIS 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN 
 
 PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR 
 
 THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 1919 
 
 O 
 
, EXCHANGE 
 
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 A STUDY OF PIETY IN THE GREEK 
 TRAGIC CHORUS 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY VOGEL SHELLEY 
 
 A THESIS 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN 
 
 PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR 
 
 THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA, 
 1919 
 
SXCHANG& 
 
5? 
 
 The writer desires here to express his sincere 
 thanks to Professor W. N. Bates, Professor W. W. 
 Hyde and Professor H. L. Crosby for their valu- 
 able help in the preparation of this dissertation. 
 
 'ft 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 II. PERSONNEL OP THE TRAGIC CHORUS .~rr -8 
 
 1. A comparison of the Supplices of Aeschylus and the Suppliants 
 of Euripides 10 
 
 III. RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OP THE CHORUS IN AESCHYLUS, SOPHOCLES 
 
 AND EURIPIDES 12 
 
 IV. PHASES OP THE CHORUS' PIETY: 
 
 1. Deification of abstract ideas 13 
 
 a. Destiny 14 
 
 b. Necessity 15 
 
 c. Time 15 
 
 d. Justice 15 
 
 e. Time and Justice combined 23 
 
 f . Retribution 24 
 
 2. Scorn of prosperity basely acquired 25 
 
 3. Respect for temporal authority 26 
 
 4. Power of the gods 27 
 
 a. Fickleness of fortune 29 
 
 b. Omnipotence of love 30 
 
 5. Majesty of individual gods 31 
 
 a. Dionysus 31 
 
 b. Apollo 31 
 
 c. Zeus 31 
 
 6. Fear of the gods 32 
 
 7. Hatred of ugpt<; 34 
 
 8. Humility 34 
 
 9. Abhorrence of religious pollution 35 
 
 10. Moral restraint (06 Os^tq) 36 
 
 11. Strict observance of ritual forms 37 
 
 12. Faith in the gods 38 
 
 13. Prayer 38 
 
 14. Appeals to tradition 38 
 
 15. Belief in dreams, oracles, etc 39 
 
 16. Knowledge of myths 40 
 
 17. Sentiments of piety proper (sial^eta) 40 
 
 a. Moderation (aw(J)poauvTQ, (j,iq$&v ayav) 44 
 
 V. CONCLUSION. . . 46 
 
A STUDY OF PIETY IN THE GREEK 
 TRAGIC CHORUS 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The religion of the ancient Greeks presents a fascinating 
 study. It constitutes a phase of Greek life, which only in very 
 recent times has received serious consideration, but fortunately 
 at present enough research has been made in the subject to 
 determine at least its general outline. To the modern mind 
 it is a matter of great interest and astonishment to note as 
 two salient and remarkably peculiar characteristics _of Greek 1 
 religion its utter lack of dogma and its marked influence on 
 every aspect of the national life and thought, especially the l ' 
 drama and the four great athletic institutions. But the Greek 
 mind, unlike the modern, drew no line of demarcation between 
 the religious and the secular, for by reason of the ubiquity of 
 the Greek religious influence secularism simply did not exist 
 in Greek life. The idea that comedy had a religious origin 
 seems to us moderns well-nigh preposterous; but we can hardly 
 say the same of tragedy. The very nature of tragedy inevitably 
 reveals the fundamental human need of the consolatory power 
 of religion. 1 The happy, healthy, prosperous man is quite apt 
 to let human nature dominate completely his thoughts and 
 actions; but if stricken with adversity or placed in jeopardy, 
 he turns instinctively to a higher Power for consolation, realiz- 
 ing in this predicament that the help of his fellow-man is utterly 
 futile. It is just this realization of man's complete dependence 
 upon a higher Being, which constitutes the nucleus, the quin- 
 tessence, the vital meaning of religion. 
 
 In Greek tragedy, where the sense of man's misfortune has 
 been portrayed with a profundity of understanding character- 
 istic of no other literature, we shall find abundant evidence of 
 the innate religious spirit in man. Flourishing in the fifth 
 century, that imposing span of time during which the intellect 
 received an impetus for development more powerful than at 
 
 l The theory of William Ridgeway (The Origin of Tragedy, p. 93) that 
 Greek tragedy arose from the worship of the dead seems untenable. 
 
 7 
 
8 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 any other period in the history of the world, tragedy thus em- 
 bodied the religious ideas of the Greeks in a highly advanced 
 stage of evolution. It was truly the Golden Age of Greek 
 history. No greater tragedians than Aeschylus, Sophocles and 
 Euripides have ever lived, and their extant works remain, there- 
 fore, a priceless literary heritage. 
 
 PERSONNEL OF THE TRAGIC CHORUS 
 
 The orthodox system of religion that prevailed throughout 
 Greece during the fifth century was what Gilbert Murray terms 
 Olympianism. 2 Zeus is the supreme god of this anthropo- 
 morphic hierarchy, which was introduced into Greek literature 
 by Homer, 3 and which flourished as the state religion till it 
 was apparently superseded, at least among the thinking classes, 
 by the various philosophical schools of later days. Greek 
 tragedy fairly bristles with Olympianism. The actors, to be 
 sure, voice orthodox sentiments for the most part, 4 but it is 
 the chorus XOCT' ^OXTQV that constantly admonishes the spectators 
 to preserve a pious attitude toward the gods. Indeed, the 
 tragic poets seem to have made this a vital function of the 
 chorus. Furthermore, it would hardly be natural to find un- 
 orthodox ideas emanating from a company of sage elders, mild 
 maidens or prosaic matrons. For almost all the tragedies 
 possess choruses of some one of these three classes, and in sev- 
 eral instances, /notably the Eumenides, the Supplices and the 
 Bacchce, the plays actually derive their titles from the chorus. 
 In all the tragedies of Aeschylus the choruses are composed either 
 of elders or of women. Euripides, too, is remarkably consistent 
 in this matter: in fact, if exception be made of the Rhesus , 5 
 whose chorus is represented by sentinels of the Trojan army, 
 Euripides will be found to be virtually in accord with Aeschylus 
 on this point. In only one play, the Hippolytus, does he em- 
 ploy young men as a chorus, and even then he has recourse to 
 
 2 Four Stages of Greek Religion, chap. II. 
 
 3 This religion, of course, existed and developed centuries before Homer. 
 
 4 Sometimes (e. g. Septem 223, 702; P. V. 938) the actors deliver unor- 
 thodox utterances. 
 
 6 Professor W. N. Bates (T. A. P. A., vol. xlvii) has, however, clearly shown 
 the Rhesus to be genuine. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 9 
 
 an unprecedented phenomenon in tragedy, a double chorus, 
 or, more precisely, two choruses, one of huntsmen, the com- 
 panions of Hippolytus, and the other of women of Troezen. 
 In five of the plays of Sophocles, the choruses consist of maidens, 
 women or elders. The Philoctetes, with both actors and chorus 
 composed of men, reveals thereby a unique feature in Greek 
 tragedy; moreover, since the entire cast of characters is pos- 
 sessed of the martial spirit, the play is naturally instinct with 
 the warrior's rugged virility unsoftened by woman's inevitable 
 power of pathos. Scyrian sailors of Neoptolemus' crew com- 
 prise the chorus of the Philoctetes, and mariners of Salamis that 
 of the Ajax. It is interesting to note that these two choruses 
 include not merely young men, but young men living a mari- 
 time life. 
 
 k jf, as seems true, we find the ideas of the sanctity of tradi- 
 tion and of religious conservatism and piety most firmly rooted 
 in the hearts and minds of sage old men, who have lived their 
 allotted threescore years and ten; of submissive maidens reared 
 in homes of hallowed atmosphere; and of sober matrons who 
 have themselves reared these maidens; is it any wonder that 
 the Greek tragic poets made the chorus, which, with but few 
 exceptions, comprised such a personnel, serve primarily the 
 purpose of inculcating in the hearts of the spectators its own 
 reverent attitude toward the state religion and things tradi- 
 tional? 
 
 It would be of absorbing interest, if psychologically possible, 
 to determine whether those plays which are named after the 
 chorus actually exerted a stronger influence for piety over the 
 people. Of such there are nine, not an insignificant proportion; 
 and of these nine the choruses of all save the Persce are com- 
 posed of women or of maidens. It might, perhaps, be expected 
 that Euripides contributes the majority of these plays, in 
 view of the fact that we possess nearly three times as many 
 of his tragedies as of those of Sophocles or Aeschylus. But 
 such is not the case; for Aeschylus has the same number as 
 Euripides, each contributing four, while Sophocles offers but 
 one. 6 
 
 8 Aesch. Supplices, Persce, Choephori, Eumenides. 
 Eur. Suppliants, Bacchce, Phoenissce, Troades. 
 Soph. Trachinice. 
 
10 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 An interesting comparison is afforded by two plays in this 
 list bearing curiously enough the same name, but dealing with 
 different subjects, viz., the Supplices of Aeschylus and the 
 Suppliants of Euripides, usually so translated to avoid con- 
 fusion, but both entitled 'Ixci8es in the Greek. How much 
 more effective does Aeschylus render his play by entitling it 
 the Suppliants rather than the Danaides! 7 This, the earliest 
 extant specimen of Greek tragedy, 8 is so replete with the spirit 
 of piety, that it may almost be described as one long continuous 
 prayer. The title Danaides would doubtless have failed to 
 suggest to the spectators any religious association; in fact, 
 they would instinctively recall the well-known story of the 
 daughters of Danaus who murdered their cousin-husbands and 
 thereby suffered dire punishment in Hades; and this popular 
 conception, which doubtless fostered an unsympathetic atti- 
 tude toward the Danaids, was just what Aeschylus sought to 
 counteract at the outset, for the Supplices forms the first play 
 of a trilogy of which the two ensuing parts are lost. In this 
 play we see most clearly the dithyrambic origin of tragedy. 
 The chorus constitute an indispensable element, a sine qua non, 
 while the actors' r61e is decidedly subordinate. In no other 
 tragedy do we find such prominence assigned to the chorus. 
 With the development of tragedy, however, as seen in the 
 works of Sophocles and Euripides, the function of the chorus, 
 as is well known, gradually dwindled in importance, while 
 that of the actors correspondingly increased. The dramatic 
 element, stimulated in proportion to the possibilities of the plot, 
 became the chief object of interest; so that we find in certain 
 plays of Euripides that the chorus had little or nothing to do 
 with the vital action. 
 
 Far different from the chorus of Aeschylus' Supplices is 
 that of Euripides' Suppliants. So far as concerns the plot 
 and its logical development, the chorus in Euripides' Suppliants 
 is of little or no significance. Being the mothers of Argive 
 chiefs slain before Thebes, they add to the play a consummate 
 touch of pathos and excite sympathy and pity in the hearts 
 of the audience. But that is all. The dramatic interest cen- 
 
 7 The chorus is composed of the daughters of Danaus. 
 
 8 Its archaic character proves its early date, which, however, cannot be 
 definitely determined. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 11 
 
 ters in the actors, with the chorus forming a conventionally 
 attractive but unessential adjunct. The purpose of Aeschylus 
 in writing the Supplices was purely religious; but Euripides 
 was clearly actuated by a political motive. Ostensibly treating 
 the tragic story of the struggle between Eteocles and Polynices, 
 Euripides is in reality adroitly alluding to contemporaneous 
 history. In 424 B. C. the Athenian army had suffered a defeat 
 at Delium and the Thebans had refused to hand over the Athe- 
 nian dead for burial. Euripides, producing the Suppliants 
 three years later, recalls to the minds of the people these recent 
 untoward incidents, and urges Athens to promote friendship 
 with Argos. The Supplices of Aeschylus, on the contrary, 
 is a virile defense of orthodox Olympianism. Zeus, the all- 
 highest Olympian deity, is the main object of the chorus' sup- 
 plication. And why? Is he not really the Danaids' progenitor, 
 who, falling in love with the hapless Argive, lo, begat their 
 race? It is rather difficult to ascertain Euripides' reason, if 
 any reason there was, for naming his play the Suppliants, 
 especially when we realize how natural it was for Aeschylus 
 to give his tragedy that title. Surely we cannot attribute it 
 to mere caprice. Let us then consider for a moment the per- 
 sonnel of the chorus. Mothers of the slain Argive chiefs and 
 therefore elderly, if not actually old, women we find them to 
 be. Now judging from what we have of Greek tragedy, we 
 may safely conclude that the tragic poets very seldom em- 
 ployed old women to represent the chorus. In fact the Sup- 
 pliants is the only extant play with such a chorus. There is 
 no reason to suppose that old women would find it harder to 
 execute the choral dances than old men, and yet there are as 
 many as eight plays with choruses composed of elders. 9 Perhaps 
 Euripides felt that the sense of bereavement experienced by 
 the mothers of the slain chieftains was so overwhelmingly 
 bitter as to offer ample artistic justification for naming the 
 play after them. At any rate, the strong pathetic appeal of 
 this tragedy is undeniable, and a tragedy, to be either ephem- 
 erally successful or lastingly great, must for one thing sound 
 a deep note of pathos. 
 
 9 Aesch. Persce, Agamemnon. 
 
 Soph. Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus Coloneus. 
 Eur. Alcestis, Hercules Furens, Heraclidce. 
 
12 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 In a marked majority of the plays the chorus consists either 
 of maidens or matrons. Of Aeschylus' tragedies there are 
 five with women or maidens for chorus; Sophocles contributes 
 only two such plays; but in Euripides we^ find the vast pre- 
 ponderance of fourteen. Out of a total of thirty-two plays, 
 therefore, eight have choruses consisting of elders, four of young 
 men and twenty-one of maidens or matrons. 10 
 
 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHORUS IN AESCHYLUS, 
 SOPHOCLES AND EURIPIDES 
 
 Why, then, was a chorus of women so common? The answer 
 is not hard to find. Such a chorus possessed two distinct ad- 
 vantages. In the first place, women could fulfill the prime 
 and paramount duty of maintaining religious conservatism and 
 tradition just as well, nay better, than men, for women are 
 naturally more conservative and religious than men; and in 
 the next place, they produced obviously enough a much more 
 artistic effect in the dance. Euripides, by reason of his icon- 
 oclastic tendencies in matters religious, added a somewhat 
 secular touch to the character of the tragic chorus, yet despite 
 his broad views on religion he never presumed to uproot the 
 chorus' firmly planted custom of preaching piety; and his char- 
 acters also are ever so often of orthodox leanings. 11 His wide 
 popularity in antiquity may well have been due to his con- 
 summate skill in reconciling and blending a sacrosanct ortho- 
 doxy with the realism of human sin. ^Euripides in particular 
 has made his characters thoroughly human. This is evident 
 not merely on a perusal of his plays but also from a statement 
 of his elder contemporary, Sophocles, who said that he himself 
 drew men as they ought to be and Euripides as they were. 12 
 While never commonplace, Euripides is, after all, a poet of 
 the people, and his works reflect the realities in the life of the 
 people much more frequently and clearly than do those of 
 
 10 According to this enumeration, there are in all thirty-three plays, the 
 discrepancy being due to the fact that the Hippolytus must, by reason of its 
 double chorus, be counted twice. The Rhesus is regarded as genuine and 
 therefore included. 
 
 11 Cf. Andromache, Orestes, Oedipus, Adrastus. 
 
 12 Arist. Poetics 1460 b 34 ff. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 13 
 
 Sophocles. And yet as a man, he eschewed the plaudits of 
 the populace and sought the seclusion of the scholar's closet. 
 * As can be seen from a study of Euripides' plays and also 
 from a statement of Aristotle, 13 the function of the chorus in 
 forming an integral part of the whole has evidently undergone 
 considerable modification. This Aristotle considers a defect in 
 Euripides' technique. Sophocles, so Aristotle thinks, has dofie^ 
 right in adopting Aeschylus' method of treatment of the chorus^ 
 by which a vital share in the plot was given that body.)But 
 tragedy, in its historical descent from the cloudland of Aeschylus 
 to the terra firma of Euripides, was bound to undergo accom- 
 panying changes. In Aeschylus the chorus is indispensable or _ 
 essential to the development of the plot; in Sophocles we begin ~1 L 
 to note a distinct diminution of its importance, despite its 
 integral share in the action; and lastly in Euripides the sep- 
 aration is all but complete. To the actors alone is entrusted 
 the care of dealing effectively with the dramatic element. Such 
 a development was not at all unnatural; and in the later comedy 
 of Menander, we discover this trend carried to its logical end 
 in the lack of a chorus altogether. The brilliance of the re- 
 ligious influence in Greek tragedy paled little by little with 
 the years. Consequently the significance of the chorus as 
 the predominant agent of that influence dwindled in propor- 
 tion. And yet even the most heretical of Euripides' plays 
 contain a reactionary element in the person of the chorus. 
 
 PHASES OF THE CHORUS' PIETY 
 
 1. Deification of Abstract Ideas 
 
 Since Olympianism is essentially anthropomorphic, the chorus 
 invoke for the most part personal, incarnate deities. They 
 must have a concrete object to worship, for with the gift of 
 abstract speculation they are in no wise endued. Aeschylus 
 is preeminently inclined to give concrete expression and per- 
 sonification to abstract ideas. In the Prometheus Vinctus two 
 of the characters represented are Power and Might; and in 
 the Choephori (244 f.) Electra invokes " Power and Justice along 
 
 "Arist. op. cit. 1456 a 25 ff.: y.al T&V xP^v 8s sva 8ei 6-JioXagstv TWV 
 xal ^opcov elvai TOU 8Xou xal auvaYwvf^eaOai ^ waiuep 
 oXX' 
 
14 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 with Zeus, the greatest of all." Themis, whom we may regard 
 as personifying divine law, is the daughter of Zeus Klarios, 
 i. e. the Apportioner. 14 
 
 a. Destiny 
 
 Human destiny also is commonly a goddess. 15 Aeschylus 
 describes her as the "armorer of Justice/' 16 and apparently 
 superior even to Zeus. 17 Sometimes, however, as in the Sup- 
 plices of Aeschylus, Destiny and Zeus are to be identified. 18 
 Here Fate enforces her decrees through the will of Zeus. This 
 condition, however, is but natural, when we reflect that the 
 Supplices represents a comparatively early stage in the develop- 
 ment of tragedy, that at this period the personification of ab- 
 stract ideas as separate, individual divinities was probably 
 unknown to the devotees of Olympianism and that in this play 
 Zeus is the particular object of the chorus' supplications. Zeus 
 is their ancestor and the founder of their family. They are 
 highly conscious of their kinship with the father of the gods. 
 This play furnishes us, then, with a striking example of anthro- 
 pomorphism in Greek religion. This idea of the exercise of 
 fate through the will of the gods finds expression also in the 
 Persians, another of the earlier plays of Aeschylus. 19 The later 
 plays of Aeschylus, however, reveal the anthropomorphic con- 
 ception of Destiny as a power superior to Zeus. 20 So also do 
 the plays of Sophocles, 21 who speaks of Fate as "common to all 
 mortals." 22 "Dread is its power which neither wealth nor 
 Ares nor strong tower nor sea-beaten ship can escape." 23 Euri- 
 pides likewise bears witness to this idea: "No refuge is there 
 from fate and the inevitable," sigh the chorus in the Hippo- 
 lytus. Again in the Heraclidce they proclaim the decree of 
 Heaven whereby no man can escape his destiny. 25 He who is 
 now prosperous may, through the force of destiny, encounter 
 adversity. 26 
 
 14 Aesch. Supp. 360. Sophocles, too, calls her " heavenly" (El. 1064). 
 
 16 P. V. 511; Cho. 909; Ph. 1466. 21 Ph. 1466. 
 "Cfc>.647. "J0J.860. 
 
 17 P. 7. 518. 23 Ant. 951 ff. 
 
 18 Supp. 1048 f . 24 Hipp. 1256. 
 
 19 Pers. 102. 26 Herod. 615. 
 
 20 Cho. 305, 909; P. V. 516. 26 Eur. Supp. 608 f. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 15 
 
 b. Necessity 
 
 Another pure abstraction, which the Greek mind associated 
 with fate, was that of necessity. In the Alcestis the chorus, 
 making Necessity a goddess, pay a glowing tribute to her om- 
 nipotence. 27 "Naught mightier than Necessity have I found." 28 
 "Tis with thy help that Zeus fulfills his will." 29 By this latter 
 statement the chorus imply that Necessity also, like Fate, 
 is superior to Zeus. Aeschylus, too, personifies the concept 
 of necessity in recognition of its supreme power. 30 Both Euri- 
 pides and Aeschylus characterize it as "relentless," Euripides 
 rendering thereby a very effective ending to the Hecuba. 31 
 
 c. Time 
 
 In the Heraclidce the chorus personify Time as the son of 
 Cronus. 32 Sophocles, too, deifies this abstraction, 33 while 
 Aeschylus bestows upon Time an epithet usually applied to 
 Zeus. 34 In Sophocles we find Opportunity also personified. 35 
 All three tragic poets give expression to the kindliness and 
 healing power of Time. 36 
 
 d. Justice 
 
 Of all personified abstractions, however, Justice stands first 
 and foremost. In the Choephori she is called the virgin daughter 
 of Zeus and pictured by the chorus as actually taking Orestes 
 by the hand. 37 Time and again the chorus dwell with hearty 
 fondness upon the corrective, inevitable power of Justice as 
 implied in the lex talionis. They maintain, like the Hebrews 
 of the Old Testament, a strictly literal attitude toward the 
 vindicating power of Justice. They can see only the letter of 
 the law. The spirit is lacking. Mercy must not temper justice. 
 The Christian doctrine of loving one's enemy seems preposterous 
 to the chorus. We need only refer to the Supplices of Aeschylus 
 to perceive the characteristic sentiment of the chorus toward 
 their enemies. 38 "Bless us, but curse our enemies" is the sub- 
 
 27 Ale. 962-980. 34 Cho. 965 (xavTeXfc); cf. Septem 
 
 28 Ib. 965 f. 117. 
 
 29 Ib. 978 f . 36 El 75 f . ; Ph. 837. 
 
 30 P. V. 514 f. " Cho. 965; Eum. 286; Soph. El 179; 
 
 31 Ib. 1052; Hec. 1295. H. F. 805 f. 
 
 32 Herod. 900. " Cho. 948 ff. 
 
 33 El. 179. 38 Supp. 30 ff. 
 
16 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 stance of their utterance, which is clearly echoed in the Septem. 
 In the Choephori Electra asks the chorus if she can in all piety 
 pray that the slayer be slain, and the chorus promptly reply 
 in the affirmative. 40 Then again the chorus imagine Justice 
 as crying aloud: "For word of hate let word of hate be paid 
 and for murderous blow let him pay murderous blow." 41 " Blood 
 that is shed calls for other blood in requital: this is the law." 42 
 Justice is nurtured in the hearts of the chorus. "We claim 
 to be righteous-judging," declare the Eumenides. 43 In the 
 Supplices the Danaids seek the protection of Pelasgus, the 
 Argive king, by appealing to his sense of justice. "Lend us 
 thy aid, King, and thus ally thyself with Justice, for Justice 
 ever champions the cause of her allies and must inevitably 
 triumph." 44 This thought is presently reechoed by the chorus, 
 when they urge the king to choose Justice as his ally and to 
 render holy judgment in sight of Heaven. 45 
 
 Since Greek religion granted safety and protection to the 
 suppliant, guilty though he might be of a heinous offense, the 
 chorus with characteristic piety were scrupulously careful in 
 the observance of this rite. When Copreus, the herald of 
 Eurystheus, king of the Argives, comes to Marathon to demand 
 the surrender of Heracles' children, who as suppliants have 
 taken refuge at the altar of Zeus, the chorus are quick to remind 
 him of the suppliant's sacred right: " 'Tis fitting, stranger, that 
 reverence be shown to suppliants of the gods, not that they 
 be dragged away from the gods' shrines with violent hand; 
 for the goddess, Justice, will not suffer this." 46 Now since 
 Zeus was preeminently the god of suppliants, it would be only 
 natural for the chorus to invoke his name here, as they do in 
 the Supplices of Aeschylus. But Euripides, as is well known, 
 was not the religious conservative that Aeschylus was, so that 
 his preference for a personified abstraction, which even in 
 Aeschylus' time had endeared itself to the chorus, and which 
 Euripides here substitutes for Zeus incarnate, is hardly sur- 
 prising. "The man who preserves the light of Justice shall 
 
 39 Septem 481 ff., 626 ff. 43 Eum. 312. 
 
 40 Cho. 122 f. 44 Supp. 342. 
 Ib. 309 ff. Tucker. 76. 395 f. 
 
 Ib. 400 ff. 4 Heracl 101 ff. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 17 
 
 escape the censure of his fellow-men; be bold then to do right." 
 Thus do the chorus admonish Theseus. 47 
 
 Aeschylus twice speaks in his choral odes of the altar of 
 Justice. 48 In both instances, however, the use of the word is 
 purely figurative. So, too, Theonoe speaks of the great shrine 
 of Justice that is reared in her nature. 49 In the Antigone of 
 Sophocles, Justice is pictured as sitting on a lofty thronej 50 ^ 
 but here, as Jebb has pointed out, 51 it is merely Justice in the 
 form of the law of the state, which Sophocles clearly distinguishes 
 from divine Justice that guides the course of Antigone. 
 
 " Better it is," say the maidens of Phthia, who compose the 
 chorus of the Andromache, " better not to have a victory that 
 carries with it a bad repute than to cheat justice through envy 
 and power." 52 The Bacchanals proclaim their hearty wish to 
 honor the gods and to spurn the ways of injustice; 53 while the 
 Phthian'maidens disdain ever to wield unjust power in home and 
 city. 54 In the two latter passages, Euripides expresses the 
 idea of injustice by the phrase ?w Bfoas, which may be fig- 
 uratively rendered ' 'outside the pale of justice." The chorus, 
 always sure of the ultimate triumph of justice, however gloomy 
 the outlook may be, is ever happy to celebrate its triumph. 55 
 In speaking of the death of Aegisthus at the hands of Orestes, 
 the chorus pay tribute to the great might of justice. 56 Simi- 
 larly, in regard to the death of Clytemnestra at the hands of 
 her children, the chorus describe the victory of justice in these 
 words: " Verily doth God mete out justice in His good time." 
 Here again are linked the ideas of time and justice. 67 In the 
 Heraclidce the chorus of old men of Marathon take pride in 
 saying that their land has always wished to give to the helpless 
 the benefit of justice's aid. 58 They feel that the expedition 
 of the Argive king has been unjustly undertaken, and so pray 
 that their patron goddess, Pallas Athena, may stop the advance 
 of the impious invader. 59 They are confident in asserting that 
 
 47 Eur. Supp. 564 f . 54 Andr. 784 ff. 
 
 48 Ag. 383; Eum. 539. B5 Eur. El 877 f. 
 
 49 Hel 1002. 66 76. 958. 
 **Ant. 853. 67 76. 1169. 
 
 61 See his note on Ant. 853 ff. 88 Herod. 329 f . 
 
 62 Andr. 779 f . 69 76. 770 ff . 
 83 Bacch. 1010 f . 
 
18 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 their city possesses the path of justice. 60 The chorus' sympathy 
 goes out to Medea in her sorry plight; yet they do not for a 
 moment doubt that Jason will receive his just deserts. 61 
 
 When Electra tells the chorus of Apollo's decree bidding 
 her and Orestes slay their mother, the chorus declare the com- 
 mand to have been issued in all justice. 62 Again, in speaking 
 of the fate of Helen, the chorus readily believe that the gods 
 have justly punished the royal adulteress. 63 They know, too, 
 that Eteocles' conduct toward his brother, in refusing to yield 
 him the royal power in turn, is audaciously unjust. 64 Similar 
 to the view expressed by the chorus in the Heraclidce, that their 
 city possesses the path of justice, is the one set forth in the 
 Suppliants, where the city is said to revere Justice. 65 When 
 Orestes has made known his firm determination to slay Aegis- 
 thus, the chorus hail the planting of the anvil of Justice, with 
 Fate forging the fatal blade. 66 The metaphor is typically 
 Aeschylean and singularly forceful. In the Agamemnon Justice 
 is the great teacher of sinners; 67 while in the Choephori there 
 are two passages containing the phrase 8i& A (/,<;, by which 
 we are clearly to understand the goddess as issuing a command 
 or lending her aid. 68 It is Justice who decrees that the sword 
 of vengeance shall plunge through the heart of the murderer, 
 or who guides with ever watchful care the words of the chorus 
 in the utterance of right and piety. 
 
 Justice shows no partiality to wealth. Aeschylus gives a 
 vivid comparison of the sooty but virtuous hovel with the 
 golden albeit sin-stained mansion. 69 The material murk of 
 the poor man's dwelling is dispelled by the spiritual brilliance 
 of Justice ; who chooses to make her home with the pious and 
 the good, be their abode ever so humble; but the lordly edifice 
 of the wealthy, gleaming with the splendor of material pros- 
 perity, yet cursed with the insidious sin of wanton bloodshed, 
 is an object of utter loathing to Justice. With averted eyes 
 she forsakes the place to enter the habitation of the holy. 70 
 
 60 Heracl. 901. 66 Cho. 643 f. 
 
 61 Med. 1231 f. 67 Ag. 250. 
 
 62 Or. 195. es Cho. 642, 787. 
 
 63 76. 1361 f . 69 Ag. 773 ff. 
 
 64 Phoen. 258 ff. 76. 777 f . 
 " 5 Eur. Supp. 379. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 19 
 
 Any display of unblushing insolence repels and disgusts the 
 chorus. When Aegisthus voluntarily admits having slain 
 Agamemnon, the chorus make bold to assure him that his 
 head shall not escape the curse which it justly deserves. 71 A 
 reverence for justice implies a wholesome, reasonable sense of 
 fear, which all mortals should foster. 72 The chorus hi the_ 
 Eumenides consider themselves as the true dispensers of justice, 
 and take the view that Orestes, since he has murdered his mother, 
 has acted unjustly, and unless he is punished accordingly, the 
 Temple of Justice will collapse. But in this play our sympathy 
 is for Orestes and his cause; and Aeschylus undoubtedly meant 
 it to be so. Here plainly is a case where we take issue with 
 the chorus on the idea of retributive justice. Guided solely 
 by the letter of the law, like Shylock, they run amuck. Justice 
 decides in Orestes' favor, for he has obeyed Apollo's injunc- 
 tions and Athena has cast the vital vote for his acquittal. 
 
 The impious act of dragging away a suppliant from the altar 
 is, as we have already seen, 73 strictly prohibited by Justice; 
 and in the Supplices the Danaids admonish the king not to 
 dare to behold the suppliant torn from the gods' statues in 
 defiance of justice, lest his sin rest as a curse upon his house 
 and children. " Consider this," they say, "that Zeus' commands 
 are just." 74 "An evil thing it is, city," declare the elders 
 of Marathon, "if we betray suppliant strangers at the command 
 of our Argos. Zeus is my ally, therefore I have no fear; Zeus 
 justly favors me." 75 In the Supplices Aeschylus alludes to a 
 certain moral code comparable with our decalogue, stating 
 that the respectful reverence on the part of children for their 
 parents forms the third commandment written by highest- 
 honored Justice. 76 Zeus is said to have eyes of justice; 77 and 
 the play concludes with the following sentiment of the chorus: 
 "I am content if heaven send that judgment side with Justice, 
 through means of deliverance sought for by my prayers." 78 
 The chorus have a rebuke for Eteocles, when he insolently 
 declares his refusal to surrender the throne to his brother: 
 "Fair words befit not unfair deeds; this is not noble but offensive 
 
 71 Ag. 1612 ff. " Herod. 763 ff. 
 
 72 Eum. 521 ff. 76 Supp. 707 ff. 
 
 73 Herod. 101. 77 76. 814. 
 
 74 Aesch. Supp. 429 ff. 7 * 76. 1072 ff. Tucker. 
 
20 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 to Justice." 79 Here Eteocles sophist! cally argues that to do 
 wrong is perfectly fair, when a throne is at stake, but that the 
 fear and love of God are in all other things absolutely essential. 
 In the Choephori the chorus pray that Orestes' cause may find 
 fulfillment "in the path that Justice treads." 80 "The man, 
 who of his own accord and without compulsion is just, will not 
 be unblessed; never will utter ruin seize him." 81 But the unjust 
 man, when at last he is caught in the eddies of adversity, cries 
 out in his struggle to the gods for deliverance; but his prayer 
 is of no avail; to his supplications the gods are deaf. 82 The 
 Danaids pray the gods of birth and race to bless their fate with 
 justice, and with zealous hatred of wanton insolence to con- 
 summate for them lawful marriages. 83 The Theban maidens 
 composing the chorus of the Septem entreat the gods to harken 
 in all righteousness to their prayers, 84 for their prayers are 
 themselves righteous. 85 "May the gods grant good fortune 
 to our champion, Eteocles, as he goes forth in just defense of 
 the city," plead the chorus. 86 But here we may well question 
 whether Eteocles' conduct is justified. Our sympathy is nat- 
 urally for the injured Polynices. We feel rather that his cause 
 is justly to be espoused. We are again, as in the Eumenides, 
 privileged to differ with the chorus on the idea of justice. But 
 the chorus do not continue throughout the play to support 
 Eteocles unanimously. At the end we detect a division of 
 sentiment. Half the chorus in sympathy with Antigone re- 
 solve to share with her the honor of burying Polynices; while 
 the other half continue to maintain their allegiance to Eteocles, 
 "as the state and the right enjoin." 87 Such dissension on the 
 part of the chorus is nowhere else in tragedy to be found, and 
 coming from Aeschylus it seems almost heretical. Both Soph- 
 ocles and Euripides preserve in their choruses complete har- 
 mony of opinion. 
 
 Orestes' interpretation of his mother's dream as related to 
 him by the chorus meets with their ready commendation. 88 
 In him the chorus recognize their champion of justice, who has 
 
 79 Phoen. 526 f . 84 Septem 171 f . 
 
 80 Cho. 308. 85 76. 626. 
 
 81 Eum. 550 ff. 88 76. 417 ff. 
 
 82 76. 558 f. 87 76. 1073 f . 
 
 83 Supp. 78 ff . 88 Cho. 551 f. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 21 
 
 but to command his charges and they forthwith obey. Once 
 the chorus realize their superior to be actuated by justice, they 
 display docility. 
 
 After Electra's mordant denunciation of her mother, 89 the 
 chorus notice that Clytemnestra becoming angry no longer 
 cares whether or not -justice be with her. In their invocation- 
 to Athena, the chorus implore deliverance from the bane of 
 exile, citing in support of their appeal their love of virtue and 
 justice. 90 
 
 In sharp contrast with the chorus' defense of Eteocles' conduct 91 
 stands the attitude of the Phoenician maidens toward the cause 
 of Polynices. 92 Euripides no doubt deeply sympathized with 
 Polynices and his feeling is consequently reflected by the chorus. 
 Believing the cause of Polynices to be just, the chorus, we may 
 safely assume, voiced the sentiment of the common people; 
 and by reason of this tendency of Euripides to make himself 
 the spokesman of public opinion, the Phoenissce doubtless proved 
 to be a far more popular play than the Septem. 
 
 "He, who honors the laws of the land and that justice which 
 he has sworn by the gods to observe, makes prosperous his 
 city; but the man who out of rashness consorts with sin makes 
 of himself an outcast. May he neither share my hearth nor 
 think as I do," plead the chorus of Theban elders. 93 A man 
 should always say what is just, but in so doing should not un- 
 leash his tongue's envious sting of revilement. 94 The chorus 
 of Bacchanals, though they are sorry for Cadmus in his bereave- 
 ment, nevertheless feel that Pentheus has received due punish- 
 ment for flouting Bacchus. 95 In the Hecuba also, the chorus 
 bear witness to the stern retribution of justice 96 : "How in- 
 tolerable, wretch, are the evils wreaked on thee! For thy 
 disgraceful deeds, Polymestor, hath God with heavy hand laid 
 on thee an awful penalty." Prosperity and injustice are in- 
 compatible; the safe course always demands the guidance of 
 justice. 97 Gladly the chorus hail the death of the upstart, 
 Lycus, who, flourishing for a time in spite of justice, at length 
 
 89 Soph. El. 558-609. 84 Ph. 1140 ff. 
 
 90 Heracl 775 ff. 5 Bacch. 1327 f . 
 
 91 Septem 417 ff. Hec. 1085 ff. 
 
 92 Phoen. 258 ff. " Hel. 1030 f. 
 
 93 Ant. 369 ff. 
 
22 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 feels the vengeful hand of Heracles. Injustice cannot forever 
 prevail. There must come a change for the better. He who 
 once was unjustly exalted now of necessity stands before the 
 tribunal of Justice to receive his. sentence of death. 98 "Hail, 
 Justice!" 99 "There has come retribution which the ruler 
 of the land never in his heart expected to suffer/' 100 The base- 
 born usurper now proves by his wretched overthrow that justice 
 still pleases the gods. 101 So, too, the man who spurns the great 
 altar of Justice is in turn spurned to his doom by the gods, whose 
 ears are ever deaf to his prayers. 102 The sight of the herald 
 who comes bringing news of Agamemnon's triumphal return is 
 hailed by the chorus with fervent anxiety. One of the elders 
 expresses hope of joyful tidings, while another voices his senti- 
 ment in these words: "Whoever prays for other than good 
 news for his city, may he reap the fruit of his mind's sin!" 103 
 "The house that cherishes righteousness is always destined to 
 be blessed with children." 104 The murder of her father stirs 
 Electra to righteous indignation which ought ever to be un- 
 flinching till the guilty pay the penalty for their sin. 105 The 
 stealth of the sinner is never a match for the vigilant mind 
 of Retribution. 106 "Justice breathes fatal wrath upon her ene- 
 mies." 107 "If a man have no fear of Justice and reap not his 
 reward honestly, may an evil fate seize him." 108 To Pentheus 
 the Bacchanals apply three epithets, which to them are most 
 abhorrent: godless, lawless and wicked is he. "Let Justice 
 come and run her sword clean through his throat!" 109 When 
 Medea is in the throes of despondency by reason of Jason's 
 infidelity, the chorus bid her cease worrying, for Zeus will see 
 that her cause is duly vindicated. 110 "Ever just are the gods 
 who allot to each mortal his fate," cry the suppliant mothers. 111 
 "Murder demands just requital, and the gods grant to men 
 relief from woes unjustly suffered." 112 
 
 98 H. F. 734 f . 10 <5 76. 946 f. 
 
 99 76. 736. 107 76. 952. 
 
 100 76. 743 f . 108 0. T. 884 ff . 
 101 76. 81 Off. 109 Bacch. 993 f. 
 
 102 Ag. 381 ff. Med. 157. 
 
 103 76. 501 f. m Eur. Supp. 610 f. 
 
 104 76. 761 f. 112 76. 614 ff. 
 108 Cho. 455. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 23 
 
 e. Time and Justice Combined 
 
 We cannot but feel that the ideas of time and justice are 
 often mutually complementary. In a certain description of 
 the workings of justice, the conception of time is immediately 
 and inevitably called up in the mind; 113 and, on the other hand, 
 when the chorus in the Hercules Furens 114 aver that time h~as~ 
 been the means of revealing Hercules' might, we instinctively 
 feel that the justice of the hero's cause has thus been duly 
 vindicated. The Agamemnon affords a striking example of 
 this cooperation of time and justice for the consummation of 
 right: the man who has unjristly achieved prosperity becomes 
 the prey of the black Erinyes, who, representing Justice in- 
 carnate and aided by Time, envelop their victim in the obscuring 
 cloud of adversity. 115 Though it may be late in coming, justice 
 never fails. 116 So also in the form of heavy retribution, justice 
 came in time to the sons of Priam. 117 In the Choephori Time 
 may plausibly be regarded as synonymous with Justice. 118 
 Here it is seen to purge the hearth of its pollution, or in other 
 words, to right the wrong. Elsewhere Aeschylus employs a 
 striking nautical metaphor to impress upon the minds of his 
 audience the fatal course of the unjust man: "I say that the 
 man who transgresses in daring defiance, and acts for the most 
 part in a random way without justice, will in time haul down 
 his sail perforce, when trouble has overtaken him, and his 
 yard-arms are breaking." 119 The chorus afford Electra con- 
 solation in assuring the hapless young woman that "the god- 
 dess, Justice, will soon come bearing in her hands righteous 
 strength;" 120 and in the Hercules Furens the chorus speak of 
 the usurper, Lycus, thus: "The time has come when thou 
 shalt pay the penalty of death." 121 
 
 Aeschylus seems to mark off three distinct periods of time 
 when justice may visit the guilty. Sometimes it comes directly 
 after the sin has been committed, that is to say, in the high 
 noon of life; sometimes it tarries till twilight; sometimes it 
 
 113 Cho. 61-65. 76. 965 ff. 
 
 114 H. F. 805 f. " Eum. 553 ff. Paley. 
 
 115 Ag. 462 ff. 120 goph. El 475 f. 
 
 116 Cho. 650 f. 121 ff. p m 740. 
 i" 76. 935 f. 
 
24 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 waits till the night of death before punishing the unjust. 122 
 When Hecuba has discovered that Polymestor is the murderer 
 of her son, Polydorus, and has determined to exact vengeance, 
 the chorus declare that the slayer will in due time be brought 
 to justice, for "wherever there is liability to the laws of Heaven 
 and of Justice, fatal misfortune awaits the guilty." 123 After 
 Loxias has delivered his oracles, Justice, having caused some 
 delay to intervene, brings them to fulfillment. 124 "Though the 
 transgression be old, yet does it find quick punishment." 125 
 
 /. Retribution 
 
 Inextricably bound up with the general idea of justice is 
 that of retribution, which finds in the tragic chorus a staunch 
 and fervent disciple. To the dying Lycus the chorus offer but 
 slight consolation: "Bear up in suffering the pain of vengeance, 
 paying the penalty for thy deeds!" 126 The unjust stand taken 
 by Eteocles is maintained in the conduct of his successor, Creon, 
 who refuses to grant to the Argives the right to bury their dead. 
 This refusal was not merely unjust but even impious; for Creon 
 thereby violated a sacred Greek custom as well as the law of war. 
 To leave a corpse unburied was the most heinous sin a Greek 
 could commit. 127 Great, then, was the relief the chorus felt, 
 when retributive justice had been consummated. Adrastus, 
 persevering in the just cause of his son-in-law, Polynices, had at 
 last beheld the guilty duly punished. 128 In a commos of deep 
 pathos, in which the young sons of the slain chiefs are assigned 
 speaking parts, one of the children hopes he may as a w r arrior 
 some day avenge his father's death; 129 while his grandmother 
 prays that the gods may fulfill his hope. 130 An old proverb, 
 "Suffering for the doer (sinner)," quoted by the chorus, 131 re- 
 ceives their implicit belief. "As long as Zeus reigns supreme, 
 the doer shall suffer" is the slight paraphrase of this proverb, 
 
 122 Cho. 61-65. The fundamental idea of Aeschylus was that where the 
 moral balance had been upset, it must be recovered by paying for the sin, 
 and often this payment took place in a future generation, as in the cases 
 of the houses of Atreus and of Labdacus. 
 
 Hec. 1029 ff . m Eur. Supp. 731 ff. 
 
 124 Cho. 953 S . 129 /6. 1144. 
 
 125 Septem 742 f. 13 76. 1145. 
 
 126 H. F. 754 f. 131 Cho. 313. 
 
 127 Cf . the trial and condemnation of the six Athenian generals after the 
 battle of Arginusse (Xen. Hell I. 6, 7). 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 25 
 
 which the chorus give in the Agamemnon. 132 In the Septem the 
 Theban maidens pray that Zeus the Requiter may cast upon the 
 besiegers his wrathful glance; 133 and the Danaids give to Zeus the 
 epithet sTspoppsxirjc;, which implies that he is entirely impartial 
 in his administration of justice, that his scales are absolutely 
 accurate. To the wicked he sends bane, but blessing to the- 
 righteous. With the scales thus evenly poised, the Danaids 
 wonder why Pelasgus hesitates to do them justice. 134 Have 
 they not as suppliants taken refuge at their neighbor's hearth? 
 And yet they fail to obtain the justice which the law duly ac- 
 cords them. 135 When Clytemnestra has received her death- 
 blow from Orestes, the chorus verily believe Agamemnon to 
 be alive beneath the earth, so strong in their minds is the idea 
 of vengeance: here they picture Agamemnon as personally 
 draining away the blood of his slayers. 136 Allusion to the 
 coming murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes is made again in 
 this form by the chorus. 137 Dishonor of the altar of Justice 
 entails inevitable retribution. 138 
 
 2. Scorn of Prosperity Basely Acquired 
 
 The tragic poets are well aware of man's persistent albeit 
 perverse belief in the all-sufficient power of wealth. Pros- 
 perity, whether rightly or wrongly acquired, is, so men think, 
 the sole means to the attainment of happiness. "Prosperity," 
 say the chorus, "is to mortals a god and more than a god." 139 
 But human nature has an edifying lesson to learn in this sub- 
 ject from the tragic chorus. If a man think that, because of 
 his material opulence, he can with impunity annihilate the 
 great altar of Justice, he is sadly mistaken. 140 Granted that 
 sometimes in the flush of his prosperity he may manage to 
 escape the consequences of his impiety, yet will his children 
 or his children's children be doomed to suffer in his stead. 141 
 Atonement is necessary and inevitable whether made by the 
 sinner himself or his innocent posterity. But this belief is 
 confined to the plays of Aeschylus and finds no acceptance with 
 
 132 Ag. 1563 f. "* Cho. 649 ff. 
 
 133 Septem 485. s Eum. 540 f . 
 
 134 Supp. 403 ff . isa Cho. 57 f . 
 136 Ib. 383 f. 14 A0. 381ff. 
 136 Soph. El. 1420 f . "i 76. 369 ff. 
 
26 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 Sophocles or Euripides. Justice has no respect for the power 
 of riches; 142 fatal it is for a man to show to Justice impious dis- 
 honor for the sake of material gain. 143 By wealth and pros- 
 perity, which carry with them power for evil, are the minds of 
 mortals corrupted. 144 The chariot of wealth is shattered in 
 the race because the driver relies on lawlessness. 145 
 
 3. Respect for Temporal Authority 
 
 Respect for temporal power constitutes an important aspect 
 of the piety of the chorus. A case worthy of note is presented 
 by the Heraclidce 146 : Alcmena is about to slay Eurystheus, who 
 has fallen into her hands, when to her great surprise the chorus 
 inform her that by such an act she would violate the law of 
 the land. It would therefore seem at this point in the play 
 that the chorus put the observance of the law above their desire 
 for the fulfillment of justice. But in reality this is not so, for 
 the conclusion of the play reveals the chorus in sympathy with 
 Alcmena. 147 In the eyes of the chorus, the tomb of Agamemnon 
 is an altar before which they pay solemn reverence. 148 Their 
 mistress, Electra, having bidden them advise her on her speech 
 at the tomb, finds the chorus readily obedient. 149 In prepara- 
 tion for the murder of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, the chorus 
 urge Orestes to give them his commands, for they will faith- 
 fully execute them all. 150 Piqued at the curiosity of the nurse 
 to learn of Orestes' fate, the chorus impatiently and angrily 
 bid her obey the orders of Clytemnestra to summon Aegisthus. 151 
 For Clytemnestra's power the chorus show profound respect, 
 since they deem it only right to honor the king's consort, when 
 the king's throne stands vacant. 152 The slavery, to which the 
 chorus of the Choephori have been reduced, calls forth from 
 them no bitter complaint, inasmuch as they believe their hap- 
 less plight to have been caused by the gods. Obey their mas- 
 ters they must, whether justly so or not. Yet secretly they 
 grieve over the sins of their rulers. 153 The reference of the 
 
 142 Ag. 780. 148 Cho. 106. 
 
 Eum. 540 f. 149 76. 107. 
 
 144 #. F. 774 ff. i 50 76. 552 f. 
 
 146 76. 779 f . 161 76. 779. 
 
 146 Heracl. 961 ff. 162 Ag. 258 ff. 
 
 147 76. 1053. 153 Cho. 75 ff. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 27 
 
 Danaids to King Pelasgus as the embodiment of the city and 
 commonwealth 154 reminds one forcibly of the dictum of Louis 
 XIV: "L'etat, c'est moi." Such is the devotion of the Bac- 
 chanals to their god, that, despite their innate tendency to obey 
 implicitly their superiors, they essay to apprise King Pentheus 
 in a spirit of proud defiance of their unwavering belief in the- 
 supremacy of Dionysus. 155 
 
 But if we would seek the most salient manifestation of this 
 characteristic of the chorus, we must turn to the Persce, that 
 curious and unique play, curious by reason of its strange con- 
 fusion of Greek and Oriental manners, and unique in that it 
 depicts an historical subject. To the Persians the royal family 
 is divine. But this is not at all astonishing, when we reflect 
 that among all Oriental peoples blind deference to authority 
 and strict observance of caste relations are only natural. The 
 splendor of Queen Atossa is compared by the chorus to the 
 eyes of the gods, and, as she draws near, they duly prostrate 
 themselves. 156 In greeting the queen the chorus are careful 
 to address her as "consort of a god and mother of a god;" 157 and 
 they assure her of their unalloyed devotion to her interests. 158 
 
 4. Power of the Gods 
 
 The power and majesty of the gods constitute a favorite 
 theme for the chorus' praise. " Never in my sight will the gods 
 appear inferior to mortals." 159 "I say that no man has ever 
 enjoyed prosperity or suffered tribulation save by the will of 
 the gods." 160 lolaus, in despair over Macaria's noble self- 
 sacrifice, is bidden by the chorus to take courage and endure 
 the buffetings of the gods. 161 Her meritorious example of 
 martyrdom should inspire the old man with righteous pride 
 rather than with bitter anguish. Commiserating Hecuba in 
 her hapless predicament, the chorus attest the heavy hand of 
 God; 162 while the dread misfortune that has visited the city 
 and house of Priam is due wholly to the irresistible decree of 
 
 154 Aesch. Supp. 370. does not occur in the MSS., but the 
 
 155 Bacch. 775 ff. context shows it to be an almost cer- 
 166 Pers. 150 ff. tain emendation. 
 
 157 76. 157. 16 Ib. 608 f. 
 
 168 76. 175. 161 76. 619. 
 
 169 Heracl 768 f. The word Behoves 162 Hec. 721 f. 
 
28 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 the gods. 163 "To the gods all things are easy." 164 The chorus 
 of Theban maidens pray them to stem the tide of mad conflict 
 that threatens to break forth between Polynices and Eteocles, 
 and to bring the brothers to a reconciliation. 165 To win the 
 victory fully satisfies the chorus, but if the gods can give them 
 still more joy, they ask to be so blessed. 166 When, however, 
 the messenger has brought the news of the death of Eteocles 
 and his brother, the chorus at once realize that the gods have 
 fulfilled Oedipus' curses. 167 The suppliant mothers of the 
 chiefs slain before Thebes, on learning of the downfall of the 
 enemy, voice their firm belief in the gods, now that they have 
 beheld the day they never expected to see. 168 As Lycus utters 
 his death cry, the chorus, with bold pride, ask who the wretched 
 mortal was, who dared declare that the gods have no power. 169 
 "What fairer gift can the gods bestow on men than victory 
 over their enemies?" query the Bacchanals. 170 "Slowly but 
 surely moves the might of Heaven to school those mortals who 
 exalt their unbelief and who, in the madness of their thoughts, 
 honor not the gods." 171 "To their will man is ever subject; 
 great is their power." 172 Peleus' woe has come by decree of 
 Heaven. 173 The chorus bring into sharp contrast the uncer- 
 tainty of human affairs and the never-failing word of the gods. 174 
 Electra's recognition of her brother prompts the chorus to 
 declare that the gods are bringing them victory. 176 The failure 
 of Castor and Pollux to avert their sister's calamity is to the 
 chorus a matter of great surprise. Why couldn't they, being 
 gods, save her? But Castor replies that her deliverance is 
 impossible by dint of Necessity's decree and Phoebus' oracle. 176 
 The pious and the wicked alike receive from the gods their 
 respective rewards. 177 Success is assured when the gods grant 
 to mortals their favor; 178 but over-confidence, the chorus think, 
 is not to be sought, for the gods often veer in their course. 179 
 
 163 Hec. 583 f. m Or. 1545 ff. 
 
 164 Phoen. 689. 173 Andr. 1203. 
 
 166 7&. 586 f. 174 #eZ. 1149 f. 
 
 168 76. 1200 f. 176 Eur. El. 589 ff. 
 
 167 Ib. 1425 f. 176 Ib. 1298 ff. 
 
 168 Eur. Supp. 731 ff. 177 H. F. 772 f. 
 
 169 H. F. 757 ff. 178 Rh. 317 f. 
 
 170 Bacch. 877 ff. 179 Ib. 332. 
 171 76. 882 ff . 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 29 
 
 Thus do the chorus forewarn the sanguine Hector, yet they 
 hope that the gods will fight on their side and so grant them 
 the victory. 180 With this wish the Rhesus concludes. In their 
 grief over the impending fate of Alcestis and Admetus, the 
 chorus seek consolation in prayer. "Let us pray to the gods; 
 supreme is their power." 181 
 
 The fickleness of fortune is to be attributed to the will of 
 the gods. It is they who consummate the unexpected and 
 withhold that which is confidently expected. 182 "The Trojans 
 have felt the blow of Zeus; they have fared as he willed." 188 'Tis 
 the gods who granted Agamemnon to capture the city of Priam, 
 and who honored him with a triumphant return to his native 
 land. 184 From the gods, too, the interpreters of dreams derive 
 their mantic power. 185 As Electra despairingly utters her dirge 
 at the tomb of her father, she is minded by the chorus that the 
 gods may haply turn her threnody into a song of triumph. 186 
 Ever in sympathy with those who innocently suffer, the chorus 
 seek to assuage their misfortune by words of hope and encour- 
 agement. The gods have guided Orestes through all his trials 
 and tribulations, so that he has persisted resolutely in his pur- 
 suit of the goal of justice. 187 "The gods hold supreme sway, 
 because they do not aid the wicked in wickedness." 188 "What 
 mortal man can baffle the gods?" cry the chorus, confidently 
 believing that the gods have granted the Persians to be ever 
 victorious. 189 Orestes' deed of vengeance calls forth the bless- 
 ing of the chorus, who, on his departure, pray that the gods 
 may watch over him with kindly eyes and protect him with 
 happy fortune. 190 In their lamentation over the disastrous 
 expedition of Xerxes, the chorus realize that their woes have 
 been sent by the gods. 191 Their sanguine hopes also have been 
 cruelly shattered by the gods. 192 To Eteocles' disparaging 
 remarks about the gods, the chorus make a fitting rejoinder in 
 the tribute which they pay to the invincible strength of the 
 
 180 Rh. 995 f . 7 76. 939 ff. 
 
 181 Ale. 217. 188 76. 958 f. 
 
 182 76. 1159 ff. 189 Pers. 93. 
 Ag. 367 ff. Cho. 1063 f. 
 
 184 76. 1335 ff. 191 Pers. 573, 581. 
 
 185 Cho. 37 f. 
 
 186 76. 340 ff . 
 
30 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 immortals. 193 "It is they alone who have made impregnable 
 the city in which we dwell." 194 The Theban maidens implore 
 their local gods for safety and deliverance. 195 This individual- 
 ization of belief is, as E. Petersen has well pointed out, 196 a 
 clearly marked phenomenon in the invocations and declara- 
 tions of the chorus. "Unhappy is he whose house the gods have 
 shaken." 197 The curse that abides in a family from generation 
 to generation works its baneful effect through the gods. 198 Their 
 forms of chastisement, characterized by Sophocles as " fleet 
 of foot," 199 are sure to visit the wicked. 200 Though commiser- 
 ating Antigone and her father, yet, through fear of the power 
 of the gods, the chorus feel unable to tell them more than they 
 ; have already told. 201 "What the gods send to mortals must 
 L be consummated," the chorus consolingly remind Admetus, 
 when in reality good fortune, in the form of his wife rescued 
 from Death, smiles upon him. 202 He who unhesitatingly shows 
 obedience to the gods shall have a life free from sorrow. 203 To 
 mitigate the anxiety of Deianeira over the absence of Heracles, 
 the chorus evince their certainty of his safety. Though he 
 may fall into extreme danger, yet some god is careful to keep 
 Heracles free from the clutches of Death. 204 
 
 The power of love, personified either as Cypris or her son, 
 Eros, is amply acknowledged in the sentiments of the chorus. 
 Not only mortal man is subject to Love's sway; even the im- 
 mortal gods yield to the charms of Aphrodite. 205 Sometimes, 
 however, out of deference to the gods' might, the chorus refrain 
 from telling of Aphrodite's conquest of her fellow-immortals. 206 
 "True divination comes to him who has the gods for friends." 207 
 While visiting the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the handmaids 
 of Creusa are given instructions by Ion as to where and where 
 not they may go; whereupon they assure Ion of implicit obedi- 
 ence. "What the gods have ordained we do not transgress." 208 
 
 193 Septem 226. 201 0. C. 254 ff . 
 
 194 76. 233. 202 Ale. 1071. 
 
 195 76. 239, 299 f ., 807 f . 203 Bacch. 1002 ff. 
 
 196 Die Attische Tragoedie, 1915, pp. 204 Tr. 119 f. 
 
 150 f . 205 Hipp. 1268 ff . ; Ant. 785 ff. 
 
 (^"Ant. 583 f. 206 7V. 498 ff. 
 
 198 76. 593 f . 207 Hel 759 f . 
 
 199 76. 1104. 20 *7on231, 
 
 1103f. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 31 
 
 Stunned by the heartrending news of their mistress' sorry 
 plight, the chorus give way to despair, from which they can be 
 delivered only by the gods' help. 209 Again and again the chorus 
 cry to the gods who are the best and surest trust for those in 
 fear. 210 "0 that some god would give me wings, that I might 
 fly in triumph to Thebes!" plead the mothers of the slain 
 chiefs. 211 
 
 5. Majesty of Individual Gods 
 
 But it is not only the powers and prerogatives of the gods 
 as a collective unit, which receive sincere and hearty recognition 
 from the chorus; those of individual deities are equally glorified, 
 for frequently under the stress of circumstances the chorus 
 feel the need of exalting the attributes of some particular god. 
 Thus the Danaids, by their pious utterances, render a glowing 
 panegyric of Zeus; while the Bacchce constitutes perhaps the 
 noblest eulogy of Dionysus in all Greek literature. Naturally 
 enough, in the ardor of their zeal and devotion, the Bacchanals 
 declare Dionysus to be inferior to no other god. 212 When 
 Cassandra informs the chorus of Mycenaean elders of Apollo's 
 love for her, they are fairly astounded that a great god like 
 him should have been smitten with a passion for a mere mor- 
 tal. 213 Such a thing, they imply, could not be. 
 
 In general, however, the chorus appear to uphold the ortho- 
 dox idea of the supremacy of Zeus. He is the cause and executor 
 of all things; nothing is fulfilled without Zeus. 214 The daughters 
 of Oceanus speak of Zeus as the "disposer of all things." 215 "Never 
 shall the counsels of mortals surpass the harmony of Zeus." 216 
 They also sharply contrast the weakness of mortals with the 
 power of the gods. 217 When they think of lo's hapless plight, 
 they are minded to hope that they will never suffer a like fate. 
 Their desire is to avoid marriage with gods of greater power 
 and its consequent misfortunes, for they, like lo, would be 
 unable to escape the design of Zeus. 218 The Theban maidens 
 
 209 Ion. 1243 f . 214 Ib. 1485 ff. 
 
 210 Eur. Supp. 626 f. 216 P. V. 528; cf. Tr. 126. 
 
 211 Ib. 620 f. 216 /6. 551. 
 
 212 Bacch. 777. 217 76. 545, 549 f. 
 
 213 Ag. 1204, 76. 898 ff. 
 
32 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 implore almighty Zeus to confound their foes; 219 and when the 
 victory has been assured them, they bestow high praise upon 
 their ruler, Eteocles, who, "next to mighty Zeus and the other 
 gods, has been most instrumental in saving the city from de- 
 struction." 220 Zeus' power is completely immune to any re- 
 strictive influence that mortal man might through transgression 
 dare to impose on it. 221 Zeus rules all things and his rule is 
 deathless. 222 In her sad yearning for the return of Orestes, 
 Electra receives hearty compassion from the chorus: " Courage, 
 child, courage ! Still great in heaven is Zeus, who oversees and 
 governs all things; to him commit thy bitter wrath." 223 "Some 
 day the famed land of Mycenae will receive Orestes coming 
 hither under the kindly guidance of Zeus." 224 The ruler, to 
 whom Zeus entrusts his divine scepter, excels all others in skill 
 and wisdom. 225 Whenever the stroke of Zeus comes on Ajax, 
 the chorus become gravely apprehensive. 226 The wrath of 
 Zeus, the god of suppliants, mortals should be careful not to 
 incur, as the Danaids expressly remind us, 227 for it is " heavy" 228 
 and "abiding." 229 So the Theban maidens pray that Zeus 
 may cast a wrathful glance on their enemies. 230 
 
 6. Fear of the Gods v 
 
 A sense of hesitation or fear is a natural concomitant of the 
 chorus' piety. The Theban elders tremble at the mention of 
 the Furies. 231 The mariners of Salamis liken their fear for 
 Ajax to that of the timid dove; 232 while they feel keen anxiety 
 over his grief, due, they believe, to the sinister stroke of some 
 god. 233 Through dread of the judgment of the gods, the chorus 
 dare not violate religious custom for the sake of Oedipus. 234 
 The elders of Colonus show great trepidation at Zeus' thunder 
 and lightning: "I am afraid; for never does the flash rush 
 
 219 Septem 255; cf. Aesch. Supp. 816. 227 Aesch. Supp. 427. 
 
 220 76. 1074 ff. 228 Ib. 346, 651. 
 
 221 Ant. 605. 76. 385. 
 
 222 0. T. 904 f. 23 Septem 485. 
 
 223 Soph. El. 174 ff.; cf. 0. C. 1085 ff. 231 0. C. 126. 
 
 224 76. 160 ff. M2 Aj. 139 f . 
 226 Ph. 137 ff. 233 76. 278 f . 
 226 Aj. 137 ff. 234 0. C. 256 f. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 33 
 
 O 
 forth in vain or without serious consequence. great sky! 
 
 O Zeus!" 235 The daughters of Oceanus attribute the misery 
 of Prometheus to his utter disregard of Zeus and his excessive 
 zeal for the welfare of man. 236 When contemplating the dire 
 affliction which jealous Hera has laid on poor, mortal lo, they 
 are seized with fear; 237 and with much misgiving, they ask the 
 rash Prometheus if Zeus might possibly some day be dethroned, 
 showing utter amazement at the revolutionary sentiments of 
 the friend of man. 238 "But why should I be afraid of Zeus?" 
 replies the recalcitrant immortal; "I am prepared for anything." 
 "Ah! but wise are they," rejoin the chorus, "who worship 
 Adrastea." This remark, however, only provokes a contempt- 
 uous retort from Prometheus: "Worship, supplicate, cower 
 still before the one now in power; but as for me, I care even 
 less than nothing for Zeus. Let him do as he pleases and hold 
 power a little while; for he won't rule the gods for long." 239 
 As the Theban maidens catch the sound of Polynices' onslaught, 
 they turn with dread in their hearts to the supplication of the 
 gods. 240 Despite their fear of uttering words of freedom in 
 the presence of King Pentheus, and in defiance of secular law 
 of which he is the outward and visible embodiment and to 
 which they usually show implicit obedience, the Bacchanals 
 cherish a devotion to their divinity, Dionysus, which proves 
 too strong for suppression. 241 The old men of Marathon are 
 overjoyed to behold the day that delivers them from their 
 dread fear of the enemy; 242 while the Phoenician maidens, though 
 really in sympathy with the cause of Polynices, yet proclaim 
 their dread of the Argive might and the hand of Heaven. 243 
 Twice the Theban maidens express their fear of the fulfillment 
 by the Erinys of the awful curse resting on Oedipus' family. 244 
 "Sometimes awe should remain enthroned, keeping a close watch 
 over the hearts of men," declare the Eumenides. 245 
 
 235 0. C. 1469 ff . 24 Septem 214. 
 
 236 P. V. 542 ff. 2" Bacch. 775 ff. 
 
 237 76. 898 ff. 242 Heracl 867 f. 
 
 238 76. 930 ff. "a Phoen. 256 ff. 
 
 239 76. 933 ff. Adrastea is another 244 Septem 720 ff., 790 f. 
 name for Nemesis (Strabo xiii. 1, 13) 245 Bum. 517 ff. 
 
 and the daughter of Zeus (Rh. 342). 
 
34 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 7. Hatred of u 
 
 Tragedy offers abundant evidence of the chorus' hatred of 
 insolence (S^pis). Aeschylus, with his fondness for personi- 
 fication, makes Insolence the offspring of Impiety. 246 It is 
 unholy insolence that Pentheus hurls at Bromius to the horri- 
 fication of the Bacchanals. 247 To Lycus' outrageous conduct 
 toward his betters is due his wretched ruin. 248 When the gods 
 allow the wicked to enjoy prosperity, the sin of wanton insolence 
 inevitably follows; and under its pernicious spell they are 
 deluded into thinking and believing that fair fortune will ever 
 smile kindly on them. 249 It was impious arrogance on the part 
 of Creon and his followers that sealed the sad fate of Thebes. 250 
 The suppliant mothers feel the terrible blot of outrage that has 
 rested on their city, while their sons have remained unburied. 251 
 In allusion to the fatal course of Eurystheus, the chorus ex- 
 claim: "Far from me be pride and a spirit insatiate." 252 It 
 is just this 8pptg, the Danaids declare, that has excited the 
 sons of Aegyptus to their mad pursuit; and they entreat the 
 king to recognize it, thus sparing himself the misfortune of 
 incurring the anger of Zeus. 253 It is this u@pt<;, too, which 
 maliciously prompts a man to profane the great altar of Jus- 
 tice. 254 When come to old age, Insolence begets its progeny 
 in the wicked man, and thus perpetuates its baleful family. 255 
 In their greeting of Rhesus, the chorus of Trojan sentinels pray 
 Nemesis to keep evil presumption from their lips. 256 The 
 Theban elders also pray that the man who appears haughty 
 in word or deed may suffer an evil fate for his pride. 257 "Inso- 
 lence," they aver, "begets the tyrant; dire is its doom." 258 
 "The punishment which the haughty suffer for their over- 
 weening words teaches wisdom in old age": with this sentiment 
 the Antigone concludes. 259 
 
 8. Humility 
 
 But in proportion as they show repugnance to pride and 
 insolence, the chorus seek to cultivate humility and sincerity. 
 
 246 Eum. 534. 253 Supp. 426 f . 
 
 2 Bacch. 374 f . Ag. 383 f. 
 
 *H. F. 741. 255 76. 764 f. 
 
 249 Eur. Supp. 463 f . 256 Rh. 342 f. 
 
 250 76. 511 f. 267 0. T. 883 ff. 
 2 76. 631 ff. 258 76. 873 ff. 
 252 HeracCWQi. 259 Ant. 1350 ff. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 35 
 
 Humbly do the Argive women ask the Dioscuri if it is lawful 
 for mere mortals to address them. 260 The prosperous man, who 
 fails to nurture his heart with humility, is sure to show sooner 
 or later disrespect of right. 261 With humility are joined love 
 of peace and abhorrence of strife. In fact Ares, as god of war, 
 finds no favor with the chorus. Hearing the rattle of the foe's 
 spears, the Theban maidens feel that Ares will betray his coun- 
 try. 262 He can in no wise withstand the power of Fate, 263 and 
 his banishment from the land, nay, his very death the chorus 
 ardently desire. 264 
 
 The view held by later Epicurean philosophers, that the gods 
 dwell far away in heaven and have no concern in the affairs 
 of mortals, is in the eyes of the Mycenaean elders glaringly 
 impious. 265 Here the chorus allude to the god-sent curse on 
 the family of Priam because of Paris' sin. The gods, to be 
 sure, dwell far away in heaven, but at the same time they watch 
 over the lives of men. 266 "Not unaware are the gods of those 
 who commit much bloodshed." 267 "In no place," says Peter- 
 sen, 268 "are the primitive pious beliefs of the people better illus- 
 trated than in the view expressed everywhere in Greek tragedy, 
 that man must be favorable to the higher powers that watch 
 over his life, and must never neglect them." 
 
 9. Abhorrence of Religious Pollution 
 
 Quite familiar to the tragic chorus is the idea of religious 
 defilement and its healing purgation. A vivid illustration of 
 this idea is to be found in the Agamemnon, where the chorus 
 openly accuse Aegisthus of polluting justice. 269 In the Septem 
 Ares, as god of war, defiles piety. 270 "Beware of pollution!" 
 the chorus warn the Argive king; 271 and in the Suppliants the 
 chorus pray the city of Pallas not to defile the laws of mortals. 272 
 The elders of Mycenae call Clytemnestra "the pollution of 
 her country and of her native gods"; 273 while the old men of 
 
 260 Eur. El. 1292 f. 267 Ag. 461 f. 
 
 261 Eum. 521 f . 268 Op. cit. p. 154. 
 
 262 Septem 105. 269 Ag. 1669. 
 
 263 An*. 951 f. 27 Septem 344. 
 
 264 0. T. 190 ff. 271 Aesch. Supp. 375. 
 365 Ag. 369 ff. 272 Eur. Supp. 378. 
 266 Bacch. 392 ff. 273 Ag. 1645. 
 
36 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 Colonus, on beholding the blind Oedipus in the grove of the 
 Furies, invoke Zeus the Guardian, since they at once assume 
 that Oedipus is, as it were, a plague polluting their hallowed 
 precinct. 274 In the Choephori the chorus speak of Aegisthus 
 and Clytemnestra as "two defilers." 275 " Indelible is the pollu- 
 tion caused by the death of brothers slain each by the other," 
 cry the Theban maidens. 276 And when Orestes embraces 
 Iphigenia, the chorus are appalled at the sight, for they believe 
 that in so doing Orestes has defiled the sacred person of Artemis' 
 
 10. Moral Restraint (06 Ospuq) 
 
 The idea of moral restraint inherent in the expression ou 
 tii\u<; occurs frequently in the choral odes, and is aptly sug- 
 gestive of the prohibitory commandments of the decalogue. 
 ^?he chorus know of only one haven of safety the altar for 
 Creusa in her flight from her death-threatening pursuers; there 
 as suppliant she may thwart her would-be murderers, for the 
 law says, "Thou shalt not slay the suppliant." 278 The inability 
 of mortal man to escape his destiny is due to Themis, the per- 
 sonification of divine law; while the consequences of violating 
 the seventh Hebraic commandment are graphically foretold 
 by the chorus in the case of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. 279 
 "Thou shalt not commit adultery" was as scrupulously ob- 
 served by the orthodox Greek as by the orthodox Hebrew. 
 The elders of Colonus are aghast to find Oedipus on forbidden 
 ground in the sacred grove of the Furies. With their char- 
 acteristically sympathetic attitude, they are ready to aid the 
 blind old man as best they may, but before they dare hold con- 
 verse with him, he must leave the holy precinct. "Speak to 
 us," enjoin the chorus, "where 'tis lawful for all; but, till then, 
 hold thy tongue." 280 The Theban maidens feel sure that Ete- 
 ocles' temerity will drive him on to unlawful murder. 281 "Man 
 may not lawfully transgress what Zeus makes holy," declare 
 the Choephori in allusion to the guilty deeds of Clytemnestra 
 and her paramour. 282 
 
 274 0. C. 142. 279 Soph. El. 492 f. 
 
 276 Cho. 944. 28 0. C. 166 ff. 
 278 Septem 734 ff. 281 Septem 692 ff. 
 
 277 I. T. 798 f. 282 Cho. 644 f. 
 
 278 Ion 1255 f. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 37 
 
 11. Strict Observance of Ritual Forms 
 
 A notable aspect of the chorus' orthodoxy consists in their 
 punctilious observance of all conventional ritual. In their 
 supplication to the gods for happy deliverance, the Theban 
 maidens beseech them to be mindful of the rites and sacrifices, 
 which the people have unfailingly performed. 283 If Eteocles 
 would only yield to the entreaties of the chorus and pay due 
 sacrifice to the gods, desisting from his mad determination 
 to meet his brother in deadly conflict, the dread curse that 
 haunts his family would vanish. 284 But in his reply, Eteocles 
 impiously declares that the gods have slighted him. After 
 the murder of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, the chorus bid 
 Orestes cleanse his hands and supplicate Loxias, that he may 
 thereby set his mind at ease. 285 A striking example of the 
 knowledge of orthodox ritual possessed by the chorus is fur- 
 nished by a passage in the Oedipus Coloneus, 2 ** where Oedipus 
 asks the elders how to make atonement to the Eumenides for 
 having trespassed on their holy ground. Scrupulously careful 
 they are not to omit the slightest minutiae of this ceremony; 
 and if Oedipus carries out these rites, they will boldly stand 
 by him; but if he fails, they fear a dreadful fate will await him. 
 For Atossa's disquieting dream the chorus have a ready and 
 effective remedy: 287 first she must supplicate the gods, in order 
 that they may send her their blessing; then pour a libation to 
 Earth and the Dead; and finally ask her deceased husband to 
 send to her and Xerxes good things from the lower world. This 
 last ceremony is performed also by Electra in her prayer to 
 Agamemnon. 288 With the capture of Orestes and Pylades, the 
 chorus invoke Artemis to accept the sacrifice of the strangers, 
 which, though accounted unholy in Greece, is strongly sanc- 
 tioned and enjoined by the Tauric law; 289 and in their prayer 
 to Athena to stop the advance of the impious Eurystheus and 
 his army, the old men of Marathon proudly remind the goddess 
 of the sacrificial rites, which they perform regularly every 
 month in her honor. 290 
 
 283 Septem 178. 287 Pers. 216-225. 
 
 284 76. 699 ff . 288 Cho. 147. 
 286 Cho. 1059 f . 289 7. T. 463 ff. 
 288 0. C. 466-492. 29 Heracl 777 ff. 
 
38 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 12. Faith in the Gods 
 
 The plays of Euripides stress the chorus' deep faith in the 
 gods. In the Hippolytus the chorus declare that through the 
 power of faith griefs are banished and life becomes simple and 
 pleasant, but doubt brings only perplexity and vicissitude; 
 accordingly they pray the gods to grant them a wholesome 
 faith among life's blessings. 291 The Theban elders, though 
 they had always disbelieved the story of Zeus' marriage with 
 mortal Alcmena, are finally through the revelation of Heracles' 
 saving might won over to faith. 292 Despairingly the Corin- 
 thian ladies bewail the lack of faith in the gods among mortals. 293 
 Such faith, declare the suppliant mothers, is the first aid of 
 the sore afraid. 294 
 
 13. Prayer 
 
 Prayer, too, the chorus uphold and enjoin. To them its 
 efficacy is ever unfailing. By prayer fate may be induced to 
 come quicker or easier. 295 "Your office is prayer," Cassandra 
 tells the chorus of Mycenaean elders. 296 When Clytemnestra 
 has finished the first recital of her story of the fall of Troy, the 
 chorus at once declare their intention to thank the gods through 
 prayer for the Greek victory; but so elated do they feel, that 
 before their prayer they eagerly desire Clytemnestra to tell 
 them the story over again. 297 This done, they are ready to 
 address themselves to the gods. 298 The chorus of Trojan women 
 admonish Hecuba to supplicate the gods for the deliverance 
 of her captive daughter, for only through prayer may she be 
 happily restored. 299 
 
 14- Appeals to Tradition 
 
 Appeals to tradition are not at all uncommon with the chorus. 
 Glad they are to be rid of the upstart, Lycus, the mere creature 
 of a day. The ancient line comes again into its own and sacred 
 tradition is thus preserved. 300 Lycus they characterize as an 
 " utterly base parvenu." 301 Conservatism, ever linked with piety, 
 
 291 Hipp. 1102 f., 1114. * 76. 317 ff. 
 
 292 H. F. 802 ff. * Ib. 353. 
 
 293 Med. 413 f. a Hec. 146 ff. 
 
 294 Eur. Supp. 627. 30 H. F. 768 ff. 
 296 Cho. 465. 301 76. 257. 
 
 296 Ag. 1250. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 39 
 
 is dear indeed to the hearts of the chorus. The Furies, who 
 act as plaintiff in the suit against Orestes, accuse his protector, 
 Apollo, of destroying the good old order of things and beguiling 
 with wine the ancient goddesses. 302 The gods now in power 
 are arrant upstarts, who ride down the laws of old and shame- 
 lessly deprive the Eumenides of their rightful prerogatives. 303 
 Endowed with hoary wisdom, as they proudly boast, the Erinyes 
 deem their defeat at the hands of Apollo and Athena the most 
 humiliating degradation. 304 Through irresistible wiles have 
 the gods wrested from them their immemorial rights. 305 The 
 quotation of ancient proverbs constitutes cogent evidence of 
 the chorus' hearty and reverent observance of things tradi- 
 tional. The moral doctrine that suffering is the inevitable 
 reward of sin is enthusiastically believed and preached by 
 Aeschylus. 306 The upright and virtuous man, on the other 
 hand, remains ever wholly immune to misery. 307 This view, 
 however, as James Adam 308 has convincingly shown, does not 
 find acceptance with Sophocles. Suffering, according to Soph- 
 ocles, is not incompatible with moral innocence. The Antigone 
 brings this out forcefully. In the same play the chorus give 
 expression to the proverb uttered by some wise man of olden 
 time, that "evil seems good, soon or late, to him whose mind 
 the god draws to mischief; and but for the briefest space doth 
 he fare free of woe." 309 A fine example of the chorus' love of 
 tradition is offered also by a beautiful ode 31 descriptive of the 
 good old days of Erechtheus, when all was peace and happiness. 
 So, too, in the Choephori the captive handmaids contrast the 
 happy past when "reverential awe, which baffles war, sub 
 jugation and battle," was shown to righteous kings with the 
 unhappy present when humble respect gives way to cringing 
 fear. 311 
 
 15. Belie} in Dreams, Oracles, etc. 
 
 In keeping with their strict adherence to form in the cele- 
 bration of various religious rites, the chorus show themselves 
 
 302 Eum. 727 f. 307 Ag. 761 f. 
 
 303 Ib. 778 f . 308 Religious Teachers of Greece, 1908, 
 
 304 Ib. 837 ff . pp. 167 ff. 
 
 305 Ib. 845 f . 309 Ant. 620 ff . Jebb. 
 
 306 Ag. 1564; Cho. 313 f., where it is 31 Med. 824 ff. 
 called a "thrice-old saw." 3U Cho. 54 ff. 
 
40 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 credulous of dreams, oracles and portents. They feel sure 
 that Clytemnestra's dream bodes ill for her and her paramour: 
 " Verily mortals cannot read the future in fearful dreams or 
 oracles, if this vision of the night find not due fulfillment." 312 
 The elders of Mycenae make grateful acknowledgment of the 
 prophetic art of Calchas 313 and of Cassandra. 314 The readers 
 of dreams derive their mantic power from the gods; hence their 
 prophecies must needs be true. 315 The mystery shrouding the 
 death of Laius can surely be cleared, the chorus declare, by the 
 seer, Tiresias. For him the chorus show the deepest reverence: 
 he stands next to Phoebus in prophetic utterance; of all mortals 
 he is best able to enlighten the bewildered mind of Oedipus 
 and alas! bring about his wretched end; "Tiresias, the godlike 
 prophet, in whom alone of men resides truth," will not fail to 
 convict the murderer of Laius. 316 The hoary Theban elders 
 confidently aver that, as long as they have lived, Tiresias has 
 never once been a false prophet to their city. 317 Again they 
 duly acknowledge Tiresias' mantic power, when they learn of 
 Hsemon's death; 318 while the Bacchanals praise the blind seer 
 thus: "Thou, old man, dost not shame Phoebus by thy words 
 and dost prudently honor the great god, Bromius." 319 The 
 Trachinian maidens, sure that Heracles is no more, recall with 
 innate faith the divine prophecy as to his labors and the time 
 of their fulfillment. 320 
 
 16. Knowledge of Myths 
 
 It is only natural and right to assume on the part of the 
 orthodox tragic chorus a familiar knowledge of the myths of 
 their people. Frequently the choral odes celebrate mytho- 
 logical subjects. 321 
 
 17. Sentiments of Piety Proper 
 
 But nearest and dearest to the hearts of the chorus are senti- 
 ments of pure piety. This ethical concept, indeed, rather than 
 
 312 Soph. El. 499 ff. Jebb. 318 76. 1178. 
 
 313 Ag. 249. 319 Bacch. 328 f. 
 814 76. 1213. 32 Tr. 821 ff. 
 
 816 Cho. 37 f. 821 Cf. Eur. El. 432 ff.; 0. C. 668 ff., 
 
 818 0. T. 284 ff., 297 ff. 1044 ff. 
 317 Ant. 1092 ff. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 41 
 
 moderation (awcJ)poauvY)) is fundamental with Sophocles. 322 Feel- 
 ing compassion for Philoctetes and desiring to render him aid, 
 the Scyrian sailors seek from the wounded hero a kindly response 
 to their overtures by appealing to his sense of piety. 323 " Wretched 
 may that man be/' declare the Theban elders, "who disdains 
 to worship reverently the statues of the gods." 324 The presence 
 of the blind Oedipus in the sacred grove of the Furies outrages 
 the chorus' sense of piety: 326 "A wanderer that old man must 
 have been, a wanderer, not a dweller in the land; else never 
 would he have advanced into this untrodden grove of the maid- 
 ens with whom none may strive, whose name we tremble to 
 speak, by whom we pass with eyes turned away, moving our 
 lips, without sound or word, in still devotion." In the Anti- 
 gone the elders of Thebes, acting as the apologists of Creon, 
 while granting that Antigone possesses a sort of piety in her 
 reverence for Polynices, still deem her culpable for having 
 infringed the law of the State; 326 and among the sage remarks 
 with which the play concludes, the chorus make this: "No 
 impiety must ever be displayed toward things divine." 327 The 
 Theban elders in the Oedipus Tyrannus pray that wholesome 
 rivalry, which benefits the State, may never be destroyed by 
 the god; never will they cease holding the god for their pro- 
 tector. 328 
 
 That masterful play, the Bacchce, which by its apology of 
 orthodoxy renders so difficult the true decision as to Euripides' 
 attitude toward religion, in view of his well-known tendency 
 to disparage and scorn tradition, contains abundant evidence 
 of the chorus' love of piety. "Blessed is he," cry the Bac- 
 chanals, "who, happy in his knowledge of the gods' mysteries, 
 is pure in life and religious in soul, with holy purification holding 
 revel in the mountains." 329 Pentheus' remark, that no good 
 comes of the Bacchanals' revelry, is characterized by them as 
 blasphemous: "Hast thou no reverence, stranger, for the gods?" 
 they boldly ask Pentheus. 330 Aghast at the persistent impious 
 scoffing of Pentheus, the chorus invoke Sanctity, ruler of the 
 
 322 Adam op. cit. p. 164. 327 Ib. 1349 f. 
 
 323 Ph. 1162f. 3280. T. 879 ff. 
 
 324 0. T. 885 ff . 329 Bacch. 72 ff. 
 326 0. C. 123 ff. Jebb. 33 76. 263. 
 
 328 Ant. 872 ff. 
 
42 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 gods, that she may haply quell the king's profane utterances. 331 
 At sound of Dionysus' voice, his votaries proclaim their pious 
 worship. 332 " Subtly do the gods conceal time's long foot and 
 hunt down the impious; for 'tis not meet to think and to do 
 more than the law allows. For paltry is the expense of be- 
 lieving that whatever is sent from the gods and gains the sanc- 
 tion of time and nature has power supreme." 333 In impious 
 mood and lawless wrath comes Pentheus to wreak havoc on 
 the sacred orgies of Bacchus; mad is his heart and frenzied his 
 mind. "Free from envy I rejoice in my quest of wisdom and 
 of other great and ever visible goals; I strive to live in piety 
 and holiness following noble ways from dawn to nightfall and, 
 spurning the things made outcast by Justice, to honor the 
 gods." 334 
 
 To the importunate Copreus the elders of Marathon declare 
 the impiety of casting off the stranger suppliants, who have 
 sought from their city the right of sanctuary; 335 and they up- 
 braid him for his failure to show respect to their free land and 
 for his impious desire to violate the right of the suppliant. 336 
 The heroic self-sacrifice of Macaria, revealing the maiden's 
 pious convictions and unswerving devotion to the cause of her 
 father, evokes from the chorus unstinted praise; 337 while in a 
 subsequent ode, they admonish their city never to cease honor- 
 ing the gods. 338 The handmaids of Creusa, having received 
 their instructions from Ion as to what parts of the temple they 
 may and may not visit, make haste to say they will not trans- 
 gress the law of the god. "Ah!" they cry, "how I ever hate 
 wicked men, who, weaving unjust wiles, then deck them forth 
 with fair-seeming trappings; give me every time for a friend 
 the lowly but honest man in preference to the villain of cleverer 
 wits." 339 "Where else than to the altar shouldst thou flee for 
 safety?" the chorus ask distraught Creusa. 340 "Upon the 
 altar now take thy seat, for if there thou art slain, thou shalt 
 curse thy murderers with blood-guiltiness." 341 The play con- 
 
 331 Bacch. 370 ff. 337 76. 629. 
 
 332 76. 589 f . 338 76. 902 f . 
 
 333 76. 888 ff. 339 Ion 832 ff. 
 
 334 76. 997 ff. 34 76. 1255. 
 336 Herod. 107 f. ** 1 76. 1258 ff. 
 836 76. lllff. 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 43 
 
 eludes with an invocation to Apollo, in which the chorus voice 
 their faith in the power of good over evil, and exhort the man 
 smitten with tribulation ardently to worship the gods. In the 
 Iphigenia at Aulis the chorus of Chalcidian women complain 
 of the rampant godlessness and disrespect of the law which 
 now flourish, because such an unspeakable thing as the sacrifice 
 of Iphigenia is permitted to take place. 342 With joy the Theban 
 elders hail the end of the impious Lycus; 343 while the chorus of 
 Argive women gently reproach Electra thus: "Dost think 
 that by thy tears alone, without honoring the gods, thou shalt 
 prevail over thy enemies? Not by wails but by prayerful 
 worship of the gods shalt thou have the victory, my child." 344 
 In ecstasy over the return of Orestes, the chorus exclaim to 
 Electra: "Lift up thy hands and voice, and send forth prayers 
 to the gods for the safety of thy brother!" 345 "Right it is," 
 declare the chorus of captive handmaids, "to show reverence 
 to the rule of the heaven-dwellers"; 346 while they call Clytem- 
 nestra an "impious woman." 347 
 
 The Danaids, imploring their father not to forsake them, 
 contrast their piety with the impiety of their pursuers: "With 
 impious hearts they, like carrion crows, profane the gods' al- 
 tars." 348 "No fear of these tridents and thunderbolts of the 
 gods will restrain them, father, from laying hands on us. Arro- 
 gant beyond endurance, they rage like mad hounds with unholy 
 wrath, giving no ear to the gods. Their anger is that of las- 
 civious, impious monsters." 349 Stunned by the herald's an- 
 nouncement of the arrival of Aegyptus' sons, the Danaids, with 
 fervent appeal to Pelasgus for help, cry out: "We are undone, 
 O King, we, the innocent victims of impious outrage." 380 "Our 
 exile is an ungodly suffering; do not betray us, thou who dost 
 hold full sovereignty of the land, nor see us torn from the shrine 
 of many gods." 351 
 
 The impious boasts of Polynices' men horrify the simple- 
 hearted, orthodox Theban maidens; 352 while the chorus of 
 
 342 /. A. 1089 ff. 34 * Supp. 751 f. 
 
 343 H. F. 760. 349 76. 755 ff. 
 
 344 Eur. El 194 ff . 36 Ib. 908. 
 3415 76. 592 ff. 361 76. 420 ff. 
 
 346 Cho. 960. 862 Septem 563 ff . 
 
 347 76. 46, 525. 
 
44 A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 
 
 Mycenaean elders declare that the impious deed begets a brood 
 of children in its own likeness. 353 Furthermore, because Cassan- 
 dra persists in invoking Apollo while uttering her gloomy fore- 
 bodings as to the fate of Agamemnon, the chorus, knowing 
 Apollo only as a god of joy, think her a blasphemer. 35 ^ Waxing 
 defiant they assure Aegisthus that never shall they cringe to 
 such a villain as he; that the vengeance he boasts of taking 
 on them some day will never be exacted, if haply by the gods' 
 help Orestes return in triumph. 355 The suppliant mothers, 
 after their just claims have duly been fulfilled, desire to express 
 their heartfelt gratitude by taking an oath of allegiance to 
 Theseus and Athens, for " their efforts on our behalf deserve 
 our worship." 356 Firm is the resolve of the Danaids never 
 to brook base wedlock with the offspring of Aegyptus; naught 
 save the will of the gods can shake their determination. 357 The 
 Theban elders, too, feel righteously indignant at Lycus, the 
 presumptuous usurper: "Thou at least shalt never gloatingly 
 rule over me, nor reap the reward of my many weary labors." 358 
 What may be called the catechism of the orthodox Greek re- 
 ligion is set forth in a long prayer by the Danaids; 359 and, as 
 we might naturally infer, part of this catechism dwells em- 
 phatically upon the practice of piety. 360 
 
 Moderation (aw^poauvrj, [JLTQ^V ayav), that greatest of all virtues 
 in the popular ethical system of the ancient Greeks, receives 
 from the tragic chorus frequent honorable mention, consti- 
 tuting, as it does, a not insignificant aspect of the choric creed. 
 " 'Tis dangerous to have too good a reputation." 361 "Cherish 
 neither the life of license nor that of bondage; in the Mean 
 hath God put strength." 362 "Let thy prayer be moderate; 
 desire not too much," declare the Danaids. 363 "Love that 
 comes in excess brings to men neither fair fame nor virtue." 364 
 Urging Chrysothemis to follow her sister's pious advice, the 
 chorus of Mycenaean women assure her that such is the only 
 
 363 Ag. 759 f. 3M Supp. 625-709. 
 
 354 Ib. 1078. 36 Ib. 669-673, 694-696. 
 
 366 76. 1665 ff. 361 Ag. 469 f. 
 368 Eur. Supp. 1232 ff. 362 Eum. 526 ff. 
 
 367 Aesch. Supp. 1016 f. 363 Supp. 1060 ff. 
 388 H. F. 258 ff. 364 Med. 627 ff . 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 45 
 
 wise course. 365 Such sentiments as these are, of course, in 
 perfect keeping with the piety of the chorus. 
 
 By the neat phrase xavBtaox; e&aegirjc;, Aeschylus indicates 
 that trait of human character, which for the chorus constitutes 
 the acme of attainment. The Danaids are entreating the Argive 
 king to offer them protection from the threatening violence of 
 Aegyptus' sons: "Be to us/' they implore, "a hospitable host, 
 pious and perfect in justice!" 366 This succinct expression 
 serves as a thorough and masterful interpretation of the re- 
 ligious attitude of the tragic chorus. Piety is the most salient 
 trait, but with piety must go perfect justice. 
 
 365 Soph. El. 464 f . 3 6 Supp. 418. f . 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 From this investigation we may with certainty conclude 
 that the tragic poets were at one in assigning to the chorus as 
 a definite, collective body the vitally important religious func- 
 tion of defending and propagating the orthodox Greek faith. 
 The actors might on occasion, as especially in the dramas of 
 Euripides, express unorthodox sentiments; the chorus never. 
 Now since Greek tragedy possessed an essentially religious 
 character, and was maintained as a state institution, it was 
 only natural that there should be in it some agency having 
 as its consistent purpose the steady and potential promotion 
 of the state religion. Such an agency we find the chorus to 
 have been; but whether there was actually a state law requiring 
 this duty of the chorus is uncertain. Nevertheless, the salient 
 and rigid consistency of the religious conduct of the chorus 
 would certainly constitute a cogent argument in favor of the 
 existence of such a law. Probably no other religious influence 
 in Greek life produced upon the popular mind such a profound 
 and lasting effect as did the pious and orthodox utterances 
 of the tragic chorus. Of course, secret rites and ceremonies 
 such as were performed in the Eleusinian mysteries were bound 
 to create deep religious impressions, but it must be remem- 
 bered that they were known to only a comparatively few, whereas 
 tragedy, being a state institution, conferred its religious benefits 
 freely upon all. At the tragic performances the people learned 
 from their able mentor, the chorus, their greatest lessons in 
 the orthodox faith. Despite the many functional changes 
 which the chorus underwent in the historical development of 
 Greek tragedy, its character as a teacher of traditional orthodoxy 
 remained ever impervious to any modifying influences. How- 
 ever widely they might differ in other respects, the choruses 
 of Aeschylus and of Euripides revealed in their religious atti- 
 tude a fundamental harmony. The Bacchanals are not a whit 
 less orthodox than the Danaids, yet the Supplices of Aeschylus 
 
 46 
 
A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus 47 
 
 antedates the Bacchce of Euripides by considerably more than 
 fifty years. Time, then, has failed to bring about any noticeable 
 change in the religious outlook of the tragic chorus. Through- 
 out the entire history of Greek tragedy, the chorus, in con- 
 tradistinction to the actors, kept ever bright the flame of the 
 Olympian tradition. Strong as the intellectual appeal of tragedy 
 doubtless was, it hardly eclipsed the religious; and if we seek 
 the dominant agent of this religious appeal, we find it to be 
 the chorus. The faithful perpetuation of orthodox sentiment 
 in the tragic chorus constitutes perhaps the only phenomenon 
 of Greek tragedy which suffered neither slight nor radical modi- 
 fication in spite of marked personal differences in the religious 
 views of the individual tragedians; and justly deserves, there- 
 fore, to be reckoned as one of the salient and vital elements of 
 Greek tragedy. 
 
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