REESE LIBRARY 
 
 \,jt n n n n iv 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 %eceivei1 ^Jt&nt^ 
 
 Accession No. 7^"^^ J". Class No. "J ^7 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/antimachusofcoloOObenerich 
 
ANTIMACHUS OF COLOPHON 
 
 POSITION OF WOMEN IN GREEK POETRY 
 
Antimachus of Colophon 
 
 Position of Womeit in Greek Poetry 
 
 E. F. M. BENECKE 
 
 B fragment 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE USE OF SCHOLARS 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LiM. 
 1896 
 
76'9 9<^' 
 
1/0-7 
 
 
 ERRATA AND ADDENDA 
 
 Page 22, n. i, 1. lo, for 'xxxix.', read 'xxxvii.' 
 
 ,, 27, n. I, for *j3t/3Xta,' read */3i/3\ia.' 
 
 ,, 31, 1. 8, after 'dissolute habits,' add: [Bergk, ed. I. (used by 
 the author) reads iiirjdeva ttoj k.t.X. in Theog. 547 : Bergk, 
 ed. IV., has Trat for ttw]. 
 
 ,, 60, for ' v^pi^ova : ov,' read ' v^pi^ova' ov.* 
 
 ,, 107, n. 3, add : [T/jlJ)\lov ai^aov. The author accepts Hermann's 
 reading; see Opiisc. iv. 245. oJi^cxov — '6po<i vyprfKbv (Hesych.)]. 
 
 ,, 108, note, 1. 6, for * iratpaVj' read * eraipau.^ 
 
 „ 117, n. I, for '405-336,' read '403-336.' 
 
 ,, 158, 1. 12, for * dvOpcoiros,' read ' dvdpojiros.* 
 
 ,, 160, 1. 23, for ^ireWeLVy read ^ ireiaeLv,^ 
 
 ,, 191, note, 1. 4, for ^La Reve,' read ^Le Reve.' 
 
 ,, 204, n. I, 1. 5, for '^jSt^tt/s,' read ^ tjjStjttjs.^ 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ESSAY I. Women in Greek Poetry . . . i 
 
 ,, II. Women in Greek Comedy . ^. .117 
 
 Excursus A. Theognis (1. 261 seqq.) . . . 199 
 
 ,, B. The *' Phaedra" of Sophocles . . 201 
 
 5, C. The "Andromeda" of Euripides . . 203 
 
 „ D. The *' Hippolytus " of Euripides (Two 
 
 Emendations) . ... 206 
 
 ,, E. The Second Book of Theognis . . 207 
 
 ,, F. Women in the Middle Comedy . .210 
 
 ,, G. Women in the Middle Comedy Fragments 
 
 (Analysis of passages) . . .219 
 
 ,, H. Women in the Fragments of the Early 
 
 New Comedy (Analysis of passages) . 233 
 
 „ I. "Women's Rights" in the Middle Comedy 243 
 
 „ K. Some Further Notes on Family Relations 
 
 as treated in Middle and New Comedy 245 
 Index A. Of Authors and Subjects Referred To . 247 
 Index B. Of Passages Emended or Discussed . . 252 
 Table of Comic Fragments . ... 253 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE 
 
 THE author of the following pages met with his 
 death in Switzerland on July i6th, 1895, in his 
 twenty-sixth year. Had he lived to complete the whole 
 work of which they form part, he might have recast it 
 throughout; and some apology is, perhaps, needed for 
 its appearance in the present form. Several scholars 
 have, however, expressed their opinion that the material 
 contained in the extant fragments might be useful to 
 those engaged in similar studies, and they are accord- 
 ingly published, in the hope that this may prove to be 
 the case. 
 
 From the author's papers it appears that his work was, 
 if completed, to have been entitled "Women in Greek 
 Poetry : being an Enquiry into the Origin of the 
 Romantic Element in Literature." It was to have con- 
 tained three divisions, dealing respectively with (i) the 
 position occupied by women in the Greek lyric and 
 tragic poets, (2) the part played by women in Greek 
 comedy, (3) the Alexandrian ideal of woman. The 
 former of the two essays contained in this volume 
 (" Women in Greek Poetry ") no doubt includes much 
 that would have been incorporated in the first of these 
 three divisions. At the same time, as it was, in all 
 probability, written before the whole scheme was ar- 
 ranged, and was intended to be complete in itself, it 
 contains allusions to certain subjects which would more 
 naturally have fallen into the third, and would have 
 received fuller treatment there, while several points 
 which belong properly to the first division have not 
 been treated on the scale which would finally have be- 
 longed to them. The second essay (" Women in Greek 
 Comedy") corresponds more nearly in subject to the 
 author's matured plan, but had still less than the first 
 
viii Introductory Note, 
 
 essay the benefit of his final correction and revision. 
 This much is said, not in order to deprecate criticism 
 (a result which the author would have been the last to 
 desire), but merely in explanation of the occasional 
 repetitions, and possibly also inconsistencies, which are 
 to be found in this volume. 
 
 In preparing the work for the Press as few alterations 
 as possible have been introduced, and the essays appear 
 substantially in the form given them by the author. 
 Thus the second essay is divided into nine chief 
 sections, while the first has no such sub-divisions. 
 Again, Excursus F (which was originally written for the 
 first essay) contains much material which is elaborated 
 in the second essay. In several places also, especially 
 towards the close of the volume, reference is made to 
 parts of the work which seem never to have been 
 written. It is believed that the reader will be anxious 
 to possess the author's own words so far as possible, 
 and, accordingly, the changes which have been adopted 
 are only such as the author would probably have made 
 himself when revising his work. 
 
 In references to the Greek lyric poets, the numbers 
 are those of Bergk's Poetae Lyrici Graeci (4th edition, 
 1878-82). The fragments of the tragedians are cited 
 from Nauck's Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta (2nd 
 edition, 1889). For the comic fragments the author 
 used Meineke's Fragmenta Comicorum Graecorum (five 
 vols. 1839-57). Meineke's numbering has been kept in 
 the text, but a list will be found on page 253, giving the 
 corresponding references to Kock's Comicoru7n Atticoriim 
 Fragmenta (three vols. 1880-88) in all cases where the 
 two editions differ seriously. The references to Theo- 
 critus, Plautus, and Terence have been verified from the 
 editions of Ziegler, Ritschl, and Dziatzko, respectively ; 
 but where the text is doubtful, the author appears to 
 have adopted what seemed to him the most probable 
 reading, without following any editor exclusively. 
 
 Additions by the editor of this volume are enclosed 
 in square brackets. He has to acknowledge most grate- 
 fully his indebtedness to several friends for advice and 
 assistance on various points. 
 
X^^ OF THE '^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 Women in Greek Poetry 
 
 GREEK literature may be divided roughly into 
 two parts, the earlier school which culminated 
 at Athens, and the later school which culminated at 
 Alexandria. The obvious differences between these 
 two schools of art have often been described, and 
 there is no need to dwell on them here ; but the 
 great, the essential difference between them has been 
 too generally ignored. 
 
 The chief ih oiring element of all art is love ; and 
 it is in their insphation — that is to say, in their view 
 of love — that the real difference between the two 
 schools consists. The love of the later poetry is the 
 love of man for woman ; the love of the earlier 
 poetry is the love of man for man. 
 
 By " love " I mean here love in the modern sense. 
 A man of the Alexandrian Age might say "I love 
 you" to a woman, and mean by that what a man 
 may mean if he says as much to-day ; before that 
 time a man could only have said " I love you " in this 
 sense to a friend of his own sex. There is no trace 
 in literature of what we now understand by the 
 word " love " earlier than the end of the fourth 
 century. 
 
 B 
 
2 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 This phenomenon has been noticed before — indeed, 
 it is one that could not very well escape notice — 
 though its true importance has not always been 
 appreciated ; and the general consensus of opinion 
 has agreed to ascribe this great change, the greatest 
 change perhaps that has ever come over art, to the 
 influence of two men, Euripides and Menander. My 
 object in writing now is to endeavour to show, firstly, 
 that this general view is a mistaken one, arising from 
 an insufficient appreciation of the true nature of the 
 change ; and secondly, that the real originator of that 
 new feeling which we encounter in Alexandrian 
 literature, — in other words, the first man who had the 
 courage to say that a woman is worth loving, — was 
 Antimachus of Colophon. 
 
 The commonly accepted view as to the origin of 
 that " romantic " feeling (for so, for briefness' sake, it 
 will be convenient to call it) ^ which meets us in 
 Alexandrian literature, would seem to be due to a 
 confusion, arising from a misunderstanding of what 
 that feeling really is. This confusion takes two dis- 
 tinct forms. Thus, in the case of some writers, the 
 improved tone with regard to women which appears 
 in Greek erotic literature from the fourth century 
 onwards, has been confounded with that improvement 
 in their social and intellectual position which was so 
 marked a feature of the latest period of the history 
 
 ^ The expression is, of course, an awkward one, for the word 
 "romance," like "chivalry," embodies the old superstition that such 
 feelings were a product of the Christian Middle Ages ; but this and 
 similar expressions are so generally used in this connection, that there 
 is little real risk of misunderstanding, and I cannot think of anything 
 better. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 3 
 
 of classical Greece. In other words, romantic feelings 
 have been spoken of as if they were identical with 
 feelings of social and intellectual respect. That they 
 are not, scarcely requires even to be stated. Others 
 again, while perceiving the distinction between these 
 two entirely different things, have yet argued as if the 
 one were the natural and inevitable outcome of the 
 other, and inseparably connected therewith ; as if, in 
 fact, all that was necessary to purify and elevate the 
 feelings of men towards women had been the social 
 emancipation of the latter. This view is of course 
 possible, and as such is entitled to consideration 
 rather than the previous one ; but not only is it 
 improbable in itself, but it is also in direct opposition 
 to the teaching of history : for while no one would 
 deny that this emancipation, if more or less simul- 
 taneous with the appearance of the romantic feeling, 
 would serve at once to disseminate and to dignify it, 
 how entirely independent the one is of the other is 
 sufficiently proved by the conditions prevailing in the 
 Middle Ages. It is surely a fact which cannot well 
 be ignored in discussing this question, that just 
 during that period of history when "chivalry" and 
 " romance " were at their height, the social and 
 intellectual position of women, both absolutely and 
 relatively, was perhaps lower than at any time before 
 since the creation of the world.^ 
 
 ^ Among the many arguments in favour of the social emancipation 
 of women at the present day, I have never heard it suggested that such 
 an emancipation would inevitably lead to an increase of chivalrous 
 feelings on the part of men ; the general view seems to be that it would 
 have just the contrary effect. 
 
4 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 When once the romantic element is cut clear from 
 all extraneous entanglements, so that it is possible to 
 recognise what it really is, it becomes, I think, imme- 
 diately evident that neither Euripides nor Menander 
 can have much to do with its origin. The leading 
 motive of romance is the idea that pure love for a 
 woman may justifiably form the chief interest in a 
 man's life. But this idea, as I hope to be able to 
 show clearly, does not appear in literature until after 
 the time of Euripides, while it is already to be found 
 fully developed before the time of Menander. This 
 being so, it seems impossible to regard either of these 
 writers as the originators of it. 
 
 In the course of the following pages, I shall there- 
 fore endeavour to show, by a detailed examination of 
 such parts of the contemporary literature as bear 
 upon the subject, that low as was the social position 
 of woman in most parts of Greece during the so- 
 called classical period, the place which she occupied 
 in the minds of men and in their art was even lower, 
 and that her subsequent social emancipation did not 
 by any means immediately lead to her being regarded 
 with any more real respect. In the course of this 
 argument, I purpose to dwell especially on the 
 influence of Euripides, and hope to succeed in 
 making it clear that though he, as judged by his 
 works, was strongly in favour of giving women 
 larger liberties, and firmly convinced that their 
 capacities both for good and evil were far greater 
 than the more old - fashioned among his contem- 
 poraries supposed, there is yet nowhere in his plays 
 any real love-element as between man and woman. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 5 
 
 nor IS it anywhere suggested that love for a woman 
 may be a determining factor in a man's life. 
 
 Secondly, I purpose by a similar process to show 
 that that place which in later Greek art and in 
 modern times is occupied by the love of man for 
 woman, was occupied among the earlier Greeks by 
 the love of man for man — a fact which, though it 
 may at first sight appear foreign to the immediate 
 subject of our enquiry, is yet of such extreme im- 
 portance for a true understanding of the history of 
 the origin of the romantic feeling, that a consideration 
 of it can on no account be omitted from any work 
 professing in any way to deal with that question. 
 For it cannot be too strongly emphasised that those 
 who wish to study the development of love, as we 
 now know it, must commence their studies with an 
 examination of this essentially primitive emotion. 
 It cannot be too strongly emphasised that love, as it 
 now exists, has been evolved, not from the sexual 
 instinct, but from the companionship of the battle- 
 field, that the first real lovers the world ever knew 
 were comrades in arms. The Iliad of Homer is a 
 love story, its heroes Achilles and Patroclus ; the 
 Ajax of Sophocles is a love story, its heroes Ajax 
 and Teucer. To ignore such facts as these is wilfully 
 to misunderstand the meaning of Greek poetry and 
 the meaning of Greece in the history of the world. 
 
 Having thus cleared the ground, I hope finally to 
 show thg-t it was Antimachus who first taught that 
 that love which was possible between man and man 
 was possible also between man and woman. 
 
 Antimachus stands at the junction of the two great 
 
6 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 tendencies of his time. The influence of Sparta and 
 of Euripides was gradually re-emancipating women, 
 and showing that their powers and their passions 
 were at least equal to those of men ; the steady 
 growth and development of that relation between 
 man and man which found its highest exponent in 
 Plato had made it clear, even to the blindest, that 
 love was possible as distinct from lust. It was left to 
 Antimachus to unite the two streams of thought in 
 one, and to show that woman, with her newly- 
 awakened capabilities, was a worthy object of pure 
 and chivalrous devotion. 
 
 The works of Antimachus are lost, and none of the 
 few fragments which survive are of any importance. 
 All discussion with reference to them must therefore 
 be based on suppositions and an examination of 
 relative probabilities. The risks of error in entering 
 on such doubtful ground are manifestly infinite, and 
 conclusions can be reached only through the accumu- 
 lation of a mass of evidence, the separate particles of 
 which are often in themselves of very little weight ; 
 the veil of darkness covering all such Greek literature 
 as does not bear the hall-mark of Athens is so thick 
 that it is perhaps no longer possible for the real truth 
 about it ever to be known. Ceteriim, fiat Justitia, 
 It is a bold claim, I know, that I am making for 
 Antimachus; it is a claim which, if established, would 
 giVQ^ him right to rank among the greatest poets of 
 the world : it would give him right to rank as the 
 founder of modern literature. How great a poet he 
 really was we do not know. Perhaps my estimation 
 of his importance is altogether exaggerated. His 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 7 
 
 contemporaries,we know, preferred Choerilus; perhaps 
 they were right ; for myself, Malo cum P la tone err are. 
 
 It IS generally agreed that in prehistoric times the 
 position of women among the Greeks was a much 
 higher one than was the case subsequently. There 
 seems every reason to believe that the social con- 
 ditions of the Lesbians and the Dorians and the 
 other nations which did not come under the influence 
 of the history-writing lonians, were but the survivals 
 of what was originally a more or less general state. 
 It is of considerable assistance for a proper compre- 
 hension of the earliest literature, if one remembers 
 that at the time of its production the enslavement of 
 women had only comparatively recently taken place. 
 
 The reason of the influence of primitive woman 
 over primitive man is probably not very far to seek. 
 In early times women were regarded with super- 
 stitious reverence^ — one need only watch a woman 
 making lace, say, to be able nowadays still to quite 
 appreciate the feeling — and with natural woman's wit 
 for a time kept up the illusion, the hard head of man 
 taking some time to come to maturity. But when 
 man did at last wake to the fact that he was physi- 
 cally, and therefore, for practical purposes, generally 
 superior, an inevitable reaction set in, and the history 
 of early Greece shows women as occupying on the 
 whole a very low position — a position, too, which 
 became lower still with advancing civilisation.^ 
 
 ^ Very noticeable is the preponderance of goddesses in the Greek 
 Pantheon. The powers of nature, whether of sea, mountain, river, or 
 forest, were almost invariably incarnated in the form of women. 
 
 ^ This change, retrograde or not, according to taste, may be exactly 
 paralleled from the social history of the Arabs. 
 
8 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 That the original state of women was not one of 
 slavery is clearly shown by the early epics. The 
 Iliad and the Odyssey are pictures of an earlier state 
 of society than that of the poet who describes them. 
 A man living in a society in which women were 
 despised, had to deal with legends belonging to an 
 earlier social condition, in which women played a 
 prominent part. Traces of this anomaly are easy to 
 find in both poems. The Trojan war was the work 
 of a woman, but how very little that woman appears 
 in the Iliad! A woman has been managing the 
 affairs of Odysseus for twenty years in an exemplary 
 fashion ; but the hero of the Odyssey on his return 
 prefers to associate with the swineherd. It is by this 
 contradiction between the actual experiences of the 
 poet and the social conditions which he was called 
 upon to depict, that the many inconsistencies in the 
 treatment of the Epic woman must be explained. 
 
 Another excellent illustration of this conflict 
 between the primitive and the subsequent views of 
 the nature and importance of women is furnished by 
 the elaborate treatment of the Pandora legend in the 
 Opera et Dies of Hesiod. On the one hand is the 
 early conviction of the power of women's influence — 
 it is only by the help of a woman that Zeus can outwit 
 man : on the other the later conviction that this 
 influence must be for evil — before Pandora came 
 
 v6(r<f>LV arep t€ Ka/cwv koI ctrep ^^aAcTroto irovoio. (1. 90) 
 
 And a like contradiction runs through all the details 
 of the description. Woman will be man's ruin, but 
 he cannot fail to love her all the same — 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 Women in Greek Poetry. 9 
 
 rots S'eyw avrt irvpos Siocro} KaKOVM k€v airavres 
 repTTdiVTat Kara OvfJLov ebv KaKov d/x^ayaTrwvres. (1. 57) 
 
 Woman will gain man's heart by her beauty, which 
 is Hke that of the immortals — 
 
 dOavdraLS Se ^cats els (owa ktcrKeiv 
 TTapOevLKrjs KaXov etSos kirripaTOV (1. 62), 
 
 by her skill and by her charm ; it is but as an after- 
 thought that the poet adds — 
 
 €v 8e 6kp.€v Kvveov re voov /cat kiriKXoTrov ^Oos 
 ^l^pfxeiav 7]V(i)y€ diaKTopov dpyeicf^ovTrjv, (1. 67) 
 
 And, lastly, it is through a woman that trouble 
 comes into the world ; but it is this same woman's 
 doing that Hope at least is left. It was Pandora 
 herself that shut down the lid of the casket before 
 Hope had flown ; it was she that preserved this 
 "dream of waking hours" for mankind.^ 
 
 But if we pass from the general condition of women, 
 as depicted in Homer or Hesiod, and come to our 
 own more immediate subject, it must be admitted 
 that neither in the prehistoric legends, nor in their 
 subsequent development, is there any trace what- 
 ever of a romantic sentiment existing between 
 men and women to be found. Considering the 
 important position occupied by women in these 
 poems, the absence of the love element is most 
 remarkable. 
 
 The insignificant part played by Briseis has always 
 
 ^ It is both instructive and amusing to compare this primitive ideal 
 woman with the contemporary Greek woman, as Hesiod himself knew 
 and described her. A striking passage is Oj>. 693 se^g., and others 
 will be mentioned in the next few pages. 
 
lo Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 struck those who have wished to regard the Iliad as 
 an Achilleis, of which she is the heroine ; nor can 
 Agamemnon's love for the daughter of Chryses be 
 said to go very deep. He is distressed at losing her, 
 no doubt, but the loss is far from irremediable. 
 He evidently agrees with Antigone, ttoV^? av ixoi 
 KarOavovTog aWog ^v. 
 
 Paris again had originally been a celebrated warrior, 
 and it was to this that he owed his position and his 
 name. But his love for Helen, instead of inspiring 
 him, seems to have had the very opposite effect. One 
 exception there is, no doubt, to all this — the relation 
 between Hector and Andromache. But the relation 
 between Hector and Andromache (as illustrated by 
 I/iad vi. 392, segg.) is unparalleled in all Greek litera- 
 ture, and it is not, perhaps, without significance that 
 they are Trojans and not Greeks. How great was 
 the impression that they made is visible in the way in 
 which the later literature cites Andromache rather 
 than any Greek woman as the ideal of a wife. At 
 the same time, how little really sympathetic to the 
 Greek of the period was this wonderful and unique 
 passage is sufficiently shown by this very fact, that 
 no attempt was ever made to imitate or develop it. 
 It may sound strange to say so, but in all probability 
 we to-day understand Andromache better than did 
 the Greeks for whom she was created ; better, too, 
 perhaps than did her creator himself. 
 
 In the Odyssey, well nigh the entire action is in the 
 hands of women. What with Athene and Leucothea, 
 Circe and Calypso, Nausicaa and Penelope, Odysseus 
 himself hardly comes to the fore at all ; and yet it 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 1 1 
 
 cannot be said that anywhere from beginning to end 
 is there so much as a suggestion of a love-motive. 
 
 Nausicaa is always regarded as a charming type of 
 woman, but, after all, how one naturally thinks of 
 her is as a charming type of washerwoman. Penelope 
 again is merely the ideal housekeeper : she longs for 
 the return of her husband, no doubt, but what really 
 grieves her about the suitors is not their suggestions 
 as to his death, but the quantity of pork they eat. 
 
 As for any idea that her devotion requires similar 
 constancy on the part of Odysseus, it is not so much 
 as suggested. The Odyssey opens, it is true, with its 
 hero longing to see even the smoke of his home 
 rising in the air ; but it must be remembered that he 
 has been spending seven years alone with Calypso on 
 a desert island, which for a man of his tastes was 
 doubtless exceedingly tedious. There is no reason to 
 suppose that he did not enjoy the first year or so of 
 his stay quite as much as his visit to Circe or 
 Aeolus. 
 
 An examination of other Greek myths and legends 
 that have any claim to antiquity will furnish a very 
 similar result. Whether in those myths of gods and 
 heroes which found their way into literature from its 
 beginning, or in those local legends which, though 
 first appearing in the Alexandrian writers, are evi- 
 dently in reality much older, wherever the antiquity 
 of the story can be proved, two characteristics are 
 very noticeable. The first is the importance of 
 women as the originators of the action ; the second 
 is the absence of the romantic element. The capa- 
 bilities of women are thoroughly recognised, though 
 
12 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 the tendency of the time is to describe their influence 
 as for evil rather than as for good ; their importance 
 is everywhere admitted : but that a man should be 
 really or seriously in love with a woman is a thing 
 unknown. 
 
 This is certainly at first sight a strange anomaly, 
 and yet it is, perhaps, capable of explanation. The 
 developer of the myth could not fail to be confronted 
 by a great contradiction — the traditional importance 
 of women and their actual condition of repression. 
 He saw in the stories the women, like Medea or 
 Ariadne, profoundly influencing the career of their 
 lovers, while the men, like Jason or Theseus, stood 
 helplessly and more or less apathetically on one 
 side. The converse of such positions he naturally 
 did not find. His surroundings forbade his drawing 
 the true deduction, that the stories were intended to 
 illustrate the helplessness of men without a woman 
 to direct them ; he drew therefore the contrary 
 deduction, that the dignity and superiority of man 
 prevented him from taking an active interest in any 
 matter where a woman was concerned. From this 
 deduction, combined with all that was known of the 
 emotional and passionate character of feminine 
 nature, there followed that view of the relation 
 between man and woman which is so noticeable in 
 all the myths and legends as we find them in litera- 
 ture. A woman may be desperately in love with a ' 
 man, but the converse is impossible.^ Love may lead 
 
 ^ That this was the general character of the erotic legends introduced 
 into the celebrated "Catalogus" ascribed to Hesiod, seems shown by 
 the remark in Serv. ad, Aen, vii. 268 : " Hesiodus etiam irepl t(j)v 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 13 
 
 women to humiliation, to treachery, to crime, and to 
 suicide, but never, except under the most extra- 
 ordinary circumstances, men.^ 
 
 The most cursory examination of the ordinary and 
 most familiar Greek legends will sufficiently illustrate 
 this. 
 
 'E/c A409 apx^M^cr^a. Of the many amours of Zeus, 
 the only one of at all a permanent character, the 
 only one which he thought it worth his while to 
 legalise, was that for Ganymede.^ His treatment of 
 Minos, again, was very different from that which any 
 of his female friends received.^ 
 
 The goddesses suffer for their indiscretions, never the 
 gods. Aphrodite's pathetic confession to Anchises,^ 
 or her agony for Adonis, the helpless devotion of 
 Luna to Endymion, or of Aurora to Tithonus, can 
 find no parallels among the stories of the gods. 
 Love may drive Apollo to tend cattle, but it is love 
 for Admetus. 
 
 In the lower stratum of humanity, the treachery of 
 
 yvvo^iKusv inducit multas heroidas optasse nuptias virorum fortium " ; 
 cp. the whole note. 
 
 2 The parallel view, that if a man wished to really love anyone, the 
 only worthy object he could find would be another man, was doubtless, 
 in part, the result of a similar line of argument, though its true origin 
 must of course be sought in something more inspiring than mere 
 contempt for women. A further examination of this side of the 
 question will be made later on. 
 
 ^ Zeus pays diroiva to Tros for his son (cp. Hymn. Horn. iv. 210) ; 
 that the golden shower in which he visited Danae means as much, is 
 hardly a primitive notion. The argument in Ach. Tat. ii. 37 is 
 ingenious, but scarcely convincing. 
 
 * This version of the relations between Zeus and Minos is at least as 
 old as the Odyssey. Cp. Odyss. xix. 179; Athen. xiii. 601 E. 
 
 ^ Hy7nn. Horn. iv. 247 seqq. 
 
14 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 Medea or Ariadne, the story of Scylla^ with its 
 dozen variants, the guilt of Stheneboea, of Myrrha, 
 of Pasiphae, the deaths of Byblis or PhylHs.^ are but 
 a few of the more obvious examples. 
 
 The idea that a man could be subject to such 
 passions is not to be found till much later in the 
 history of the legends. The original version of the 
 story makes Eriphanis follow Menalcas through the 
 forest and die for his disdain;^ that Menalcas should 
 afterwards die of love for Euhippe is an addition by 
 Hermesianax.^ In the old legend, Daphnis is the 
 companion of Artemis, and the nymph who loves 
 him seeks him in vain by every fountain and by 
 every grove ;''^ it is Sositheus who tells of his search 
 for his lost Pimplea,^ and Alexander Aetolus, or 
 whoever Tityrus may be, who sets him wandering 
 over the mountains after Xenea.^ 
 
 A good commentary on all this is furnished by the 
 stories selected, apparently more or less at random, 
 by Parthenius in his IlepJ 'Epwrf/cwi/ JladrifxaTiav, 
 and an examination of this work (dedicated to the 
 Roman Cornelius Gallus) may serve to show how 
 
 ^ The general view that the erotic version of this story is not the 
 original seems to rest on the sole authority of Aesch. Cho. 613 seqq. 
 Probably one version is as old as the other, the one being perhaps 
 Dorian, the other Ionian. Aeschylus' treatment of Dorian erotic 
 legends will be touched upon later. {Infra, p. 42.) 
 
 2 A man may sometimes commit suicide after the death of his lady ; 
 but that is a very different thing to dying because she declines to have 
 anything more to do with him. Stories like that of Iphis and Anax- 
 arete only appear at a very late period. 
 
 3 Athen. xiv. 619C. ^ Hermes. Leont. i. Fr. 3. (Ed. Bach.) 
 ^ Theocr. i. 82 seqq, Cp. Reitzenstein, Epigranifii und Skolion, 
 
 p. 212 seqq. 
 ^ Serv. ad Eel, viii. 62>. ^ Theocr. vii. 72. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 15 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^■r tenaciously the original idea of the relative positions 
 
 ^B of men and women retained its hold even among the 
 
 ^K ** romantic " Alexandrians. 
 
 ^B The stories narrated by Parthenius number 36 
 
 H in all. 
 
 ^^ In three cases, those of Leucophrye (5), Peisidice 
 (21), and Nanis (22), love induces women to betray 
 their country to the enemy; in each case the suggestion 
 of treachery is made by them. In one case a man, 
 Diognetus (9), is guilty of similar treachery, but here 
 he is trapped into it by an oath to his lady to do 
 whatever she asks him — an oath which he swears 
 without thinking what it may imply ; and, besides, 
 he betrays, not his own countrymen, but merely his 
 allies. 
 
 Of other sorts of treachery there is enough and to 
 spare, and always attributed to the woman. Penelope 
 (3), out of jealousy, induces Odysseus to kill his son 
 Euryalus ; Erippe (8), owing to her love for a bar- 
 barian, plots against her husband's life ; Cleoboea 
 (14) tries to seduce Antheus, and, failing, murders 
 him. 
 
 Where a man is led by love to any unnatural 
 crime, it is invariably excused as being the result 
 of temporary insanity or the vengeance of some 
 deity. Leucippus (5) falls in love with his sister Kara 
 fXYiviv ^ A.(j)po8LTri(i] for Byblis (11) no such excuse is 
 alleged. Clymenus (13) violates Harpalyce Slol to 
 cKcppcov elvm ; Orion, Hero (20) viro jueOrjg cKcppcov ; 
 Assaon's love for his daughter Niobe (33) is a punish- 
 ment from Leto ; Dimoetes' love for a corpse (31) is 
 brought on by a curse. The sins of Neaera (18) 
 
1 6 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 and Perianders mother (17) have no such palliative. 
 The unique case in which Alcinoe (27) is driven Kara 
 fxriviv ''KOrjvri<s to elope with a stranger (as a punish- 
 ment for sweating her sempstress) is derived from 
 Moero, who would naturally regard women from a 
 peculiar point of view. 
 
 Lastly, Rhesus (36) and Leucippus (15) are, it is 
 true, induced, like Eriphanis, to follow the objects of 
 their affection into the hunting-field, but in each case 
 their devotion is very promptly rewarded. 
 
 The foregoing examination of the myths and 
 legends of early Greece has led to certain definite 
 results ; but the importance of these results has been 
 in many cases discounted by the impossibility of 
 assigning any even approximate date to the myth or 
 legend from which they have been drawn. Even i^, 
 in the case of any given legend, one could determine 
 with certainty the occasion of its first appearance in 
 literature, one would in reality be very little nearer 
 determining the date of the legend itself. To the 
 stories in Homer everyone is willing to allow a 
 respectable antiquity; but who can say how long 
 the story of Phaedra had been current at Troezen 
 before Sophocles adopted it } It is satisfactory there- 
 fore to be able to leave this doubtful ground, and 
 come to something more definite, in the shape of the 
 actual words of the subjective lyric writers, who 
 belong to the second stage of Greek literature. 
 
 It is, perhaps, generally agreed that romantic love- 
 poetry was not produced by the early Greek lyric 
 writers. What is less generally appreciated is the 
 fact that these writers, at any rate before the time of 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, ly 
 
 Anacreon, wrote practically no love-poetry (addressed 
 to women) at all.^ So little indeed has this fact or 
 its meaning been understood, that not a few passages 
 in the fragments of these writers have been misinter- 
 preted or strained ; but really, if one comes to think 
 of it, this absence of love-poetry is quite capable of 
 explanation. The subjective lyric literature of early 
 Greece, which extends roughly over the seventh and 
 sixth centuries, and lasts on, in a desultory sort of 
 way, into the fifth, is chiefly Ionian, and introduces 
 one to a very different state of society from that of 
 the heroic age. The actual social and intellectual posi- 
 tion of women is, in the main, a very low one ; and 
 in other respects also the place which they occupy in 
 the interests of men is very insignificant. But this is 
 not all. The ideal woman of the time is not one 
 to whom love-poetry could be addressed. The Greek 
 of this period looked upon a woman as an instrument 
 of pleasure, and as a means of creating a family, 
 nothing more. The comparison of marriage to cattle- 
 breeding sounds quite natural.^ Now such feelings 
 as these can neither of them provide the material for 
 love-poetry of even the most rudimentary kind.^ 
 
 ^ The only real exceptions to this rule are, perhaps, Sappho and her 
 followers ! 
 
 *^ Theognis, 183 ; cp. Pseudo-Phocylides, 189. Very similar in spirit 
 is Hesiod's advice to the farmer to get 
 
 oIkov jULcv irpdoTLara yvvaiKOL re ^ouv t dpOTrjpa. Op. 403. 
 
 ^ That is to say, these feelings by themselves. As regards the first, 
 no one, of course, would wish to deny that the sexual instinct, in its 
 most sensual form, has often played a prominent part in what is un- 
 questionably love-poetry ; but the sexual instinct can never of itself 
 supply the fundamental basis of the feeling necessary for the production 
 of such poetry. Woman, regarded iiiei^ely as a source of pleasure or 
 convenience, can no more be an object of love than a bottle of brandy 
 or a railway train. 
 
 C 
 
1 8 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 The former of these two ideals we shall have 
 frequent opportunities of encountering in the next 
 few pages. A striking commentary on the latter, 
 and, of course, more general one, is furnished 
 by that important document for the early history 
 of women in Greece, the " satire " of Simonides. If 
 one examines the types of women that Simonides 
 describes, and the objections that he urges against 
 them, and compares these with the types one en- 
 counters in Juvenal, for instance, a noteworthy fact 
 at once becomes apparent. *The faults which Si- 
 monides blames, as well as the virtues he somewhat 
 grudgingly commends, are simply those which con- 
 cern woman as a housekeeper ; those faults and vices 
 which provoke the indignation of Juvenal are but 
 lightly touched upon, or not mentioned at all. One 
 woman is slovenly, another talks her husband^s head 
 off, another is always eating, another is a thief, another 
 is too fine a lady to do any cooking or sweeping ; 
 and the only three definite virtues of the woman 
 "like a bee" are, that her husband's income in- 
 creases, that her children are satisfactory, and that 
 she does not waste her time gossiping with the 
 neighbours. 
 
 Indeed, the famous lines (/^r. 6) — 
 
 yvvatKos ov^\v XP^/^' ^v^^ Xrjt^eT ai 
 io-OXrjs afJL€Lvov oi'Se piyiov Ka/c?}?, 
 
 might almost be translated, " There is nothing better 
 in the world than a good cook, and nothing worse 
 than a bad one."^ 
 
 ^ Cf. Hes. (9/. 700, se^^, A comparison of that passage with the 
 types mentioned in Simonides, i.e. the yvurj yqtvr} and the yvvj] i^ 6vov, 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 19 
 
 Simonides grumbles a great deal, and thinks most 
 women a great nuisance ; that a woman could be 
 more than a nuisance, or, if God were good, possibly 
 a convenience, does not enter his head. 
 
 A century and a half later we find little change. 
 Phocylides divides woman into four types : three 
 bad — the flirt, the slattern, and the shrew ; one good, 
 the efficient housekeeper.' Another hundred years 
 later the ideal of a wife is still unchanged. ^ 
 
 There was little reason, then, for these Greeks to 
 address love- poetry to their women, or, indeed, to 
 sing of "love," otherwise than in its purely animal 
 aspect, at all. It remains to convince oneself, by 
 an examination of what remains of their works, that 
 they actually did not. It is, of course, a very general 
 opinion that Archilochus, the earliest lyric poet about 
 
 would seem to show that the sense of dcLTrvdXoxos is not so much 
 'fishing for invitations to dinner,' i.e. fond of going out (so L. and S.), 
 as * waylaying dinners,' i.e. making havoc of the food, like Plautus' 
 'pernae pestis.' Wastefulness in household matters was much more 
 likely to ' burn up ' a Greek husband, and bring him to a * cruel old 
 age,' than any amount of frivolity or flirtation. For the idea cp. 
 Aristoph. EccL 226. 
 
 ^ -^5^ fieXicro-Tjs 
 
 oIk6vojjl6s t dya07] Kal eiriararai epyd^ecrOaL' 
 ^s ei^xov, 0tX' eratpe, Xax^t^ yd/Mov Ifxepoevra. 
 
 [Phoc. Fr. 3.] 
 IfxepbevTa sounds to a modern ear almost like bitter irony. 
 
 ^ Nor, for that matter, is the Hetaera, whom later writers manage so 
 to idealise, treated with any more respect or courtesy than the wife. 
 Cp. Archil. Fr. 142, 184; Hippon. Fr. no, iii. In curious contrast to 
 what may be called the ' wife-poetry ' of the early Greeks is the pretty 
 picture in Hesiod {Oj). 517, seqq.) of the unmarried girl, sitting at 
 home, in every sense of the words /ca/ccDj/ diretpos. But strangest of all 
 is the touch where, falling unconsciously into a manner of speech that 
 dated from a very different social state, he calls her 
 
 oijirio ^py eldvTa iroXvxpiJO'ov ( !) ' AippodiTris. 
 
20 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 whom we know anything of moment, addressed love- 
 poetry to a woman, Neobule. 
 
 This view rests mainly on two fragments {Fr. 84, 
 103), which it is customary to consider as having been 
 addressed by the poet to his lady at an early stage of 
 their acquaintance, or as being, perhaps, recollections 
 of this happy state.^ Where all is uncertain, one 
 does not like to speak with confidence, but there 
 really seems to be no adequate reason for supposing 
 that they are anything of the kind. There is nothing 
 whatever in Fr, 84 
 
 Z{KrTr]vo% ey/cet/xat tto^o) 
 7re7rapiJL€VOs St' oo-reiov^ 
 
 to prove that it was addressed to a woman, or, indeed, 
 referred to one at all. It is at least as probable 
 that it was addressed to the same person as Fr. 85 
 
 dXXd fx^ 6 XvcTifJicXriSy (o Vat/3€, ddfivarat irodos-, 
 
 or someone similar.^ Fr, 103 again must be taken in 
 conjunction with those that go before and those that 
 follow it. The whole scene described in these frag- 
 ments^ is very suggestive of the story in Proverbs 
 
 1 " But even these are as nothing compared to the real gush of feeling 
 when he describes his youthful passions, his love for Neobule, passing 
 the Homeric love of women. Here he has anticipated Sappho and 
 Alcaeus, «&c." — Mahaffy, Class. Gr. Lit. i. p. 160. 
 
 2 Perhaps Glaucus, for there is at least as much reason for supposing 
 that Glaucus was the object of Archilochus' affection as that he was the 
 object of his scorn. To see in him a prototype of the Egnatius of 
 Catullus, as, for instance, Lafaye does {Catulle et ses ModeleSy p. 29), 
 is quite unwarranted by any evidence ; for the epithet KepoirMo-Trjs of 
 Fr. 57 is not necessarily derogatory, while the tone of such passages as 
 ^^- 54> 70» is certainly not that of invective. 
 
 3 Fr. 100-3, 106-7, 109-10, 116. 
 
Women m Greek Pottry, 21 
 
 vii. 6 seqq. A lady of mature charms (lOo) and some- 
 what doubtful character (lOi, 102) receives a youthful 
 visitor, whose feelings are described in Fr. 103 
 
 TOLos yap (f^iXoTrjTOS e/)ws vtto KapSt-qv kXvddeis 
 
 TToXXrjv Kar' dxXvv o/x/xarcov €)(€V€V 
 KXexpas €K (TTYjOeoyv draAag (jypevas. 
 
 The subsequent fragments deal with the arrival of 
 the husband, and the change to the more rapid metre 
 must have been very effective. This context, of 
 course, makes it clear that (pLXorrjrog epoo^ means 
 simply coitus cupido, and there is no reason to suppose 
 that this fragment ever formed part of what could 
 properly be called an erotic passage.^ 
 
 As a matter of fact, all that we know of Archilochus 
 tends to make it extremely improbable that he 
 addressed love-poetry in any sense of the word to 
 women. There is no evidence that he addressed any 
 poems to Neobule (or for that matter to any other 
 woman) except satires. In these satires we know 
 that he referred to Neobule in terms of the vilest 
 abuse. There is no evidence in his fragments that 
 he ever referred to her otherwise. What reason, then, 
 is there to suppose that he did } His love for her, 
 such as it was, was confessedly purely animal.^ This 
 is not the kind of love that finds consolation in 
 reminiscences and regrets. His pride was hurt, and 
 he determined to take vengeance on the persons who 
 
 ^ It may further be observed that the passage is to all appearances 
 descriptive of the emotions of some person other than the writer him- 
 self, and there is certainly no reason to suppose that it vi^as addressed 
 to the v^^oman in question. The difference between describing such an 
 emotion generally, and describing it as one's own, to the person who 
 causes it, need hardly be dwelt upon. ^ Cp. Fr. "ji^ 72. 
 
22 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 had offended him. If one of these persons happened 
 to be a woman, that was just as much a matter of 
 chance as the fact that one of the enemies of 
 Hipponax was a sculptor. The woman, like the 
 sculptor, had tried to make the poet ridiculous, and 
 the poet proceeded to have his revenge by satirising 
 her. The fact that she was a woman may have given 
 the satires a certain peculiar colouring, but it certainly 
 did not make them love-poems. Under the circum- 
 stances it was not to be expected that Archilochus 
 should express his feelings in erotic poetry, and, as a 
 matter of fact, on the present evidence there is no 
 reason to believe that he did.^ 
 
 The claims of Alcman in this respect seem at first 
 sight somewhat stronger.^ He has been described as 
 rjyeiJLOdv epcoTiKwv juLeXoov ]^ this has been supposed to 
 mean that he was the first poet who wrote love- 
 poems, and it has been assumed that these poems 
 
 ^ To endeavour, as some have done, to reconstruct the satires of 
 Archilochus from those of Catullus, is simply labour thrown away, 
 because between the periods in which the two poets lived, the whole 
 way of regarding women had been revolutionised, and ideas which 
 seemed obvious to the Latin writer would have been unintelligible to 
 the Greek. To Catullus thwarted love was an agony ; to Archilochus 
 it was an insult, and no man of his time would, or could, have regarded 
 it otherwise. Thus, to suppose, as Lafaye {oJ>. cit. 1. c.) does, that the 
 satires of Archilochus were interspersed with erotic passages, like Catull. 
 xxxix. (a poem he considers to be imitated from Archilochus), is to 
 suppose an anachronism. 
 
 2 His date, and the general character of his poems, make it more 
 convenient to consider him here, than among the other choral lyric 
 writers, of whom we shall sjDeak later. 
 
 * 'Apxi^ras hh 6 ap/jLOviKds, Cos <pr](TL 'KafxatXioov, ' AXK/iidva yeyovivai 
 tCjv ip(x)TLKQ)v jiieXiov ijyejuidva, Kai iKdovvaL wpuiTOv fiiXos cLKSXaaTov, 
 {cLKdXaaTov) 6vTa Kal irepl ras yvvaiKas, /cat ttju TOiaijrr}v fxovo'av 
 (et(ra7a7eti/) els ras diarpi^ds. 
 
 Athen. xiii. 6oo F. (The reading is uncertain. ) 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 23 
 
 were addressed to women. This is not, however, all so 
 certain as one might at first be inclined to suppose. 
 
 It has been said that Alcman was jjye/xcoi^ epcjoTLKwv 
 jiieXoov; but in how far were these jmeXfj aKoXao-ra 
 love-poems as we now understand them ? All that 
 the words of Archytas imply is that Alcman wrote 
 melic poems, of which ** love " was the chief subject. 
 There is nothing whatever to prove that these fieXr] 
 were personal, or addressed to any particular woman ; 
 it is a misuse of words to call them "love-poems," 
 and then think of them as if they were what modern 
 love-poems are. As soon as subjective poetry came 
 to be written at all, it is obvious that the sexual 
 passions must have appeared in it in some form. 
 This no one would wish to deny. But there is a 
 great gap between singing of "love" in general, of 
 the pleasures of 
 
 and singing of love as existing between two particular 
 persons. It is a commonplace that every new lover 
 loves as no one has ever done before. Until a poet 
 speaks of himself in this way, until he emphasises 
 the individuality of his own particular passion, he 
 cannot be said to write real love -poetry. And 
 certainly the fragments, at any rate, do not supply 
 any proof that Alcman ever wrote such love-poetry. 
 He may have been in love with Megalostrate ; as far 
 as we know, he never said so.^ 
 
 ^ It is noteworthy that Archytas (op. Athen. /.<:.), when wishing to 
 illustrate Alcman's love for this lady, can quote nothing more pointed 
 than the lines rovS' adedp Mwo-a^ idei^ev 
 
 dojpov fJidKaipa irapa^piop 
 a ^avda MeyaXoarpdra. [Fr. 37.] 
 
24 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 Again, it must not be forgotten that Alcman also 
 wrote poems addressed to boys, and it is at least 
 possible that some of those erotic fragments which 
 are preserved may have belonged to these. ^ 
 
 As for the Parthenia, they are not love-poems in 
 any sense of the word. The poet is merely 6 rwi/ 
 irapOevoov €7raiP€Tr]g re Kai orvjui/SovXog,^ which was 
 possible in the happy condition of Spartan society, 
 quite without anything further being implied. 
 " Multa tuae, Sparte, miramur iura palaestrae." 
 
 One of these poems was written in old age;^ 
 perhaps all of them were.* Besides, they celebrate 
 a number of girls indifferently ; love-poems would 
 not do that.^ 
 
 Till Egypt renders up some more Alcman, it will 
 
 ^ The fragments which may with some confidence be assigned to 
 these, probably early, poems, are 29 and 94. Besides this, the mention 
 of Tantalus (87, to which belongs 100) may well have been introduced 
 by the story of Ganymede ; that of Niobe's children (109) by the story 
 of those loves of theirs of which Sophocles afterwards wrote. The 
 expression iv QeaaaXiq} KXeiret (85) might well in such a poem have 
 had- -reference to Apollo and Admetus, whose love is held up as a 
 model, like that of the lovers in Theocritus xii. But most striking 
 of all, perhaps, to the modern reader, is the feeling that prompts 
 Alcman to speak of the Spartan girls as his "female boy-friends." 
 {Kal'A\K/j,av TCLS iirepdaTovs Kbpas d'lTas Xeyei. Ilypoth. ad Theocr. xii.) 
 
 2 Aristides ii. p. 40, Dind. ^ Cp. Fr. 26. 
 
 ^ Alcman seems somehow to speak of girls like an old man. To 
 think of him so, renders far more natural the charming gallantry of his 
 lines on Agido, or the viroKopiafibs with which his maidens speak, or 
 his confessions of how he likes his dinner served. One can think of 
 those Spartan girls laughing at their old Lydian dancing-master, as they 
 ran away down to the " baths of Eurotas," while he went slowly home 
 and made them immortal. 
 
 ^ Anyhow, not in primitive times. One must go a long way down 
 the history of erotic poetry to find a " love-poet " who praises two 
 ladies with such impartiality as Alcman does Agido and Agesichora. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 25 
 
 be impossible to prove that he ever addressed a love- 
 poem to a woman. 
 
 Strange as it may perhaps seem, it is almost an 
 equal misuse of words to call Mimnermus a love- 
 poet. It has so long been customary to regard him 
 as such, that it is at first hard to realise that, in all 
 probability, he was never anything of the kind. As 
 a matter of fact, it seems naturally reasonable to 
 suppose, and there is at any rate nothing in the 
 fragments to contradict this view, that Mimnermus 
 was, like the other elegiac writers of his age, purely 
 didactic.^ The philosophy which he inculcated 
 differed from that of Tyrtaeus or Solon, no doubt, 
 but it was none the less a philosophy. Mimnermus 
 argued that, considering the shortness of life, and 
 especially of youth, it was advisable to devote one's 
 self immediately and strenuously to sensual pleasures, 
 before the power of enjoying them was lost. The 
 argument was quite general. "What is life without 
 love } " he says ; he does not say, " What is life 
 without your love .'* " ^ This enunciation of general 
 principles is not love-poetry. As has already been 
 remarked, no poetry can properly be so described 
 until the personal element has entered into it, and 
 
 ^ Cp. Reitzenstein, Epigramm und Skolion, p. 47 seqq. 
 
 2 That the love thus generally recommended was purely sensual, 
 goes without saying ; the first two or three lines of the first firagment 
 are proof enough of this. 
 
 In Fr. I, 1. 3, fjLeiXLxa dujpa is not very satisfactory, somehow. The 
 passage in Hymn. Horn. x. 2, where the expression occurs again, is 
 not quite parallel. In a less primitive poet, one would write without 
 hesitation /neiXix' ddojpa. For this use of fxeiXixoi' cp. Pind. Olymp, 
 i. 49, and for the thought Anth. Pal. v. 29, &c., &c. Line 4 again might 
 begin Gi^vQe^ iirei y' ij^7)s. 
 
26 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 of this personal element there is no evidence in the 
 case of Mimnermus. 
 
 As for the actual poems themselves, there is no 
 evidence that any of them were, as is generally 
 tacitly assumed, addressed to Nanno or any other 
 woman ; and indeed, if one considers their nature, 
 one will see that there is really no reason why they 
 should have been. It is worthy of note, in the first 
 place, that the only definite evidence of the existence 
 of such a person as Nanno is that furnished by 
 Hermesianax,^ and that this writer's information as 
 to the early poets was not always very accurate, is 
 sufficiently shown by what he says of Homer, 
 Sappho, Anacreon, and others.^ But granted that 
 the story of the poet's love for Nanno was true, that 
 is very far from proving the fact that he addressed 
 his poems to her. What seemed only natural in the 
 fourth century, was by no means so in the seventh. 
 But besides this (as it ought to be superfluous to 
 remark, and probably is not), Hermesianax never 
 states that Mimnermus did so; he does not even go 
 so far as to say that the latter alluded to Nanno in 
 his elegies. Hermesianax makes three definite state- 
 ments about Mimnermus: — (i) that he invented or 
 utilised the pentameter ; (2) that he was in love with 
 Nanno, and used often (in consequence ?) to attend 
 entertainments ; (3) that he suffered from the enmity 
 of Hermobius and Pherecles. More than this is not 
 to be found in the passage, however one may emend 
 
 ^ Leant, iii. 37, of which passage Poseidippus was doubtless thinking 
 in his epigram Anth, Pal. xii. 168. 
 2 Leant, iii. 27 seqq, 47 seqq. &c. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 27 
 
 or explain it. As for the supposition that Mimner- 
 mus gave to his collected elegies the title of Nanno, 
 there is no evidence of a collection so entitled before 
 the time of Strabo, by which time, of course, the in- 
 fluence of writers like Hermesianax had long been at 
 work.^ In short, there is no evidence whatever to lead 
 one to suppose that the elegies of Mimnermus were 
 anything but purely impersonal didactic moralisings 
 on the shortness of youth, and the consequent advisa- 
 bility of making the best possible use of it.^ Mimner- 
 mus was a philosopher ; ^ to call him a love-poet is a 
 misuse of words. He wrote exquisite poetry, and his 
 service in developing the forms of art was unquestion- 
 ably very valuable, but he brings us very little farther 
 in the history of the treatment of women in literature. 
 It is in Anacreon that we find for the first time 
 love-poetry addressed to women;* though one must 
 never forget, as some modern writers seem inclined 
 to do, that this writer also addressed a number of 
 love-poems to boys, and that, in fact, these formed 
 
 ^ Suidas, it may be remarked, flatly contradicts one half of this view- 
 when he says of Mimnermus eypaxf/e ^i^Xia iroWd. 
 
 ^ It is hardly justifiable to infer from the passage of Alexander 
 Aetolus qp. Athen. xv. 699 C, that Mimnermus addressed love-poems 
 to boys. 
 
 ** It is as a philosopher that Horace {£_p. i. 6, 65) cites his opinion: 
 si, Mimnermus uti censet, sine amore iocisque 
 nil est iucundum ; 
 " censet," the regular word for a philosopher. It is further worth 
 noticing that the Roman poets, when they mention Mimnermus, speak 
 of him as the inventor of the elegiac metre, not as an erotic poet. 
 Cp. e.g. Prop. i. 9, 11. 
 
 * That the ancients already recognised the importance of this par- 
 ticular feature in Anacreon is shown zn^er alia by the emphasis laid 
 upon it by Critias {ap. Athen. xiii. 600 D). 
 
28 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 the bulk of his work.^ The poems addressed to 
 women were many of them, perhaps all, the work 
 of the poet's old age, ^ and their general tone is 
 sufficiently indicated by such fragments as 55, 59, 
 161, etc. :^ these two features serve, of course, to 
 connect Anacreon with his predecessors ; at the same 
 time, the individualisation of this particular emotion, 
 which we find here for the first time clearly indi- 
 cated, was obviously a great advance in the art of 
 the subject. Purely animal emotions, however highly 
 developed or refined, could never lead to that feeling 
 which we have called the romantic, and hence the 
 direct importance of Anacreon for our immediate 
 subject is but small ; but the individualisation of 
 these animal emotions was obviously of inexpressible 
 importance for the development of the literature that 
 dealt with them. The first essential of art is accurate 
 observation, and the essence of accurate observation 
 is attention to a definite object. By appreciating 
 this fact, and concentrating upon a definite object 
 the general emotions described by Mimnermus and 
 the like, Anacreon created love-poetry as between 
 man and woman, and thereby created that form of 
 art in which the romantic feeling, when it arose, 
 found the readiest means of expression. Thus, 
 though in no sense of the word a romantic writer, 
 or one who would have been likely to sympathise 
 
 ^ Vide e.g, Athen. xii. 540 E. 
 
 ^ Striking instances of this are to be found in Fr. 13, *](i^ etc. 
 
 ^ That this tone was specially characteristic of the poems addressed 
 to women, if not actually confined to these, is shown by the contrast 
 which the ancient critics made between Anacreon's two styles of poetry. 
 Cp. Plut. Avior, 4, and infra p. %(i. 
 
Womefz in Greek Poetry. 29 
 
 with romantic ideas, Anacreon was yet, unconsciously 
 and indirectly, doing an unquestionable service in 
 preparing the way for the dissemination, if not for 
 the evolution, of this later feeling; and in so far this 
 yvvaiKcov rjirepoirevixa deserves, at least, recognition, 
 if not respect. 
 
 The last of the personal lyric writers on whom it 
 will be necessary to dwell is Theognis. 
 
 On the general theory that the book of Theognis 
 is a collection of poems by a number of writers of 
 various dates, scholars have agreed to agree ; on 
 the details of the theory, they seem to have agreed 
 to differ. For the present purpose, however, these 
 details are unimportant, and it will be sufficient to 
 assume that, while some of the poems are doubtless 
 earlier, and others again later, the great bulk of the 
 first book of the '* Theognis " poetry belongs to the 
 first half of the fifth century, while the second book 
 is considerably later.^ 
 
 It is equally indifferent for us how this hetero- 
 geneous collection arose; whether it was a chresto- 
 mathy "for the use of schools," or whether, as has 
 been argued with great force, it is in reality a 
 volume of songs to be sung at social gatherings, and 
 the forerunner of the later collections of epigrams.^ 
 
 What is of importance for us is that, in any case, 
 whatever theory as to its origin may be adopted, this 
 book may be taken as presenting on the whole ^ a 
 
 ^ The arguments of Reitzenstein, Epig. u. Skol. p. 8i seqq., to 
 prove that its date is not later than circa 400, are not very convincing. 
 
 2 Vide Reitzenstein, op. cit. p. 52 seqq. 
 
 ^ The exceptions would be the late "sophistical" pieces, such as 
 that in praise of wealth, 699 seqq. etc. 
 
30 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 collection of those opinions and views of life which 
 were generally held and generally accepted during 
 the fifth century or thereabouts ; for neither the 
 schoolroom nor the dinner table is exactly the place 
 where new and startling theories are welcomed. 
 
 Looking at this volume, then, as containing a 
 collection of the ordinary and more or less common- 
 place views of the time, it is interesting, though, of 
 course, not really surprising, to find that, while boy- 
 love is universally acknowledged and forms the 
 subject of not a few of the poems, women's love is 
 well-nigh entirely ignored ; ^ and where the latter is 
 mentioned, its sensual side merely is touched upon.^ 
 
 Indeed, all the allusions of any importance to 
 women can be very briefly dismissed. 
 
 In 1. 183 seqq. marriage is compared to cattle- 
 breeding, the folly of marrying for money being 
 deprecated as spoiling the breed. 
 
 LI. 257 seqq, are possibly the complaint of a woman 
 with an unsuitable husband, though what is the 
 nature of the objection to him, and indeed the whole 
 allusion, is not clear. 
 
 LI. 261 seqq. appear to deal with the behaviour of 
 a man towards a woman on some occasion ; but, 
 
 ^ It may be argued that in a work intended " for the use of schools " 
 the erotic passages would naturally be cut out. But even granted that 
 this collection was made for the use of schools, the system of expurga- 
 tion, which, while striking out the passages dealing with women, has 
 left what would nowadays be considered so much more objectionable, 
 is in itself sufficiently noteworthy. The next schoolmaster who under- 
 takes a school edition of Theocritus may lay this to heart. 
 
 2 How different is the treatment of boy-love both in Book I. and 
 also in Book II., which is specially devoted to it, will be dwelt upon 
 later, [p. ^Z.'\ 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 31 
 
 what with the doubtfulness of the reading and the 
 uncertainty as to whether the lines belong to one 
 poem or two, the exact sense has never yet been 
 ascertained.^ 
 
 In 1. 457 seqq, the infidelity of a young wife to an 
 old man is tacitly assumed. " Girls will have boys." 
 
 LI 547 seq, express vague disapprobation of 
 dissolute habits. 
 
 LI. 1063 seqq, are merely a reiteration of the 
 philosophy of Mimnermus, the value of which 
 philosophy for the development of love we have 
 already discussed. 
 
 LI. 1225 seq., "Nothing is sweeter ayaOrj^i yvvrnKog" 
 So said also Simonides, and what he meant we know. 
 
 And this is all. The result is truly remarkable 
 in its barrenness. Perhaps in no other literature 
 would it be possible to find a collection of short 
 poems on general subjects, of equal length, in which 
 the relations of men to women are so utterly ignored. 
 
 Nor is there anything peculiar or exceptional in 
 this. In the somewhat similar Seo/ta, absolutely 
 the same is the case. The democrat sings of 
 Harmodius, the aristocrat of Admetus ; ^ the rare 
 allusions that there are to women are regularly 
 trivial or coarse.^ 
 
 In the choral lyric writers, with whom it will now 
 be necessary to deal, the character of the evidence to 
 be examined is widely different from that of the 
 
 ^ Vide Excursus A. ^ Cp. Aristoph. Vesp. 1 217 se^q. 
 
 ^ The only exception, rather an interesting one, is Sco/. 20, which, 
 evidently modelled on the one that precedes it, is the answer of a 
 woman-lover. But here again the vagueness (merely KaXr] yvvrj, any- 
 one will do) shows what the singer means. 
 
32 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 evidence which we have hitherto been considering. 
 The Greek choral poets were (with one notable 
 exception) hardly ever subjective in their treatment 
 of erotic matter. The erotic element, such as it is, 
 consists in these writers almost entirely of erotic 
 legends or myths, which would seem to have been re- 
 counted without special comment on the part of the 
 poet and, in most cases, without elaborate analysis 
 of the emotions of the characters introduced. The 
 stories therefore that these writers tell, rather than 
 the actual words in which they tell them, will require 
 consideration in the present connection. The sub- 
 jective lyric writers were, as we have seen, in the 
 main Ionian. The choral writers, on the other hand, 
 are in the main Dorian ; consequently, one would 
 naturally expect to find women occupying a more 
 prominent place in their works. And this is, in fact, 
 also the case. From the very beginning, already we 
 find stories about women repeated with an interest 
 and an appreciation which would have startled what 
 one is generally taught to regard as orthodox Greece. 
 At the same time, however, the true nature of this 
 feature of choral poetry must not be overlooked. 
 Though the efforts of these writers to re-awaken 
 interest in women were unquestionably of importance 
 for the ultimate development of the romantic element 
 in literature, it is unjustifiable to suppose, as is too 
 commonly done, that these writers were in them- 
 selves " romantic," or, indeed, that they had any idea 
 of what romantic feelings are. An examination of 
 their works, as far as we know them, will show with 
 sufficient clearness that in its essence their view of 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 33 
 
 women differed little, if at all, from that of their 
 Ionian predecessors and contemporaries. They 
 thought more about women, perhaps ; they did not 
 think more of them. 
 
 A case in point is Stesichorus. In spite of the 
 important part that female characters play in his 
 poems, a result, no doubt, of his Boeotian connections 
 and his freedom from Ionian influences, the poet's 
 way of regarding women is practically identical with 
 that which we have already encountered among the 
 lonians. In the first place, Stesichorus appears 
 always, professedly at least, as a misogynist. The 
 legends in which he delights are those which relate 
 the ruin caused by women's influence. Besides the 
 famous llii Persis, one need but mention the stories 
 of Scylla, of Eriphyle, of Clytemnestra (in the 
 Oresteid).^ Even in the story of Artemis and 
 Actaeon, he will not admit that the vengeance of 
 the goddess was due to those feelings of outraged 
 propriety to which it was generally ascribed.^ As for 
 his palinode of Helen, composed late in life, he was 
 evidently induced to write it by strong private 
 pressure of some kind, perhaps on the part of *' Helen 
 of Himera " ;^ but how isolated an expression of 
 
 ^ Perhaps, too, those of Althaea (in the Syotherae) and Medea 
 {Fr. 54). '^ Fr. 68 ; to the same poem evidently belongs Fr. 85. 
 
 ^ There is really no adequate reason for disbelieving the story in 
 Ptol. Hephaest. iv. (Gale, Hist, poet, script, ant. p. 320) ; cf. Bergk. ad 
 Stesich. Fr. 26.) What that story seems to imply is that Helen of 
 Himera deserted the poet, who was thereby induced to moralise on the 
 innate faithlessness of Helens in general. A subsequent reconciliation 
 with the lady in question then led to the celebrated apology. The 
 greater influence which women seem to have had over old men than 
 over young, will already have been noticed in the cases of Alcman and 
 Anacreon. The phenomenon could easily be explained, if it wxre 
 necessary to explain it. — Vide e.g. Eur. Suppl. 1098 seqq. 
 
 D 
 
34 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 opinion this was, and how very unusual were the 
 whole circumstances of the case, is shown by the 
 great interest which the poem excited in antiquity. 
 
 In the more purely erotic legends again, it is 
 striking how he conforms to those views as to the 
 relative positions of men and women which, as has 
 been already pointed out, were current in all Greek 
 erotic stories of early date ; the woman falls in love 
 with the. man, never, apparently, the reverse. Striking 
 examples are the stories of Calyce, and probably also 
 of Scylla ; another, perhaps, that of Daphnis ; ' that 
 of Rhadina seems at first sight a contradiction, but it 
 must be noticed that Strabo (viii. 347) gives no 
 information as to how the intrigue first began.^ 
 
 That in addition to these poems concerned with 
 women, Stesichorus interested himself also in the 
 treatment of love in its more characteristically Greek 
 aspect, may be gathered from Athenaeus xiii. 601 A, 
 though, perhaps, no fragment dealing with this 
 subject is preserved.^ This side is, however, very 
 
 ^ That in the original form of the legend Daphnis refuses to yield to 
 love, and dies sooner than submit, has been shown by Reitzenstein, 
 Epig. u. SkoL p. 193 seqq. 
 
 But the passage from Aelian {Var, Hist. x. 18) never says that Stesi- 
 chorus told the story of Daphnis. It says he wrote bucolic poetry, 
 which is not necessarily the same thing. If only Theocritus, who wiote 
 bucolic poetry, had told some more of the story of Daphnis, ihe neces- 
 sity of reading a great quantity of literature on the subject would have 
 been spared us. 
 
 2 It is rather tempting to think of this story as a Greek version of 
 Tristan and Isolde. Rhadina is going from Samos to be married to the 
 King of Corinth, and travels out with her cousin Leontichus un the 
 same ship. There the fatal mischief is done ; they separate for a while, 
 but the charm is irresistible, and her lover hurries from Delphi to mtet 
 his death at the hands of the Corinthian " King Marc. " 
 
 3 The name of Cycnus seems at first sight suggestive, but the story 
 as related in the Scholiast on Pindar unfortunately proves nothing. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 35 
 
 strongly developed in his fellow-countryman Ibycus, 
 who is again a most interesting figure in the history 
 of the artistic development of Greek love. 
 . Ibycus would seem to have been the first of the 
 choral lyric poets who made use of this form of 
 art for the expression of personal emotion. All 
 the important fragments of him that remain seem 
 to have belonged to passages of this kind. Two 
 at least we know of as being addressed to particular 
 individuals. Those who have been following the 
 development of Greek feeling on this matter will 
 not be surprised to find that these poems were ad- 
 dressed exclusively, as far as we know, to boys. It 
 was a bold thing to introduce personal feelings at all 
 into these choral odes, for a certain odour of sanctity 
 was still hanging about them, and the Greeks had 
 a natural aversion to the public expression of 
 all violent emotions ; but to have introduced any- 
 thing so entirely sensual as woman's love was then 
 felt to be would not have been allowed. If love 
 was to be tolerated at all, it must be that form 
 of love which was generally recognised as dignified 
 and ennobling. This amalgamation of ceremonial and 
 personal poetry does not seem to have been popular 
 or to have found imitators. The Greeks probably felt, 
 what the modern glee-singer does not, the absurdity 
 of a whole chorus expressing their undying devotion 
 to one and the same person ; but it is at least a 
 very characteristic fact, and, for those that will not 
 learn, a very instructive one, that boy-love was the 
 only form of the passion which it was considered 
 possible to attempt to treat in this way. 
 
36 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 Of Ibycus* views on women we know little.^ 
 That he followed the tendencies of Stesichorus, 
 sometimes rather wildly,^ and gave considerable 
 prominence to love stories between women and men, 
 is clear enough; but there -is no evidence to show 
 that these stories of his were any different in their 
 essential characteristics to those of his predecessor. 
 
 The other choral lyric poets have remarkably 
 little to say on this subject. 
 
 Myrtis' story of Ochne is but one of the usual 
 type, showing to what spretae inhiria formae may 
 lead a woman. If Corinna tells of the heroism of 
 the daughters of Orion, it is, after all, only what 
 one would expect occasionally from a poetess. 
 
 Neither Pindar nor Simonides has anything of 
 interest to say about women. For Bacchylides the 
 climax of the charms of peace is 
 
 TratStKot 0^ v/JLVOL (/)AeyovTat. ^ 
 
 Among the dithyrambic writers, Licymnius tells the 
 story of the treachery of Nanis, but the sort of 
 legends which seem to interest him more are 
 those of Hypnus and Endymion, Hymenseus and 
 Argynnus, and the like. The same was perhaps 
 true of Cydias. But one interesting figure these 
 writers do supply; that is the Cyclops of Philoxenus. 
 
 ^ He seems to have discussed or commented on the habits of the 
 Spartan ladies {Fr. 61), but whether to praise or blame we do not 
 know. 
 
 2 e.^. Fr. 37, where he makes Achilles marry Medea; or Fr, 38, 
 where Hermione becomes the wife of Diomed. 
 
 ^ Fr, 13, ad Jin, The 'Epwrt/cd of Bacchylides are not very elevated 
 in character, but they are interesting as furnishing what is, perhaps, 
 the first complimentary notice of the eraipa in literature. {Fr. 24. ) 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, n 
 
 A good deal has been written about this " romantic " 
 conception, and it has been generally considered as 
 a proof of how strongly the romantic feeling must 
 have been already developed that it was possible 
 to represent Polyphemus as in love with Galatea. 
 Those who have considered what has already been 
 said may perhaps be tempted to come to a somewhat 
 different conclusion. The barbarous and boorish 
 Polyphemus spends his time in singing of his love 
 to Galatea, because no one who was not a barbarian 
 and a boor would be such a fool as to waste so much 
 time about a woman. This view spoils the idyllic 
 charm of the picture rather, perhaps, but it may 
 be the true one for all that.^ 
 
 In the foregoing examination of the remains of 
 the lyric writers, it was always necessary to regard, 
 not only the date of each writer, but also the country 
 to which he belonged ; for, as we have already had 
 occasion to notice, the social position of women 
 differed widely in different parts of Greece, and this 
 fact could not fail to be, to a certain extent, reflected 
 in such literature as dealt with them. 
 
 In examining the work of the tragedians, this 
 necessity will no longer be present. Early Greek 
 tfagedy is entirely under the influence of Athens. 
 The only tragedians whose works have been to any 
 
 ^ The Sicilian Telestes makes rather an interesting remark about 
 Athene when she throws away the flute because it spoils her looks : 
 
 ri ydp VLV eiurjpaTOLO /cdXXeos 
 
 d^vs ^pias ^T€Lpev, 
 
 q, irapdevLav dyafjLov Kal &TraL^* dwiveLfie KXa;^c6 ; 
 But, as we have already seen, men took more interest in women in 
 Magna Grsecla than in Greece itself. 
 
38 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 considerable extent preserved were Athenians ; and 
 such fragments of the non-Athenian dramatists as 
 have survived do not in any way lead one to suppose 
 that their work was in any essential characteristic 
 different from that of their Athenian contemporaries. 
 
 At Athens the social position of women was, on 
 the whole, a very low one, and consequently the 
 relations between men and women were not on a 
 particularly high level. The men cared very little 
 either for or about the women, and there is nothing 
 therefore surprising in the generally admitted fact 
 that the love-element as between the sexes plays but 
 a very unimportant part in the early tragedians. 
 Aeschylus seems well-nigh to have ignored it ; in 
 Sophocles it played a prominent part in but two, or 
 at most three tragedies ;^ even in Euripides the pro- 
 portion of plays in which love of any sort supplies 
 the main interest is very small. ^ 
 
 But one question may very naturally be asked. 
 Assuming that the way of regarding women at 
 Athens rendered it difficult or impossible to interest 
 
 ^ The Phaedra^ Oenomaus, and perhaps the Colchides, 
 2 Among the extant plays there is only the Hippolytus, and even in 
 this, probably to the Greek mind a great part of the interest centred in 
 the relations between Hippolytus and Theseus, and in their argument, 
 where both start from the assumption that it would be absurd to 
 suppose that the former could possibly have been in love with Phaedra. 
 Of the lost plays it is hard to speak with confidence, but certainly the 
 Andro7neda^ Phoenix, and Aeolus, seem to have been the only three 
 in which the love element was at all the leading motive. The heroine 
 of the Meleager was probably Althaea, not Atalanta. The Stheneboea 
 merely describes the vengeance of Bellerophon for the treachery of his 
 hosts. In the Antigone the "love-story" has all taken place before 
 the action begins. Of the Alcestis and the Protesilaus we shall speak 
 elsewhere, pp. 57, 99. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 39 
 
 an Athenian audience with a love-story, as between 
 man and woman, why should not the tragedians have 
 made more use of the many stories that told of the 
 love of men for men ? If, it may be argued, this 
 form of love was really so important an element in 
 the life of the time, if it really occupied that place in 
 the hearts of men as a whole that is now occupied by 
 the love of women, why did Aeschylus and Sophocles 
 only devote a couple of plays between them to its 
 treatment ?^ Sophocles, at any rate, ought to have 
 understood all about it. 
 
 The answer is probably to be found in the fact 
 that the passion of love, in any shape or form, is 
 foreign to the true spirit of Greek tragedy. The 
 taste of the Greeks, refined in this as in most other 
 things, considered love as essentially unfitted for the 
 stage. That two people should stand up and make 
 love to one another with a crowd looking on was, to 
 the Greek mind, essentially unfitting. Love was an 
 emotion which concerned individuals ; it was an 
 emotion which ought to be controlled in public, and 
 only find expression in private. 
 
 The whole history of Greek poetry is so much 
 commentary on this one fact. The love-poems of 
 Sappho or Anacreon, just like the later love-poems 
 of Asclepiades or Poseidippus, were meant to be 
 sung by a single singer to a small and select audience. 
 In the choral poetry, which required a number of 
 performers, and was listened to by a large audience, 
 
 ^ That is to say, two only in which it furnished the main interest. 
 That it lent a peculiar character to various other tragedies will be shown 
 further on. 
 
40 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 the personal love-element is well-nigh non-existent 
 The attempt of Ibycus to introduce it, and his failure 
 to find imitators, we have already noticed. 
 
 And in the choral poetry sung in honour of Diony- 
 sus, from which tragedy had its rise, it is obvious, 
 when one considers the intimate connection between 
 the rites of Dionysus and Artemis, and the ascetic 
 principle underlying their worship, how especially 
 out of place a love-element would have been. 
 
 The fact, therefore, that love as between man and 
 man does not play any very prominent part in the 
 early tragedies, must simply be explained by the 
 Greek dislike to the public display of violent private 
 emotions. It took a long time to overcome this old- 
 fashioned prejudice, and establish the love-element as 
 an integral part of tragedy ; and it is not uninstruc- 
 tive to observe how the movement began. The 
 earliest love-story admitted on the Greek stage was 
 the story of Achilles and Patroclus.^ 
 
 But before entering upon the more detailed 
 examination of the relations between the sexes, as 
 illustrated by the Attic tragedians, it is necessary 
 once more to call attention to, and warn against, 
 a very fertile source of confusion. 
 
 It is above all things necessary that the reader 
 should carefully distinguish between two very dif- 
 ferent things, two very different ways of regarding 
 women, which are not uncommonly confused — 
 woman as an object of interest, and woman as an 
 object of love. As objects of interest, we find the 
 
 ^ Cp. what has been said above (p. 35) in the case of Ibycus ; the 
 parallel is a remarkable and important one. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 41 
 
 female characters of the tragedians steadily devel- 
 oping throughout the fifth century ; as objects of 
 love, we do not find them develop at all. The 
 relations between women and men are, in reality, as 
 far from the modern in the last plays of Euripides 
 as in the first of Aeschylus. Towards the close of 
 the century, a very considerable proportion of the 
 tragedies concern themselves with studies of female 
 character in its various phases ; the power of women 
 for good and evil (especially the latter) is very 
 generally acknowledged ; their passions and their 
 emotions are carefully analysed and elaborately 
 discussed ; and yet in all this analysis and discussion 
 the love-element, in any modern sense of the word, 
 plays no part whatever. By this time, woman at 
 Athens held an important place in the mind of man ; 
 as yet she held no place in his heart at all. From end 
 to end of the three great tragedians, there can hardly a 
 single passage be quoted which so much as suggests 
 the possibility of an unselfish and unsensual attach- 
 ment between man and woman, playing at all an 
 important part in the life of either; and this im- 
 portant fact it will be the object of the following 
 pages to make clear. 
 
 Aeschylus, as has been said often enough, never 
 brought on the stage a woman " in love." ^ That he 
 should never have brought on the stage a man in 
 such a condition went of course without saying ; 
 
 ^ The statement to this effect in Aristoph. Ran. 1044, is so definite 
 that it seems necessary to infer from it that, in spite of the words in 
 Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. i, 773, the erotic incident in the Hypsipyle was 
 very little emphasised. 
 
42 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 even Euripides was never accused of that Indeed, 
 Aeschylus' characters do not think much of women 
 at all. That girls should not misbehave, if left to 
 themselves, even their own father finds it hard to 
 believe ;^ that in any sort of difficulty they should be 
 a hindrance rather than a help, is only what one would 
 expect. 2 Women are certainly not worth fighting 
 about ;2 what really acquits Orestes is the fact that, 
 after all, it was only a woman he killed.^ 
 
 An apparent exception to all this is of course 
 Clytemnestra. Why should Aeschylus, having so 
 poor an opinion of women, have given so prominent 
 a place to Clytemnestra in the murder of Aga- 
 memnon ? The answer is doubtless to be found in 
 the very significant fact that between Homer and 
 Aeschylus the story had been treated by Stesichorus, 
 to whom the prominence of Clytemnestra was 
 beyond all reasonable doubt due.^ 
 
 ^ SuppL 996 seqq, 2 7;^^^^ jg2 ^eqq, 
 
 ^ TTcos ovxl rdvdXuj/Jia yiyveraL iriKpbv, 
 AvSpas yvvaiKiav ovvex' aifid^ai ir^dov ; 
 
 Suppl, 476. 
 /cat yvvoLLKhs oi/Ve/ca 
 irbXiV b 17) fxadwev 'Apyetov daKos. 
 
 Agavt, 823. 
 ■* o^(j3 yvvaiKbs oi TrpoTi.fi7}(T(a fxbpov 
 dvdpa KTavo}ja7)s. Eum, 739. 
 
 To his views as to the physical unimportance of the mother, as 
 compared with the father {e.g. Eum. 657 seqq.)^ I shall have occasion 
 to refer later. See Excursus. [This Excursus does not seem to 
 have been written.] 
 
 ^ How far Aeschylus has followed the Oresteia of Stesichorus, and 
 how far he has modified it, cannot now be known ; but it seems 
 reasonable to suppose that, in all probability, the Clytemnestra of 
 the latter poet was a good deal more in love with Aegisthus than is 
 the Clytemnestra of the former. This would explain some incon- 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 43 
 
 Aeschylus, then, has Httle enough to say about 
 women; but in Sophocles there is fortunately some- 
 what more to be found ; indeed, it is probably the 
 female characters of Sophocles that are most gener- 
 ally appreciated by modern readers. And yet, for 
 all the great part played by women in the Sophoclean 
 drama, the part played by women's love is wonder- 
 fully small. 
 
 Take a woman like Deianira ; the man who can 
 listen to her without feeling a positive shock must 
 be more in sympathy with Athens than I ever wish 
 to be. 
 
 She guesses the truth from Lichas about Heracles 
 and lole {Track. 436), and begs him to tell her all, 
 for she is no coward, nor yet is she the sort of 
 woman who would refuse to admit a husband's right 
 to an occasional infidelity. 
 
 ov yap yvvaiKl rovs Xoyov^ ip€LS KaKrj, 
 ov8^ tJtls ov KarotSe TavOpioirijtiVy oVt 
 ^aipeiv irk(}iVK€V oi;;(t rois avTOis act. 
 
 " Love is irresistible," she says ; " if I were to blame 
 my husband or this woman for falling victims to it, 
 I should be a fool. Do not be afraid to tell me all. 
 Has not Heracles often done this sort of thing before 
 without making me jealous ? Why should he make 
 me jealous now ? And as for the woman, why, I 
 
 gruities in the Aeschylean character, such as her sudden protestations 
 of affection for Aegisthus when dead, after her apparent indifference 
 to him when living, ( C/io. 893, etc. ) That she should kill Agamemnon 
 out of revenge for the death of Iphigeneia and through jealousy of 
 Cassandra, are perhaps additions of Aeschylus, to whose Athenian 
 mind it seemed impossible that a woman should murder her husband 
 merely because she was fond of another man. 
 
44 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 can only pity her, when I see how her beauty has 
 made her lose her home and her home comforts, « 
 for which, expertae crede, the love of Heracles is 
 hardly a sufficient compensation." 
 
 (^KTCipa Brj fidXiCTTa Tr/ooor^Ac^acr' on 
 TO kolXXos avTrjs t5v /Slov duoXeo-ev,^ 
 
 When this is Sophocles* ideal wife, one can hardly 
 wonder that Haemon owes the only word of sym- 
 pathy he gets from his Antigone to the editors.^ 
 
 But even Deianira has her human moments, and 
 in one of these she utters that wonderful lament of 
 hers for the joys of her lost maidenhood, and the 
 sorrows of her married life (Track. 144 seqq), a 
 passage which may well be compared with one from 
 the Tereus. {Fr, 524, Nauck). Both these dwell sym- 
 
 ^ One may say, of course, if one likes, that this is all ironical, that 
 she does not mean it, and that in reality she is as jealous as anyone 
 else could be, as her subsequent actions show. Personally, I do 
 not believe that the passage is meant to be in the least ironical ; the 
 absence of jealousy is always a feature of the model wife {cp. Eur. 
 And, 222, and numerous similar passages); but even if this be 
 granted, it makes no difference to the point at all. Whatever the 
 audience are to think, the characters on the stage are supposed to 
 take her seriously ; and this fact throws a sufficient light on what 
 was then thought to be the duty of a loving wife. 
 
 It is satisfactory to notice that neither does Heracles attach any 
 
 undue importance to lole. In his last words to Hyllus, after elaborate 
 
 instructions as to how his funeral-pyre is to be built, he adds casually — 
 
 dXX* dpKiaet Kal ravra' wp'6crveiiULaL di /jlol 
 
 X^P'-v ^paxeiai' irpbs fiaKpots dWois 8idoiJS> 
 
 ** Just marry lole for me, will you?" (1. 12 16.) 
 
 2 In this same play, the reader must be careful not to misunderstand 
 the motives of Haemon's suicide. He does not kill himself out of 
 grief for Antigone, but out of shame {avr(f xoXw^e^s) at having attacked 
 his father. That love for a woman should have made him so far 
 forget himself was a disgrace not to be borne. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 45 
 
 pathetically on the slavery of married life, and almost 
 make one think at first sight that the poet must have 
 felt what a mockery his "ideal wife" really was. 
 But a little further examination will show clearly 
 enough that Sophocles is not expressing his own 
 views in either of these two passages. The protest 
 in the Terens is merely the direct outcome of the 
 decidedly exceptional circumstances in which Procne 
 finds herself — a woman who has just cooked her 
 only son is hardly likely to have unprejudiced views 
 on matrimony — and as such it is not meant to be 
 more than one of those outcries against irresistible 
 destiny, which one may pity if one likes, or even 
 pardon, but which one cannot pretend to treat 
 seriously. For a girl to complain of having to 
 marry was as reasonable as for a man to complain 
 of having to die. ^ ^^ - ,, ^,7 
 
 o Tt TavTa oet 
 
 crrevetv, airep del Kara cj^vctlv SuKTrepav j 
 
 As for the passage from the Trachiniae, that seems 
 to be simply an echo from Sappho, and Sappho's 
 views on marriage were naturally different from 
 those of Sophocles.^ 
 
 To suppose from these passages that Sophocles 
 saw anything inappropriate in the existing conditions 
 
 ^ The words of 1. 144 seqq. at once suggest Catullus Ixii. esp. 39 seqq» 
 But this poem of Catullus is generally admitted to be, if not an actual 
 translation, at least a paraphrase of Sappho ; hence it is far more 
 probable that Sophocles copied Sappho here, than that Catullus copied 
 Sophocles there. 
 
 Another instance in which a tragedian copied an Epithalamium of 
 Sappho is furnished by Aesch. Suppl. 998. Cp. Sappho Fr, 91, 
 Longus Past, 3, 33, and my Apospasmata Critica (Oxford, Blackwell, 
 1S92), p. 5. 
 
46 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 of married life, or that he would have welcomed any 
 change in them, is an unjustifiable inference.^ 
 
 But the one play of Sophocles which is generally 
 considered to be of supreme importance for this par- 
 ticular subject is the Phaedra, This play, which is 
 supposed to have been the model for the Hippolytus 
 of Euripides, is generally looked upon as the first 
 " love-tragedy " of the Greeks. But was it a *' love- 
 tragedy" at all, in any sense in which the words are 
 now understood ? To judge by analogy, there is 
 every reason to suppose that it was not. 
 
 The fragments unfortunately prove little, for no 
 very important ones are preserved, and the one or 
 two of them that do speak of love, merely speak of 
 it in the regular Sophoclean way, not as a human 
 passion, but as an unavoidable kind of disease, some- 
 thing like measles or distemper.^ 
 
 But in spite of the paucity of the fragments, the 
 main principle on which the legend (of which we 
 have already spoken)^ was treated, is sufficiently 
 clear; and this principle is such as is, I venture to 
 
 ^ A great deal of light would be thrown on all this intricate subject 
 if only one could find out how far, if at all, Sophocles was influenced 
 by Euripides. Euripides, as we shall see later, was always ready to 
 sympathise with women who suffered from the unreasonable treatment 
 of the time, but it does not seem prima facie probable that this 
 particular trait should have had influence on anyone so Athenian as 
 Sophocles. Anyhow, these two passages prove nothing. 
 
 2 This is exactly the idea of the well-known "Epws chorus in the^ 
 Antigone. (1. 781). There, too, love is unavoidable (/ca^ (T''oijr' ddavdrcov 
 (piu^LfjLos o^fdels, oiid* dfiepiojv a^ 7' dvdpibiruiv)^ it results in madness (6 
 5' ^wv /x^fir]veVf "the stricken one is mad," as the Romans said 
 **habet" of their gladiators), and the chief damage it does is to 
 property (6s iy KT-f^jxaaL iriTTTeis). Like Eresichthon's father, what the 
 Chorus most object to is the expense. ^ [p. 38.] 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 47 
 
 submit, incompatible with the presence in the play 
 of any real love-element. 
 
 Phaedra's love is not passion but madness, it is not 
 an emotion but a disease. Aphrodite treats her in 
 exactly the same way as Athene treats Ajax. Her 
 love is so entirely outside her control, it is so entirely 
 the result of external influences, that while one can 
 perhaps pity her, one certainly cannot sympathise 
 with her, for the simple reason that her misfortune 
 is entirely outside human experience. She loves 
 Hippolytus, as Oedipus kills Laius, for no earthly 
 reason except that the story said the god made 
 her do so. The Phaedra of Sophocles, like the 
 Clytemnestra of Aeschylus, is made an instrument 
 of divine vengeance for reasons which do not concern 
 her personally in the least ; one pities her, not as an 
 unhappy lover, but as the victim of fate. She is no 
 longer a human being influenced by human emotions ; 
 she is simply a tool in the hands of a relentless deity. 
 In other words, she is never in love with Hippolytus 
 at all, in any commonly -accepted sense of the 
 term. 
 
 And thus it must be sufficiently clear to anyone 
 who is able to get rid of preconceived ideas on the 
 matter, that the Phaedra was in reality no more 
 "romantic" than the Trachiniae or the Antigone. 
 Like the rest of the plays of Sophocles, it merely 
 drew the usual picture of the gods playing shove- 
 halfpenny with human souls ; the fact that Aphrodite 
 for once took a hand in the game gave it on this 
 occasion a peculiar character of its own, but of any- 
 thing in any v^ay resembling a modern love-element 
 
48 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 there is no more trace here than there is anywhere 
 else.^ 
 
 But what really affords a more conclusive proof 
 than any other of how utterly anything of the nature 
 of modern love between man and woman was un- 
 known to Sophocles, is the remarkable prominence 
 given in his plays to the affection between brother 
 and sister.2 The relations between Electra and 
 Orestes, or Antigone and Polynices, are absolutely 
 those of modern lovers; but Sophocles could not 
 conceive of such relations as existing between people 
 whom he would have called '' lovers," and, therefore, 
 he had to think of the parties to them as brother 
 and sister. He wished to draw a picture of pure, 
 noble, and unselfish devotion existing between man 
 and woman ; the only conditions under which such 
 a thing seemed to him possible were that the man 
 and the woman should be close blood relations. 
 
 There are those who complain of the indifference 
 of Electra to Pylades, or of Antigone to Haemon, 
 and think that a little love infused into these heroines 
 would make them more human. These people have 
 overlooked the fact that Electra and Antigone are in 
 reality quite as much in love as ever woman was ; 
 
 1 Vide Excursus B. 
 
 2 This feature is of course by no means peculiar to Sophocles ; it is 
 prominent both in Aeschylus and Euripides {e.g. the pathetic passage 
 in Or est. 1041 seqq.)^ and doubtless for the same reason. In Sophocles, 
 however, perhaps owing merely to the chance which has preserved 
 certain plays while others have been lost, it plays a particularly im- 
 portant part. Not only are the Antigone and the Electra almost 
 entirely devoted to it, but the one ray of light in the 1800 lines of the 
 Oedipus Coloneus is the farewell of Polynices to his sister. (1. 1414 
 seqq.) 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 49 
 
 but they are in love with their brothers. They did 
 not know it perhaps ; Sophocles did not know it ; 
 but the fact remains. Antigone despises love — what 
 she and her audience thought was love. Between 
 Polynices and Haemon there is never a momenfs 
 hesitation ; almost her last words are an exclamation 
 of the bitterest contempt for marriage : " If my 
 husband had died, I could have married another ; 
 if he had failed to get me children, I could 
 have committed adultery ; but — my brother is 
 dead!"i 
 
 And yet, Antigone comes far nearer to a modern 
 lover than Phaedra ever does. 
 
 This is a fact of the greatest importance in the 
 present connection, and one that cannot be too much 
 emphasised. The relation of the sexes was such 
 among the early Greeks that a pure love between 
 man and woman seemed to them a sheer impossi- 
 bility, and yet their instinct told them that pure love 
 was not really an impossible thing. The ways in 
 which the difficulty was surmounted were various. 
 Of the love of man for man and of woman for 
 woman we have already spoken ; in Sophocles a 
 third alternative is suggested. The lovers are made 
 man and woman, but the possibility of sensuality is 
 first removed by making them brother and sister. 
 A woman who loves a man may love him purely, 
 
 ^ Soph. Ant. 909 seqq. This seems the natural and obvious way of 
 taking these words, but whichever way one takes them they do not 
 imply any very great respect for matrimony. 
 
 Whether the lines are Sophocles' or not is of course indifferent in 
 this connection, as everyone is agreed that, if an interpolation, they 
 are a very early one. 
 
 E 
 
50 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 says Sophocles, if she is in such a position that she 
 cannot love him otherwise.^ 
 
 In the first two of the Athenian dramatists there 
 are then, as we have seen, practically no traces 
 whatever to be found of a love-element in any 
 real sense of the term. But this, it may be said, is 
 nothing wonderful. This everyone will admit. For 
 the love-element one looks to Euripides. In the 
 following examination of Euripides, I hope to show 
 that not only is love, in any modern sense, quite 
 unknown to his characters, but also that the whole 
 '* romantic" element of his plays, on which it is the 
 custom to lay such stress, is much less pronounced 
 than is generally supposed ; in other words, that his 
 men take really very little interest in his women. 
 
 But before discussing what Euripides did not do, 
 it is well to have a clear conception of what he did 
 do ; for he did do a great deal. The great service 
 of Euripides to art was that he emphasised unmis- 
 takably the importance of women. He seems to 
 have been the first emphatically to enunciate that 
 doctrine of cherchez la femrne^ which has been the 
 groundwork of all modern art. He was not the first 
 man to discover it; the men who made the story of 
 Troy knew it as well as he did ; but he was the 
 first, as far as we know, consciously to adopt it as 
 an artistic canon. He was the first deliberately to 
 maintain that the highest artistic effects were to be 
 
 * This is not, I think, saying too much. A story like that of 
 Canace, however powerfully it might affect its audience, was, after 
 all, even in later times, looked upon as something quite exceptional 
 in Greece. (Cp. the later Athenian view on the subject as illustrated by 
 Plaut. Epid. V. i. 45, seqq.) 
 
' ^^ OF THB * r 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 Women in Greek Poetry, 51 
 
 obtained by the contrast of the sexes. The women 
 of the earlier tragedians, as far as they are of any 
 interest, are merely women, as it were by accident ; 
 they are men in everything but their dress. The 
 women of Euripides, however unpleasant they may 
 be, are always intensely feminine. The emphasis 
 which Euripides laid on the feminine as opposed to 
 the masculine element is at once his chief character- 
 istic and his chief merit. 
 
 The ways in which he emphasises the importance 
 of women are various. Everyone knows the stress he 
 lays on their power of doing harm ; the " misogyny " 
 of Euripides need hardly be illustrated here.^ At 
 the same time, he is fully aware of their power for 
 good.2 He dwells on their cleverness repeatedly : 
 '* If supremacy were a matter of brains, and not of 
 brute force, men would not have a chance."^ He is 
 convinced of their heroism : Iphigeneia goes to her 
 death with far more dignity than Antigone. He is 
 even convinced, in a way that not all his successors 
 have been, of their reasonableness : there are few 
 men who could discuss their own deaths as calmly 
 and clearly as Phaedra^ or Polyxena.^ It would be 
 easy to multiply instances if there were any need to 
 do so. 
 
 All this Euripides did. He made his women 
 powerful, intelligent, heroic, reasonable. He did not 
 
 ^ It is worth while, however, to notice that even the women them- 
 selves in Aristophanes are made to confess that this so-called misogyny 
 is, in truth, merely realism. Cp. e.g. Aristoph. Thesm. 389 seqq.^ EccL 
 iiOfSeqq. ^ e.g. Fr. 822, etc. ^ Fr. 321. 
 
 ^ Hipp. 373 seqq. Tempting as it is to take this passage as ironical, 
 it would almost certainly be wrong to do so. ^ Hec. 342 seqq. 
 
52 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 make them loved or loveable. In this Euripides is 
 well-nigh as old-fashioned as any of his prede- 
 cessors. In all the extant plays there is not a 
 single instance of a man in love with a woman ; 
 there is no evidence, except perhaps in one isolated 
 case,' of such a character in any of the plays that 
 have been lost. So far from Euripides being the 
 poet of love between man and woman, there are 
 numerous situations in his plays where it seems 
 simply extraordinary to the modern reader how 
 such obvious opportunities for the introduction of 
 such love can have been missed or ignored.^ 
 
 A detailed examination of some of the plays will 
 bring this out clearly ; but before proceeding to this, 
 it would be well to observe certain of the more 
 general features of the Euripidean conception of the 
 relations, other than social and intellectual, existing 
 between men and women. 
 
 The first point to be noticed is that Euripides, 
 too, just like Sophocles, speaks of love as a sort 
 of irresistible madness or disease,^ which seizes on 
 
 ^ See Excursus C. It is true that in the intrigue of Macareus and 
 Canace there is some reason to believe that the former was, contrary to 
 the usual habit of these legends, the leading spirit ; but in the Aeolus 
 of Euripides this beginning of the story seems to have only been alluded 
 to in the prologue, and not to have formed part of the action. — Cp. 
 Antiphanes, Aeol. Fr. i. 
 
 ^ The most striking example is perhaps the Jphigeneia in Aulis^ but 
 there are plenty of others. 
 
 Instances in which women are represented as in love with men are 
 somewhat commoner, as they were commoner in the legends ; but the 
 part they play in Euripides, as a whole, has been greatly exaggerated. 
 Cp. p. 38. 
 
 ^ ■f]p(j3v' rb ixalveadai 5' Ap' 9jv ^pcos ^poTols. — Fr. 161 {Antigone). 
 
 Cp. //?//. 443 scqq. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 53 
 
 its victims without any particular reason, and can 
 only be cured or borne by being allowed to have 
 free course. It is, as I have said before, exactly 
 like measles ; the only proper treatment is to help 
 it as much as you can to "come out," as then it is 
 less painful at the time, and less likely to have 
 serious consequences. Instances of this view are 
 sufficiently numerous. It forms the chief frame- 
 work of the Hippolytus, and all attempts to interpret 
 the emotions of that play in accordance with more 
 modern notions, are without success. The same 
 was still more the case in the Phoenix, as Suidas 
 distinctly implies by his use of the words rw vm 
 eirkfXYive ty\v 7raXkaK7]v in this connection.^ It is enun- 
 ciated by Jason to Medea in the Medea (526 seqq^) as 
 a proof that he owes nothing to her, as she was not 
 responsible for her actions in saving him ; by Helen 
 to Menelaus in the Troades (945 seqq^ as a perfect 
 excuse for her conduct with Paris. 
 
 Now it is just here, one may as well notice at 
 once, that the difference between Euripides and 
 modern writers, with the Alexandrians at their 
 head, is so striking. The lovers in Euripides, as 
 far as they are lovers at all, are carried along by a 
 forcible external impulse, the direction of which is 
 entirely sensual and entirely selfish. If, or as soon 
 as, they fail in achieving the gratification of their 
 sensual desires, their "love" immediately turns to 
 hate. The idea of devotion or self-sacrifice for the 
 
 ^ Suidas (s.v. 'A?/a7upc£(rios) roirrov hk {rov deov) i^^Koxpi rts to dXaos* 
 6 de Tip vi(^ ai/TOv iiriix-qve ttjv TraWaK'/jv . . . icTTopeT 8^ 'lepdjvvfJLOs iv Tip 
 Trepl TpayipdoTToiCov, direiKd^iav tovtols tov 'Etvpiiribov ^olvLKa, Cp. id, 
 s.v. iva\j€Lv. Vide Nauck, Tra^. Graec. Frag, p. 621. 
 
54 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 good of the loved person, as distinct from one's own, 
 is absolutely unknown. "Love is irresistible/' they 
 say, and, in obedience to its commands, they sit 
 down to reckon how they can satisfy themselves, at 
 no matter what cost to the objects of their passion. 
 
 Love is irresistible still, one knows, as irresistible 
 now as ever it was in Greece, but the impulse it gives 
 has a different direction. To put it perfectly crudely, 
 the Euripidean woman who "falls in love" (it is of 
 women we are speaking now) thinks first of all, 
 "How can I seduce the man I love.?" The modern 
 woman thinks, " How can I die for him ? " This is 
 the difference between ancient and modern love, and 
 in Euripides the old is still untouched by the new.^ 
 
 ^ The difference is described with wonderful force by Maximus 
 Tyrius (xxv. 4) : 6 {xkv i<t>* ijdovTjv oiarpec, 6 8^ kolWovs ipd' 6 fxkv &K(i)v 
 voaelf 6 8^ €ku>v ipq,' 6 fikv iir^ dyad(} ipq, tov ipojfMevov, 6 8k iw' oKkdpcp 
 djui(poiv. — I have spoken here merely of women because we have so 
 little absolute evidence as to men, but what little we have all goes to 
 prove that their view of **love" was at least as sensual as that of the 
 women, and if anything even more brutal ; and, anyhow, there is no 
 evidence of the contrary. It is very hard satisfactorily to compare 
 Euripides with people like Asclepiades, who are the earliest represen- 
 tatives we know of the modern spirit, for this very reason, that while 
 the former nearly always discusses the matter from the point of view of 
 the woman, the latter do so with almost equal regularity, as far as we 
 can now judge, from the point of view of the man. One thing, how- 
 ever, is clear enough at the very outset. While Euripides regards the 
 relation between man and woman as entirely based on the sexual 
 instinct, the Alexandrians have from the first imported into it that 
 further feeling of comradeship and mutual self-sacrifice which had 
 before been peculiar to the relation between man and man. For 
 obvious reasons this great change first became noticeable on the side 
 of the man (for the influence of Sappho's school had probably by this 
 time become inappreciable), but its effects are evident enough as soon 
 as the Alexandrians begin to talk of a woman's love. The difference 
 between, say, the Medea of Apollonius and the most refined heroine 
 of the Attic drama is one, not of degree, but of kind. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 55 
 
 It IS this sensual, this well-nigh mechanical view 
 of love which makes possible that conception of the 
 ideal wife, of which we have already spoken in the 
 case of Sophocles' Deianira, and which is so strongly 
 insisted upon in the Andromache of Euripides. 
 
 Andromache regularly appears as the model wife, 
 not only in the play which bears her name, but also 
 in the Troades. Her views on married life have, 
 therefore, a peculiar weight of their own. 
 
 ov TO KaAAo9, w yvvat, 
 dAA,' aperat repirovcFL rovs ^weweras, 
 
 she explains to the youthful Hermione. ^ " Now 
 the greatest of these virtues is, to be content with 
 your husband and not to be jealous. You are 
 jealous of me. What would you do, supposing you 
 were married to a Thracian king with twenty wives 
 instead of only two } You would murder them all, 
 I suppose, in your jealousy, showing thereby how 
 utterly unbridled was your lust, I was never jealous ; 
 / used to act as foster-mother to Hector's illegitimate 
 children ^ 
 
 Kal ravra Spwcra raperrj TrpocryjyoiJirjv 
 
 TTOCTLV, 
 
 " But you, you are afraid to let a drop of rain fall 
 on your husband's head. 
 
 firf rrjv reKova-av rrj ^tAavS/ot'^, yvvaij 
 ^rjret irapeXOelv,^' 
 (fnXavSpia ! 2 
 
 This is not irony ; it is just sober earnest, the 
 
 ^ Andr. 205 seqq. 
 
 2 The early Greek view of '* love" is put here with almost revolting 
 crudeness. Hermione's devotion to her husband and Helen's desertion 
 of hers, are due to one and the same cause — sensual passion. 
 
$6 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 sober earnest morality of respectable Athens. The 
 view is by no means confined to Andromache. It is 
 deliberately propounded by Electra to her mother/ 
 and Jason twice taunts Medea with her failure to 
 live up to its level.^ Indeed, it may be said to 
 colour, to a certain extent, the whole conception of 
 married life. For a woman to wish to keep her 
 husband to herself was a sign that she was at once 
 unreasonable and lascivious. 
 
 This doctrine of the absolute subjection of the 
 wife^ is emphasised in various ways. That a really 
 respectable wife not only always stays at home, 
 but also never sees visitors, is more or less of an 
 axiom.* To give a woman her head is dangerous 
 in the last degree, and if you do, you will probably 
 get niurdered for your pains. ^ Suicide for a husband's 
 
 ^ yvvaiKa yap xpV TfdvTa (Tvyx(*)p€Tv irSaei, 
 iJTLS (ppev/jp-ns. {Elect. 1052.) 
 
 ^ dW ^S TO(TOVTOV TJKed^ U)(Tt' 6p90VfJLhr]S 
 
 evvTJs yvvalKCS iravr' ^x^'-^ vofii^ere, 
 
 ijv 5* ad y^v7]Tai ^vfi(popd tls is X^xos k.t.X. 
 
 {Med. 569). 
 lA. Xixovs (T<p€ Kr)^i(t}(Tas ovvcKa Kravelv ; 
 MH. cTfMiKpbv yvvaiKi Trrjfjia tovt^ eXvai. 5ok€?s ; 
 I A. iJTis ye (Tdb^pujv. {ibid. 1 367.) 
 
 ^ iracra yap dotjXr] iriipvKev dvdpbs i] ailxppcjv yvvrj. — Fr. 545 {Oedipus). 
 ^ Cp. Andromache in Tro. 642 se^^. Other instances are numerous. 
 This view and that as to jealousy evidently hang together, for it must 
 be admitted that if a wife considers it her duty to become so supremely 
 uninteresting and stupid as such a method of life must inevitably make 
 her, it is also her duty to be lenient to her husband if he occasionally 
 seeks for entertainment outside the domestic circle. 
 
 ^ oil ydp TTor' &vdpa rbv (To<pbv yvvaiKl XPV 
 dovvai xciXi^oi)5. 
 
 Fr. 463 {Cressae) ; cp. Fr. 464. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 57 
 
 sake is only respectable on the part of a woman, ^ 
 for her husband is her life.^ 
 
 But where is one to find such a model wife ? for 
 marriage is such a lottery that one ought really to 
 be allowed, if one can afford it, to have several 
 tickets, in case the first doesn't turn out well.^ The 
 only chance is to marry a woman of good family ; 
 in other words, the only thing worth marrying for 
 is rank.^ To prefer to marry for love is not only 
 foolish, but unfair on one's children.^ 
 
 It is this view of married life, this devotion to an 
 ideal of drudgery on the part of the woman, and 
 the calm acceptance of such devotion as a matter 
 of course on the part of the man, which explains 
 such a play as the Alcestis.^ The woman is devoted 
 to the man, not because he is himself, but because 
 he is her husband. For the man she does not care 
 in the least, but for the husband — for the ideal of 
 the family — she is perfectly ready to die. It is this 
 which at once makes the story of Alcestis possible, 
 
 ^ Tro. 10 1 2 seqq. ; cp. Hipp. 419 seqq. 
 ^ i.e. her means of livelihood. 
 
 ra fxh yoLp &X\a Se^rep' civ wdcrxoL yvv-q ' 
 dvdpds 5 * dfxapTavova dixaprdvei ^iov. 
 
 {Andr. 372; cp. ibid. 904.) 
 ^ Fr. 402 {/no). * Cp. Andr. 1279 seqq. ; Fr. 215 {Antiope)^ &c. 
 ^ ovK '4(JTL Tovde iraicrl koXKlov yipas, 
 7) irarpos iadXov Kayadov TrecpvK^vai, 
 yafJL€LU r' air' iadXCov ' 6s dk viK-rjdels irbdi^ 
 KaKoh iKOLvdovrjaey, ovk iiraiviaot}, 
 
 T^KVOLS 6p€l50S OUV€x' TjdoVTJS XtTTeLV. 
 
 {Her ad. 297.) 
 ^ To what extent it also figured in that strange play, the Protesilaus, 
 cannot now be known, but it is only probable that it was prominent 
 there also. 
 
58 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 and robs it of half its pathos. Had Alcestis loved 
 Admetus as a man, she could not but have felt the 
 bitterest disappointment at his accepting her offer. 
 As it is, she seems to regard his conduct almost as 
 much as a matter of course as he does.^ 
 
 The brief examination of one further point in the 
 Euripidean view of women may serve as introduction 
 to the more detailed discussion of the romantic 
 element in his plays, or, rather, of its absence. 
 Euripides speaks frequently as if there were a sort 
 of freemasonry existing among women, which makes 
 one woman always ready to side with another as 
 against a man. Instances of this are common, 
 especially in the relations between the heroine and 
 the Chorus, when the latter, as mostly in Euripides, 
 consists of women. 
 
 Thus Medea, when asking the Chorus not to 
 reveal her plans, says — 
 
 ctTrep (ppovets €v Seo-Trorats yvvq t' kcf^vs. 
 
 {Med. 822.) 
 
 Similar in spirit is a line from the Alope {Fr, 108) : 
 
 yvvri yvvaLKL cn;/xjuia;(os 7r€(f>VK€ ttcos, 
 
 or 1. 329 of the He/en : 
 
 yvvatKa yap 8rj crv/x7rovetv yvvaiKl XPV' 
 
 ^ Here again one almost marvels at the way in which Euripides 
 misses an opportunity. The contrast between the joy of Alcestis at 
 saving Admetus' life, and her grief for her ruined ideal, would have 
 furnished as splendid a conflict of emotions as any dramatist could 
 desire. Athenian taste, however, preferred that she should die con- 
 gratulating him on having had such a wife, while he stands by express- 
 ing his deep regret that he cannot accompany her, as Charon does not 
 issue return tickets. For a further examination of the motives of 
 Admetus, however, see p. loi. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 59 
 
 In this same play, too, Menelaus decides that his wife 
 is the proper person to go and ask help of Theonoe : 
 
 crov epyov, w? yvvaiKl Trpocrcjyopov yvvrj. 
 
 {Hel 830.) 
 
 A "romantic" writer might have thought that the 
 prayers of Menelaus himself would have been more 
 effectual with a lady.^ 
 
 The most important of the extant plays of 
 Euripides is, for the student of the development 
 of the romantic tendency, undoubtedly the Hip- 
 polytus. But, in thinking of this play, the reader 
 must first of all guard against a very common and, 
 for a modern, very natural mistake. He must re- 
 member that the interest of the piece is intended 
 to centre, not on Phaedra, but on Hippolytus. The 
 main interest of the plot is the struggle between 
 asceticism and self- gratification, as personified in 
 the maiden Artemis and the sensual Aphrodite.^ 
 Phaedra is only made to fall in love with Hip- 
 polytus in order that he may reject her advances, 
 and thereby irritate her into working his ruin. As 
 has already been pointed out, she is dragged into a 
 quarrel which does not concern her, for a purpose 
 which does not interest her personally in the least.^ 
 
 ^ It must be admitted that Jason has a higher opinion of his own 
 influence {Med. 942 seqq.)^ if, indeed, this be the right way to take 
 the passage. 
 
 ^ This seems to have been still more the case in the first version 
 of the play, where Hippolytus appears actually as a /3ou/c6Xos, or 
 ascetic worshipper of Artemis, and where he is promised immortality 
 as the reward of his constancy. See Reitzenstein, Epig, u. Skol. 
 p. 210 seqq. and Excursus D. 
 
 ^ OL (Td}(ppov€S yap ovx eKovres, dXX' 6/j,ci)s 
 KaKdJv ipQicn, {Hipp. 358* ) 
 
6o Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 Bearing this in nnind, the reader will be able to 
 understand that combination of passionate desire 
 and cold-blooded reasoning which marks the utter- 
 ances of Phaedra. She has come to the conclusion, 
 she says at last (1. 391 seqq), that love is an irre- 
 sistible disease ; and since her position as a married 
 woman makes impossible the only means of cure 
 with which she is acquainted, she decides that, for 
 the sake of her husband and children^ she had better 
 die. She will never dishonour her children, for, 
 next to money, there is nothing so valuable as a 
 good name. 
 
 To this the Nurse replies (1. 433 seqq^ that of 
 course love is irresistible, and there is only one way 
 to cure it ; but she points out that this way may 
 perfectly well be adopted. The fact that Phaedra 
 is married need not be any obstacle, for husbands 
 are used to seeing more than they say. 
 
 " aAA', (5 ^i\r] Trat, A-^ye /xev /ca/cwv cfypevwvy 
 , Xrj^ov 8' vfSpi^ovcr^ : ov yap akXo TrXrjv v/Spus 
 raS' ecrrt, Kp€icrcrio Sat/xovcov etVat OkXeiVy 
 ToXjxa S'e/Dwcra* Oeos ijSovXrjOr] raSe. 
 
 " Leave the matter to me, and if women can't effect a 
 cure, perhaps men can." 
 
 Phaedra protests. The Nurse answers with a little 
 very natural impatience (1. 490) 
 
 "rt crefivofxvOeLS ; ov Xoywv €V(t^ix6v(3)V 
 Set cr'j dAAot rav^pos,^^ 
 
 Phaedra admits this, but insists that it would be 
 more respectable to die. The Nurse, however, per- 
 suades her to try a love-potion first, and with this 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 6i 
 
 excuse leaves her to look for Hippolytus. Hippo- 
 lytus, as one knows, rejects the Nurse's proposals, 
 and Phaedra takes refuge in suicide, making, as she 
 dies, one last desperate atten:ipt to save her own 
 good name at the expense of the man she is sup- 
 posed to love (1. 715). 
 
 This, then, is the story of Phaedra. Where in all 
 this is there a trace of what we now call love ? 
 Where is there a single expression of affection for 
 Hippolytus, a single expression to show that she 
 thinks of him otherwise than of one whq has done 
 her a great and irretrievable injury ? She seems to 
 think of him as one would think of a man from 
 whom one had caught the cholera. " Love is all 
 bitterness," she says (1. 349) ; " and he is the cause." 
 The catastrophe comes, and she walks off quietly 
 to murder him, 
 
 *' wctt' ef/cAea \ikv Tratcrt TrpocrOetvai /3loVj 
 avTTj t' ovaaOai irpos rot vvv TreTrrcoKora." 
 
 If this is love, the world must be a poorer place 
 than I gave it credit for. 
 
 Then follows the great argument between Hippo- 
 lytus and his father, which to the Athenians was 
 doubtless the chief point of the play. On the 
 speech of Theseus we need not dwell, though it is 
 perhaps just worth noticing the way in which he 
 enunciates, as a sort of great discovery which his 
 own experience and observation have enabled him 
 to make, the theory that it is possible for the 
 initiative in a criminal liaison to come from the side 
 of the man (1. 966 seqq.). 
 
 The answer of Hippolytus, however, is well worth 
 
62 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 study. For the first 24 of his 52 lines he describes 
 in general terms his own blameless character, and 
 it is only at the 2Sth that he condescends to discuss 
 the particular incident. " But you do not perhaps 
 believe all this about my chastity," he says (1. 1007) ; 
 ** but do tell me, then, what was the temptation in 
 this particular instance? Was this woman's body 
 so especially beautiful? {i\ lines.) Or did I wish 
 by my conduct to become your heir ? {2\ lines.) 
 Or to become king ? (3 lines.) Surely you know 
 my only interest is in athletics." (S lines.) Then, 
 having finished the arguments which he is able to 
 bring forward, he proceeds to swear, and so con- 
 cludes. In other words, in a speech of 52 hues, 
 the suggestion that he might have been in love 
 with Phaedra, even in the most rudimentary sense 
 of the words, is contemptuously dismissed in a line 
 and a half, and no one seems to think that this 
 part of the subject ought to have been treated at 
 greater length. Now this one fact seems to me in 
 itself almost a sufficient proof that " romantic " ideas, 
 even as they were understood at the end of the 
 fourth century, were utterly foreign to Euripides.^ 
 
 ^ One may argue, of course, that Hippolytus, as a devotee of 
 Orpheus, etc. , would be naturally more prone to ignore the * ' love- 
 element " than a person of more human passions, and that this strange 
 disproportion in his speech is a mark of his character. Personally 
 I doubt this, as, firstly, the characters of the Athenian drama, 
 when making their set speeches, generally quite forget who they are 
 — indeed, the wonder is they don't sometimes slip into an &.v^pe^ 
 dLKao-rai — and, secondly, if Hippolytus had been meant to slur over 
 an important part of his subject, his reasons for so doing would have 
 been more definitely explained. The conclusion seems to me in- 
 evitable, that neither Hippolytus nor Theseus thought the possibility 
 of the former's having been in love with Phaedra worthy of serious 
 discussion. 
 
Wome7i in Greek Poetry. 6i 
 
 To come to another play. There are probably 
 few things in all literature so strange, not to say 
 comic, to modern ideas, as the relations between 
 Achilles and Iphigeneia in the Iphigeneia in Aulis, 
 
 Clytemnestra has been trapped into bringing her 
 daughter to Aulis, on promise of marriage with 
 Achilles, and when, in the scene which begins at 
 1. 80 1, she discovers the truth, she appeals to him 
 for protection. Achilles, " the nearest approach 
 to a modern gentleman of all the Greek tragic 
 characters,"^ replies as follows (1. 919 seqq) : 
 
 " I am a person of the highest breeding, and 
 therefore you may trust me to giwQ you the correct 
 answer under the circumstances. Your daughter, 
 having been betrothed to me, shall not be killed ; 
 it would reflect discredit on me if she were, and 
 that I cannot permit. No one shall so much as 
 touch the hem of her garment. // is not, of course, 
 for her sake that I tmdertake to do this, but because 
 I consider that Agamemnon has treated me shame- 
 fully. He used my name to trap you into coming 
 here without asking my consent ; of course I should 
 have allowed him to use it if he had asked me, for I 
 always put patriotism before everything ; but he did 
 not ask me. I feel grossly insulted, and he will 
 touch Iphigeneia at his peril." 
 
 *'Your sentiments, Achilles," remarks the Chorus, 
 *' are worthy alike of you and of your divine 
 descent." 
 
 "How can I thank you enough," replies Clytem- 
 nestra, "for all the trouble you have promised to 
 1 Mahaffy, Class. Gr. Lit. vol. i. p. 370. 
 
64 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 take in this matter, which cannot interest you 
 personally in the least ? " 
 
 There is a moment's pause ; then she suggests 
 timidly, " But would you like the girl to come to 
 you herself?" 
 
 " God forbid ! " exclaims Achilles with horror. 
 " How can you suggest anything so improper ? " 
 Then after a little he adds, "You must first of all 
 go and argue the case with Agamemnon." 
 
 " Why that } " asks Clytemnestra. " There is no 
 chance there." 
 
 '* Perhaps not," he answers, "but still I wish you 
 to try ; for I should very much prefer, if possible, 
 that my name should be kept out of the business 
 altogether!' 
 
 " What you say does you credit," she answers. 
 "I will do my best to obey you." 
 
 For the modern reader who studies this scene, 
 and then leans back and thinks a little what he 
 would have done or thought in Achilles' place, 
 comment is, I imagine, superfluous.^ 
 
 Or look at Andromache's speech in the Andro- 
 mache. (1. 184 seqq!) She is accused of occupying 
 too high a place in the favour of Neoptolemus. "Tell 
 
 ^ It is true that, later on, the magnificent heroism of Iphigeneia 
 extorts from Achilles what is perhaps one of the earliest declarations 
 of love from a man to a woman that we know : 
 
 'AyafJL^fivovos Tra?, ixaKapibv fx^ ris deCov 
 ^fjieWe 6'r)(T€LV, el tuxol/hl cruv ydfiujv' 
 ^7;Xaj d^ (ToO fx^v^KKXdd'y 'EXXdSos d^ cr^, 
 
 (1. 1405.) 
 But this utterance, made under such exceptional circumstances, 
 cannot counteract the effect of what has gone before ; and, anyhow, 
 it is a curiously isolated expression, and rather a qualified one. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 65 
 
 me," she answers to Hermione, ''what reason could I 
 possibly have for wishing to stand well with your 
 husband ? Do I wish to reign in your place, or to 
 have more children, or to make my children kings ? 
 Or what reason could he possibly have for preferring 
 me ? Is my native city so powerful ? Have I such 
 influential friends ? " &c. &c. As in the Hippolytus, 
 the idea that there may be love on either side is 
 dismissed without discussion. 
 
 Or look at the character of the Autourgos in the 
 Electra, He has married Electra, but refuses to touch 
 her, and why ? 
 
 aXa-yyvo[i(xi yap oX/StiDv dvSpiov T€Kva 
 Aa/^wv v(dpi^€iv^ ov Kard^Los yeyws. (1. 45.) 
 
 He is distressed that the daughter of such wealthy 
 parents should have made so poor a match. It is pity 
 for the house of Agamemnon that affects him, not 
 pity for Electra.^ 
 
 Hecuba again, in the play that bears her name, 
 does not think that it is much use to appeal to the 
 " romantic " feelings of Agamemnon. 
 
 /cat fxr^v LcriDS /xev rov Xoyov Kevov roSe^ 
 KvTTpiv Trpo^dWeLV k,t.X. (1. 824.) 
 
 In the Phoenissae there is not much love lost be- 
 tween Antigone and Haemon (cp. 1. 1672 seqq.). In 
 the Orestes the only incident which causes Pylades to 
 take the slightest interest in Electra is her suggestion 
 
 ^ Worthy of notice is the excellent touch which makes this man, 
 though poor, yet a member of a good family. (1. 37.) As Euripides 
 knew well enough, a son of the soil would have been incapable of even 
 this much refinement of feeling. We may observe, by the way, that 
 Orestes expresses himself as very sceptical of the whole story — anyhow 
 as far as motives go. (1. 253 seqq,) 
 
 Y 
 
66 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 that they should murder Hermione. (1. 1191 seqq?) 
 In the Helena the first exclamation of Menelaus, 
 when his wife assures him that she has really been 
 faithful to him all the time, is, " How can you prove 
 it?"^ In the Medea again the absence of the love- 
 element is a distinct loss. No one can doubt that the 
 character of Medea would have gained at once in 
 probability and in pathos, if she had been allowed to 
 recur, if only for a moment, to the memory of her 
 early love for Jason. 
 
 If more plays had been preserved, it would, doubt- 
 less, have been easy still further to multiply instances; 
 but what has been said already is perhaps enough to 
 show that the romantic element in Euripides is really 
 most conspicuous by its absence. And this cannot 
 be a surprise to anyone who cares to go to the root 
 of the matter. That relation between men and 
 women which we call the *' romantic " is founded 
 upon sentiments and ideas which are entirely distinct 
 from the sexual emotions. Euripides, as we have had 
 occasion to notice again and again, though he had 
 carefully studied the sexual instinct in all its workings, 
 had never been able to conceive of a relation between 
 man and woman which had not this for its basis.^ 
 Without pure — I had almost said Platonic — love for 
 its fundamental principle, romance is an impossibility. 
 The romantic Alexandrian writers may not have them- 
 selves loved purely, but they knew what pure love 
 
 ^ HeL 566 seqq. Still more offensive, of course, are the suggestions 
 of Ion to his mother {Ion 1523 seqq.)\ but there the offence is against 
 decency, not against romance. 
 
 ^ Except occisionally, as already noticed, in the case of close blood - 
 relations. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 6j 
 
 was, and such love was their ideal. With Euripides it 
 was not so, and this one fact is enough to show that 
 he belongs to the old literature and not to the new. 
 That Euripides, by the emphasis which he laid on 
 the female character, contributed largely towards 
 preparing men's minds for the growth of romance 
 and what we now call love, cannot be denied ; 
 but that he himself had more than the very faintest 
 glimmerings of what such love really was, cannot be 
 maintained by anyone who has ever read his works. 
 
 And here we may close this first part of our enquiry. 
 The foregoing examination of the Greek writers, 
 though it has made no mention of various well-known 
 names, has yet been for our present purpose a practi- 
 cally complete one. Pindar was prevented by the 
 nature of his works from dealing to any large extent 
 with the position of women or their relations with 
 men ;^ and even where he has an opportunity of so 
 
 1 Such erotic legends as he does introduce are treated with strangely 
 little sympathy. The best (in the extant odes) is that of Pelops and 
 Hippodameia ( Olymp. i ), where the writer has, perhaps, been roused 
 to a little warmth by the story of Pelops and Poseidon that has im- 
 mediately preceded. The legend of Peleus and Hippolyte {Nem. 5) is 
 noticeable as being, strangely enough, the only one in which the woman 
 is represented as taking the initiative ; but this is doubtless to be ex- 
 plained by the fact that nearly all these stories are descriptive of the 
 amours of gods. The story of Jason and Medea is utterly spoiled in 
 Pyth. 4. In that of Apollo and Coronis {Pytk. 3) only the unfaithful- 
 ness of the nymph and her punishment are dwelt upon. The other 
 erotic stories told — i.e. those of Apollo and Euadne {Oly?np. 6), Apollo 
 and Cyrene {Pyth. 9), Zeus and the daughter of Opoeis {Olymp. 9), 
 Ixion and Hera {Pyth. 2), are merely concerned with seductions of the 
 most commonplace kind. The story of Rhoecus and the Hamadryad 
 {Fr. 165) is the only one of importance alluded to in the fragments ; 
 but here it is uncertain how far Pindar told the story, and how far 
 he merely alluded to it. 
 
6S Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 doing (as, eg,, Fr, 122), the result is very disappointing, 
 especially in view of his Boeotian origin. The frag- 
 ments of the early tragedians, other than the three 
 discussed, are strangely deficient in references to 
 women. Nor need the old Attic Comedy detain us. 
 The general spirit of this thoroughly Athenian 
 product is sufficiently summed up in what profess 
 to be the earliest words of it extant, the fragment of 
 Susario, , , x /. v ^ \' /? 
 
 aKOvere Aeo) lovcraptwv Aeyet race, 
 vlos ^iXivov MeyapoOev TpnroSio-Kios' 
 KaKov yvvaLK€s, 
 
 while it may be doubted whether in the whole course 
 of this literature a female character was ever intro- 
 duced on the stage, except with the view of leading 
 up to some form of indecency.^ 
 
 The net results of this examination, though chiefly 
 negative, are yet fairly clear. It has, I hope, been 
 shown that — 
 
 (i) That relation between men and women which 
 is now called " love " was, as far as can be gathered 
 from literature, non-existent among the Greeks down 
 to the end of the fifth century. 
 
 (2) The position occupied by women in the con- 
 sideration of men was so unimportant, that even the 
 sensual relation of the sexes was but little treated of 
 in literature till a comparatively late period, and was 
 always, down to the end of the fifth century, looked 
 upon by a considerable section of society as unfitted 
 for public discussion and representation. In other 
 
 ^ [On the position occupied by women in the Old Comedy compare 
 Women in Greek Comedy^ § 3> 4*] 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 69 
 
 words, love -poetry in the modern sense is non- 
 existent in classical Greek literature; while love- 
 poetry in any sense, addressed to women, is a far 
 more insignificant element in that literature than is 
 commonly supposed. 
 
 That what has just been said does not hold good 
 of the " Alexandrian " poets is so obvious that it 
 hardly needs to be stated. Equally true, however, 
 and not equally obvious, is the fact that, from the 
 very first, these writers talk of women and women's 
 love in an entirely different tone to that adopted by 
 those of whom we have hitherto been speaking. 
 The line of cleavage between, say, Asclepiades and 
 Euripides, is in reality quite as marked as that 
 between Euripides and ApoUonius. On this subject, 
 therefore, it is perhaps worth while to say a few 
 words, though the terribly mutilated condition in 
 which the works of the earlier Alexandrians 
 especially have come down to us, makes it very 
 difficult to point to striking examples of what has 
 been said. 
 
 The first representatives of the " Alexandrian " 
 school of poets — that is, of the school^ of women- 
 lovers — are Asclepiades and Philetas;^ and in both 
 cases the mere nature of their works (quite apart 
 from their tone) is sufficiently striking when com- 
 pared with the literature that had gone before. 
 
 Whether Philetas actually gave the title of Battis 
 
 to a collection of his poems is difficult to say — 
 
 it is, perhaps, on the whole, not improbable that he 
 
 did — but in any case there can be no doubt that a 
 
 ^ Cp. Theocr. vii. 39. 
 
70 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 considerable number of his elegies were either actually 
 addressed to Battis, or else treated of her. The 
 erudite and elaborate style of these poems is equally 
 indisputable. Now, whatever may have been the 
 actual tone of address in these elegies — the frag- 
 ments unfortunately tell us nothing, and such other 
 evidence as there is on the subject is of the scantiest 
 description^ — the two facts above-mentioned form of 
 themselves a combination quite without parallel in 
 the Greek literature of which we have hitherto 
 been speaking. That anyone should have taken 
 the trouble to devote erudition and elaboration to 
 the praise of a woman, would have been an unheard- 
 of thing in early Greece. 
 
 Asclepiades is an equally striking figure in the 
 early Alexandrian literature ; for it was he who was 
 
 ^ One or two points are perhaps worth noticing in this connection. 
 It is usual to assume that the Battis of Philetas was an Hetsera ; but 
 the evidence seems rather to suggest that she was his wife. The way 
 in which she is spoken of in Ovid, Trist, i, 6, 2, Pont. iii. i, 57, (in 
 the former place coupled with the Lyde of Antimachus,) seems to 
 support this view ; and, at any rate, there does not appear to be any 
 evidence to the contrary. The personal character of Philetas, as we 
 learn it from various notices of him, seems also rather to point in the 
 same direction ; though this is not, of course, an argument that can be 
 pressed. (It would be interesting to know whether the fact that 
 Philetas is apparently never alluded to under a nickname, like so many 
 others of the Alexandrian writers, was due to this austerity of character.) 
 
 Whether these elegies were as sober and as little sensual in tone as 
 those of Antimachus (cp. infra, p. 1 10), it is impossible now to say ; 
 though the two passages cited from Ovid both seem indirectly to imply 
 that they were, and there is certainly nothing in the fragments of 
 Philetas which would lead one to infer that they were not. It need 
 hardly be added that the passage in Ovid, Ars Amat. iii. 329 seqq. 
 proves nothing, for the "lascivia" there ascribed to Sappho is obviously 
 not meant to apply to all the other poets mentioned in the list, or 
 Vergil's name would hardly appear in it. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 71 
 
 the first to introduce woman-love into the epigram — 
 the first, in fact, to ^\v^ it that social recognition 
 which we have seen already accorded to boy-love, 
 well-nigh two centuries before.^ 
 
 But what renders Asclepiades particularly im- 
 portant for us just now — far more so than Philetas — 
 is the fact that some forty of his epigrams have been 
 preserved, and that it will therefore be possible, by 
 examining these, to study at close quarters the 
 points in which the tone of this new love -poetry 
 differs from that of the old. 
 
 In the epigrams of Asclepiades we find, for the 
 first time, love for a woman spoken of as a matter 
 of life and death : — 
 
 oiyo\L\ epioTCs, oAtuAa, 8fcOt;(0/xat* els yap eratpav 
 vvorTOL^iov eTre/SrjVy iJS' Wtyov r' 'At8a.^ 
 
 Anth, PaL v. 162, 3-4. 
 
 Here, for the first time, such love appears as an end 
 in life — as an object for which a man may well brave 
 death : — 
 
 vt</)€, )(^a\a^o/36X.eL^ ttoUl (rKoros-) alOe^ KepavvoVy 
 Trdvra rot 7rop(f>vpovT^ ev ydovl crele v€(f>rj. 
 
 rjv yap fie KTeivySy Tore Travo-ofxai' rjv Se jix' d(f)YJs ^yjv, 
 Kal StaOels rovTiov yeipova^ Kw/xao-o/xat. 
 
 Anth, Pal. v. 64, 1-4. 
 
 ^ In the poems of Theognis, which are practically epigrams, in the 
 later sense of the word. The epigrams of Plato, if genuine, would be 
 another even more striking instance. 
 
 2 Whether the words are to be taken as really seriously meant is, of 
 course, doubtful, though one's instinctive distrust of their sincerity is 
 perhaps misplaced ; for, after all, this is very primitive poetry of its 
 kind. That such words should have been written at all is the remark- 
 able point about them. 
 
T2 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 Similar in spirit to this is the epigram in AntL 
 Pal. xii. 1 66: — 
 
 ToW* 6 TL flOL XOLTTOV ^VXV'^^ O ^f' ^^ TTOt', ''Epa)T€9, 
 
 TOVTO y' €;(etv, wpos decjv, r^a-v^iriv a<p€Te. 
 el firj, vat to^ols fxr] /SdXXere fJL\ dAAot Kcpavvols' 
 
 vol TTOLVTUiS reippYjv Oea-Qe fie KavOpaKirjv. 
 vat, vat, /5aA Act ' "E/)a>T€s ' evecr/cAryKws yap avtats, 
 
 o^vTcpov rovTiDv et y' en, ^ouAo/x' ex^'^* 
 
 or another — perhaps the most beautiful of all his 
 poems that we know — so like, and yet so utterly 
 unlike, the elegies of Mimnermus : — 
 
 TTtv', 'Acr/cAr/TTtaSi) * Tt rot SaKpva ravra ; tl Tracrx^ts ; 
 
 ov ere fxovov )(aX€7rr) KvirpLS cAryticraTO, 
 ov8' €7rt (rot p.ovv(i) Karedi^^aTo ro^a /cat lovs 
 
 7rLKphs"Ep(os' TL fwv €v (TTToStTy TtOccraL ; 
 TTtvw/xev BttK^ov {iwpbv TTO/xa* Sa/cTvAos aws* 
 
 r} TraAt Kot/xtcrrav Ai^^vov tSetv jitevo/xev ; 
 TTtvco/xev yaAcptos ' jaera rot xpoi^oi' ovk€tl ttovXvv, 
 
 crykrXu., tyjv piaKpav vvkt' dvaTravcrofieOa^ 
 
 Anth, Pal. xii. 50.^ 
 
 The love of Mimnermus was hardly of a kind to 
 bring tears to the eyes ! 
 
 Yet, though this love has reached to such a pas- 
 sionate height, it does not forget to be gallant and 
 courteous ; ^ and there is a striking absence of that 
 jealousy and that savage spirit of revenge which may 
 almost be said to be the one motive of the "lovers" 
 in Euripides. A remarkable instance of this most 
 un- Greek willingness to forgive, is the epigram in 
 Anth, Pal, v. 150: — 
 
 ^ [Cp. p. 81, n. I.] 2 Vide e.g. Anth, Pal. v. 158. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 73 
 
 ojfjLoXoyrjcr^ ^'^^tv cts vvKra fioL rj ^TrL/SorjTOs 
 NtKW, /cat crefjLvrjv cdfiocre 9€crjU,o<^o/)Ov * 
 
 Kov^ i^'^et, cf>vXaK7] 8e Trayoot'^erat* ap' iTrtopKeiv 
 TjOeXe ; rov Xv^vov^ TratSes, air ocrl^kcr are. 
 
 while the sudden bathos of Anth. Pal. v. 7, is quite 
 in the same spirit. Even where a more real punish- 
 ment is suggested, its execution is put off into a very 
 vague and distant future : — 
 
 Tai;Ta TraOovaa 
 crol fJL€ix\f/aLT^ €7r' e/xots crracrd ttotc TrpoOvpois.^ 
 
 Anth. Pal. v. 164, 3-4. 
 
 Striking,. too, is the note of resignation that marks 
 poems like Anth, Pal v. 189, xii. 153.2 Still more 
 striking, to those who remember the brutality of 
 Epicrates' attack upon Lais,^ is the tone in which 
 the aged courtesan is spoken of in Anth. Pal vii. 217. 
 The two little pictures of happy lovers, so suggestive 
 of the Acme and Septimius of Catullus, in Anth. Pal. 
 V. 153, xii. 105, are also very far indeed away from 
 anything of the kind that had ever gone before.^ 
 
 We are thus confronted by a very remarkable fact. 
 That way of regarding women which we may call 
 
 ^ The reading ttot^ is certainly happier than irapd. Cp. Theocr. 
 xxix. 39 ; vide infra p. 84, 
 
 ^ xii. 153 is further interesting as one of the very few of the earlier 
 epigrams, which profess to describe the woman's feelings. 
 ^ In the Antilais ; vide Meineke, Com. Fr. iii. p. 365. 
 * The above instances may serve to give some idea of the prevailing 
 character of Asclepiades' epigrams ; on the wonderful grace and charm 
 of this new love-poetry, it is needless to dwell. The best and truest 
 description of Asclepiades and his followers ever given, is that of 
 Meleager, when he calls them the wild-flowers in his Garland. 
 iv 8k Uoa-eidLinrov re Kai'HdvXov, dypi' dpovprjs, 
 ^iKeXidedo T* dv4/iioLS dvdea (f>v6fjL€va. 
 
 Anth, Pal. iv. i, 45. 
 
 y 
 
74 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 the romantic feeling — a feeling which we have noticed 
 to be conspicuous by its absence in Euripides — appears 
 suddenly developed to a high degree, in what is 
 practically the first poetry extant after him. The full 
 meaning of this fact we shall come to consider later ; 
 but before it is possible to do this, it will be necessary 
 to institute some further preliminary enquiries. 
 
 Attention has already been sufficiently drawn to 
 the almost entire absence from the early Greek 
 literature of love-poetry of any kind addressed to 
 women ; at the same time, it has been briefly pointed 
 out more than once that love -poetry addressed to 
 boys or men is a very common phenomenon in this 
 literature. This mere fact in itself would be one 
 requiring some investigation, in an examination of 
 this kind ; but when the nature of this love-poetry 
 comes to be considered, it will be seen how particu- 
 larly important, in the present connection, is this 
 phase of the Greek mind. For it is a fact which 
 becomes immediately apparent, and grows more and 
 more evident, the more the matter is looked into, 
 that while such little love -poetry as does exist, 
 addressed by men to women, is entirely concerned 
 with the purely sensual aspect of the matter, in the 
 very considerable volume of poetry addressed by 
 men to men, this aspect is well-nigh entirely ignored. 
 But obvious though this fact must be to everyone 
 who reads the early Greek poetry with open eyes, 
 the influence of our present methods of thought and 
 training has been so strong, that not only has its 
 importance been strangely ignored by modern 
 writers, but even the fact itself has been questioned 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 75 
 
 or denied. Under these circumstances, it will not be 
 superfluous to go into the matter at some length, for 
 reasons which will appear more clearly when the 
 truth has been established.^ 
 
 The story of the Iliad is a story without a heroine, 
 a feature which makes it well-nigh unique among 
 national legends. This fact has struck various people, 
 and has been accounted for in various ways, the 
 favourite explanation, perhaps, being that the Greek 
 imagination was severer and more self-controlled, 
 more statuesque, one may almost say, than that of 
 other primitive peoples, and was therefore content 
 with a hero whose sole inspiration lay in love of 
 glory and love of battle, apart from any gentler 
 emotion whatever. ^ This estimate of the Greek 
 imagination is no doubt a just one, but there is none 
 the less a strong objection to seeking in it an ex- 
 planation of the peculiarities of the Iliad, To regard 
 the Achilles of Homer as a person animated solely 
 by ambition and military enthusiasm, is, in face of 
 the facts of the case, impossible. As is well known, 
 Achilles sulks because deprived of Briseis, and is 
 only roused again by the death of Patroclus ; that is 
 to say, his two main actions are influenced entirely 
 by motives outside of those which are looked upon 
 as his chief characteristics.^ In other words, Achilles 
 
 ^ Those who do not care to read the proof of this really self-evident 
 fact, can skip the next 28 pages, and pick up the thread again on p. 103. 
 
 2 Vide Rohde, Der g-riech. Romany p. 42. 
 
 ^ His sorrow for Briseis does not, of course, as already observed, go 
 very deep, as is sufficiently shown by the little effect which her restora- 
 tion has on him; and his indignation at her loss is doubtless due to 
 wounded self-love, more than to love of any other description. But, 
 none the less, the introduction of such an incident shows clearly how 
 little the purely military hero was in sympathy with Greek ideas. 
 
^6 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 is not a military hero at all ; the interest one feels in 
 him is due almost entirely to the emotional side of 
 his character. But while this much is clear, the 
 question still remains : Why has this emotional hero 
 no corresponding heroine ? for, of course, one cannot 
 regard Briseis as such. 
 
 The answer to this is one that will not please a 
 certain class of modern minds, but that is no proof 
 that it is not true. There is a heroine in the Iliad, 
 and that heroine is Patroclus. The Achilleis is a 
 story of which the main motive is the love of Achilles 
 for Patroclus.^ This solution is astoundingly simple, 
 and yet it took me so long to bring myself to accept it, 
 that I am quite ready to forgive anyone who feels a 
 similar hesitation. But those who do accept it, cannot 
 fail to observe, on further consideration, how thoroughly 
 suitable a motive of this kind would be in a national 
 Greek epic. For this is the motive running through 
 the whole of Greek life, till that life was transmuted 
 by the influence of Macedonia. The lover-warriors 
 Achilles and Patroclus are the direct spiritual ancestors 
 
 ^ There is an elaborate analysis of this erotic element in Max. Tyr. 
 xxiv. 8 : KoX rhv avSpe'iov {^pcJTa) 4wl ry HarpdKXip, rbv irovip KTTjTbv 
 Kol XP^^Vi 'fcii /t^XP' daydrov irpocpx^f^^^oVf v^Cov Kai koKcov d/JL^oripiaVf 
 Kal (TuxppbvwVj Tov fxkv waLdedovTos, toV d^ Traidevofi^vov^ 6 fxkv ExO^roLi^ 6 
 bk irapafivdeiTaL, 6 [xkv ^8eLy 6 8k aKpoarai. ipuynKbv dk Kal rb rvx^^y 
 id^Xovra i^ovaias irpbs fidxrjv, SaKpOcai (hs o(>k dve^ofiivov tov epaarov' 6 
 8k i<pi7)(n, Kal roh avrov SirXoLS Koaixel, Kal ^paS^vovros 'jrepL8eQ)S ^X"> '^^^ 
 aTTodavbvTOS dirodavelv e/)J, Kal ttjv dpy^v KaTariOeTaL. ipwriKa 8k Kal rd 
 €v{>7rvLa, Kal rd dveipara, Kal rd 8dKpva, Kal rb TeXevraiov 8upov ij87} 
 
 OaWTOfJL^Vlp 7} KblXTf. 
 
 It need hardly be pointed out that this central pair is not an isolated 
 phenomenon. Ajax and Teucer (of whom we shall have occasion to 
 speak again, p. 99), Idomeneus and Meriones, Diomed and Sthenelus, 
 are obvious examples of similar relations among the subordinate 
 characters. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, yy 
 
 of the Sacred Band of Thebans, who died to a man 
 on the field of Chaeronea. 
 
 Those who have made any study of the social life 
 of early Greece, will hardly need to be reminded how 
 important a part this relationship between older and 
 younger men played there. In some states, such as 
 Megara, it was specially patronised by the govern- 
 ment. Among the Cretans, and to a certain extent 
 also among the Lacedaemonians,^ it formed the basis 
 of the military organisation. ^ At Thespiae, the festival 
 of the Erotidia was consecrated to this form of love.^ 
 At Elis there was a periodical beauty-competition 
 among the youths, the prizes consisting of arms and 
 armour.^ A somewhat similar contest took place 
 every spring at the tomb of the hero Diodes at 
 Megara.^ Nor was this all. In many states this 
 relationship came to be looked upon as well-nigh an 
 emblem of constitutional liberty ;^ so much so, that 
 
 ^ Its prevalence among the Lacedaemonians, in spite of the in- 
 fluential position of women in th^ ''tate, is vouched for by the usage 
 of the word XaKujvi^oj. Vide 'Nr Com. Fr. ii. pp. 200, 1088. 
 
 (The derivation mentioned b^ '^'ineke /.^., seems due to 
 
 Aristophanes, and need not/ ..j.) 
 
 2 Athen. xiii. 561 E. Q" ^ .mciple, the 'lephs A6xos founded by 
 Epaminondas was compoi^^ entirely of youths and their lovers, iraidLKiov 
 yap wapovTOJv ipacrrrjs irav bnovv eXoir' Slv iradeLv rj deiXov 86^ap 
 direp^yKaadai.. Athen. xiii. 602 A, cp. 561 F ; Max. Tyr. xxiv. 2. 
 
 3 Athen. xiii. 561 D. Cp. Paus. ix. 31, p. 771. 
 
 ^ Athen. xiii. 609 F. ^ Schol. ad Theocr. xii. 29. 
 
 ** This view was, of course, especially prominent at Athens, where 
 Harmodius and Aristogeiton had become well-nigh the * patron saints * 
 of the democracy. Very interesting in this connection is the remark 
 in Ath. xiii. 562 A, that the Peisistratidae, after their expulsion, were 
 the first persons who ventured to slander this form of intimacy. Cp. 
 too Max. Tyr. xxiv. 2. The important part that it played in, at any 
 rate, the old-fashioned Athenian education is shown by more than one 
 passage in Aristophanes, of which the most striking is perhaps Nubes^ 
 972 seqq. ; cp. 1002 seqq. 
 
yS Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 the tyrants used to regard it as a standing menace to 
 themselves, and actually took steps to suppress it.^ 
 Thus Polycrates destroyed the gymnasium ^ at Samos 
 coa-Trep avTirelxto-jULa rrj ISla cLKpoiroXei, and others are 
 said to have behaved in a similar way.^ 
 
 But while the social importance of this relationship 
 cannot be questioned, its character is equally un- 
 mistakable. In principle, and also in practice, it was 
 pure. Its first and most striking feature, a feature 
 specially emphasised by almost every ancient writer 
 who alludes at all to the subject, is its perfect purity. 
 The very idea of sensuality in connection with it is 
 almost invariably vigorously repudiated,^ and the 
 author of the " Erotic Oration " of Demosthenes is 
 but expressing the universal convictions of his pre- 
 decessors when he says, SUaLo^ epao-rm our av 
 TTOLTjcreiep ovSev aicrxpov ovt^ a^Kjocreiev.^ 
 
 How entirely this was the case will be still more 
 apparent when we come to examine the writers who 
 dealt with the subject. Here it may suffice to remark 
 that, apart from that main sewer, the Old Attic 
 Comedy, there are, in all the Greek poetry extant 
 
 ^ Athen. xiii. 602 D. 5ta rol>s tolo^tovs odv ^pojras ol r^pavvoi 
 (iroXifJiiOL ycLp avroTs aCrai al (piXiaL) rb irapdirav iKdAvop roi)s TraidLKovs 
 ^porras, iravTaxf>Gev avroi/s eKKbirrovTes. 
 
 2 The gymnasium is always a prominent feature in this connection. 
 Cp. Catull. Ixiii. 64 ; Anth. Pal. xii. 123 ; Ach. Tat. ii. 38, iraar)s dk 
 yvvaiKcov /jiwpaXoKpias ijdiov 68iod€v 6 tojp Traidwp idpiJjs. 
 
 3 Athen. /oc. cit, 
 
 ^ Athen. xiii. 561 D. a^yjvbv riva rbv "Epcora /cat iravrbs aiaxpov 
 Kcxc'Jpio'fj^^yov, Very characteristic in this respect is the story of 
 Agesilaus, related in Xen. A^^es. v. 4, 5 ; cp. Max. Tyr. xxv. 5, 
 xxvi. 8. Other noticeable instances will appear in the next few pages. 
 
 ® Demosth. 1401. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 79 
 
 down to the end of the fifth century, but a couple, 
 or at most three, passages in which sensuality is so 
 much as suggested in this connection. ^ 
 
 To trace the growth and development of this form 
 of love — for love it was in the most modern sense of 
 the word — would be extremely interesting ; but it 
 would be a long and difficult undertaking, which 
 cannot be attempted here. The main outlines of its 
 history are, however, sufficiently clear. Originating 
 in the companionship of the battle-field, where the 
 younger and weaker combatants would naturally 
 look to their elders for help and support, it introduced 
 itself also, as we have seen, into those peaceful 
 exercises which serve to train the soldier ; and hence, 
 as soon as we find civilised communities, we find both 
 the army and the gymnasium organised with reference 
 to it. When a somewhat more settled condition of 
 affairs had succeeded to the constant warfare of 
 earlier times, we find it losing to some extent its 
 distinctively military character, though this never 
 entirely disappears, as is clear from the institution by 
 Epaminondas of that '' Sacred Band " of which we 
 have had occasion to speak already. And so, in 
 peace and war alike, it continues throughout classical 
 times a dominating element in Greek society. Its 
 highest development was due, of course, to Socrates 
 and his followers ; but from the end of the fifth 
 century onwards it was beginning to lose its hold 
 upon the Greek mind. The improved position of 
 
 ^ Hence it is not without significance that, according to a common 
 story, the originator of this form of intimacy was said to be Orpheus 
 See Ovid, Met. x. 83 ; Phanocles, Fr. i. 
 
8o Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 women, and that improved way of regarding them 
 which was gradually springing up about this time, 
 could not fail to affect it prejudicially, while other 
 equally potent causes were at work to bring about its 
 overthrow ; indeed, it is not long before we find 
 writers speaking in open disparagement of it^ And 
 in all probability this contempt for the " hypocrisy of 
 the philosophers" was now, to a great extent, justified; 
 for there is little reason to suppose that at this period 
 that high standard of moral purity, with which this 
 form of love had been originally associated, was any 
 longer a prominent feature of it. The Macedonians, 
 in destroying the old Greek states, were destroying 
 at once the home of its birth and the cause of its 
 existence. It is small wonder that it failed, like so 
 many other of the old Greek institutions, to adapt 
 itself to its new surroundings, and that it could not 
 survive the downfall of those virtues of patriotism 
 and independence of which it was at once the out- 
 come and the emblem. 
 
 But the fragrance of its early purity and beauty 
 was never quite lost, as long as the classical world 
 remained. In well-nigh all the poetry dealing with it 
 there is a tone of dignity and chivalry to which the 
 
 ^ Antimachus already seems to have been inclined to ridicule the 
 story of Heracles and Hylas. (Vide Fr. 8.) Plato and ** Platonic" 
 love are, of course, stock subjects throughout the Middle Comedy. 
 (Vide e.g. Amphis, Dithyramb. Fr. 2 ; Meineke, Com. Fr. iii. p. 307. ) 
 The nature of this general attack on the philosophers must not be 
 misunderstood. It is an error to suppose that the more old-fashioned 
 among the Athenians disapproved, in the first instance, of the 
 philosophers because they were paederasts ; it would be truer to say 
 that they turned against paederasty because it was so intimately 
 associated with philosophy. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 8i 
 
 poetry addressed to women never, perhaps, wholly 
 attained. The charming grace of the I2th Idyll of 
 Theocritus is unsurpassed in any of his other works ; 
 the passionate despair of the 23rd is unequalled. The 
 contrast in tone between the 12th and the 5th books 
 of the Anthology is one of the most remarkable 
 features of that remarkable collection of poems. ^ 
 Even Catullus, when striving to give expression to 
 a love purer and more intense than any Roman had 
 ever known, still feels the spell of early Greece upon 
 
 nnn. "tunc te dilexi, non tantum ut vulgus amicam, 
 
 sed pater ut natos diligit et generos," 
 
 he exclaims. " I loved you, not as a man loves a 
 woman, but as a man loves a youth ! "^ 
 
 We have hitherto been speaking chiefly of the 
 social aspect of this form of love ; we can now 
 proceed to examine somewhat more in detail its 
 influence upon literature. And here two striking 
 facts will at once present themselves to us, the exact 
 converse of those which met us when examining the 
 early literary treatment of woman-love. From the 
 earliest period onwards we shall find the love of man 
 for man taking a prominent place in poetry, while 
 at the same time this love as there depicted is 
 remarkable for its chivalrous and unsensual character. 
 
 ^ The poems of Strato form, of course, an exception ; but then the 
 incidents on which they are based are professedly the product of his 
 own, not always very charming, imagination. Cp. Anth. Pal. xii. 258. 
 A further fact worth noticing is that abstract love-poems {eg. xii. 50) 
 are regularly placed among the HaiSi/cd. 
 
 ' The reader will perhaps be thinking of another love '* passing the 
 love of women." One might write many pa ges on th e differences 
 between these two similar emotions. 
 
82 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 In other words, while the love of man to woman was 
 among the early Greeks a love of the senses, the 
 love of man to man was a love of the soul. 
 
 Of the Iliad we have spoken already, and we need 
 not speak further, for though, as we have already 
 pointed out, the relations between various of the 
 Greek heroes there described are strong presumptive 
 evidence of a state of affairs parallel to that which 
 we know to have existed in historical times,^ it is in 
 the nature of an epic to be unable to supply proof 
 of so positive a kind as is to be found in lyric poetry, 
 which is generally, anyhow in early times, the ex- 
 pression of the writer's actual feelings with reference 
 to actual surrounding circumstances. 
 
 In dealing with the lyric writers we shall therefore 
 be on firmer ground. 
 
 Here, in the fragments of Archilochus already we 
 find very strong evidence of the existence of love- 
 poems addressed to men ; indeed, it is impossible 
 satisfactorily to explain Fr. 85 — 
 
 dAAa /x' 6 Xvo-LfJbeXrjS, 5 'rat/oe, Sdixvarat ttoOos, 
 
 on any other supposition. This being so, and there 
 being no evidence of any erotic poems addressed to 
 women, it is justifiable to consider that Fr, 84 also 
 belonged to this same class of poetry 2; while there 
 
 ^ Whatever opinion one may have as to Homer's own intention, it 
 cannot be denied that this was the Greek view of the relation between 
 Achilles and Patroclus from a very early period. This is clearly 
 shown by the fact that Aeschylus of all people treated it in this way 
 in his Myrmidones. That the attachment was further regarded as a 
 perfectly pure one might be equally proved from the fragments of that 
 tragedy, if indeed proof were necessary. Insinuations like those 
 elaborated at the end of Lucian*s Amores are a much later aftergrowth. 
 
 ^ Vide supra ^ pp. 21, 22. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 83 
 
 IS further no reason to believe that these two passages 
 were unique in the works of Archilochus. In other 
 words, love -poems addressed to men are among 
 the earliest known forms of subjective Greek 
 poetry. 
 
 But while both Archilochus and Alcman^ produced 
 works of this kind, the fragments of these which 
 remain are too scanty for it to be possible to feel any 
 real certainty as to their exact nature ; nor again 
 was either of these two authors particularly cele- 
 brated in ancient times for this class of composition. 
 
 It is different with Alcaeus. Alcaeus was recog- 
 nised throughout antiquity as the master par excel- 
 lence of this form of poetry, and though the actual 
 fragments of his works on this subject which remain 
 are not much more satisfactory than is the case with 
 his predecessors, we have most valuable evidence as 
 to their nature in two poems of Theocritus, the one 
 professedly and the other evidently imitated from 
 them.2 These poems contain certain evidently Alex- 
 andrian elements,^ and, consequently, it would be 
 unjustifiable to press any particular detail of them 
 as illustrating Alcaeus, but, at the same time, there 
 seems every reason to believe that in their general 
 tone they reflect the spirit of their originals, and it 
 is to their general tone that I wish to draw the 
 reader's attention. 
 
 ^ Vide supra, p. 24. 
 
 ^ Theocr. xxix. and xxx. 
 
 ^ E.g. the image of Time with wings on his shoulders (xxix. 29). 
 For this reason I have not cared to urge the expression 'AxtXX^l'ot 
 <l>fXoi. in xxix. 34, as a proof that Alcaeus took this view of the 
 relation between Achilles and Patroclus. (Vide supra^ p. 82.) 
 
84 • Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 To take the first of them {Idyll xxix.). The 
 speaker is about to tell some unpleasant truths, but 
 he feels constrained to apologise for so doing (1-4). 
 After a passionate but dignified protestation of his 
 love (5-8), he appeals to his friend's better feelings 
 (9), and urges him to be constant in his affections 
 
 \ ~ /• irotrjCTai KaXtav fxtav elv evl SevSpto)^ 
 OTTO, fxrjSev aTrt^erat aypiov opirerov, 
 
 " If you do so," he continues — 
 
 €f aCTTWV, 
 
 and Love vi^ill deal kindly v^ith you, and save you 
 from such pangs as I have suffered (21-24). For 
 we grow older every day, and youth is the season 
 for forming those friendships which last a lifetime 
 (25-34). Now, I would readily do anything for your 
 sake, but if you disregard my words, the time may 
 come when even if you call me I will not answer" 
 (35-40). 
 
 But anyone who has ever read this charming little 
 poem will not need to have its character further 
 forced upon him. The manliness, the dignity, the 
 courtesy of it, are patent in every line ; more striking 
 still to those who know Greek literature is the spirit 
 of self-negation which pervades the whole; and all 
 this, combined with a passion which is none the less 
 real because it is kept rigorously under control. 
 Even in Alexandrian times it would be hard to find 
 a poem addressed to a woman which can equal this 
 in its chivalrous tone ; to look for such a poem in 
 early Greek literature would be vain indeed. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 85 
 
 In the second of these two pieces {Idyll xxx.), 
 also in all probability modelled on Alcaeus, the 
 purely erotic side of the matter comes more to the 
 front than in the one we have just been discussing, 
 but here, too, one cannot fail to be struck by the 
 quiet earnestness of the tone, which is as far removed 
 from the good-humoured banter of Asclepiades as it 
 is from the outspoken brutality of Archilochus. 
 
 But perhaps the most striking commentary on this 
 state of feeling is that furnished by the other section 
 of the Lesbian school of poets. It has troubled 
 the minds of many modern commentators to think 
 why Sappho should have addressed love-poems to 
 Anactoria ; for those who have formed a true idea of 
 what " love " between a man and a woman meant in 
 Greece of the seventh century, and compared this 
 with the love then existing among men for one 
 another, the question answers itself. Sappho, in 
 addressing love-poems to Anactoria, was but adapt- 
 ing to her own circumstances and sex the universal 
 contemporary principles of love-poetry. It seemed 
 so unnatural then, and so impossible, to connect 
 the sexual instinct with any pure or noble feeling, 
 that Sappho, because her love was pure and 
 its ideal a noble one, instinctively and inevitably 
 chose as the object of this love her fellow-women, 
 just as the men of her time chose their fellow-men.^ 
 To the Greek of the period the association of the 
 
 ^ Thus Maximus Tyrius (xxiv. 9) compares the love of Sappho to 
 that of Socrates. 6 5^ r^s Aea^ias {^poos) . . tl hv eit) &\\o, f) rj 
 liOOKpdrovs T^x^V ^P^^tlkt) ; SoKovaL yap fiOL ttjv Kara ravrb eKdrepos 
 (fiCklav^ 7] fJL^v yvvaiKCoVj b dk dppevcjv, iirLTTjdeuo-aL, 
 
86 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 sexes inevitably suggested sensuality ; Sappho loved 
 Anactoria, just as Alcaeus loved Lycus, in order that 
 this suggestion might be as far as possible excluded. 
 Sappho loved a woman because her love was too 
 pure to allow her to love a man. All this sounds 
 strange — monstrous almost — to modern ears; and yet, 
 of all the scandal of the centuries which has heaped 
 itself up around the name of Lesbos, what Sappho 
 herself would have resented most would perhaps have 
 been the story that she was in love with Phaon. 
 
 We have already had occasion to notice that 
 Anacreon, while he was the originator of love-poetry 
 addressed to women, at the same time addressed a 
 large number of his poems, in fact, the majority, to 
 boys. In his case, therefore, it is possible for the 
 first time to compare the two forms of " love " in the 
 same individual. The comparison is not much to 
 the advantage of the newer feeling. While the out- 
 spoken sensuality of the poems devoted to women 
 cannot be matter of dispute, even judging from such 
 fragments of them as remain, the chaste and sober 
 nature of Anacreon's relation to his boy-lovers is not 
 only a feature of the extant fragments, but is also 
 alluded to more than once by ancient writers, who 
 had his complete works from which to draw their 
 inferences. Thus Aelian ( Var, Hist, ix. 4), speaking 
 of the love of Anacreon for Smerdias (cp. Anacreon, 
 Fr. 48) says — 
 
 €tTa yYiQif] TO ixcLpoLKLOv T(^ eTTatvo) KOL Tov ^ KvaKpkovra 
 'qcnrd^cTO cre/xvtos €v fidXa, epiovra Trj<i ^vxV'^i aAA' ov tov 
 (TW/xaros. [JLYj yap tls rjplv Sta^aAAero), tt/oos Oeojv, tov 
 TTOirjTrjv TOV Trji'ov, p^rjS^ aKoXacrTOV €tvat Aeyerw. 
 
Wo7nen in Greek Poetry, 87 
 
 Maximus Tyrius again, who several times alludes 
 to Anacreon (and always under the title of 6 cocpog 
 or o (TO(l)i(rTri<s)i expressly compares his love to that 
 of Socrates (xxiv. 9) — 
 
 r^ Se Tov Tr]tov arocj^LGrrov rk^vri rov avrov yjOovs kol rpoirov^ 
 Kol yap irdvTijJV epa. rwv KaAwv kol kiraivel Travra?. [xea-Ta Be 
 avTov ra acr/Aara ttJs ^fxepSiov KOfJLrjs kol twv KXeofSovXov 
 6(j)9aXfJL(ov Kol TTJs BaOvXXov &pas' dAAa kolv tovtols T7]V 
 ar(x)cf)po(TVvr]v opa. cpajxai Se tol k.t.X. {Fr. 44) Kat av^t?, 
 kqXov cTvaL T(^ epQvTL Tot SiKata (f>7]o-i, 
 
 A similar compliment to Anacreon seems to 
 glimmer through Athenaeus* account of Polycrates. 
 (xii. 540 E.) 
 
 How deep the difference really went, it is of course 
 impossible, in the absence of the poet*s complete 
 works, to show, but, as already remarked, even in the 
 few fragments we have, the distinction between the 
 strong passion with which he speaks of his boy-loves 
 and the frivolous tone of his addresses to women is 
 very noticeable. 
 
 On the deep significance of the attempt of Ibycus 
 to introduce personal erotic poetry into the choral 
 hymns, we have also dwelt,i so that we can proceed 
 without further delay to the works which bear the 
 name of Theognis, a body of poems which, in the 
 present connection, are perhaps the most interesting 
 in all early Greek literature. 
 
 The great mass of these poems are in the form of 
 short pieces addressed by the writer to his youthful 
 friend Cyrnus, and, as such, are one long commentary 
 on the subject we are discussing. Regarded from 
 
 ^ Vide supra^ P- 35* 
 
SS Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 this point of view, several features at once force 
 themselves upon the attention. Notwithstanding the 
 fact that many of them are thorough love-poems, yet 
 not only is the sensual side of the matter entirely 
 ignored, but even the erotic, as far as that is sub- 
 jective, is kept rigorously in the background. The 
 counsel Theognis gives is such as a father might 
 give to his son — i 
 
 (Tol Se TOi oTa re TratSt irarr^p VTToOrjcrofJiaL avros 
 ecrOXd. (1. 1049.) 
 
 Indeed, he is afraid lest Cyrnus' eagerness may 
 lead him into temptation, and so even urges him not 
 to be over-loving. 
 
 fjirj fi' deKovra /Sly) k€vtC)v vtt^ dfia^av eAavve, 
 
 es (f>LX6Tr]Ta Atr^v, Kvpve^ Trpoo-eXKOfievos.^ (1. 371.) 
 
 He will not thrust himself upon his friend if the 
 latter is unwilling ; he will rather himself bear the 
 pang of parting — 
 
 dpyaXecos /xot dvfJLOs e^€t ircpl crrjg (fitXoTYjTOS' 
 ovT€ yap exOaipetv ovre cf)LX€iv SvvapLatj 
 
 yiV(x)crK(DV \aXe7rov p.kv, orav (fitXos dv8pl yevryrat, 
 kyOaip€iv^ ^(aX^Trov 6' ovk iOeXovra (ptXeLV. 
 
 (1. 1091.) 
 
 Yet he is always ready to sympathise with him when 
 in trouble — 
 
 (Tvv crotj }^vpv€y TraOovTL KaKws dvnofi^Oa Trdvra. 
 
 (1. 655.) 
 
 Though Cyrnus does not heed him, he will yet make 
 him immortal by his songs.^ 
 
 ^ Cp. Theocr. xxix. 10, 
 
 d\X' et fxol TL ttWolo v^os TrpoyeveaTipcp. 
 * A striking record of temptation resisted is to be found in 1. 949 
 sf^^. , but this is almost certainly by a later hand. 
 ^ 1. 237 seg^. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 89 
 
 Much more there is, similar in tone, chiefly advice 
 as to the choice of friends and the like, but it would 
 be an endless task to examine all this in detail. The 
 reader may open the collection at random, and at 
 once find further proof of what has been said here. 
 Whatever the subject of the poems and whatever 
 their occasion, they 'are all well-nigh equally re- 
 markable for their dignity, their temperance, their 
 manliness, and for their most un-Greek virtue of 
 unselfishness, and remarkable, no less, for the 
 absence from them of that meanness and spiteful- 
 ness which even in modern times so often mark the 
 unfortunate lover. It does one good to read these 
 poems; they are keen and clear like a mouthful of 
 mountain air ; and it does one good, too, to think of 
 the Qolvai kol elXaTrLvai where they were sung and 
 where the spirit of them was understood. After all, 
 modern writers may decry and defame these amantes 
 contra naturam as much as they please, but they 
 cannot deny that they were the first to teach that 
 the mission of love was to make men better.^ 
 
 The intimate connection between the poems that 
 bear the name of Theognis and the Scolia has already 
 been noticed ; it will not therefore be surprising to 
 find that the latter are almost as full as the former of 
 references to our present subject, though, as it is in 
 their nature to be commonplace, they need not detain 
 us long. 
 
 Of the 25 Scolia preserved by Athenaeus,^ 15 deal 
 
 ^ For an examination of the Second Book of Theognis, vide 
 Excursus E. 
 
 ' Athen. xv. p. 694 seqq. This number excludes the poems of 
 Hybrias and Aristotle, which are different in character from the rest. 
 
90 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 with friendships of this kind ;i these may be roughly 
 divided into two classes : those which sing the praises 
 of famous pairs of friends, and those which contain 
 general remarks on the subject. A striking instance 
 of the first class is, of course, the well-known Scolion 
 of Callistratus (9-12), in which it may be observed 
 that in the second verse, where Harmodius is pro- 
 mised immortality among the celebrated heroes of 
 antiquity, the two of these specially mentioned are 
 Achilles, the lover of Patroclus, and Diomed, the 
 lover of Sthenelus, Other examples are Scot. 21, 
 referring to Admetus, and Seal. 17, 18 referring to 
 Ajax, the latter of whom is a hero in the Scolia 
 as early as the time of Alcaeus. In the second 
 class, perhaps the most interesting are ScoL 23, with 
 its very Theognis-like advice, and ScoL 19, of which 
 we have already spoken,^ 
 
 As is, of course, only to be expected, these poems 
 do not add much to our knowledge of the subject 
 or its treatment ; but it was none the less worth 
 while to call attention to them, owing to the fact 
 that verse or doggerel of this kind, though it may 
 not be of much importance itself, is yet able to 
 furnish important evidence as to the nature of the 
 popular feeling to which it owes its origin. The 
 views expressed in these poems are not those of 
 individual authors, they are the views of the whole 
 community ; and it is this fact which gives to the 
 
 ^ Of the remaining ten, the first four are religious, and only three 
 contain any mention of women, two of these being coarse. 
 
 ' [p- 31.] 
 
Women in Greek Poetiy, 91 
 
 Scolia a far deeper significance than would at first 
 sight appear to belong to them. 
 
 So far, the examination of such fragments of the 
 early Greek literature as have survived, has resulted 
 in the discovery of a body of evidence which, if not 
 very voluminous, is yet remarkably unanimous. It 
 remains to be seen in how far it is possible to supple- 
 ment this from the works of the Attic tragedians, 
 which have been preserved in a more perfect con- 
 dition. At the first glance the prospect is not very 
 promising ; love altogether, as we have seen, plays 
 a very subordinate part in the Attic drama, while 
 that form of love which we are immediately con- 
 sidering, seems at first sight to be especially neglected. 
 And indeed, to a certain extent, this is really the 
 case, for very obvious reasons. In the early days 
 of tragedy, when the love -element was well-nigh 
 entirely excluded, in obedience to the then artistic 
 canons, it was not to be expected that exception 
 would be made in favour of this particular form of 
 it;^ later, when the love-element was gradually 
 forcing itself into the drama, the playwrights were 
 all, whether they cared to confess it or not, under 
 the influence of Euripides, who, as we know, was 
 a special student of feminine nature, and as such, felt 
 only a qualified interest in the mutual relations of 
 
 ^ For, as we have seen, one of the first of these canons was that the 
 public expression of private emotions was an offence against art no less 
 than against decency, and this would tend to exclude from the stage all 
 forms of love equally. In the case of woman-love there were, of 
 course, special objections ; that was why the Myrmidones was the first 
 erotic play of any kind produced ; but this is beside the present issue. 
 
92 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 men.i But at the same time, a closer examination 
 of the Attic tragedians will perhaps reveal that this 
 characteristically Greek emotion has had a greater 
 influence on their work than one would, at the first 
 moment, be disposed to believe. 
 
 Two plays, the Myrmidones of Aeschylus and the 
 Niobe of Sophocles, are specially mentioned by 
 Athenaeus^ as introducing apaevLKoi e poorer ; unfor- 
 tunately, however, in neither case are the fragments 
 preserved of a kind to throw much light on the 
 method of treatment adopted. 
 
 The Myrmidones, which seems to have been the 
 first play of a trilogy, treated of the death of 
 Patroclus and Achilles* lament for him, ^ which 
 seems, to judge by such expressions as those pre- 
 served in Fr. 135,^ 138, to have been of a passionate 
 character ; but whether the erotic element was the 
 only interest in the play, and whether it was in any 
 
 ^ For the story in Aelian, Var. Hist. ii. 21, as to the relation between 
 Euripides and Agathon, does not seem to be more than a vague piece 
 of scandal. 
 
 To this must be added the fact that the earlier part of the century 
 was the time when such a subject would most readily have appealed to 
 the Athenian imagination. Later on, and especially from the fourth 
 century onwards, the changed position of women was beginning to 
 make itself felt in the way we have seen. 
 
 2 Athen. xiii. 601 A, where it is further noted that these plays 
 were received with applause. 
 
 ^ According to Schol. Ar. Ran. 911, first of all, fi^xP'- Tpi-dv rjiiepCov 
 ovdkv (pd^yyerat. 
 
 * The reader must be careful here to give the proper sense to cr^/3as 
 a.yvbv^ translating *' ne sancta quidem reverentia qua casta atque in- 
 temerata tua femora servavi, te movit, ingrate, etc." Fr. 136, 
 whether genuine or not — it reads very like a misquotation of its 
 predecessor — must obviously mean the same, in spite of Theomnestus 
 and Lucian. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 93 
 
 way developed in the latter part of the trilogy, it is 
 impossible now to say. The Niobe recounted the 
 misfortunes of that heroine, with her subsequent 
 grief and exile from Thebes, the scene of the 
 tragedy, to Lydia. But a striking feature, the most 
 striking, perhaps, if we may draw any inference 
 from the statement in Athenaeus^ that this play 
 was commonly known as r] TpaywSia rj TraiSepdcrTpLa, 
 was the relation represented as existing among 
 Niobe's sons.^ This would appear to have been 
 especially emphasised in the account of the death- 
 scene^ — a passage which we can gather indirectly 
 to have been the most popular in the play ; ^ whether 
 It was at all prominent in the previous action we 
 cannot tell ; and, indeed, the fragments of the Niobe 
 are of a quite particularly meagre description. 
 
 To these two plays mentioned by Athenaeus 
 must be added a third, the Chrysippus of Euripides, 
 a work which is peculiarly interesting for two 
 reasons — its author and its subject. The Myrmidones 
 and the Niobe, of which we have just spoken, seem, 
 as far as can be judged by the little of them that 
 remains, to have, dealt with what may be called 
 
 ^ Athen. xiii. 601 B. 
 
 2 Startling as it appears at first sight, this is probably the simplest 
 way of understanding Athenaeus' rov tCov iraidcov {sc. ^/ocora). Those 
 who have properly appreciated what buch ^'pws meant to the early 
 Greeks, will not be surprised to find the term applied to the affection 
 of an elder for a younger brother. 
 
 ^ Plut. Amor, ly, p. 760 D, tQv jxkv yap rod So^o/cXeofs l^Lo^idiov 
 ^aXKofx^vwv Kai dv7}(jK6vTiav avaKoKeLTai tis ovdiva ^oridbv 6XKov ovbk 
 (jvjxfxaxov ^ TQV ipacTTifiv. 
 
 * Cp. Aristoph. VesJ}. 579. 
 
94 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 simple straightforward love-stories. Men are intro- 
 duced as in love with other men, and this love is 
 brought to a climax by the most usual of expedients 
 — the death of the loved object. Euripides, on the 
 other hand, was, as we have seen, above all things 
 a student of the emotions in their more complex 
 phases, and a denouement of so ordinary a kind could 
 not have failed to appear commonplace to a writer 
 who took such an interest in the pathology of the 
 senses, even when he for once abandoned his favourite 
 field of the feminine passions, and undertook the ex- 
 amination of a form of love, the symptoms of which 
 are notoriously more easily capable of diagnosis. 
 And, as a matter of fact, the Chrysippns introduces us 
 to a novel and most interesting side of the question. 
 The story on which the play is founded is, to quote 
 the words of the Argument to the Phoenissaey as 
 follows : 
 
 ovTos (6 Acti-bs) dcj^iKOfievos ttotc els ^HAtv /cat rov rov 
 IleAoTros Vibv Xpva-tTnrov t8wv, 6s ^v i^ aXXrj<s a^rw yvvacKos 
 Kttt ovK €K TTJs OvjaTpos Olvofidov ^iTTTToSajtxctas, KOL dXovs 
 TOVTOV KaraKpas T(^ IpwTt, dpTrdcras els Orj/Sas rjvejK^v. kol 
 (Tvvrjv avTcp rd ipiOTiKa TrpMTOs ev dvOpioirois rrjv dpp€vocf>OopLav 
 €vp(ov, Ka6it)S Srj /cat 6 Zevs ev Oeols tov Tavvixrj8r]v dpirda-as. 
 6 8e IleAo^ fiaOibv tovto Karr^pda-aro Aato) jJLrjSeirore /xev 
 TratSa rcKeti/, et 8' apa Kat (rvpL/Satrj^ vtt* avTOV tovtov 
 dvaipcO-qo-eo-OaL. 
 
 Or, according to a slightly different version found in 
 "Peisander": 
 
 IcTTopel HeLcravSpoSf on Kara ^oAov rrjs "Hpas e7r€jJL(j)6rj r^ 
 ^(j)ly^ TOLS OrjfSatois diro rwv ecr^arcov fiepajv rrjs At^tOTrtag, 
 OTt TOV Adiov d<T€J3rjo-avTa ets rov Trapdvofiov eyowra tov 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. 95 
 
 X^pvcriTTTrov, ov 7]p7ra(T€V diro rrjs Utcrrjs, ovk €TLfJL0)p'q(ravTO 
 .... TTjOcoTos 8e 6 Adios Tov ddeixia-rov epuyra tovtov eo"^€v. 
 6 Se XpvcmnTOs viro alcrxvvri^ eavrov 8L€)(^prj(TaT0 to) ^t</)et. 
 (Schol. ad Eur. Fhoen, 1760.) 
 
 The moral of both these stories is obvious. The 
 behaviour of Laius towards Chrysippus was a crime 
 deserving the most exemplary punishment. 
 
 Now this fact at once affords us a clue as to the 
 real nature of Laius' conduct. It seems impossible 
 that the statement that Laius tt/ocoto? tov aOejuLa-Tov 
 epwra tovtov ecrx^v can be taken to mean that he 
 was the founder of love as between man and man 
 in the same way as this is related of, for instance, 
 Orpheus. It seems impossible to believe that any 
 legend should have described the originator of that 
 form of love with which, as we know, the highest 
 thoughts and ideals of the early Greeks were so 
 intimately associated, as a criminal worthy of divine 
 punishment. Euripides himself might not have 
 shrunk from such a course, but it does not seem 
 conceivable that he should have found any existing 
 legend on which to begin to work ;^ and it seems, 
 therefore, unquestionable that the meaning of the 
 story cannot have been this. As a matter of fact, 
 a careful examination of such evidence as we have, 
 
 ^ The marked differences in the versions of the legend, and the fact 
 that it appeared in the Theogamia of the pseudo-Peisander — a writer 
 who seems to have drawn his materials in most cases from early sources 
 — seem to show that it must have been of a certain antiquity, and any- 
 how was not a pure invention on the part of Euripides. The evidence 
 of Aelian (M H. vi. 15), though of little value, is to the same effect : 
 Adibs ^k iirl 'Kpyalinrii}, cD koK^ 'EtvpLiridTj, tovto ovk '^dpaaeVy kolItol 
 TOV tCov apphwv ^pcjTos, (hs X^ycLS avrds, /cat i) (prjjULTj diddaKeLj ^'EWifjvcojf 
 TTpdoTiaros dp^as. 
 
96 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 affords every reason for believing that its meaning 
 was a very different one. 
 
 The true meaning of the legend is this. Laius 
 was the first to violate the universal law that the 
 love between man and man must be pure ; and it 
 was this transgression that involved himself, his 
 family, and his country in such universal ruin. 
 
 That this meaning is in itself a more likely one 
 than the other, will probably not be disputed by 
 anyone who has formed a true conception of early 
 Greek feeling on the subject ; more than this one 
 cannot expect. But while actual proof on the point 
 is impossible, it may not be inapposite to draw 
 attention to the way in which the sensuality and 
 unreasoning animalism of Laius are emphasised at 
 every turn, with the view doubtless, in the first case, 
 of preventing any conceivable misunderstanding of 
 the true purport of the tradition. 
 
 In the play itself, the nature of his passion is 
 shown only too clearly by the famous distich s {Fr, 
 840, 841): 
 
 \k\if]d^v o-uSev Tiiiv'^k /x' wv cru vov^eret?, 
 yv(i)[Jir]v S' 6;)(0VTa fx^ r^ (f>v(rLS /Sid^erai. 
 
 alat, ToS' ^8r] Beivov dvOpcjirots KaKov, 
 orav TLS €lSrj rdyaOov, ■)(prJTai Se firj. 
 
 Cicero says as much {Tusc. iv. 33, 71): Quis . . . 
 non intellegit quid apud Euripidem et loquatur et 
 cupiat Laius.? Aelian, too {N, H. vi. 15), draws an 
 unconscious comparison between this play and the 
 pure old -Greek Niobe of Sophocles when, after 
 describing how the dolphin that loved a boy 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 97 
 
 €7n^iMi/ai T019 irmSiKolq ovk eroXjULrjoreVj he adds, 
 Aai'og Se eirt ^pvcriTr'TrM, (h KoXe ^vpiTrlSrjy tovto ovk 
 eSpacev, 
 
 The sensuality of the passion is clearly shown, 
 too, by various features of the legend as recorded 
 by various writers, above all by the fact that Hera 
 is the goddess outraged, and by the peculiar nature 
 of the curse of Pelops. The actual words, more- 
 over, of the Scholiast of the Phoenissae (rov Adl'oi/ 
 aare^Yja-avTa eg tov TrapavojuLov epcora tov ILpva-LTrirov) 
 and of the argument of that play {kol (rvvrjv avriio 
 Ta epooTiKa Trpoorog ev avOpwiroig Trjv appevocpOopcav 
 €vpcov)y seem all to point the same way.^ 
 
 In fact, the sensuality of Laius is made such a 
 feature of the story in every case in which it is 
 narrated, that it cannot well be doubted that this 
 sensuality was a feature of the story in its earliest 
 form ; and if this be granted, there can be very little 
 question as to the meaning of the story itself, as 
 originally current. 
 
 We thus have three plays, one by each of the 
 great dramatists, dealing with this subject, two of 
 them dwelling upon the intense and unselfish nature 
 of the passion in its true form, the third emphasising 
 the disastrous consequences of any transgression of 
 that purity which was so integral a part of it ; but 
 are these three the only ones of their kind ? They 
 
 ^ The remark of the Scholiast that the behaviour of Laius to 
 Chrysippus was parallel to that of Zeus to Ganymede, like the similar 
 remark in Cicero {/oc. cit.)^ belongs of course to an age when the 
 primitive meanings of the legends had long been forgotten. The 
 allusion to the legend in Aristoph. Felargi, Fr, i is too general to give 
 evidence either way. See Meineke, Com, Fr, ii. p. 1126 seq, 
 
 II 
 
98 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 are the only three, perhaps, that dealt with the 
 purely erotic side of the matter ; but its general 
 influence evidently extended over a far wider field. 
 This influence makes itself felt in various ways and 
 in varying degrees, and it would be a lengthy task, 
 and one beside the present purpose, to endeavour 
 to trace its workings wherever they are visible in 
 Attic tragedy ; but a few noticeable instances of it 
 are well worthy of attention. 
 
 One of these is the Ajax of Sophocles. It is a 
 common complaint against this play that the second 
 half of it is inferior in interest to the first. The 
 admirers of Sophocles, however, contend that, to an 
 Athenian audience, the details of funeral arrange- 
 ments were matters of such paramount importance 
 that, in a play intended for the Athenian stage, a 
 second act dealing entirely with this subject would 
 not by any means be of the nature of an anti- 
 climax. I am no great admirer of Sophocles, and 
 still less am I an admirer of the mob that pelted 
 Aeschylus and hooted Euripides, but yet I should 
 be disposed to give the Athenians credit for rather 
 higher tastes than this would seem to imply; while, 
 even had the predilections of his audience been so 
 strongly those of the undertaker, it might surely 
 have been hoped that a poet of Sophocles' genius 
 would have had the courage to ignore them. Indeed, 
 as long as the interest of the second half of the 
 Ajax is considered as centred on the dead body of 
 the hero, it is impossible successfully to refute the 
 charge of bathos; but a more careful consideration 
 of this part of the play will, perhaps, show that the 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 99 
 
 interest is by no means intended to be attached in 
 this Mezentius-Hke manner to a corpse. The interest 
 is meant to centre on Teucer, the mnasius of the 
 dead Ajax, ^ and on his efforts to prove himself 
 worthy of his heroic lover ; for his lover's sake, in 
 spite of every obstacle, and in the face of what looks 
 like certain death, he insists that due respect shall 
 be paid to the dead ; in fact, there are in this 
 situation the germs of the situation which excites 
 such general interest in the Antigone.'^ There the 
 character whose weakness is made strength through 
 love, is a woman, and so we moderns admire ; here 
 it is a man, and so we misunderstand ; but it does 
 not follow that the Greeks were equally narrow in 
 their sympathies. 
 
 Another instance, less obvious at first sight, but 
 equally convincing on nearer examination, is the 
 Alcestis. The Alcestis is a very difficult play to 
 understand, as far as the motives of its leading 
 figures are concerned ; nor is it enough to say that, 
 because the play has been described as "something 
 of a satyric drama," therefore all its characters are 
 meant to be grotesque. The self-concentration of 
 Admetus and the complete acquiescence therein of 
 Alcestis, must surely be capable of some more 
 
 ^ That this is the relation between Ajax and Teucer in Homer 
 already, is pretty clear. Vide e,g, II. ix. 266 seqq. ; cp. Schol, Tkeocr, 
 xii. 29. This, no doubt, accounts for the frequent mention of Ajax 
 in the Scolia (cp. p. 90). 
 
 ^ Supposing Tecmessa appeared as champion for the dead Ajax, 
 everyone would acknowledge this, and no one would find the situation 
 dull : only people will not understand that Teucer meant as much, and 
 more, to the Greeks, than Tecmessa would to us. 
 
lOO Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 satisfactory explanation. ^ This explanation is, 
 perhaps, to be found in the relation existing between 
 Admetus and Apollo. The story of the love of 
 Apollo for Admetus is sufficiently familiar, ^ and 
 has been alluded to on various occasions in the 
 preceding pages. Both at Athens and Sparta the 
 legend seems to have been well known,^ and there 
 can be no doubt that an audience, when called upon 
 to listen to a play dealing with Admetus, would 
 instinctively call to mind this incident in his life> 
 Granted this, it is not, perhaps, too bold to say that 
 it is equally unquestionable that this recollection 
 on their part must have influenced their view of the 
 hero's character. He was unwilling to die ; for any 
 Greek to be unwilling to die was excusable in a way 
 which we who live in English fogs can never under- 
 stand; but for Admetus, the beloved of the Sun-god ! 
 If he, who for nine years had met Apollo face to 
 face, shrank from the mould and the mud of Hades, 
 what reason to wonder at it } To a Greek, to live 
 was to see the sun ; surely then, to one whom the 
 Sun-god loved, life must be doubly precious, precious 
 to a degree that less happy mortals could never 
 
 ^ The position of Alcestis has already been partly discussed on 
 
 p. 57. 
 
 ^ Vide Call. Hymn, in Apoll. 49; Panyasis, Fr, 15 (DUbner) ; 
 Schol. ad Eur. Ale. 2 ; Lact. i. 10, 3. 
 
 3 Cp. supra, pp. 24, 31. 
 
 * When the Scholiast [ad Eur. Ale. i) says that the version of the 
 story of Apollo's servitude given in the Prologue is the usual one (17 5td 
 (TTbimTos Koi drjfjubdTjs), he need mean no more by this than the fact 
 that this was the case at the time of v^^riting, when the influence of 
 Euripides had naturally superseded all others. The Scholiast cannot 
 be taken as throwing light on the state of feeling in Athens at the 
 time when the Aleestis was produced. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. loi 
 
 comprehend.^ Then, again, if one thought of who 
 Admetus was. Surely the man whom the Sun-god 
 loved was a man whom the world could not spare, 
 a man for whom it was a privilege to be considered 
 worthy to die. Patriotism, too, no less than personal 
 affection, would seem to compel a sacrifice on behalf 
 of the man in whose kingdom a god took such a 
 special interest ; ^ nor, again, was the gift of a divine 
 lover a thing that it was safe lightly to put aside. 
 All this, and much more of a kindred nature, must 
 have been present in the minds of those who first 
 saw this strange play, and must have served in 
 part to mitigate its strangeness. It could not, per- 
 haps, explain the central mystery ; but then, the 
 mystery of self-sacrifice has never been explained 
 yet. 
 
 Another striking instance is the persistent way in 
 which Orestes and Pylades figure in the Athenian 
 drama. They play a prominent part in no fewer than 
 five tragedies, in one of which, the Iphigeneia in* 
 Tauris, the scene between them became proverbial ; ^ 
 and thus we get repeated again and again the, to 
 modern minds, almost grotesque situation of the in- 
 tense affection between Orestes and Pylades, and the 
 intense affection between Orestes and Electra,^ and 
 
 ^ I am not concerned here to write an apology for Admetus, or I 
 might add much that would militate against the ordinary, somewhat 
 flippant, view taken of his character. One point, however : many 
 readers do not seem to notice that the original question of dying or 
 not is never in the play left to Admetus at all, but is settled by Apollo 
 on his own responsibility. Cp. Eur. Air. n seqq., 32 seqq. 
 
 2 Cp. Eur. Ale. 10, etc. 
 
 ^ Cp. the lengthy comments on the play in Lucian, Amores 47, vol. 
 ii. p. 450. * On this point cp. above, p. 48. 
 
102 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 the supreme indifference between Pylades and 
 
 Electra, the two lovers who are going to marry one 
 
 another as soon as the curtain comes down. And 
 
 yet, those who have read what has gone before will 
 
 know that not only did this situation seem natural 
 
 to the Athenian audience, but any other situation 
 
 under the circumstances would have seemed to them 
 
 monstrous or absurd. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to follow this subject further, 
 
 for enough has been said already to make its main 
 
 features perfectly clear. Still less is it necessary, for 
 
 our present purpose, to study the history of this 
 
 emotion during the succeeding centuries. As we 
 
 have already pointed out, from the end of the fifth 
 
 century onwards it begins to lose its hold on the 
 
 popular imagination, and ceases to be a national 
 
 institution ; and when next we find traces of it in 
 
 literature, we see at once that its nature has entirely 
 
 altered. Paederastic poetry there is enough and to 
 
 spare among the Alexandrians, but it is poetry which 
 
 looks strange indeed by the side of Theognis.^ What 
 
 were the causes that led to this change, a change as 
 
 great as that which about this time came over the 
 
 relation between man and woman — how far it was 
 
 due to Persian influence, how far to the employment 
 
 of professional soldiers instead of the citizen-armies 
 
 of an earlier period — all these are questions of the 
 
 greatest interest in themselves, but they cannot be 
 
 discussed here. The fact remains that that purity 
 
 ^ An exception to this general rule is, perhaps, Theocritus ; whether, 
 or how far, this was due to the influence of Aratus is an interesting 
 question, but one for the discussion of which the evidence has yet to 
 be collected. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 103 
 
 and self-devotion which had been the rule in one 
 generation became the exception in the next, and 
 that the downward course was never again fully- 
 arrested throughout classical times. 
 
 And yet, even the most sensual of the later poets, 
 somehow, sometimes, when speaking of this, rise to 
 strange heights of beauty. Listen to Rhianus : 
 
 t^(^ Ae^tovtKOS VT70 )(^ko)prj TrXaravtcTTO) 
 K6(Tcrv(f>ov dypevcraSy efAe Kara TrrepvyfDV 
 
 \U) jxkv ava(TTeva)(Oiv direKCOKvev Upos opvis. 
 dXX lyw, (5 (^lX "Ep(09, Kol OaXepal ^aptres, 
 
 clrjv /cat kl^Xt] kol Kocro-vcfios^ ws dv €K€lvov 
 €v X^P^ '^^^ (f>6oyyrjv kol yXvKv SaKpv jSaXu). 
 
 {Anth. Pal, xii. 142.) 
 
 Listen to Meleager, the last of the Greek poets : 
 
 OVK eOeXd) XaptSa/xov 6 yap KaXos els Aia Aevcro-€t, 
 
 ws y]S'q veKTap t(^ dei^ olvo\oiov, 
 OVK iOeXo)' TL Se /xot rov lirovpavLajv /SaonXyja 
 
 dvraOXov vlkt^s t^s ev epoyTL Aa^etv ; 
 alpovfiaL S,* 7jv fJiovvov 6 irals dvmv Is "OXvixirov 
 
 €K yyjs vtTTTpa ttoSmv SaKpva ra/xot Xd/Syj, 
 [ivafxo(rvvov (rropyrjs' yXvKv S' o/x/xao-t vevjuta Stvypov 
 
 dotrjj Kai TL (j)LXr]fx dpTrdcrat dKpoOtyes. 
 rdXXa Se irdvT eyeTia Zev?, ws Oepas. el 8' eOeXrjo-eiy 
 
 •^ ra^a ttov Kdycb yevcropLai dpL/Spoorias. 
 
 {Anth. Pal, xii. ^'^:) 
 
 SaKpva (TOL Ka\ vepOe Sia xQovo^s^ TSXioSdcipa^ 
 Soopov/jLai, 
 
 The foregoing discussion has covered a quantity 
 of ground and dealt with a large variety of topics, 
 some of which may have appeared but remotely 
 connected with our immediate subject ; but in the 
 
I04 Women m Greek Poetry, 
 
 end it has succeeded in establishing certain facts 
 very clearly. We have learnt from an examination 
 of such parts of the early Greek literature as have 
 survived, and from a consideration of the probable 
 nature of the rest, that 
 
 (i) Love in the modern sense, as existing between 
 men and women, was unknown in early Greece. 
 
 (2) Such love on the part of men for men was 
 not only a fact, but was generally recognised as a 
 social, and in some cases a national, institution. 
 
 From this it would seem inevitably to follow, that 
 the change which we find at a later period to have 
 come over the way of regarding women, was due 
 to a transference to the sexual instinct, and an 
 amalgamation with it, of that form of emotion which 
 had previously been confined to the mutual relations 
 of men. In other words, men first began to look 
 upon women as fit objects of pure and chivalrous 
 devotion, when they began (to quote the expression 
 of Alcman)^ to look upon them as "female boy- 
 friends." 
 
 Now, my reason for calling attention to this point 
 is the following : If one regards the origin of what, 
 for briefness' sake, we have called the romantic 
 feeling, as entirely a new growth of the fourth 
 century, unconnected with anything that had gone 
 before, it is obvious that such a growth, if indeed 
 possible at all, can only have been made possible 
 by a simultaneous movement on the part of a large 
 number of persons ; for it is inconceivable that any 
 one man, however great his influence, could invent 
 1 Fr. 125. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 105 
 
 and popularise an entirely new emotion. But if, 
 on the other hand, we regard the romantic feeling 
 as simply due to the readjustment of an already 
 existing emotion, it is no longer absurd to suppose 
 that the original suggestion of this readjustment 
 may have been due to some single individual. In- 
 deed, the probabilities rather point in that direction, 
 for it is a commonplace that revolutions of thought 
 are generally due to the discovery, on the part of 
 some individual, of the apparently obvious formula 
 for which the rest of mankind have long been 
 seeking in vain. This being so, it will be justifiable 
 to apply the general principle to the case before 
 us, and it will no longer seem a fruitless task to 
 look about among the literary names of the close 
 of the fifth century and the beginning of the 
 fourth, for the man who gave the first impulse to 
 that remarkable movement with which we are at 
 present concerned. 
 
 The great obstacle which here confronts us at the 
 outset, and, indeed, makes this whole investigation 
 one of exceptional difficulty, is the fact that, of all 
 the periods of Greek poetry, that which covers the 
 first part of the fourth century — in other words, that 
 which forms the transition from the classical to the 
 so-called Alexandrian era — is just that of which the 
 fewest monuments of importance have been pre- 
 served. From the death of Aristophanes to the 
 time when Asclepiades began to write is pretty 
 well 70 years, ^ but all the poetry which has come 
 
 ^ And the interval is in reality even longer, for but little of the later 
 work of Aristophanes has survived. 
 
io6 Women in Gr^eek Poetry, 
 
 down to us from this whole period consists of a 
 few fragments of comedy,^ most of which it is 
 impossible even approximately to date, and a few 
 epigrams, the history of which is often more obscure 
 still. There is thus a great gap in our knowledge, 
 and it is just during this interval of darkness that 
 the romantic feeling must first have found expres- 
 sion, for while in Euripides, confessedly the most 
 "modern" of the classical poets, no real trace of 
 it is to be found, ^ in Asclepiades and his immediate 
 contemporaries and followers we find it already so 
 thoroughly established as a noteworthy factor in 
 their work, that it is impossible to doubt that its 
 origin must belong to a considerably earlier period. 
 This being so, it is impossible to speak with any 
 
 ^ For an examination of the fragments of the Middle Comedy, vide 
 Excursus F. 
 
 2 It may not be out of place to emphasise here once more the 
 difference that exists between regarding women as an object of interest 
 or importance, and regarding them as an object of love ; for the two 
 have been confused by many, not only in estimating the influence 
 of Euripides (cp, supra, pp. 40, 50), but also in considering the events 
 of the earlier part of the fourth century. Thus many have pointed to 
 the agitation in favour of "women's rights" satirised in the Eccle- 
 siazusae, or to the great social importance of the Hetaerae (as illus- 
 trated in the Middle Comedy, &c.), or to the generally ameliorated 
 condition of women of every class, as proofs of the existence at this 
 period already of the romantic feeling. But to those who care to 
 consider the matter clearly, it must be apparent that all these things 
 are really beside the question. The improved state of women and 
 their increasing power may have helped, and doubtless did help, to 
 spread the romantic feeling when once it had originated; but they 
 were in the first instance entirely independent of it. One does not 
 ipso facto feel a romantic attachment for people because one is 
 compelled to recognise them socially, while in these days of extended 
 franchises it is surely not necessary to repeat that political recognition 
 is not the same as love. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry. ' 107 
 
 certainty. It seems, however, most probable that 
 the initiation of the movement was due to Anti- 
 machus of Colophon. 
 
 Antimachus was a distinguished man in various 
 ways. The author of an important critical edition 
 of the text of the Homeric poems, he was himself 
 an epic poet second only in the general estimation 
 to Homer, and his Thebaid was still read and ad- 
 mired more than 500 years after his death.' But 
 the work on which his present claim rests is his 
 elegiac poem, Lyde, It may not be amiss briefly 
 to recall the circumstances and nature of this poem.^ 
 
 Antimachus, falling in love with some Lydian 
 lady, married her, and went to live with her in her 
 native country. Afterwards, on her death, he re- 
 turned to Colophon, where he composed, in her 
 memory, the elegy Lyde, a poem containing, in 
 the form of digressions, accounts of most of the 
 unhappy lovers of tradition or mythology.^ 
 
 ^ Cp. Quint. X. I, 53 ; Anth. Pal. vii. 409, &c. ; vide Diibner, 
 Asii ^c. Frag. p. 28 seqq. (at the end of Didot's Hesiod), 
 
 If the epigram attributed to Antimachus in Anth. Pal. ix. 321, 
 be really his, he must further be regarded as one of the originators 
 of the Dedicatory Epigram. Cp. Reitzenstein, Epig. u. Skol. p. 131. 
 2 For a full account of it, vide Bach, Philetas, &=c., Epimetrum iii. 
 (p. 240); Diibner, op. cit. p. 40. 
 
 ^ Ai^St^s 5' 'AvrifjLaxos Avcrrjtdos iK [xkv ^pwros 
 
 irXrjyeis Ha /crwXou peO^t' iir^^r] iroTafxov. 
 ^apdLav7)v dk Oavovaav virb ^rjprjv diro ya'iav^ 
 
 TfJL(I}\Lov at^aov 5' ^\dev airoirpoKiirCov 
 dKpTjv is KoXo^iova, ybiov 5' ii/€Tr\r)(TaTo ^i^Xovs 
 ipdSf 4k iravrbs 7ravcrd/ji,€vos Ka/JLarov. 
 
 (Hermesianax, iii. 41.) 
 ^Avrifiaxos 6 ttoltjttjs, aTroOavo^cTTjs rijs yvvaiKbs avrov A^dyjSf Trpbs 
 ^v (piXoardpycjs elxe, irapafJL^diov rrjs Xijirrjs avT<} iwoirjcre ttjv iXiyeiav 
 
I08 Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 Now, in this there are two features which it is 
 impossible to parallel in any previous Greek poem. 
 The Lyde of Antimachus was a love-poem ad- 
 dressed to his wife, and written after her death. 
 In these two facts we recognise, on the part of 
 the writer, a view both of married life and of 
 women in general, which is entirely new. Mim- 
 nermus had said that life without love was not 
 worth living, but his was hardly the love to last 
 after his lady's death. Simonides had sung the 
 charms of the ideal housekeeper, but one would not 
 expect to find emotional poetry addressed even to 
 the most perfect housekeeper, as such. Euripides 
 had expatiated on the powers and the capabilities 
 of women ; but there is a difference between re- 
 garding a woman as a particularly cunning and 
 dangerous sort of beast, and regarding her as a 
 fit object for a life's devotion. In Antimachus, for 
 the first time, we meet with the new spirit which 
 animates the new literature and forms the founda- 
 tion of the Greek romantic conception ; for it is 
 respect for women and, above all, for marriage, that 
 constitutes the fundamental principle of the romantic 
 
 rV K6Xfiv\xkvn]v K{)h'i]v^ i^apiO/jLTjadfievQ^ r^s ^pfejl'/c^s crv/x<popti,s, rots 
 dWorpiois KaKots iXdrrw t^v eavrov ttolcop Xi^ttt/k. 
 
 (Plut. Cons, ad Apoll. p. io6 B.) 
 The very important detail that he married her is confirmed by the 
 passage in Athen. xiii. 597A, where the Lyde of Antimachus is ex- 
 pressly contrasted with Tt\v ojuubwjjLQj^ raijTTjs eraTpa^ Mtriv, 
 Cp. too Ovid, Trist. i. 6, i : 
 
 nee tantum Clario Lyde dilecta poetae, 
 nee tantum Coo Battis amata suo est, 
 pectoribus quantum tu nostris, uxor, inhaeres. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, 109 
 
 feeling throughout the later Greek poetry.^ It was 
 this spirit which rendered possible the artistic treat- 
 ment of the story of Acontius and Cydippe, and the 
 growth of' the novel, with its one inviolable canon 
 that, whatever trials or temptations might befall 
 them, the two lovers must throughout remain pure 
 and faithful to one another. ^ It was this that 
 rendered possible the New Comedy, with its endless 
 variations on the ever-fresh theme of the unhappy 
 lover, made happy at the last by marriage with his 
 lady.^ It was this that rendered possible the Battis 
 
 ^ This respect for marriage (if one extends the idea of marriage 
 sufficiently to cover every form of union which is faithfully observed — 
 whether actually legalised by some particular ceremony or not, is, 
 in this connection, not very material) will, I think, be found underlying 
 the whole Greek conception of romance. This is, of course, diametri- 
 cally opposed to the view of the mediseval barbarians, who held that 
 the one woman in the world one could not love was one's wife. 
 "Whether Lyde or Isolde be the higher ideal is, perhaps, a matter 
 of taste ; magno se iudice quaeque tueiur. That I personally prefer 
 the Greek to the barbarian is perhaps due to prejudice, but it is 
 prejudice for which I am very grateful. 
 
 A further illustration may be found in the Latin elegiac poets. Pro- 
 pertius, the "Roman Callimachus," who is always calling attention to 
 the Greek sources of his inspiration, addresses all his love-poems to 
 the Hetaera Cynthia, to whom he remained faithful to the end. Ovid 
 only invokes the Greeks (Antimachus in Trist. i. 6, i ; Philetas in 
 Trist. i. 6, 2, Font. iii. I, 58) when addressing his wife. Tibullus and 
 Catullus, the poets of adultery, never acknowledge in their love- 
 poems their Greek predecessors, and Catullus even goes out of his 
 way to abuse one of them. 
 
 2 The Cleitophon and Leiicippe of Achilles Tatius is, of course, an 
 exception (the only extant one) to this rule, but then this late and 
 curious work differs in other respects also from the typical Greek 
 novel. 
 
 * It is most interesting to note how that, while in the earlier comedy 
 marriage is the one great subject of ridicule, in the new comedy 
 marriage is the hero's one great ambition. 
 
no Women in Greek Poetry. 
 
 of Philetas and the Leontium of Hermesianax, just 
 as it rendered possible the Delia and the Lycoris 
 of a later time. Under the old regime none of these 
 things could have been. When Antimachus first sat 
 down in his empty house at Colophon to write an 
 elegy to his dead wife, consciously or unconsciously, 
 he was initiating the greatest artistic revolution that 
 the world has ever seen. 
 
 The circumstances under which the Lyde was 
 produced were thus in themselves sufficiently unusual 
 to have made a deep impression, and there is reason 
 to believe further that the way in which Antimachus 
 there treated his subject was also strikingly original. 
 Not only was the actual literary form a novel one, 
 and one that subsequently became very popular, but 
 the general tone evidently differed \w a marked 
 manner from that of any love-poetry which had gone 
 before. It was, above all things, noticeable for its 
 seriousness, its gravity, and its self-restraint, character- 
 istics entirely foreign to any previous love -poetry 
 addressed to women. Thus Poseidippus expressly 
 contrasts the temperate Antimachus with the licen- 
 tious Mimnermus.i Something similar seems equally 
 implied by the epithet are/jLvoTeprj in the epigram of 
 Asclepiades {Anth. Pal. ix. 6^^, 2). Indirect evidence 
 of the same nature is to be found in the remark of 
 Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who refers to Antimachus 
 
 ^ l^avvov% KoX A^dijs iirix^L^ 5vo Kal (pLXepdarov 
 Mifivipfjiov /cat ToO (Tib^povos 'AvTt.jj.dxov. 
 
 Anth. Pal. xii. 168. 
 For (ptXepdo-Tov Cod. Vat. gives (pepeKdcTov, which might also, perhaps, 
 be retained in this sense. 
 
Women in Greek Poetry, ill 
 
 as an instance Tr\<^ avarTrjpa^ apjULovla^."^ Lastly, it is 
 not, perhaps, too far-fetched to suppose that in 
 Catullus xcv. the contrast between the Smyrna and 
 the Lyde is not intended to be confined merely to 
 the literary form, but is meant to further imply the 
 poet's preference for the story of Myrrha over the less 
 highly spiced anecdotes in Antimachus. Very inter- 
 esting too, from this point of view, are the relations 
 of mutual admiration which are known to have 
 existed between Antimachus and his younger con- 
 temporary Plato, an admiration illustrated by several 
 striking anecdotes.^ That the philosopher's views on 
 
 ^ De Compos, Verb. p. 300. He is here, of course, speaking primarily 
 of the literary style ; but literary style is in most cases more or less a 
 reflection of literary treatment. 
 
 The severe style of Antimachus' Thebaid is well known. (Vide 
 Quint. X. I, 53 ; Anth, Pal. vii. 409, 4.) 
 
 ^ 'AvTLfjidxov rod KoXocfxavLov KallifLKyjpdrov TLvbs^HpaKXedjroviroLi^fiaaL 
 Avcrdvdpia dtayajVLO-afM^viav iir avTip {s<:. Kvadydpcp) rbv 'NiK'/jparov iare- 
 (pdvooaev ' 6 5^ Avri/Jiaxos dx^^o-Oels rjipdviae rb Troirjfjia. HXdrwp 5e vios 
 (bv t6t€ Kai davfjid^wv rbv 'Avriixaxov iirl ry TroLrjTLKrj, ^ap^ws (p^povra t7)v 
 ^TTav dveXd/JL^avev Kai TrapefivdeiTOy tols dyvoovcn KaKbv elvat (pdfxevos 
 TTjv dyvotav, ws ttjv rvcpXdTrjra rots /xi] ^\4irovaiv. — Plut. Lysand. 18. 
 
 Nee enim posset idem Demosthenes dicere, quod dixisse Antimachum, 
 Clarium poetam, ferunt ; qui cum, convocatis auditoribus, legeret eis 
 magnum illud quod novistis volumen suum, et eum legentem omnes 
 praeter Platonem reliquissent, Legam, inquit, nihilominus ; Plato enim 
 mihi unus instar est omnium milium. — Cic. Brutus, 51, 191. 
 'IlpaKKeLdrjs yovv 6 JIovtlk6s (prjcnv 6tl tCjv 'KoipLXov rbre evdoKLjuLo^vrup 
 liXdTOJV rd 'AvTLfJidxov irpovTc/uLTjaev, /cat avrbv ^weicre rbv 'HpaKXeLdrjv is 
 KoXo(f)C}va iXdbvra rd Troirj/naTa avXX^^aL rod dvdpbs. 
 
 Proclus, Comni. in Plat. Tim. i. p. 28. 
 
 Whether these anecdotes are actually true or not does not much 
 matter. That the friendship between Antimachus and Plato was a well- 
 known fact would be sufficiently proved by their invention ; but there is 
 nothing really contradictory or improbable in them, as some have 
 asserted. In the story from Plutarch there is no need to suppose that 
 
1 1 2 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 love were directly influenced by the poet cannot, of 
 course, be absolutely proved. At the same time, the 
 well- authenticated story of this intimacy, coupled 
 with all that we know of the Lyde, is very suggestive 
 of this, and might well furnish the subject for more 
 elaborate research on the part of some Platonist. In 
 spite therefore of the very scanty references to the 
 Lyde^ and the still scantier remains of the poem itself, 
 it seems to be clear beyond doubt that, both in its 
 circumstances of origin and its style, it was entirely 
 different from any love-poem which had preceded it ; 
 and, further, that both circumstances and style may 
 justly be described as romantic. In other words, the 
 Lyde was a romantic love-poem. 
 
 But this is not in itself enough to show that the 
 origin of the romantic feeling which appears in 
 Alexandrian literature was due to its inf^^ence. It 
 is further necessary to prove that those writers in 
 
 Plato was actually present at Samos ; he may very well have met 
 Antimachus afterwards elsewhere. The evidence of Proclus again 
 merely says that Plato, in opposition to the prevailing opinion of 
 his time, preferred Antimachus to Choerilus, and that he sent Hera- 
 cleides to Colophon to make a collection of the works of the former, 
 evidently after his death. It is consequently quite possible to reconcile 
 all three narratives. Antimachus was defeated by Niceratus at the 
 Lysandria, an event which, owing to his celebrity at the time (404 B.C.), 
 naturally excited remark. Subsequently he met Plato, who, when the 
 conversation turned on his defeat, complimented him in the way de- 
 scribed — a compliment which Antimachus returned on another occasion 
 (that alluded to by Cicero). Lastly, after Antimachus' death, Plato 
 caused a collection of his works to be made. Where Plato met 
 Antimachus is not quite clear, but the ascription to the former of the 
 epigram in Athen. xiii. 589 C {Anth. Pal. vii. 217) would almost seem 
 to imply that there was, at any rate, a tradition that Plato visited 
 Colophon. If that was actually the case, he would naturally have 
 come across Antimachus there. 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 
 Women in Greek Poetry. 113 
 
 whose works this feeling first appears — viz 
 Asclepiades and Philetas — were actually readers 
 and admirers of Antimachus. 
 
 This it is, perhaps, possible to do more con- 
 clusively than the general absence of evidence on 
 the whole subject would have led one to expect. It 
 is just Asclepiades and his particular followers who 
 speak with the greatest enthusiasm of Antimachus. 
 Very noteworthy are the words of Asclepiades him- 
 self— 
 
 Kv^y] KoX ykvo% elfxl /cat ovVo/xa* rwv 6' aTrb K63^ov > 
 
 o-€fJLvor€pr^ iracTiov clfil 6t' 'Avrt/xa^oi^. 
 Tts yap €ju,' ovK TjctG-e ; tls ovk dveXe^aro AijSrjv, 
 
 TO ^vvbv M-ovcriDV ypdfjLfjia kol 'AvTfc/xa;(Of ; 
 
 Anth, Pal. ix. 6^. 
 
 And the passage in Poseidippus, where Antimachus 
 and Mimnermus, coupled but contrasted, are spoken 
 of as the first two love-poets, is scarcely less em- 
 phatic.^ 
 
 In the case of Philetas, the evidence is also 
 strong. His elegies addressed to Battis are generally 
 admitted to have been modelled, in form, at any rate, 
 on the Lj/de of Antimachus ; and it does not seem 
 unjustifiable to infer from this that their spirit and 
 their general character were also, in the main, similar. 
 The way in which the two poets are coupled by Ovid 
 {Trist. i. 6, i) seems to support this view, and, as we 
 have already seen, there is no evidence to the con- 
 trary.2 To sum up, then : the conclusions arrived at 
 are briefly as follows : 
 
 ^ Anth. Pal. xii. i68. ^ Cp. p. 70. 
 
 I 
 
114 Women in Greek Poetry, 
 
 (i) In extant Greek poetry there is no trace of 
 romantic love-poetry addressed to women, prior to 
 the time of Asclepiades and Philetas. 
 
 (2) In the works of these writers this element 
 suddenly appears, not in the nature of an experi- 
 ment, but as a leading motive — an almost sure proof 
 that they were not the originators of it. 
 
 (3) The Lyde of Antimachus was a work of such 
 a kind, both in nature and in circumstances of pro- 
 duction, that there is every reason to believe that 
 it was a romantic love-poem. 
 
 (4) Philetas and Asclepiades were notoriously 
 admirers of the Lyde of Antimachus. 
 
 (5) Therefore there is reason to believe that the 
 romantic element appearing in their poems was due 
 to the influence of Antimachus, who may thus be 
 regarded as the originator of the romantic element 
 in literature. 
 
 Vale^ lector benevole, si quidem hue usque mecum perveneris. 
 
WOMEN IN GREEK COMEDY 
 
Women in Greek Comedy 
 
 I. The Classification of Comedy 
 
 THE classification of Greek Comedy has been, 
 from the earliest times, a subject of dispute. 
 The ancient critics, for the most part, divided 
 comedy into two classes only — the Old Comedy, 
 which has a parabasis, and the New Comedy, which 
 has none. According to these critics, the acme of 
 the Old Comedy was reached during the Pelopon- 
 nesian War, that of the New Comedy during the 
 reign of Alexander. That this system of classifica- 
 tion, though sound as far as it goes, is not an 
 adequate one, will be admitted by every student of 
 the subject, and need not be further discussed. The 
 alternative division of comedy into three classes, cor- 
 responding roughly to the sixth, seventh, and eighth 
 so-called periods of Greek literature^ — a scheme of 
 arrangement that has on the whole been most 
 generally accepted in modern times — is also not a 
 very satisfactory one ; for, apart from the initial 
 objection that it, like all similar chronological 
 
 ^ I.e. Peloponnesian War, 431-403; Lacedaemonian and Theban 
 Supremacy, 405-336 ; Macedonian Age, 336 onwards. 
 
ii8 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 arrangements, is far too rigid to be applied to 
 anything so intangible as a literary tendency, there 
 is the further and graver objection that there is 
 really no essential difference whatever between the 
 comedies performed at Athens during the reign of 
 Philip and those performed there in the time of 
 Alexander. 
 
 The Orge of Menander, produced in the year after 
 the death of the latter monarch, might have been 
 produced, as far as one can judge of its character 
 by its remains, in any year of the previous fifty. 
 
 At the same time, however, it is certain that a 
 division of comedy into three classes rather than 
 two is necessary; for that the work of, say, 
 Apollodorus Carystius, differs as much from that 
 of Antiphanes as anything the latter ever wrote 
 does from the work of EupoL's, is a fact that no 
 one acquainted with the subject is likely to question. 
 
 The only satisfactory system of classification is 
 that based, not on style or chronology, but on 
 subject. Greek comedy falls naturally into three 
 great divisions — the Political, the Social, and the 
 Romantic,^ and, to come at once to the point, these 
 three divisions are characterised by three distinct 
 ways of regarding women. The Political Comedy 
 practically ignores women altogether; the Social 
 Comedy admits the fascination of woman's society as 
 an incident in a man's life; the Romantic Comedy 
 claims woman's love as the one topic of absorbing 
 interest for men. 
 
 ^ Of the sense in which the unfortunate word "romantic" has to be 
 understood we have already spoken elsewhere, [p. 2.] 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 119 
 
 And here it may at once be observed that the 
 relation between the first two forms of art is some- 
 what different from that which exists between them 
 and the last. The Social Comedy was the natural 
 and logical development of the original primitive 
 comedy, and the Comedy of Cratinus, with its 
 political motive, was but a temporary branch of 
 the art, which, though growing at one time to such 
 striking proportions as well nigh to conceal the 
 parent stem, yet never actually prevented the 
 growth and development of the latter. The 
 Romantic Comedy, on the other hand, was the 
 result, not of development, but of revolution. It 
 was a deliberate attempt (undertaken in the first 
 instance, it would seem, by a single man of genius) 
 to inoculate the old Athenian drama with those 
 romantic ideas which were by -this time beginning 
 to be freely expressed in various other parts of 
 Greece, and to combine the teaching of the epic 
 erotic legends, which were in essence ideal, with the 
 realism of Social Comedy.^ 
 
 This being the case, one would not unnaturally 
 expect to find a more decided line of cleavage 
 
 ^ It may be remarked in passing that this ideal character of the 
 "New" Comedy is not, as a rule, sufficiently recognised. People 
 speak as if they thought that the stories in Menander, for instance, 
 represented the ordinary events of life at Athens at the end of the 
 fourth century. It need hardly, perhaps, be remarked that it would 
 be about as reasonable to endeavour to get an idea of the ordinary life 
 of English people at the present day by studying an Adelphi melo- 
 drama. As long as comedy at Athens confined itself to social satire, it 
 is obvious that the social scenes it depicted must have been, even if 
 somewhat burlesqued, yet, on the whole, true to life. When once it 
 had abandoned this object, and began to aim at telling an exciting 
 
120 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 between the writers of the two last phases of Comedy 
 than is apparent in the previous case. And this is 
 unquestionably so. Throughout the fifth century we 
 find political and social comedy flourishing side by 
 side, the great mass of the comedians being equally 
 at home in either branch of the art, while, towards 
 the close of that century and at the beginning of 
 the next, the boundary line between the writers of 
 "Old" and "Middle" Comedy is notoriously a very 
 faint one. At the end of the fourth century, on the 
 other hand, the victory of the Romantic Comedy 
 was rapid and well-nigh complete, while there is 
 generally no difficulty in saying without hesitation 
 to which of the two classes, the modern or the old- 
 fashioned, any given play of the transition belonged.^ 
 But while the most satisfactory classification of 
 Greek Comedy is unquestionably one on the lines 
 
 story, calculated to interest its audience in proportion to the strange- 
 ness and novelty of its denouement^ it is equally obvious that it must 
 very soon have been compelled to abandon the ordinary affairs of 
 everyday life. In taking over the business of the Epic, Comedy took 
 with it the license of that form of composition and of its offspring, 
 Tragedy. While no one will deny that incidents like those described 
 by Menander may have occasionally taken place at Athens in the 
 fourth century, just as some of them might conceivably take place in 
 England at the present day, there can be hardly any real doubt that 
 the stories of romantic comedy were as little true to the ordinary life of 
 the time they professed to depict, as, say, the novel of Xenophon was to 
 the ordinary life of the Roman provinces under the Antonines. 
 
 ^ It is true, of course, that the *' New" Comedy took over from its 
 predecessor certain characters {e.g. the parasite or the cook) and certain 
 other features, practically unchanged ; but all this was confined to minor 
 points of detail, and any similarity between the two forms of art which 
 such transference of ready-made specialites may cause is a purely super- 
 ficial one. The main subject of romantic comedy, and the treatment 
 there of that main subject, are entirely distinct from everything that 
 had gone before. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 121 
 
 suggested above, the ordinary division into Old, 
 Middle, and New Comedy, is so generally recog- 
 nised that it has seemed to me inadvisable to 
 ignore it altogether, and so these terms will be 
 found occurring repeatedly in the following pages. 
 To avoid the possibility of any misunderstanding, 
 however, it may be remarked that the term, '*New 
 Comedy," will always be used in the sense of 
 romantic comedy. The term, " Middle Comedy," 
 will be used in its ordinary sense, except that it 
 will be extended to cover all works, irrespective of 
 author, which are akin to the school of Anti- 
 phanes and Eubulus. The unsatisfactory term, *' Old 
 Comedy," will only be used in those passages where 
 the context renders its meaning unmistakable. 
 
 II. The Origin of Comedy. 
 
 Comedy was, in its origin, as seems indeed 
 necessary from its nature, social rather than 
 political. The scenes which the first comic actors 
 aimed at depicting appear, beyond doubt, to have 
 been representations of amusing incidents in the 
 everyday life of ordinary people, and were in no 
 way concerned with state policy ; while the per- 
 sonalities with which this form of entertainment 
 originally abounded, were aimed rather at rival 
 actors than at well-known public characters, and had 
 nothing at all in common with political lampoons. 
 It is true that Comedy generally received its chief 
 impulses at times of great popular license under 
 
122 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 democracies/ but this fact really means no more 
 than that, at such periods, the amusements of the 
 people received greater attention than would be the 
 case under a tyranny or an oligarchy. No doubt 
 these extempore slanging- matches became, at an 
 early time already, very general in character, and 
 contained, among other promiscuous allusions, occa- 
 sional references, probably none too complimentary, 
 to important contemporary events or personages ; 
 but that this was not their main feature, nor that 
 which supplied their chief interest, seems shown, 
 inter alia, by the fact that the first artistic develop- 
 ment they received at the hands of Epicharmus was 
 by no means in this direction. Nor, indeed, do the 
 earliest Attic comedies appear to have been political 
 in character, the few fragments of them which sur- 
 vive seeming, in every case, to deal with social 
 subjects.^ 
 
 The first writer to make Comedy political — that 
 is, the first writer to %\\i^ to the " Old " Comedy of 
 
 ^ Thus the Megarian Comedy dates from the expulsion of Theagenes 
 (Arist. Poet, iii. 5), while the Athenian reappears, after a silence of 
 some 70 years, on the expulsion of Hippias. 
 
 2 The titles of the plays attributed to Chionides do not in themselves 
 contradict this view. The Heroes describes life as it would be in a 
 state engaged in war, but there is no reason to believe that the play 
 discussed any real phase of any contemporary war. The Persae, too, 
 to judge by its second title of Assyrii^ was devoted rather to ridiculing 
 Persian customs than to dealing with the Persian War. In like manner 
 the Lydi of Magnes introduced the Lydian dances to Athens (cp. 
 Hesych. Xvdi^cjv, xopei^o;!', dia roi/s Avdovs sc. 'KayvqTos), while the 
 Barbatistae appears to have been equally aimed at the aesthetic tastes 
 of some part of the community. Titles again, like Ornithes, Batrachi^ 
 and PseneSj give no suggestion of political motives, any more than does 
 the Satyri of Ecphantides. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 123 
 
 Athens that which is, by modern readers, generally 
 regarded as its most essential characteristic — was 
 Cratinus. He, abandoning in great part that en- 
 deavour to amuse which had been the primary object 
 of his predecessors, deliberately made use of Comedy 
 as a political party engine, or, as he would perhaps 
 have preferred to call it, as a means of attacking 
 those who did harm to the state. ^ The success of 
 the new element thus imported seems to have been 
 very great; but, at the same time, it must not be 
 supposed that the work of Cratinus was all of this 
 nature. In the first place, some of his plays were 
 of a distinctly general character. Thus the Odysses 
 was a simple parody of the Odyssey of Homer, and, 
 as such, was the distinct forerunner of a class of 
 piece very common in the Social Comedy of the 
 fourth century. 2 The Cleobulinaey with its enigmas, 
 is equally suggestive of another feature of the same 
 period of art. In like manner, the Panoptae^ with 
 its attacks on the philosopher Hippo, the Seriphii, 
 with its mythological allusions, and the Horae, with 
 its apparent discussions of tragedy, all point to the 
 
 ^ ry x'^P^^^'^^ '^V^ Kiofiipdias rb (hcpiXifiou irpoaidrjKe toi)s /ca/cws irpdr- 
 Tovras dLa^dWciiv Kal cbairep drjfioalg, jubdarLyL rrj KUifiipdig. ixacrrl^oiv 
 (Anon, de Com. p. 32). ov yoLp Clxrirep 6 ' Apta-Tocpdvrjs iirt.Tp^x^'-^ '^^^ 
 Xdpiv TOLS (TKdojUL/uLao-L TTOLel . . . dX\* dTrXws /cat /card. tt]v irapoifjulav 
 yvfivy K€<pd\rj tWtjctl rds ^\a(T<pr)fJLlas Kard tCov d/JLapravSvTOjv (Platon. 
 de Com. p. 27). 
 
 ^ roiovTO'i odv iarlv 6 ttjs fii(rr]S Koofjicpdias T^iiroSy olos ianv . . . ol 
 Odv(r<T€?s Kparivov (Platon. de Com. p. 34). ol yovv'Odv<rcr€LS Kparivov 
 ovdevbs iinTiixr](TLV ^xoucrt, diaavpfibv 8^ ttjs 'Odvcro-eias ^Ofirjpov {ibid. 
 
 p. 35). 
 
 The elaborate details as to cookery in the fragments of this play are 
 also very suggestive of one of the features of " Middle " Comedy. 
 
124 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 direction in which lay the true development of the 
 art of Comedy.^ 
 
 But, popular as the indiscriminate mud-throwing 
 of Cratinus undoubtedly was with a large section of 
 that cultured Athenian audience which one is taught 
 to admire, a certain reaction was, in course of time, 
 almost inevitable ; and such a reaction was actually 
 furnished by the comedies of Crates. Crates is 
 described as the first Attic comedian to develop 
 Comedy on the lines of Epicharmus, and to intro- 
 duce a plot with apparently fictitious or allegorical 
 characters, instead of merely bringing public cha- 
 racters on the stage and making them ridiculous.^ 
 
 From a very early period, therefore, Comedy at 
 Athens falls into two classes, the personal, which is 
 usually also political, and the general or social, though 
 the line of demarcation is not, of course, a very rigid 
 one, since writers of the latter class would seldom 
 feel much hesitation in attacking anyone who had 
 made himself particularly obnoxious to them, even 
 if he were a political character, while those of the 
 former were also frequently compelled, for equally 
 
 ^ It is further to be observed that, though Cratinus nearly always 
 indulges in personal abuse, this abuse is by no means necessarily 
 directed against political characters. Any person, whatever his 
 capacity, who was sufficiently well known to be recognised by the 
 Athenian audience, was liable to be the butt of his scurrility. 
 
 ^ Arist. Poet, v. 5. As Meineke {Com. Fr, i. 59) well 
 expresses it : " Cratetem primum apud Athenienses exstitisse qui 
 Epicharmi exemplo comicae poeseos materiam a singulorum hominum 
 i-risione ad generales morum notationes rerumque descriptiones tra- 
 duceret." Crates thus differs from Cratinus in that his plays were not 
 political, while he differs from the earlier comedians in that he avoided 
 personalities and treated of general subjects, and this is the meaning of 
 the word irpOyros in Aristotle, l,c. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 125 
 
 personal reasons, to set a limit to their righteous 
 indignation. Thus Pherecrates, the most important 
 of the actual imitators of Crates,^ is by no means 
 averse to an occasional personality, while a writer of 
 the very opposite school, Hermippus, was yet the 
 author of the A thenas Gonae, ^ Plato and Aristophanes 
 are, of course, equally striking instances of the same 
 fact occurring at a later date. 
 
 From the preceding paragraphs, which might have 
 been considerably extended, had it not lain some- 
 what outside the present subject to extend them, one 
 fact at least will be abundantly clear. That system of 
 treating subjects rather than persons as material for 
 comedy which is sometimes spoken of as a distinc- 
 tive feature of "Middle" Comedy (using that term in 
 its chronological sense), had already been in vogue 
 at Athens from the very earliest times ; in fact, what 
 are commonly called " Old '* and ** Middle '' Comedy 
 are, in spirit, intimately associated with one another, 
 and the most important differences between them 
 are in purely external matters, brought about by 
 external causes. ^ 
 
 ^ i^7j\(A}K€ Kpdrrjra. Anon, de Com. p. 29. 
 
 2 The law of Morychis, during the operation of which this play, 
 like the Odysses of Cratinus and various others, seems to have been 
 brought out, is interesting as an early instance of the influence of 
 political events upon the development of early Athenian comedy, an 
 influence entirely absent in the case of the romantic comedy. 
 
 ^ Thus the final disappearance of the parabasis^ though an im- 
 portant enough event for the history of the form of Comedy, is but 
 an incident in the real development of the art. This is shown by 
 the fact that, when, under the law of Morychis, the parabasis was 
 temporarily suspended, the result was the immediate appearance, 
 at this date already, of plays which belong, in spirit, entirely to 
 "Middle" Comedy. 
 
126 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 This fact will not be without its importance in 
 considering our immediate subject. In the first 
 place, it will cause us to find in the early Athenian 
 comedy two distinct ways of regarding women, 
 which, while contemporaneous, have very little else in 
 common with one another. The comedy of the 
 school of Cratinus,^ being concerned with public 
 characters and with them alone, naturally ignores 
 women almost entirely.^ The comedy of the school 
 of Crates, on the other hand, is very similar in its 
 treatment of women to the comedy of the beginning 
 of the fourth century, except that, in so far as the 
 position of women in Athenian society was a less 
 important one in the middle of the fifth century than 
 it was some seventy years later, the female element 
 is not such a pronounced feature of these early works 
 as it is of the later. 
 
 A detailed examination of the treatment of women 
 in early comedy, as far as such is possible by means 
 of the fragments, will serve to illustrate the foregoing 
 somewhat general remarks. 
 
 ^ This means the school of Cratinus, when unrestricted by legisla- 
 tion, and allowed to take its own course. Prohibitive legislation 
 naturally tended to put the two schools of comedy on much the same 
 footing. 
 
 ^ The few exceptions will be considered presently, [p. 127.] 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 127 
 
 III. Early Comedy. 
 
 Cratinus, in that work at any rate which is truly 
 characteristic of his genius, is entirely engrossed in 
 public affairs, and in attacking the characters of 
 public men. It is not, therefore, surprising to find 
 that in his plays women are almost entirely ignored. 
 The one notable exception is Aspasia, who is, it is 
 true, alluded to more than once, and that in no very 
 complimentary terms ; but this is, of course, only 
 what one would expect of an opponent of Pericles. ^ 
 The poet's views of married life are sufficiently 
 illustrated by his Pytine, It is, however, to be 
 observed that, in those of his plays which, from 
 legislative causes, approximated more closely to the 
 contemporary social comedy, the female element is 
 more apparent, though even here it is never really 
 prominent. Thus the Cleobulinae appears to have 
 introduced a chorus of women propounding enigmas, 
 while both the Nemesis and the Seriphii contained at 
 least allusions to erotic mythological incidents. ^ 
 
 The other early poets of the political school are 
 
 * [The author contemplated, but does not seem to have written, an 
 Excursus on " Pericles and Aspasia."] 
 
 '^ In neither of these must it, of course, be supposed that the erotic 
 element was at all the leading motive. Most of the fragments of the 
 Nemesis seem to refer to events which must be supposed to have taken 
 place some time after the erotic incident had been closed, while in the 
 Seriphii the description of Andromeda as deX^aa-rpa {Fr, 12) is the only 
 allusion to her preserved. Indeed, it is vain in Cratinus to look for any 
 leading motive at all, for, as Platonius says of him {de Com, p. 27), 
 ei^aTOXOS dv iv rais iiri^okais rCov dpafidrcjv Kal ^laaKcvah, elra irpoXCov 
 Kal dLa<nr(av rAs {fjrod^acis ovk aKoKoijdus irXrjpoi tcl Spd/xara, 
 
128 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 still more barren of references to women ; indeed 
 the fragments of Teleclides, Hermippus, and Eupolis/ 
 put together, do not furnish a single noticeable 
 instance. 
 
 It is otherwise, as already remarked, with the 
 school of Crates. The fragments of Crates himself 
 do not indeed furnish much of interest in this con- 
 nection, except, perhaps, the rather risque remarks in 
 Fr, Incert, 3 and 4, but from Pherecrates there is 
 more to be learnt. In the first place, three of his 
 plays, the Corianno, Tkalatta, and Petale, are named 
 after Hetaerae, a common enough feature in later 
 times, but rare at this early period ; while the first 
 two of these, at any rate, were evidently devoted 
 to a study of the life of this class of person. Thus 
 the Corianno describes (Fr, i, 2, 3, 4) the drinking 
 propensities of its heroine ;2 while the Tkalatta gives 
 one even further particulars, Fr, 7 describing the 
 arrival at Thalatta's house of her lover^ (perhaps the 
 Epilesmon, the '* Absent-minded Man," from whom 
 the piece had its second title), and Fr, 2, 3, and S 
 their supper together, while Fr, 4 shows clearly that 
 a lover's quarrel of some sort duly found its place in 
 
 ^ The apparent allusion to the Hetaera Myrrhina in Eupolis, 
 AuiolycuSy Fr, 10, is too uncertain to be of any value. 
 
 2 The Tyrannis (another suggestive title) also satirised the drunken- 
 ness of women (cp. the fragment ap, Athen. xi. 481 B). It may be 
 remembered in this connection, that the introduction of drunken 
 persons on the stage was an invention of his master Crates. 
 
 ^ rhv IdpuiTa Kal tt]v dpdav-dir* ifJLov (rirdyyiaov. 
 
 The tone of address will surprise no one who remembers the scene 
 between Diphilus and Gnathaena [ap. Athen. xiii. 583 F), and others 
 like it. [This subject was to have been dealt with further in an 
 Excursus.] 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 129 
 
 the piece. ^ Of the Pet ale no important fragment 
 remains. Whether the PannycJiis dealt with one of 
 those incidents which are so common in New 
 Comedy, it is impossible to say. 
 
 IV. Aristophanes. 
 
 . The remains of Pherecrates, therefore, notwith- 
 standing their very meagre character, supply ample 
 evidence that, at this period already, some of the 
 most popular characters and scenes of early fourth- 
 century comedy had found a place on the Athenian 
 stage ^ ; but a still more interesting field of study is 
 furnished by those poets who belong to the period 
 of transition which commences with the decline of 
 the Athenian power, and more especially by those 
 who began life as adherents of the personal and 
 political school of Cratinus, and were afterwards 
 compelled, by force of circumstances, to identify 
 themselves with a different style of art. Foremost 
 among these is, of course, the name of Aristophanes. 
 The earlier plays of Aristophanes contain few 
 allusions to women, and throughout his works it 
 may be doubted whether he ever introduced a female 
 character on the stage except with the ultimate 
 intention of leading up to some form of indecency. 
 At the same time, since the fact that his plays 
 have been preserved affords a better opportunity 
 
 ^ kKv fikv (TL(j3irG), dvacpopcL Kai trviyeTaLy 
 
 Kai (pTjcn, tI (TLU)irq.$ ;. ^(iv 5' diroKpidQy 
 otfiOL rdXas, (pTjalVy x^P'^^P^ KaTeXrjXvOev. 
 ^ The precise nature of the differences between these early "Hetaera- 
 plays" and those generally in vogue at a later date, will be examined 
 when we come to consider the latter class of composition, [p. 153.] 
 
 K 
 
130 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 of judging of his views than is to be had in the 
 case of any other writer of the period, it will 
 perhaps be well to exannine some of his character- 
 istics in greater detail. 
 
 The first and, perhaps, the most striking feature 
 in the Aristophanic treatment of women — a feature 
 which is very prominent indeed in certain plays — is 
 the respect which the poet professes to feel for 
 women's judgment and powers of organisation. 
 Thus, in the Lysistrata, the treaty between Athens 
 and Sparta, which is admitted on all sides to be 
 desirable, can only be brought about through the 
 intervention of a woman. Similarly, in the Ecclesia- 
 zicsae, when the government of the city has fallen 
 into a deplorable state, it is reorganised by the 
 women, and their scheme of reorganisation is, we 
 are given to understand, a complete success, for the 
 time being at any rate. Again, in the lost play of 
 the Scenas Catala^nbamisae, there seems little doubt 
 that the motive of the action was an appeal on the 
 part of the poet from the male audience who had 
 not appreciated him, to a female audience which he 
 expected to find endowed with better taste. 
 
 All this is very pleasing as far as it goes. The 
 question is : — How far is this respect professed for 
 women, genuine } Enquiry would seem to show that 
 very little of it, if any, is genuine at all. Of the 
 Scenas Catalambanusae it is impossible to speak with 
 certainty,^ but, as for the other two plays mentioned 
 
 ^ One can at least gather from Fr, I, 2, 3, that the coming together 
 of the women was made the occasion of a series of jokes at their 
 expense, something after the manner of Mnesilochus and the baby 
 in Thesmoph. 689 seqq. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 131 
 
 above, it is hard to believe that the women are intro- 
 duced for any other purpose than that of leading up 
 to the various scenes of indecency which afford the 
 main interest of both pieces. The climax of the 
 Lysistrata is the pathetic speech of Cinesias (865 
 seqq.), that of the Ecclesiazusae the struggle between 
 the ypav^ and the veavL<^ {Syy seqq\ and neither of 
 these scenes can be said to show much respect for 
 female nature. As for the success of the women's 
 efforts in both these plays, it is perhaps sufficient to 
 observe that in each case the poet's main object was 
 to point out the advantages of a particular course 
 of action, not to suggest any novel method of 
 procedure by means of which this course was to be 
 adopted. The political object of both comedies is 
 merely to attack the government of the day. No 
 one who has ever read these plays would be likely 
 to argue that they advocated the extension of the 
 franchise to women, or indeed concerned them- 
 selves in any way with any subject of the kind. 
 To put it shortly, the women are introduced for 
 indecency's sake, and their revolutions succeed 
 simply because they are revolutions against the 
 existing order of things, an order of which 
 Aristophanes did not approve. It would be as 
 reasonable to suppose that the Aves was a serious 
 piece of advice to the Athenians to consult with 
 birds about the management of the State, as to 
 assume that the Ecclesiazusae meant to imply that 
 the views of women were really worthy of con- 
 sideration or adoption. 
 
 The incessant allusions in these plays, no less than 
 
132 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 in others, to the incontinence/ the drunkenness, and 
 the various other faults with which it was usual at 
 the time to tax women — allusions which frequently 
 take the form of frank confessions on the part of the 
 women themselves — are so numerous that there is no 
 need to quote any of them. 
 
 Another rather striking feature is the way in 
 which several of the plays of Aristophanes conclude 
 with the wedding of one of the characters — a feature 
 at first sight very suggestive of the comedy typical 
 of a much later period. The best known instance of 
 this is perhaps in the Eirene, but the same seems to 
 have been the case in the Polyidiis (where the suc- 
 cessful soothsayer is rewarded with the hand of the 
 king's daughter, Phaedra), and in the Geras, where 
 the hero, having been miraculously restored to youth, 
 repudiates his former wife, and marries one more 
 suited to his recently acquired — or lost — years. It 
 must, however, be observed that in none of these 
 plays, as far as one can see, is the wedding of the 
 hero by any means the logical result of the action 
 of the piece ; it is merely an incidental episode 
 introduced, in the Eirene at any rate, and very 
 possibly also in the others, simply with the view of 
 providing the chorus with an effective exit. In the 
 Polyidus, moreover, it is clear that though Minos 
 gives his daughter as a reward, he has his own 
 
 ^ This seems to have been one of the main motives of the Lemniae ; 
 at any rate, the nature of Aeschylus' play on the same subject would 
 have afforded an excellent opportunity of the kind — AiVxi^Xos 5' iv 
 'T^pLir^Xri iv 6irXoLS ^rjalv avras [rds Ay^fivias] iweXdoijaas xet/ia^o/x^z/ois 
 [tols 'Afyyova&rais'] dweipyeiv, fi^xP'- ^a/3et?/ 6pK0P Trap' avrwv diro^dvTas 
 /MLy^aeadai avrals, Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. I. 773. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 133 
 
 opinion as to the value of the gift, an opinion which 
 is hardly complimentary to Phaedra' ; while in the 
 Geras there can be little reasonable doubt that the 
 connubial arrangements were made the occasion for 
 a plentiful supply of obscenities, qicae nunc desider- 
 a7itur^ if one can use the words in such a connection.^ 
 One must be careful, therefore, not to exaggerate 
 the importance of this feature in the Aristophanic 
 treatment of women, though it cannot, of course, be 
 denied that to introduce a wedding at all on the 
 stage was a distinct advance on strict Athenian 
 views with reference to such events.^ 
 
 Aristophanes was above all things, by profession at 
 least, a conservative and a laudator temporis acti; 
 but, strangely enough, this characteristic of his is but 
 little noticeable in his treatment of women. Nothing 
 would have been more natural, one would have 
 thought, than that he should, in the course of some of 
 his highly-coloured pictures of primeval felicity before 
 the days of Euripides and the philosophers, have 
 dwelt upon the purity of ancient family life and 
 the chastity of a previous generation of women, in 
 contrast to that present depravity to which he makes 
 such frequent allusion. But, true to his Athenian 
 temperament, he never follows any such line, nor 
 indeed does he ever take up high ground on this 
 subject. Ready as he is to moralise seriously on 
 
 ^ tSoi^, di8u3/jLL Triv8' iyih yvvoLKd croc 
 ^aidpav iirl irvp 8^ wvp eoLx' ij^eiv dycav. 
 
 {Polyid. Fr. 2.) 
 2 Cp. Geras ^ fr. 5, 6, 7. 
 
 '^ Cp. e.g. the remarks of Phocion to his son : iixov fxh^ Cb iraT, ttju 
 (T7]v fjirjTipa yafxovvTos oi)5' 6 yelriav yoSero. Plutarch. PAoc. 30. 
 
134 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 other matters, even on matters so distinctly erotic 
 as the relations of man to man/ his tone with regard 
 to women is invariably flippant. 
 
 Women are, above all things, conservative : 
 
 flOL^OVS €)(OV(TLV €v8oV (iidTTep Kttfc TT/OO TOV, 
 
 {Eccles, 225.) 
 Euripides may have made rude remarks about 
 women, but his suggestions are politeness itself com- 
 pared with what might have been said.^ Indeed, the 
 main charge of the women against Euripides in the 
 Thesmophoriazusae is not that he has maligned them, 
 but that he has opened the eyes of their husbands 
 to what they actually do.^ It is needless to multiply 
 instances ; the general tendency is plain. Woman in 
 Aristophanes is invariably an object of ridicule. So 
 incapable was he of treating her otherwise, that his 
 one ideal woman, Eirene, for whom the knight-errant 
 Trygaeus flies up to heaven on the dung-beetle, was 
 a colossal failure, a ko\og-g-lkov ayaXjuia that was the 
 general laughing-stock of his contemporaries.* 
 
 This being so, there is but little need to dwell on 
 such ** erotic" passages as do occur, here and there 
 in his works, between men and women. Such scenes, 
 of which the best instance is perhaps that in the 
 Ecclesiazusae {^yj seqq.)y are never the main motive 
 
 ^ Vide e.g, Nubes^ 973 seqq. , 1002 seqq, 
 
 2 Cp. the speech of Mnesilochus, Thesmoph, 466 seqq,^ the spirit of 
 which, all allowance for comic exaggeration being made, cannot be 
 mistaken. 
 
 ^ Vide Thesmoph, 383 seqq. The subject and style of the Daedalus 
 were equally uncomplimentary. Cp. Fr, 3. 
 
 ^ KU/JLtpdeXrai 5^ (6 ' ApLcrT0<pdv7}s) 6tl kuI rb rrjs Wprivrjs KoKoaaiKov 
 e^rjpev AyaXfia, BUxoXls AuroXi^/cy, UXdrcav Nkais. Schol. Flat. Apol. 
 P- 331. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 135 
 
 of the plot ; they are merely more or less irrelevant 
 incidents, developed or not according to the chances 
 they afford for the introduction of amusing inde- 
 cencies. In these scenes Aristophanes is often to be 
 seen at his very best, but they cannot of course be 
 drawn upon with the object of supplying evidence 
 as to his real views of women, except in so far as 
 they serve still further to emphasise what has already 
 been said as to the poet's disinclination to deal 
 seriously with the subject of women at all. Indeed, 
 his view of the proper relation between love and 
 art is sufficiently illustrated by the famous argument 
 in the Ranae (1043 ^^qq^ between Aeschylus and 
 Euripides, where, after the former has stated with 
 pride : 
 
 ovS' ot8' ovSets 7]VTLV^ IpQicrav ttcuttot' eTroiYjo'a yvvatKa, 
 
 and the latter has defended his own erotic treatment 
 on the ground that it is realistic : 
 
 TTorepov 5' ovK ovra Xoyov tovtov irepl t>Js ^ai^pas 
 ^vvWrjKa j 
 
 the answer comes back : 
 
 fia At', aAA' ovT^ ' dAA' airoKpVTrT^iv yjprj to Trovrjpov rov 
 ye TTOLrjTrjv. 
 
 The treatment of erotic subjects in a realistic 
 manner is not the business of a true poet ! 
 
 V. The Cocalus. 
 
 With this before one, it would seem hardly neces- 
 sary to say anything further about the erotic element 
 in Aristophanes. There is, however, one play of his 
 
136 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 — the last, or last but one, that he wrote — which 
 seems at first sight to differ so entirely in spirit 
 from the rest, that it is well worthy of separate 
 notice. 
 
 This play is the Cocalus, a work of which it is 
 distinctly stated by ancient authorities that it an- 
 ticipated one of the most characteristic features of 
 romantic comedy — nay more, that it actually served 
 as the model for Menander and Philemon. Thus, 
 in the Vita Aristophanis, p. xxxviii., it is said : eyevero 
 Se KOI aiTiog ^7]Xou Toig veoi^ KcojuLiKOif^y Xeyco Srj ^CKrjiJLovi 
 Kai M.€vavSp(p . . . €ypa\[re KwicaXoi/, iv 5 ela-ayei 
 cf)Oopav Kai avayvoopLCjULOv Kal raWa iravra a e^riXcoare 
 MivavSpo^, and again, p. xxxv. : tt/owto? ^e koi t^9 veag 
 
 K0t)IUi(f)Sta9 TOP TpOTTOV CTTeSeL^eV €V T(f Kft)/CaXft), €^ ov 
 
 Ttjv ap^v Xa/SojuevoL MevavSpo^ re Kal ^lXyjijloov eSpa- 
 jmarovpyrjcrav. 
 
 Of these statements, the one part, startling as it 
 is, must presumably be accepted without question. 
 In the face of such definite evidence, it would be 
 rash to attempt to deny that one of the features of 
 Aristophanes' play was (pOopa Kai avayvoopca-jULog—a, 
 feature which is, as is well known, not only one of 
 the commonest in romantic comedy, but also pecu- 
 liarly characteristic of the love-element as there 
 treated. The sort of story of which we are speaking 
 is sufficiently familiar to every reader of Terence. 
 A man seduces a girl, either without knowing at 
 all who she is, or else under the impression that 
 she is a foreigner or a slave. Afterwards she is 
 proved to be an Athenian citizen, and he, being 
 still in love, marries her, with the double object of 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 137 
 
 atoning for his fault and of continuing his amour 
 on a legitimate basis. ^ 
 
 But here a question arises. Granted that Aris- 
 tophanes anticipated one of the most characteristic 
 situations of the romantic comedy, in how far, if 
 at all, did he anticipate the romantic treatment of 
 that situation, such as we subsequently find it ? 
 Aristophanes, as we have seen, has the first part 
 of the romantic love-story in his Cocalus ; is it 
 probable that he also had the second ? He has 
 the seduction and the recognition ; is it probable 
 that he had also the amende honorable prompted by 
 feelings of respect and devotion ? And, as a natural 
 pendant to this, is it probable that the Cocalus was 
 really, as asserted, the model after which the later 
 romantic comedy was formed ? 
 
 It is not probable. No one who knows the works 
 of Aristophanes, and considers the character of the 
 Athenians of his day, would expect such a thing; 
 and, apart from this inherent improbability, there 
 are various reasons which seem to suggest that the 
 second part of the anonymous grammarian's state- 
 ment was based upon a misconception. But, before 
 discussing any of these points, it will be necessary 
 to investigate, as far as possible, the exact nature 
 of this play of Aristophanes, for which so much is 
 claimed. 
 
 ^ It is worth noticing that, while a man who seduced an Athenian 
 citizen seems to have been legally bound to marry her, and there- 
 fore, to a certain extent, there was no great virtue in his action if 
 he did so, at the same time this legal necessity was never, so far as 
 we know, in any way urged in any play of the New Comedy. The 
 point will be more fully discussed when we come to this part of our 
 subject. [See p. 169.] 
 
138 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 An examination of the actual remains of the 
 Cocalus will not afford very much information, for 
 the fragments preserved are few and unimportant, 
 while the mercurial nature of Aristophanes' plots, 
 as we know them from existing plays, makes it 
 obviously hazardous to venture conjectures as to 
 what they may or may not have included. Certain 
 facts, however, seem sufficiently clear. For one 
 thing, the play was based, at any rate originally 
 and ostensibly, on the legendary history of Cocalus, 
 Daedalus, and Minos. This history was, briefly, as 
 follows : — 
 
 Daedalus, after his flight from Crete, took refuge 
 with Cocalus, king of Sicily, and rose to high favour 
 at his court. When Minos, having learnt his where- 
 abouts, demanded his surrender, Cocalus at first 
 seemed willing to comply, and invited Minos to 
 his palace. The latter, suspecting nothing, accepted 
 the invitation, and was at once murdered in his 
 bath, either by Cocalus himself or by his daughters.^ 
 
 ^ Minos, quod Daedali opera multa sibi incommoda acciderunt, in 
 Siciliam est eum persecutus petiitque a rege Cocalo ut sibi redderetur. 
 cai cum Cocalus promisisset et Daedalus rescisset, ab regis filiabus 
 auxilium petiit. illae jVIinoem occiderunt. Hygin. Fab, 44. 
 
 Mt;/ajs 5^, 6 rdv KpTjrujv ^aaCKevs, daKarTOKparQv Kar iKeivovs toi)s 
 Xpovovs Kai TTvOojJLevos rrjp AaiddXov (f>vyT)v els "ZiLKeXiav, ^yv(a <rr/)arei5etj' 
 iir^ avrrjv . . . 6 5e Kw/caXos, eis a6X\oyov TrpoaKoKeadjuiepos Kal iravra 
 TTOL-qaeLV iTrayyeCKafievos, iirl rd ^ivia TrapiXa^e rbv Mivuj. Xovojuiivov 5' 
 avToO, KiVKaXos fj^v TrapaKaTaax<^v TrXeiova XP^^^^ ^^ '^V ^^P/^<$ t^v 
 Miviaa 8U<l)0€ip€, Kai rb (rQ/xa dir^dojKe Tois Kprjcrif irpbtpacnv iveyKihu 
 Tov Oavdrov Bloti Kara rbv Xovrpuva wXiad-qKe /cat Tretrcov eis rb depfxbv 
 ij5(op iTeXe&rrjae. (Diodorus, iv. 79.) 
 
 The story is told somewhat differently in Zenobius iv. 92. There 
 Minos, in order to discover Daedalus, goes about the world offering 
 large rewards to anyone who can run a linen thread through a spiral 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 139 
 
 That the latter version of the final incident was 
 accepted by Aristophanes seems probable, but even 
 so it is hard to see how the cj>Qopa kol avayvcopia-juLo^ 
 can be brought into the story. It is, perhaps, justifi- 
 able to assume that the hero of the amour was 
 Daedalus, and that the lady was subsequently recog- 
 nised as a daughter of Cocalus ; but how this all 
 came about, it is well-nigh impossible to say. In 
 some of the fragments we are apparently introduced 
 to a regular Hetaera (e.^. 2, 10; and, perhaps, 6, 7)-; 
 in another, however {Fr, 3), a woman seems vigorously 
 repudiating some slur cast on her character. It 
 cannot, of course, be proved that the plot^ was not 
 
 shell, being convinced that no one but Daedalus would be able to 
 do such a thing. When he comes to Sicily, Cocalus, in order to gain 
 the reward, gives the shell to Daedalus, who bores a hole at the end, 
 ties the linen thread to an ant, and so does what is required. Xa^oju 
 d^ 6 Mivcos Tov \ivov dceipfjiivov iQcdero elvat Trap' iKeivip rbv AaidaXov 
 Kal eiudicjs diryreL. Kw/caXos 5^, viroax'^fJ'^vos dwaeiVj i^evKiev aur6i'. 
 6 bk \ovbfievos virb tCov KiaKdXov dvyar^pwv dvrjpeOr} ^iovaav irlaffav 
 i-mxeafjieyojjf avT<^. — This is the version of the story followed by 
 Sophocles in the Camici. (Cp. Fr. 301, 302.) 
 
 It is worth noticing that Daedalus, according to Diodorus, iv. 78, 
 made a cave at Selinus, in which patients were treated by being sub- 
 jected to a gradually-increasing temperature, {rpirov bk crir'/iXaLov /card 
 T7)v lieXLvovvTLav x'^P^^ KareaKe^aarePf iv (^ ttjv aTfiida tov /car' avrrjjf 
 TTvpbs ovTCJs evarbx^s i^iXa^ev ibare did ttju jULaXaKorrjTa ttjs depjjLacrias 
 i^ibpodv XeXrjOoTcos, Kal Kara [iiKpbv to^s ivbiaTpl^ovras fierd ripxl/ecas 
 Oepaweijeiv rd crc6/>tara, /jl7]5^v irapevoxXovixhovs virb ttjs depfibTrjTOS.) It 
 is, perhaps, not impossible that Aristophanes may have described 
 Minos' death as occurring in this cave. 
 
 ^ By the word "plot" as here used, must of course be understood 
 merely the erotic incident. That the action was not confined to one 
 subject of this kind is obvious to every reader of Aristophanes. 
 Whatever may have been the treatment of the erotic element, there 
 can be practically no doubt that this element was only one, perhaps 
 not the most important one, among the many that went to make 
 up the play. 
 
140 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 one of the regular New Comedy kind : The daughter 
 of Cocalus, being stolen as a child, became the 
 property of a leno, and was thus brought in contact 
 with Daedalus, &c. But it seems to me much more 
 probable that the structure of the story was some- 
 what of the following kind. The daughter of Cocalus 
 is violated by Daedalus on the occasion of a nocturnal 
 orgy, without being recognised by her lover. She, 
 however, is aware of his identity, and consequently, 
 when the time comes, murders Minos, an event which 
 necessitates explanations (the avayvcopio-iJio^ of the 
 grammarian).^ One thing there is to be said in 
 favour of this scheme of reconstruction, though, of 
 course, when the evidence is so slight, it is impossible 
 to feel anything like confidence with regard to this or 
 any other suggestion. If this view be adopted, 
 Aristophanes may be assumed to have chosen his 
 story with the object of satirising the Panny chides 
 and other similar orgies, which were always a 
 favourite subject of attack with him, and which he 
 had already abused in the HoraeJ^ the Lemniae, and, 
 perhaps, elsewhere. 
 
 But, be this as it may, one thing is plain. There 
 is nothing, either in the story of the Cocalus or in 
 its treatment, as far as the fragments allow one to 
 
 ^ Fr, 4 seems to suggest that there may have been a regular trial 
 instituted, as in the Vespae (cp. Vesp. 807 seqq. with Cocal. Fr. 12), 
 at which Daedalus was accused of complicity in the murder, and his 
 services to Cocalus as a builder {Fr, 5 ; cp. Diodorus, iv. 78) urged on 
 his behalf. This trial may well have had features in common with the 
 last scene in Euripides' Andromeda. 
 
 * The fact that this play led to the abandonment of certain nocturnal 
 orgies is, of course, no proof that such habits altogether ceased, even 
 for a time ; indeed, it is notorious that they did not. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 141 
 
 judge of this, which has any real sympathy with 
 that later feeling which inspires the romantic 
 comedy. For one thing, the erotic incident, such 
 as it is, belongs entirely to that primitive class in 
 which the action is all on the side of the woman. 
 The daughter of Cocalus saving her lover is but 
 a reflection of Medea or Ariadne. In the later 
 romantic comedy, on the other hand, the action is 
 regularly on the side of the man ; for, as is well 
 known, the attempts of the lover to outwit his 
 father or the leno supply pretty well the whole 
 stock of the incidents of New Comedy. Again, 
 there is no suggestion whatever, as far as one can 
 judge, of any marriage by way of reparation, or, 
 indeed, of any marriage at all ;^ and marriage, as 
 we shall see very clearly later on, is the fundamental 
 principle of Greek romance. Again, there is no 
 suggestion — and this is still more important — that 
 the love of Daedalus was described as more than 
 a mere temporary emotion ; and here is another 
 
 ^ Even if it could be proved that the play ended with a wedding — 
 such endings are, as we have seen, not uncommon in Aristophanes 
 — and that this is what the grammarian means by his raXXa iravro. & 
 i^riK(jj<fe M^vavdpos, this would not, in itself, be enough to make the 
 play a romantic one after the manner of the later works. The 
 marriage would have to be an act of reparation inspired by love^ and 
 it need hardly be remarked how utterly foreign any such feeling would 
 be to the work of Aristophanes. Such a difference in spirit and 
 motive, however, important and obvious as it seems to us, may very 
 well have escaped the ancient critics, whose criticism of art was well- 
 nigh exclusively concerned with its external and superficial qualities. 
 Hence, if by any chance Aristophanes' characters were despatched 
 off the stage to the sounds of a wedding march, it is easy to see how 
 clear a proof this would have seemed to them that the Cocalus be- 
 longed to the same phase of art as the plays of Menander, when, 
 in reality, it did nothing of the kind, ^jss:«^~ FTo ^^^==^^ 
 
 f^ X^^ OF THE * f^ A^ 
 
 f UNIVERSITY J 
 
142 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 point of difference between this play and the 
 romantic New Comedy. In fact, if one comes to 
 examine the story of the Cocalus carefully, it 
 becomes apparent that the essential features of 
 Greek romance are entirely wanting. Indeed, the 
 only real affinity of this play to the New Comedy 
 seems to be that it anticipated, or possibly suggested, 
 some of the rather cumbrous conventional machinery 
 of the latter form of art. 
 
 A further fact, which well-nigh precludes the possi- 
 bility of regarding the Cocalus as the real model of 
 New Comedy, is furnished by the dates. The date 
 of the Cocalus cannot be fixed later than the year 
 380 or thereabouts. The first play of Philemon, 
 admittedly the most ancient poet who wrote romantic 
 comedies, appeared in 330. Thus, even if it were 
 granted that such romantic comedies were among 
 the earliest of Philemon's works, which was almost 
 certainly not the case,^ there would still be an 
 interval of at least fifty years during which the 
 "romantic" Cocalus of Aristophanes did not find 
 a single imitator. The works of Antiphanes, 
 Eubulus, and, indeed, all the typical writers of 
 "Middle" Comedy, do not contain so much as a 
 suggestion of a romantic element, and yet, before 
 the time of all of them, there was in existence a 
 perfect romantic comedy, which only needed to be 
 revived by Philemon to bring about a complete 
 revolution of the canons of dramatic art. In fact, 
 the introduction of the romantic element into 
 comedy — that is, the birth of the modern drama 
 
 ^ Cp. infra, p. 189 seqq. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 143 
 
 — was due to a chance resuscitation by Philemon 
 of an obscure piece that had been lying unnoticed 
 for more than fifty years. Credat Apella, 
 
 Moreover, if one comes to consider the matter, 
 there were powerful causes at work in the minds 
 of the early critics, which may very well have led 
 them to assign an undue degree of importance to 
 the Cocalus. Such causes would be mainly of two 
 distinct kinds. 
 
 In the first place, there was the tendency, with 
 which every student of ancient and mediaeval 
 criticism is familiar, to exaggerate the merits of 
 certain individuals, and to ascribe to certain ad- 
 mittedly great names an even more extended 
 influence than they actually possessed.^ It seemed 
 only natural, therefore, to the ancient critic to 
 expect that Aristophanes, being admittedly the 
 greatest of the comedians, should not only have 
 profoundly influenced his own immediate field of 
 art, but should also have laid the foundations of 
 every subsequent form of comedy. The grammarian, 
 therefore, who found in the story of the Cocalus 
 a certain resemblance to stories with which he was 
 familiar in the plays of the New Comedy, felt no 
 hesitation in affirming that the Cocalus was actually 
 the model on which these plays of the New Comedy 
 were based, just as Platonius (p. xxxiv.) speaks of 
 the Aeolosicon as o t^s* fJ-^ay]'^ KooiJ^tpSla^ tvtto^* 
 
 In the second place, the story of the Cocalus had 
 
 ^ Thus, to quote one instance among many, the habit, common 
 among the writers of the Empire, of describing Vergil as not only 
 a supreme, but also a universal, genius, is sufficiently familiar. (Cp. 
 Mart. viii. 18, &c.) 
 
144 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 actually been converted into a "New" Comedy play — 
 the Hypobolimaeus of Philemon^ — and the existence 
 of this neo-comic version of the story may very pos- 
 sibly have influenced the recollections of the original ; 
 for it is more than probable that the play of Philemon, 
 while adopting the main features of the story as it 
 appeared in Aristophanes, yet differed considerably 
 in its general treatment of the erotic incidents. In 
 other words, there is little reason to doubt that 
 Philemon, actuated by the changed spirit of his 
 time, developed the romantic capabilities of the 
 story to the utmost, and gave a romantic interpre- 
 tation to various situations, where nothing of the 
 kind had been done or intended by Aristophanes. 
 And hence the fact that a romantic version of the 
 Cocalus was familiar, served to spread the idea that 
 the original Cocalus was romantic also, and, as 
 such, a forerunner of the romantic element in New 
 Comedy, whereas, as a matter of fact, it was nothing 
 of the kind, owing its romantic colouring entirely 
 to the influence of the ideas disseminated by that 
 New Comedy which it was erroneously supposed 
 to inspire. 
 
 To sum up, then : There seems little reason to 
 believe that the Cocalus is really as important for 
 the history of the romantic element as would at 
 first sight appear. Apart from the strong prima 
 facie improbability of finding a romantic love-story 
 in a play by Aristo'phanes, there is the further 
 
 ^ rhv ixhroL Kco/caXov, rbv iroL'qdivTa 'Apapdri r^J ' Apio-rocpdvovs fty, 
 ^L\rifxu)v 6 KOjfiiKos viraWd^as ev ' Tiro^oXL/jiaic^ iKc^fic^d-qjev. (Clem. 
 Alex. 6irom. vi. p. 267 [628].) 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 145 
 
 remarkable fact that the Aristophanic suggestion, 
 if really given, found no one to take it up for more 
 than fifty years. Again, while the legendary history 
 of Cocalus and the fragments of the play, as far 
 as such have been preserved, do not actually preclude 
 the possibility that the erotic incident may have 
 been treated in a romantic manner, they certainly 
 furnish no evidence whatever in favour of such a 
 view. There are, besides, various reasons which 
 may have induced the ancient critics to see a 
 greater resemblance between the Cocalus and the 
 plays of the New Comedy than was actually present. 
 On the whole, therefore, it would appear that the 
 similarity between this work of Aristophanes and 
 the romantic comedies of Menander and his fol- 
 lowers, is merely an accidental and superficial one, 
 and that it is incorrect to say, as some have done, 
 that the latter class of composition was derived 
 from or inspired by the former. 
 
 VI. The Poets of the Transition. 
 
 , To return after this somewhat lengthy digression 
 to our examination of the poets of the transition. 
 
 Plato, even more than his model Aristophanes, was 
 a follower of the political school of Cratinus, revelling 
 in personal attacks of the most violent kind, and 
 hence there seems little reason to doubt that such 
 of his plays as bear the stamp of Middle Comedy 
 belong to his later period, and were only produced, 
 decidedly invita Minerva^ when the free license of 
 abuse had been artificially checked. Hence the 
 
 L 
 
146 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 allusions in his works to women or erotic subjects 
 seem to have been unusually scarce. In the Adonis, 
 mention is made of the rival lovers of the hero, 
 Aphrodite and Dionysus ; but there is nothing to 
 indicate that this play contained anything of the 
 nature of a serious exposition of the respective 
 claims of male and female love. The Zens 
 Cacujnenus very probably introduced Zeus in his 
 usual comic character of the adulterer, as did the 
 Nyx Macra^ and the Europe may very possibly have 
 treated of a similar subject. More original, however, 
 and interesting than these is the Phaon, which seems 
 to have been one of the poet's latest works, and 
 which furnishes a good specimen of his manner of 
 treating women. Phaon, having been presented by 
 Aphrodite with the cosmetics which were to inspire 
 universal passion, appears surrounded by a crowd of 
 admiring women, who are, however, refused access to 
 his presence, unless they perform certain propitiatory 
 rites {Fr. 2), and otherwise prove themselves worthy 
 of the honour. The means by which one lady even- 
 tually qualifies {Fr. 4) can only be guessed, but the 
 language of Fr. 3 seems to suggest that the contest 
 was somewhat after the manner of those described in 
 Antk Pal. v. 35 or Alciphron i. 39, 4 seqq.^ The 
 
 ^ iir67r6\a^€ yctp rore ravra, 'H/ja/cX-?}? ireivCov, /cat ^Lovvcros BeiXos, Kai 
 fioix^s Ze^s. Schol. ad Aristoph. Pac. 740. The Ztus Cac. of Plato is 
 said to have borne a close resemblance to the Daedalus of Aristophanes, 
 which certainly contained matter of this kind. Cp. Aristoph. Daed. Fr. 3. 
 
 ^ It is interesting to observe the absence, as far as one can judge, of 
 any reference to Sappho, the favourite butt of a somewhat later school 
 of comedians. Could the fact of this absence be conclusively proved, 
 it would afford valuable evidence for determining the date of the origin 
 of the Phaon and Sappho legend. The earliest reference to it at present 
 known is, perhaps, that in the Leucadia of Menander. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 147 
 
 interest of this piece lies in the fact that the plot is, 
 despite its ribald handling, unequivocally a love-story, 
 and, as such, perhaps distinct from any piece that we 
 have hitherto had occasion to examine. That the 
 love-story is, however, of the kind which belongs 
 essentially to Middle Comedy, and has nothing what- 
 ever in common with those of the later romantic 
 comedy, will become abundantly clear when we come 
 to deal with the points of difference between these 
 two schools of art.^ 
 
 The information to be gained from the remains of 
 the other poets of the transitional period is sadly 
 scanty. The Moechi of Ameipsias, a play which, to 
 judge by the title, might have thrown much light on 
 the present subject, is hopelessly lost. Of the Sappho 
 even the title is doubtful. The celebrated Ichthys of 
 Archippus seems to have contained punning allusions 
 to the Hetaerae Sepia and Aphye, a sign of the 
 growing inclination to discuss this class of persons 
 on the stage. The latter lady, or a namesake of hers, 
 is mentioned by Callias in his Cyclopes, Of the 
 Atalanta of the same writer, one line is preserved : 
 
 which seems in some sort to suggest that episode 
 in the life of the mythical Atalanta, daughter of 
 Schoeneus, which led to her metamorphosis^; but, 
 seeing that even the title Atalanta is doubtful, this 
 conjecture cannot be considered as very certain. 
 Strattis appears to have introduced Lais on the stage 
 
 ^ We may further observe the mention of Lais in Fr. 10 of this play. 
 - Cp. Ovid, Met, x. 686 seqq. The incident might be utilised in 
 various ways. 
 
148 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 in his Macedones {Fr. 5), and in his parodies of the 
 Medea, the Phoenissae, &c., the female characters of 
 Euripides doubtless came in for their full share of 
 ridicule, though no definite evidence to this effect has 
 been preserved. 
 
 A little more information is to be gained from the 
 works of those poets who belonged to the very end 
 of the period of transition. Thus, the plays of 
 Theopompus, which deal almost exclusively with 
 Middle Comedy subjects, furnish several instances of 
 that treatment of female characters with which one 
 is familiar in the plays of the Middle Comedy proper. 
 The Aphrodisia introduces us to the Hetaerae cele- 
 brating their customary festival. Fr. i affords a 
 specimen of the remarks passed on absent friends 
 on such occasions,^ while Fr, 2 gives further details of 
 the festivities. The solitary but considerable fragment 
 of the Nemea (called after the Hetaera of that name) 
 gives a lively description of a scene in which an 
 intending lover is doing his best to gain the approval 
 of the lady's lena, a class which was, doubtless, as 
 devoted then to the curto veins amphora collo as it was 
 400 years later.^ In the Capelides it is equally 
 possible to get a glimpse of the action of the piece. 
 A man dropping in at the bar of a house he has been 
 in the habit of frequenting, and finding himself less 
 effusively welcomed than he had had reason to hope 
 
 ^ Cp. Alciphron i. 39, 7* KaT(nravvvxl(TCL(Tai. d^odv /cat roijs ipaarciS 
 KaKtos eiirovdaL . . . ipx^f^^^^ ^^olvol. 
 
 2 Vide Kihen. xi. 470 F. airivdrjp in 1. 8 seems not to be the proper- 
 name of a slave, but may simply be translated "spark." The expres- 
 sion is as natural in Greek as in English, even if no other instance of 
 this exact usage occurs. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 149 
 
 {Fr, 3, 4), threatens to attack the proprietress and the 
 rival of whom he is jealous {Fr, 5). Of the rest, the 
 Hedy chares described a wedding ceremony {Fr, 3)/ 
 the Callaeschrus contained an allusion to the expensive- 
 ness of certain Hetaerae, and general erotic allusions 
 are not uncommon (e.g. Odysseus i, Medus 2). The 
 Siratiotides seems to have had some points in com- 
 mon with the Ecclesiaziisae of Aristophanes. Alcaeus, 
 who is one of the very latest in date of the writers 
 usually ranked as belonging to the "Old" Comedy, 
 deals in nearly all his plays with erotic subjects, 
 mostly in the shape of mythological stories bur- 
 lesqued. To this class belong the Pasiphae^ the 
 Hierus Gamus, the Endymion, the Ganymedes, and 
 perhaps the Callisto, unless this be, like the Palaestra, 
 named after an Hetaera. From this list of titles it 
 may be seen that every style of love came in for 
 treatment, but in no case are the fragments suffi- 
 ciently numerous, for it to be possible even to hazard 
 a guess as to what the nature of that treatment may 
 have been. As to the plot of the Adelphae Moecheii- 
 omenae^ we are equally in the dark, though the title 
 seems to suggest the Aeolosicon of Aristophanes and 
 the Canace of Euripides. Lastly, in the Antea of 
 Eunicus and the Tkalatta of Diodes, both named 
 
 ^ The **Hedychares" of the title seems to be Plato, so that it is 
 rather tempting to imagine a scene something like the following. The 
 hero, after dilating sufficiently on the virtues of *' Platonic " love, is 
 eventually discovered by one of the other characters, in company with a 
 woman under circumstances which suggest the propriety of their getting 
 married immediately— a fact which induces the intruder to exclaim : 
 0^pe ab ra Karax^c^fJ^ctra k.t.X. {Fr. 3.) 
 
 The late date of this play (cp. Fr. 4) makes a plot of this kind by no 
 means impossible, but, of course, hariolandi est infiniia libertas. 
 
150 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 after Hetaerae, we have two further instances of a 
 class of piece with which we have been steadily 
 growing more familiar, the nearer we have approached 
 the confines of the typical " Middle '' Comedy. 
 
 VII. The Middle Comedy. 
 
 The poets of the transition, of whom we have just 
 been speaking, have introduced us, more or less, to 
 most, if not all, of the features which belong to the 
 Middle Comedy proper; at the same time, it may 
 not be amiss, for clearness* sake, to recapitulate 
 briefly those features, in so far as they affect our 
 immediate subject. 
 
 The points on which it is essential to concentrate 
 the attention are three in number : — 
 
 (i) In Middle Comedy, the preponderance of 
 politics as the main dramatic interest — a prepon- 
 derance which, naturally, tended to exclude women 
 from the stage — disappears, and, consequently, female 
 characters step inevitably into a more prominent 
 position. 
 
 (2) The restriction of the original license of 
 Comedy, had led the comedians to devote their 
 talents to parodying mythological subjects ; the 
 parodists of mythology would naturally find their 
 readiest materials in the stories of the amours of 
 the various gods, and hence erotic stories of a sort 
 at once come to the fore. 
 
 (3) Middle Comedy being in great part, if not 
 entirely, devoted to the realistic treatment of con- 
 temporary social life, the Hetaerae, who formed an 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 151 
 
 important feature in that life, were necessarily 
 brought into prominence.^ 
 
 Of these three main features,^ the first two will not 
 require special illustration,^ but the last is one on 
 which it will be necessary to dwell for some time. 
 
 ^ Great care must/ be taken not to misunderstand the causes of this 
 prominence of the Hetaera in Middle Comedy. The fall of Athens, 
 and the events immediately preceding it, resulted in a revolution of the 
 Athenian social system, which was even more momentous than the 
 political overthrow. From this time onwards, the individual appears 
 at Athens as opposed to the state, in a manner that would not have 
 been possible under the earlier regime. Hence in the Middle Comedy, 
 which is perhaps the earliest individualistic poetry which Athens pro- 
 duced, ordinary habits and private life come to be treated with an 
 interest and a realism which had never previously been attempted, and, 
 as a consequence of this, the Hetaerae come to the fore in literature. 
 This fact does not, therefore, imply that the position of these women 
 in the thoughts of men was any higher than had previously been the 
 case, or that there was a growing idea among the people that love for 
 women was a worthy subject for artistic study and representation. It 
 simply means, as will be abundantly clear later on, that the Hetaera 
 was an important feature in private life, and that, therefore, when 
 private life came to be represented on the stage, she was bound to 
 appear there also, just in the same way and for the same reasons as the 
 cook and the fishmonger, who are also such features of this literature. 
 
 2 With the other distinctive features of Middle Comedy, though 
 occasional reference may be made to them, we have less to do. It may 
 not however be amiss, in passing, just to notice the spirit of the age, 
 which, while it required personal attacks on men to be more or less 
 veiled, allowed personal attacks of the fiercest description to be made 
 on women openly by name. A remarkable instance of this is the 
 AntUais of Epicrates, but it is far from being the only one. As for 
 those Middle Comedies which are called after public men {e.g. the 
 Tkeramenes of Cratinus junior), it would be easy to believe that these 
 were all, as some of them certainly were, composed after the deaths of 
 the persons whose names they bear, and that these names were simply 
 used as types, in the way that Juvenal speaks of Tigellinus, &c. 
 
 ^ "With regard to what we have described as the second feature of 
 Middle Comedy, it may perhaps just be remarked that this constant 
 habit of parodying and ridiculing love-stories would inevitably tend, ia 
 
152 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 The Hetaera-plays^ are one of the most character- 
 istic features of the fourth century ; indeed, it may 
 almost be said that admiration for the Hetaera, and 
 ridicule of the wife, were the two main social canons 
 of the period. These plays seem to have been 
 realistic representations of contemporary life, and 
 their general character is sufficiently demonstrated 
 by the well-known retort of Antiphanes to Alex- 
 ander ; ^ but while they all thus have, as it were, a 
 certain family likeness, it would appear, beyond 
 doubt, that they may be also divided into two 
 distinct classes, viz., those that have a distinct erotic 
 plot, and those that have none, the latter naturally 
 belonging to an earlier period of development than 
 the former. 
 
 Plays dealing with Hetaerae were not, as we have 
 already seen, exclusively a feature of the fourth- 
 century Comedy, though the majority of such plays 
 
 some sort, to bring the whole matter of love into contempt. And that 
 the feelings of contempt so produced, and the similar feelings which 
 originated them, would act and react on one another till both became 
 even more accentuated, was equally inevitable. Nor must it be for- 
 gotten that the influence of tragedy, which might otherwise have served 
 to counteract this tendency, was much less than it had been at an 
 earlier period, for the revivals and imitations of Euripides, which held 
 the tragic stage throughout the century, popular though some of them 
 may have been, belonged in spirit to the previous generation, and were 
 thus to a certain extent out of touch with contemporary feeling. 
 
 ^ Many plays of this class are called after real or imaginary Hetaerae, 
 such as the Chrysis of Antiphanes, &c., &c., but these are, of course, 
 not the only ones that deal with the subject. 
 
 2 ' AvTL(f)dvr}s 6 KC^fjiCiidoiroibs ws dveyivojaK^ riva r(} ^aaiXe? 'AXe^dz/^py 
 tQu iavTou KOjfjLC^diCov, 6 8^ dijXos ^v ov Trdvv tl aTrodexofJievos' de? ydp, 
 ^(prjcrev, S) ^aaiXev, rbv ravra dirodex^f^cpov dirb (TVfi^dXwv re iroWdKis 
 dedenrvrjK^vaL Kal wepi iraipas irXeovdKis Kal elXrjcphaL Kal deduK^vat 
 ir\7]yds. (Athen. xiii. 555A.) 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 153 
 
 does, of course, belong to this period. In the very- 
 beginnings of Comedy at Athens, we have at least 
 three plays of this class from the pen of Pherecrates,^ 
 while, at a later period of the fifth century, other 
 works of a similar character seem certainly to have 
 appeared. 
 
 The general character of these plays, however, 
 seems, in spite of the modernity of their subject, to 
 have been essentially that prevailing during the early 
 period to which they belong. Pherecrates and his 
 imitators seem to have been merely concerned in 
 drawing a picture — perhaps a somewhat burlesque 
 one — of the general life of an Hetaera and her 
 followers, and in dwelling upon the various comic 
 incidents which might occur in her environment, 
 without troubling to connect these incidents by 
 means of any very definite story. In other words, 
 the Hetaera- play of Pherecrates was still, in the 
 main, that mixture of pantomime and variety-show 
 with which one is familiar in Aristophanes, and with 
 which one's ideas of the early Athenian Comedy are 
 usually associated. And that plays of this class con- 
 tinued to be produced with success till well into 
 the fourth century, there seems no reason to doubt. 
 
 The typical Hetaera-play of the Middle Comedy, 
 however, is of an entirely different character. In this 
 there is a definite plot, of which the Hetaera is the 
 heroine, while the action of the piece is supplied by 
 the struggles de node locanda of her various rival 
 lovers. In fact, the Hetaera-play of Antiphanes or 
 Alexis is a comedy in the modern sense of the word, 
 
 ^ \Supra_ p. 128.] 
 
154 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 while the Hetaera-play of an earlier period is still 
 nothing but an extravaganza. The author of this 
 great change is not known ; perhaps it was Anaxan- 
 drides. 
 
 It is stated of Anaxandrides that he was the first 
 to introduce epcorag kol irapOevoov 00opa9^ into 
 Comedy. This statement is, at first sight, rather 
 difficult to understand, when one considers plays like 
 the Nemesis of Cratinus, or the Cocalus of Aristoph- 
 anes, not to speak of erotic episodes like the one 
 which terminates the Ecclesiazusae of the latter 
 writer ; and it must be apparent that the mere intro- 
 duction on the stage of such subjects cannot be the 
 merit claimed by Suidas for Anaxandrides. The 
 most simple explanation of the apparent anomaly 
 would therefore seem to be, that what Suidas means 
 to imply, is that Anaxandrides was the first to make 
 erotic subjects the main interest of his plot, and to 
 introduce his principal characters as taking part in 
 them ; for this, as we have already seen, was not the 
 case with the earlier plays which dealt with erotic 
 matters. 
 
 Whether this great advance was really due to 
 Anaxandrides cannot, unfortunately, be proved with 
 anything like certainty, for such fragments of his 
 works as have survived are remarkably reticent on 
 
 ^ No one who is familiar with the Middle Comedy is likely to wish 
 to maintain that the words irapOivojv (pOopds imply that the plays of 
 Anaxandrides were similar in character to such plays as the Andria or 
 the Adelphi of Menander. The exact nature of the Trapdhujv ^pojres 
 of the Middle Comedy, which form, in fact, an infinitesimal part of 
 the erotic element in that literature, will be fully discussed lower down, 
 [pp. 159, 213.] 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 155 
 
 this particular subject;^ but there can be no doubt 
 that it took place about his time, so that there is at 
 least a strong probability, under the circumstances, 
 that it was the result of his influence. 
 
 On the first and older class of Hetaera-play, it is 
 useless to dwell further ; a certain vague idea of 
 their general nature is all that can be gained by the 
 study of their fragments, and the external evidence 
 as to their character is equally meagre, while the 
 intentional want of coherence which marked their 
 action makes it obviously absurd to endeavour in 
 any way to reconstruct them. The character of the 
 second and, for our purposes, more important class, 
 will be best explained by a brief examination of one 
 or two striking specimens, the remains of which are 
 sufficiently important to render it possible to follow 
 their story, at any rate for a certain distance. 
 
 Thus, in the Campylion of Eubulus, we are intro- 
 duced to two men, one of whom sighs with quite 
 modern plaintiveness over the heavy burden of his 
 love for a certain Koo-fxla eralpa : 
 
 Tts riv 6 ypdxpas irpcoTOs dvOp(x)7ro)V dpa 
 rj Krjpo7rXa(rT7]o-as"l£tpo)0^ VTroirrepov ; 
 0)9 ovSev 2?S€t irXriv ^eAtSovas ypd(f)€LV, 
 dAA' ^v oLTretpo^i rcov Tpoirmv rwv rov Oeov, 
 €(TTLV yap ovre kovcJ)os ovre p^Stos 
 aTraWayrjvat t(^ cjiepovTi rrjv vocrov^ 
 fSapvs Se KOfJLiSrj ' ttws olv ovv ^^ot irrepd 
 TOLOVTO wpdyfia ; Xrjpos, €i /cat (prjcTL rts. 
 
 {Fr. 3 op. Athen. xiii. 562C.) 
 
 ^ Curious in this connection is the fact that, while the Captivi of 
 riautus is the only extant play derived from Anaxandrides, it is, at the 
 same time, the only extant play of Latin Comedy which is not con- 
 cerned with erotic subjects. 
 
IS6 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 Through the agency of the friend, who is evidently 
 more of a man of the world, the lovers meet at a 
 supper party, which was probably at least a partie 
 carree. Here the friend gives vent to various cynical 
 remarks on women : — 
 
 (5 yata KCpajxt^ rts ere QrjptKXrjs ttotc 
 €T€V^e KOiXrjs Xayovos evpvvas f3d6os ', 
 rj TTOv KaretSws ttjv yvvaiKelav cj^va-iv 
 0)S ov)(l fJLLKpoLS yjSeraL TrorrjpLOis. 
 
 {Fr, 2 ap. Athen. xi. 471 E.) 
 
 and, evidently a little sceptical as to the inviolable 
 Koa-fxioTY]^ of the lady, makes various efforts to induce 
 her to commit herself, either by eating or drinking to 
 excess^ (JFr. i, 5), or by displaying her talents in a 
 questionable "song and dance." {Fr, 6.) His efforts 
 seem, however, to be unsuccessful, and at the end 
 of the evening the hero is as hopelessly in love as 
 
 • ws 8' eSetTTvet Kocr/xtw?, he exclaims, 
 
 ovK (jicnrep aAAat, twv TrpacrcDv Troiovpievai 
 ToXvTTas, eVaTTOv rots yvd9ov<; kol tcov Kpecov 
 dirkfSpvKOv alcr^pQiS') aAA' e/cao-rov puKpov av 
 aTreykveO^ too-irep TrapOevos MiX7]0'ia, 
 
 (Fr, 4 ap. Athen. xiii. 571 F.) 
 
 The denouement of this interesting little story 
 
 we do not know; let us hope it was a satisfactory 
 one. 
 
 In the Agonis of Alexis again, we find a girl 
 
 ^ That Tpay-rifiara was merely a polite word for drinking, seems 
 clear from Alexis, Polycleia: — 
 
 6 TTpOros €vp(hv Ko/JL\f/6s 9jv Tpayrjfiara * 
 Tov av/JLTToaiov yap biarpL^riv e^evp^ ttws 
 Kapyovs ^x^'^ firjd^Trore rds (Tiaydvas, 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 157 
 
 remonstrating with her mother, who wishes her to 
 accept a rich but dissolute lover in preference to the 
 veavlcTKO^ of her choice. 
 
 w fjLTJrepj LKeTevo) (re, fjirj ^TrtVete [jlol 
 
 Tov ^lioryoXaV ov yap KiOapoy^os elfJb' eyco. 
 
 The mother, however, insists, in spite of the young 
 man's professions of (imaginary ?) wealth (Fr, 2), in 
 carrying off her daughter to the rich lover's house, 
 where, however, the hero also manages to turn up 
 and make some cutting remarks on the family 
 portraits (Fr. 3). ^ He then succeeds in making the 
 mother drunk {Fr. 4), and so, we are led to believe — 
 for the end is again veiled in obscurity — is enabled 
 to elude her vigilance.^ 
 
 Further evidence as to the character of this style 
 of art may be obtained by studying several of the 
 plays of Plautus, such as the Truculeiitus, the 
 Mercator^ or the Mostellaria, which seem to have 
 been adapted directly from Greek works of this 
 class, without being in any way influenced by the 
 later romantic ideas. 
 
 But while the incidents which occur in the 
 individual plays are naturally of an endless variety, 
 certain broad features are recognisable throughout 
 this literature. 
 
 Firstly, not only is love for an Hetaera enthusiast- 
 ically praised, but it is specially described as the one 
 
 ^ (TVKo. are doubtless used here in the same sense as " mariscae " in 
 luv. ii. 13, or "ficus" in Mart. vii. 71. 
 
 ^ Or, perhaps, the veavlnKos tries the effect of the drjpiKXeLa on the 
 girl herself (cp. the epigram of Hedylus, AntA. Pal, v. 199) ; sed haec 
 omnia incerta. In any case, the scene seems somewhat to suggest that 
 in Petr. 85 seqq. 
 
158 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 love in life worth loving. The advantage of the 
 Hetaera over the wife is such a stock subject, that 
 it will be unnecessary to do more than mention 
 one or two of the most striking passages in which 
 the feeling finds expression, such as that cited in 
 Athenaeus, xiii. 559 A, from the Athamas of 
 Amphis : 
 
 eiT ov yvvaiKos eo-nv evvo'iKiOTepov 
 yafxerrjs iratpa ; ttoXv ye /cat /xaA' et/corws. 
 7) fi€v vofJLO) yap Karacjypovova-^ eVSov /xevet, 
 Tj 8 olSev oTi 7^ rots rpoTroLS (hvrjreos 
 
 avOpOJTTOS IcTTLV Yj TTpOS OiXXoV OLTTLTeOV, 
 
 or that quoted in the same place from the Corinth- 
 iastes of Philetaerus : 
 
 (OS raKepov^ w Zev^ /cat fiaXaKov to fSXefifji ^xec. 
 ovK erbs eratpas Upov kcm iravTa^ov, 
 aXX ov^i yapieTrjs ovSajiov rrjs *EAAa6os. 
 
 But this is not all. The advantages of Hetaera- 
 love over adultery are expounded after a fashion 
 that cannot fail to be startling to anyone who has 
 not formed a clear conception of what " love " meant 
 in the Athens of Demosthenes. A striking instance 
 of this occurs in the Nannion of Eubulus/ and the 
 same idea is still further developed in the Pentatklus 
 of Xenarchus. 
 
 ^ 6aTis \^XV y^P o''c6ria vvficpe^ei Xddpq,, 
 TTcDs ovx^ TTCLVTcov icTTLv ddXubraTOS ; 
 i^bp dewp'qaavTL irpbs top ijXLOv, 
 yvfjivas i(p€^7]S iirl Kipws rerayfiivaSy 
 iv XeTTTOTrrjvoLS ij^eaiv ecrwcras, o'ias 
 "H.pL8av6s ayvols v5a(n KrjTrevei Kdpas, 
 /jLiKpov irpiaadaL K^pfiaros rrjv rj^ovqVy 
 /cat fJuT) Xadpalav KijirpLv, aiaxl-O'TTjv vbaujv 
 TraaQvy 8nbK€iv, v^peos ov wbdov x^P'-^* 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 159 
 
 As for that " love of a man for a maid," which 
 is, so to speak, the very essence of the love-element 
 in later Greek literature, it is simply ignored in 
 Middle Comedy. A girl that one is going to marry 
 has all the disadvantages of a wife, but for one thing. 
 While the wife in esse is, as a later writer feelingly 
 expresses it, " an immortal necessary evil," and, 
 therefore, cannot be altogether escaped from, there 
 is no need to meet troubles halfway by drawing 
 attention to the wife in posse. Let us eat and drink, 
 for to-morrow we marry ; and while we do so, let 
 us have no Alexandrian skeleton at the feast to 
 remind us of the fatal hour. And so, if the question 
 be asked, "What did the Middle Comedy writers 
 think of such love } " the answer is, " They did not 
 think of it at all." ^ 
 
 And this will serve to introduce us to a further 
 question, in the answer to which lies the key to the 
 whole of this part of our subject. What is actually 
 meant by the "love" which we hear so often ex- 
 
 ^ The one or two apparent exceptions to this rule, such as those in 
 the Marat honii of Timocles or the Philaulus of Theophilus, are in 
 reality no exceptions at all. This will be clear enough if we consider 
 what is meant in these passages by a Kbpt]^ and do not confuse the 
 sentiment there expressed with a sentiment which does not occur till 
 a later period. The Kbpy] in question (a KiOapia-Tpta in the Philaulus) 
 is merely an Hetaera in posse instead of in esse, an Hetaera who has 
 not yet entered into regular business, and herein consists her superiority 
 from the point of view of those who do not share Diogenes' view as to 
 the parallel between women and houses. That her attractions do not 
 differ in kind from those of the regular Hetaera will be plain enough to 
 anyone who takes the trouble to turn to the passage in the Marathonii^ 
 and that the character of the ' ' love " she inspires is also similar will 
 be equally apparent from the same lines. That this was the character 
 of the irapOivojv 'ipojres with which, according to Suidas, Anaxandrides 
 dealt, seems beyond question. 
 
i6o Women inr, Greek Comedy. ,. ._j 
 
 pressed for these Hetaerae ? The answer may be 
 simple and brief: ornari res ipsa vetaty contenta doceri: 
 the love of the Middle" Ccmedy^^ is animal- passion, 
 pure and simple; the Hetaera caters for the appetites 
 of the time in exactly the sanje way, even if in a 
 different sphere, as the cook and the fTshmonger, 
 of whom we also hear so much* feoth to craise and 
 blame, in this literature. ^ Of love in the modern 
 sense of the word, of love as distinct from lust, 
 there is nowhere any suggestion in the writers of the 
 Middle Comedy. This fact is so patent to anyone 
 who is familiar with the plays of this period, that 
 one may, perhaps, be spared the trouble of its 
 illustration. If anyone is inclined to doubt it, let him 
 open the third volume of Meineke's Comic Fragments 
 at random, and read ; he will soon be satisfied. 
 
 When this is the case, it is not surprising that we 
 find " Platonic " love held up to consistent ridicule 
 during the time of the Middle Comedy. A 
 sufficiently striking example of this method is the 
 passage quoted in Athenaeus, xiii. 563 C, from the 
 Dithyrambus of Amphis : 
 
 Tt <^27^ ; crv ravrt TrpooSoK^s Tret^etv e/xe, 
 ws ecTT epao-TYjs ocrrts, oypalov </)tAc3v, 
 T/ooTTwv ipao-T'qs icTTL, Trjv 6}//LV Trapets ; 
 a(l>p(j)v y dX7]0{os. k.t.A. \_Fr. 2.] 
 
 But the clearest proof of all is that furnished by 
 the fact that Plato himself, and Sappho, whose style 
 of love was, as we have already had occasion to 
 observe, ^ recognised as similar in spirit to that 
 
 ^ Alexis himself says this, in almost as many words, in the passage 
 quoted below, p. 163. ^ Supra, p. 85. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, i6i 
 
 advocated by the philosopher, are, perhaps, the two 
 favourite butts for the wit of the Middle Comedy. 
 That the Plato of Aristophon, like the Hedychares 
 of Theopompus, of which we have already spoken, 
 and the Sapphos of Antiphanes, Amphis, Ephippus, 
 and Timocles, were, at least some of them, in part 
 devoted to this subject, it seems only reasonable to 
 believe, while sporadic allusions to the matter are, 
 of course, sufficiently common. The one possible 
 exception to this general rule appears in the Helene 
 of Alexis, where a character is introduced upholding 
 the Platonic view of love ; but it would be bold, in 
 the face of so much evidence on the other side, to 
 assert that this isolated statement in any way indi- 
 cates the general tone of the comedy in question. 
 It is far more likely that the champion of these 
 views (perhaps Theseus^) was made to see the error 
 of his ways and repent his lost opportunities before 
 the play was out. 
 
 And akin in spirit to the above is the tendency, 
 so common that it hardly needs special illustration, 
 to throw ridicule on the married state and on family 
 life in general.^ When the man, who is called the 
 
 ^ The ''Platonic" nature of Theseus* admiration for the unde- 
 veloped charms of Helen is a well-known feature of the legend. A 
 comparison with Aristoph. Thesmoph. B^ Fr. 26, seems to suggest 
 a further reason why Theseus should have been introduced as a mock 
 "Platonic" lover. Cp. Phot. s.v. KvtroXdKccv. t6 d^ ro7s TraidiKOLS 
 XPV<^OaL XaKcavi^eLv ^eyov. ''EXiprj (so Ruhnken for MeXaipr}) yap 
 QrjcreifS oijTOJS ixpi^crcLTO. 
 
 ^ In this connection we may remark that the tendency of the mytho- 
 logical stories commonly parodied by Middle Comedy was also almost 
 entirely in this direction. The Zei/s f^oix^s with whom the Athenian 
 audience of the day was so familiar, was hardly the type of character 
 to inspire respect for married life. How different was the New Comedy 
 treatment of the adulterer, we shall see further on. 
 
 M 
 
i62 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 originator of the erotic element in Middle Comedy, 
 can write words like these : 
 
 6(rTiS yafxeiv ^ovXever, ov fSovXeverai 
 opOojSy Slotl fSovXeveTat xovto) ya/xet, 
 
 (Anaxandrides, Incert. i.) 
 
 and mean them, there can be little doubt as to the 
 tendency of that erotic element which he was the 
 first to introduce. In fact, not only is marriage a 
 favourite subject of ridicule, but it is one on which 
 the writers of this period make some of their happiest 
 remarks. There are few things in Antiphanes as 
 good as the passage in the Philopator, where one 
 man, meeting another, enquires after a friend, and 
 hears that he has got married. 
 
 Tt (TV Xeyeus ; he exclaims in horror. dXrjOivios 
 yeydiJLrjKev, ov eyo) ^(ovra TrepiiraTOvvra re 
 KareXiTrov ; 
 
 Alexis is seldom as amusing as when he proclaims 
 {Incert, 34) marriage worse than disfranchisement. 
 
 cfr o-u^t KpeiTTov ecrrt ro) y €)(^ovtl vow 
 drifjiov eivai {JidXXov yj yvvauK €)(€iv ; 
 TToAAw ye' Tovs /xev yovv drcfJiovs ovk ea 
 dp)(rjv Aa^ovras 6 vofios dp^eiv twv TreAas* 
 lirav Se 7>J/^2?^> ^^^^ o'avrov Kvpiov 
 l^ccrrtv cti/at. 
 
 Such, then, is the erotic element of the Middle 
 Comedy — the praise of sensuality and the ridicule 
 of all that is ennobling or virtuous. Alexis tells 
 us all when he says : 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 163 
 
 ras T^Sovas Set crvAAeyetv rbi/ crw^pova. 
 
 T/oets S' ctcrtv at ye t>)v Svva/xtv K€KTrjfi€vaL 
 
 Tr)v u)s dkr)Oo)S (TVVT€Xov(Tav rw /^tw, 
 
 TO TTtetv, TO (^ayetv, to ttJs 'A(f>po8LTrjs rvyxavetv, 
 
 TOL 8' aAAa TrpocOriKas awavTa \prj KaXetv. 
 
 {Incert, 31.) 
 
 Processit Vesper Olympo, It was time the Mace- 
 donian barbarians swept all this away and made 
 place for cleaner things. ^ 
 
 VIII. The New Comedy. 
 
 The feeling on passing from the Middle to the 
 New Comedy is like the fresh air on coming out 
 of the bar of a public-house. The Middle Comedy 
 is the last decaying branch of the old literature ; the 
 romantic New Comedy is one of the earliest and most 
 vigorous offshoots of that new literature which sprang 
 from the genius of Antimachus, and has continued to 
 the present day. In the Middle Comedy, we are still 
 face to face with the women of typical Athens, with 
 the women of Aristophanes, at best with the women 
 of Euripides, — and with the way in which typical 
 Athens treated these women ; in the New Comedy 
 this is changed, and woman — the woman that can 
 be loved as wife and mother — steps into her true 
 place as object of, and partner in, the intensest and 
 the purest passions of which humanity is capable. 
 
 It will be remembered that the Middle Comedy 
 treatment, of women and love for women, had four 
 main characteristics. 
 
 ^ Another phase of the Middle Comedy treatment of women, the 
 discussion of which here would lead us too far away from our immediate 
 subject, will be considered in Excursus I. 
 
164 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 (i) The glorification of the Hetaera and of love 
 for the Hetaera. 
 
 (2) The purely sensual nature of the love thus 
 extolled. 
 
 (3) The ridicule of all love that was not sensual. 
 
 (4) The ridicule of family-life. 
 
 The New Comedy flatly contradicts every one 
 of these principles. The love of which it treats is 
 love for a virgin} and the consummation of this 
 love is marriage. Such love is by no means purely 
 sensual ; indeed, at times it is almost of a ** Platonic" 
 character. And lastly, not only is the sanctity of 
 marriage strictly insisted upon, and the advantages 
 of marriage as a system strongly maintained, but 
 the family relations, anyhow among the younger 
 generation, are often of a very pleasant character. 
 
 In fact, while the action of the Middle Comedy 
 is concerned with a love, the consummation of which 
 is a temporary sensual gratification, the action of 
 the New Comedy is supplied by the efi'orts of its 
 heroes and their adherents, to secure that the love 
 which occupies so much of their thoughts may be 
 made at once legitimate and permanent. It was 
 New Comedy that first introduced on the stage the 
 love of a life, as opposed to the love of an hour. 
 If anyone were to ask what was the chief merit of 
 Menander, the answer would be that he was the 
 first to show the Athenians that " love for ever," 
 
 ^ That the \pevdoK6pr], as the Athenian stage-managers rather quaintly 
 called her — a class of character sufficiently common, it must be ad- 
 mitted — differs loto caelo from the regular Hetaera, is almost too 
 obvious to need mention. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 165 
 
 with which every poetaster and novel-reader has now 
 been familiar for so many centuries. 
 
 But the differences between the treatment of 
 women in the new literature, and that to which they 
 were exposed in the literature we have just been 
 studying, will be most readily made clear if we 
 proceed at once to the detailed examination of 
 the former. 
 
 The first and most prominent feature of the New 
 Comedy treatment of the love of men for women 
 is its insistance on marriage — that is to say, on a 
 definite guarantee of permanence and constancy — 
 as the one proper consummation of such love. In 
 fact, as we have already had occasion to observe 
 in another place, the idealisation of marriage is the 
 basis of Greek romance.^ 
 
 This insistance on marriage is, of course, most 
 strikingly exemplified in the typical New Comedy 
 plot, which is sufficiently familiar to every student of 
 the Latin comedians. Thus, in five of these Latin 
 plays, the Heanton Timorumenos (of Menander), 
 the Phormio (of Apollodorus), the Rudens (of 
 Diphilus), the Curculio, and the Poemdus^ the story 
 is of exactly the kind that subsequently appears 
 in the Greek novel — a young man falls in love 
 with a virgin, and, after various misfortunes which 
 threaten to separate the pair, they are eventually 
 married, and live happily ever afterwards. 
 
 ^ Supra ^ p. 109. 
 
 2 Of the Casina, which would appear at first sight to belong to this 
 class, we shall speak in another place. [The Excursus, dealing with 
 this subject, seems not to have been written ; comp. Excursus K.] 
 
1 66 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 On this class of plot it is unnecessary to dwell, 
 except that it may be worth while just to draw 
 attention to the extremely passionate nature of the 
 love which makes these young men so anxious to 
 marry. The modern reader would instinctively 
 expect that the confinement of love to these 
 legitimate and, as one would now consider them, 
 commonplace channels, would inevitably lead to a 
 lessening of its charm, and a diminution of its force. 
 As a matter of fact, the result was the very reverse. 
 Not only has the character of man's love for woman 
 changed, but this love has developed an intensity 
 of poetry and passion which has never belonged 
 to it before." Instances are easy to find ; the most 
 striking one is perhaps shown us at the meeting of 
 Phaedromus and Planesium, in the Curculio (i. 3) : 
 
 Pl. tene me, amplectere ergo ! Ph. hoc etiam est 
 
 quamobrem cupiam vivere. 
 quia te prohibet herus, clam hero potior. PL. prohibet, 
 
 nee prohibere quit, 
 nee prohibebit, nisi mors meum animum abs te abalien- 
 
 averit. 
 Ph. sibi sua habeant regna reges, sibi divitias divites, 
 sibi honores sibi virtutes sibi pugnas sibi proelia ! 
 dum mi abstineant invidere, sibi quisque habeant quod 
 
 suum est ! ^ 
 
 ^ It is hard for us, in our generation, to realise what the first dawn of 
 pure love for women must have meant to the men who saw it. It needs 
 a conscious effort of will to clean away from one's eyes and one's heart 
 the dust of the centuries, and to look back clearly ; but if once the 
 effort be successfully made, it is no longer hard to understand why, 
 at the end of the fourth century, the pure girl was a more inspiring 
 ideal than "the woman with a past," and why the Trapdivos could stir 
 depths of passion that the iraipa had left untouched. 
 
 ' These last lines are very suggestive of Theocr. viii. 53. It is worth 
 noticing that in this play (v. 2, 72) the girl is specially asked whether 
 she is wiUing to marry. 
 
Women in Greek Cornedy, 167 
 
 But there are others, almost equally forcible, in 
 the Rudens (iv. 8) — where particular enthusiasm is 
 expressed at the prospect of marriage, as opposed 
 to the relation which had previously been the lover's 
 highest possible ideal, — the Poeitulus (v. 4, 49)', and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 But another and equally important type of story 
 IS that in which the man first seduces the woman, 
 and then subsequently marries her. Plays of this 
 description are the Andria, the Eunuchns, the 
 Adelphi (all by Menander), the Aulularia, and the 
 Cistellaria? 
 
 Of these, the Cistellaria is different from the rest. 
 Here, the girl Silenium, who, though supposed to 
 be the daughter of a lena, has been brought up as 
 a virgin (i. 3, 24), is induced by a promise of marriage 
 to live with the man Alcesimarchus, a promise which 
 is afterwards fulfilled only after a considerable delay, 
 (i. I, 90-100.) In the other four cases, however — 
 and this is very important — the promise of marriage 
 is subsequent to the seduction, and takes the form, 
 not of an inducement to, but of a reparation for 
 the latter. The lover regards the seduction as a 
 crime, for which he is willing to make amends to 
 the utmost of his power, while at the same time 
 he is anxious to perpetuate and legalise his amour. 
 He therefore adopts what we are accustomed in 
 modern times to call an "honourable course," and 
 
 ^ " patrue mi, ita me di amabunt ut, ego si sim luppiter, 
 
 iam hercle ego illanc uxorem ducam, et lunonem extnidam foras !" 
 etc. 
 '^ Probably by Menander. At any rate, CistelL i. I, 90 seqq, is a 
 translation of Menand. Incert. 32. 
 
1 68 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 offers marriage to the woman whom he has loved 
 and still loves. The importance of this feature is two- 
 fold — firstly, the close association thus brought about 
 between marriage and love of the most " romantic " 
 and unconventional description ; and secondly, the 
 perpetuation and legalisation of a form of love which 
 is obviously by nature temporary and illegitimate. 
 And thus the love-stories of the New Comedy may 
 be said to begin where those of the Middle Comedy 
 end ; while the heroes of the latter are concerned 
 with achieving the temporary satisfaction of their 
 sensual desires, the heroes of the former are occupied 
 in striving to make permanent atonement for the 
 indiscretions which such desires have led them to 
 commit. 
 
 To quote instances of what has been said: in the 
 Andria the promise of marriage is distinctly an act 
 of reparation, which the lover feels himself in duty 
 bound to make. This is evident from the argument 
 of Sulpicius Apollinaris,^ and from various passages 
 in the play.^ The same is the case in the Adelphi? 
 Here Aeschinus, as soon as he considers what he 
 has done, comes to the mother of Pamphila, and 
 begs with tears to be allowed to marry her by way 
 of reparation.^ In the Aulularia^ the petition of 
 Lyconides to the miser Euclio is animated by a very 
 
 * " Glycerium vitiat Pamphilus, 
 gravidaque facta dat fidem, uxorem sibi 
 fore banc," etc. 
 
 ' e,g. Ter. And. i. 5, 36 seqq.^ iv. 2, 11 seqq. 
 
 * In tbe Adelphi of Menander, tbis feature was, in all probability, 
 even more prominent than it is in Terence's contaminated version. 
 
 * Ter. Adelph, iii. 2, 34 seqq. ; cp. iii. 4, 23 seqq. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 169 
 
 similar spirit.^ In the Eunuchus (which is, it must 
 be remembered, the love-story of a boy of sixteen)^, 
 there is no opportunity for any such behaviour on 
 the part of Chaerea, though his sincere regret (ii. 3, 
 33 seqq?), and his enthusiasm when the possibility 
 of marriage becomes apparent (v. 8, i seqq), show 
 clearly enough that he is not intended to be an 
 exception to the general rule. 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that the feeling, 
 which prompts the various characters of whom we 
 have spoken to make reparation for their wrong- 
 doing, is merely a feeling of repentance, or a regard 
 for public opinion. It is love, and love of a most 
 passionate kind, that makes them so anxious to 
 marry the women they have wronged. Of the 
 enthusiasm of the hero of the Eunuchus at the 
 prospect of marriage we have already spoken ; in 
 the Adelphi, Aeschinus is equally elated under 
 similar circumstances ;^ in the Aulularia, the anxiety 
 and persistency of Lyconides are evidently inspired 
 by the same feeling;^ in the Andria, Pamphilus 
 protests that nothing short of death will divide him 
 from Glycerium.^ That love which the Middle 
 Comedy could not conceive of as outliving its 
 sensual gratification, appears in the New Comedy, 
 not weakened, but strengthened by time, and 
 obstacles only serve to make the lover more deter- 
 mined to perpetuate and to legalise those emotions 
 
 ^ Plaut. Aulul. iv. 10. 
 
 2 Cp. Ter. Eun. iv. 4, 26. ^ Ter. Adelph. iv. 5, 62 seqq. 
 
 ^ Cp. Plaut. Aulul. iv. 7 and 10; the conclusion of the play, in which 
 the marriage of the hero was finally settled, is lost. 
 ^ Ter. And. iv. 2, 14. 
 
I/O Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 which had, to a previous generation, owed their chief 
 charm to their freedom from the restraints of con- 
 stancy and propriety. 
 
 In the Hecyra again, it is by marriage that, through 
 a strange coincidence, the hero is eventually able to 
 repair the wrong done to the heroine. In the Stichus, 
 too, the plot turns on the constancy of two wives to 
 their absent husbands,^ while, in the Trinummus, 
 there seems strong reason to believe that it is not 
 all love for Lesbonicus which makes Lysiteles so 
 anxious to marry the former s sister.^ 
 
 To this evidence from the plays themselves may 
 be added some further evidence of a more general 
 kind. Marriage is mentioned by the anonymous 
 author of the epigram in the C. L G. 6083, as the 
 most characteristic feature of Menander's plays — 
 
 ^ai^pov eraipov ^'Eyowros 6/oas, (J€ipriva OedrpioVy 
 TovSe MevavSpov, del Kpdra TrvAcafo/xevov, 
 
 owck' dp' dvdpMTTOvs IXapov /Stov i^eStSa^ev, 
 YjSvvas (TKrjvrjv dpdp.ao'L Tracrt ydpo). 
 
 Still more emphatic is the testimony of Plutarch, 
 who asserts {Sympos, vii. 712 C) that Menander is 
 peculiarly suited for married men to hear and read — 
 
 €;(et Se koX rd kpiariKa irap' avr(2 Kaipov TreTroiKoa-tv dvOpiowoLS 
 KOL dva7rav(ra{X€voi<s perd piKpbv dTrtovcTL irapd rots eavrwv 
 yvvalKas ... at re cfiOopal rwv wapOeviov els ydpov CTrtet/cws 
 
 KaTacrTp€<f>OV(TL, K.T.A. 
 
 Indeed, the essentially "proper" character of the 
 Menandrean drama is emphasised by more than one 
 
 ^ Here, too, there can be little doubt that in the original (the Phila- 
 delphi of Menander), this erotic element was more prominent than it is 
 in the Latin. ^ Qp^ Plaut. Trin, v. i, i seqq, ; 2, 64. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 171 
 
 ancient writer. That Comedy could be anything but 
 indecent was a revelation to Athens of the fourth 
 century, and it was a revelation for which she does 
 not seem to have been particularly grateful ; but the 
 fact that it was a writer whose works were fit **puens 
 virginibusque legi," who revolutionized the dramatic 
 art, is one that a modern student of that revolution 
 cannot afford to forget.^ 
 
 Two of the plays mentioned above, the Hecyra 
 and the Stichus^ lead naturally to the consideration 
 of another feature of the New Comedy treatment 
 of marriage — a feature which, though less strongly 
 marked than that of which we have just been 
 speaking, is yet, if one considers what Greek feeling 
 had previously been on this matter, perhaps even 
 more remarkable. Not only is marriage held up as 
 the lover's ideal, but the actual married state is 
 described as a state of happiness, and married 
 people, even those who have been married for some 
 time, are introduced to us as strongly attached to 
 one another. How complete a revolution in Greek 
 feeling such a state as this implies, need hardly be 
 emphasised.^ Yet, in the Stichus, we have a plot 
 based on the determination of two women to remain 
 faithful to their husbands (who have been absent for 
 
 ^ Some further interesting evidence on this subject will be discussed 
 later. [Cp. p. 189 ; but the reference seems to be to a part of the 
 work which was not written.] 
 
 2 In Tragedy, of course, the faithful and loving wife was not so 
 entirely unknown. The Athenian might accept an Alcestis, who lived 
 in pre-historic and heroic times, though even here his natural tendency 
 was to jeer (cp. Aristoph. Equit. 125 1) ; but, imagine such a character 
 in Comedy, which was taken from real contemporary life ? The idea 
 was preposterous. 
 
172 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 three years) in spite of the efforts of their father to 
 induce them to do otherwise ; they insist on remain- 
 ing faithful, though their husbands are poor (Plaut. 
 Stick, i. 2, 75 seqq.)^ and though they are uncertain 
 whether their devotion is returned (i. i, 36 seqq). In 
 the Hecyra again, it is the behaviour of Philumena 
 after marriage which wins her husband's heart (Ten 
 Hec, i. 2, 85 seqq^ — a remarkably modern form of 
 love-story. 
 
 Various fragments, too, of Menander have a 
 similar import, such as the famous passage from 
 the Misogynes on the advantages of marriage — 
 
 IXOovr^ €ts vocrov 
 Tov €\ovTa ravrrjv WepdirevcTev CTrt/xeAw?, 
 OLTv^ovvTL (Tv/jL7rap€fxeiV€v, oLTTodavovra T€ 
 Waxpe^ 7r€pi€(rT€iXev otKetws. (jFr. I, 9.) 
 
 or Menand. Incert. Ji, where the husband takes up 
 the cudgels in his wife's behalf Incert. 10 1, again, 
 dwells on the close relationship existing between 
 man and wife — 
 
 otKetov ovTCo? ov^kv ecrrtv, w K6.yy\% 
 eav (TKOTTTj Tts, 0)5 avTjp re kol yvvrj, 
 
 Incert. 100 points out that a wife must rule her 
 husband by love — 
 
 cV k(Tr^ dXrjOes <f)tXTpov, €vyviofJL(i)v rpoiros. 
 TOVT(^ KaraKparelv dvSphs eioiO^v yvvq, 
 
 and a careful reader will have no difficulty in finding 
 other more or less important examples of the 
 same spirit, both in Menander and in the Latin 
 Comedians. 
 
 One important exception there is, of course, to 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 173 
 
 this state of affairs, and that is the relation between 
 the old men and their wives. The types of the hen- 
 pecked husband and the Xanthippe-like wife are too 
 familiar to need illustration. But here it is to be 
 observed, that the husbands who appear in this 
 position, are always old or elderly men, and this fact 
 is probably not without its significance. In describing 
 his elderly married men as unhappy, Menander was 
 ridiculing, not marriage, but the mariages de con- 
 venance which had, before his time, been the regular 
 thing at Athens. ''These men are unhappy," says 
 Menander, " not because they are married, but 
 because they have married wives whom they never 
 loved, and whom they chose merely because of their 
 money, or to please their relations. If they had 
 married for love, the case might well have been 
 different." And thus the hen-pecked husband, who 
 belongs to the old regime, is only a further argument 
 in favour of the romantic love-matches of which 
 Menander approved. 
 
 Of course the matter did not stop here. It was so 
 easy to raise a laugh with a row between husband 
 and wife, that Comedy was sure not to abandon the 
 subject, even after its raison d'etre had disappeared ; 
 and a modern audience, we know, is just as ready to 
 laugh at the husband who has lost his latch-key as 
 were the Athenians of the fourth century. But the 
 point to be remembered is, that a pair of characters 
 like Chremes and Sostrata in the Heauton Timoru- 
 menus, or Laches and Sostrata in the Hecyra, 
 furnishes no real argument against the view that 
 Menander and his followers of the New Comedy 
 
174 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 regarded marriage, if properly entered upon, as a 
 state of happiness. 
 
 Another exception, and one that is perhaps in 
 reality a more important one, is furnished by 
 Menander's Misogynes, a work which gained very 
 great popularity, doubtless owing to the way in 
 which it appealed to the lower instincts of the 
 audience whom its author was trying to educate up ; 
 but here it has to be observed that, in the first place, 
 as the play is lost, it is impossible to say what the 
 actual denouement was ; while, secondly, there was no 
 reason why a man of Menander's versatile genius 
 should not for once treat the subject of married life 
 in an unusual manner, without in any way abandon- 
 ing his general views on the subject.^ 
 
 A further feature of the New Comedy treatment 
 of marriage is the universal respect for its sanctity/^ 
 The adulterer, who is the favourite hero of mediaeval 
 romance, is here invariably held up to contempt and 
 hatred. The most familiar instance of this is, of 
 course, the story in the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus, 
 but it is far from being an isolated one. The Halieis 
 of Menander evidently treated of a somewhat similar 
 subject,^ which appears once more in the Eu?iuchus,^ 
 In the Andria again, Charinus is horror-stricken at 
 
 ^ It is of course obvious that characters such as Clitipho in the 
 Heauion Timorumenus, or Lesbonicus in the Trin7i7n?mis, do not 
 regard matrimony with much enthusiasm, but, in all these cases, the 
 reasons for their objection are so apparent that no one would consider 
 them as real exceptions to the general rule that the young man of the 
 New Comedy looks on marriage with favour. 
 
 2 And here one may remark at once that the incontinence of women, 
 which is one of the favourite subjects both of Aristophanes and of 
 Euripides, is nowhere emphasised in New Comedy. 
 
 ' Cp. Fr, 10. * Cp. Ter. Eun, v. 4, 21 seqq. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 175 
 
 the idea of committing adultery with the woman he 
 loves, though, when accused of seducing the same 
 woman, his only regret is that he cannot plead guilty 
 to the charge.^ An even more remarkable instance, 
 and one perhaps without parallel, is furnished by the 
 Hecyra, where the Hetaera Bacchis asserts that she 
 had refused to admit her lover, Pamphilus, as soon 
 as she learned that he was married.^ It may be 
 argued, of course, that she did this out of pique, but 
 the very cordial nature of the meeting between the 
 two (Ter. Hec, v. 4, 16, seqq)^ and the fact that 
 Bacchis knew that her lover had abandoned her 
 sorely against his will (i. 2, 45 seqq)^ and was still 
 devoted to her (i. 2, 82), seem to suggest that this is 
 not the most natural explanation of her conduct.^ 
 
 ^ Ter. And. ii. I, 15 and 25. [The author is assuming that the words 
 ' ' quam vellem ! " in the latter passage, are spoken by Charinus, not by 
 Pamphilus : the editors differ on this point.] This curious passage 
 furnishes a further instance, if further instances be needed, of the fact 
 that what the Greek required of a woman for a love-match was not so 
 much physical purity as constancy to a particular lover. Hence we find 
 that by far the greater mass of Greek romantic love-poetry is addressed, 
 not to virgins, but to women to whom the writer is, in one way or 
 another, married. Thus, too, in the romance of Xenophon Ephesius, 
 the adventures of the lovers all take place after marriage (the wedding 
 occurs already in chapter viii of book I.), and in this the Ephesiaca 
 are at least as Greek as, if not more so than the Fasforalia of Longus, 
 or the novel of Eumathius, where the most ridiculous and desperate 
 expedients have to be resorted to in order that the heroine may 
 preserve her virginity till the end of the last chapter. But this whole 
 matter will be more fully discussed when we come to consider the 
 Callimachean ideal of woman. [The reference is to a part of the 
 work which was not completed.] 
 
 2 Ter. Hec. v. l, 24 seqq. ; cp. i. 2, 82. 
 
 ^ The Casina (of Diphilus) and the Orge of Menander seem equally 
 emphatic on the point, but as both these plays belong, strictly speaking, 
 to Middle Comedy, which had other and less romantic reasons for 
 decrying adultery, they need not be further noticed here. 
 
1/6 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 The passages just described may serve to intro- 
 duce us to a further feature of our subject — a feature 
 in which the New Comedy is, if possible, even more 
 remarkably unlike the Middle Comedy than in those 
 which have already been discussed. In the Middle 
 Comedy, as we have already had frequent occasion 
 to observe, the wife and the husband are invariably 
 held up to ridicule when compared with the Hetaera 
 and her lover; in the New Comedy we may find this 
 position exactly reversed. Instances are rare, (as is 
 indeed to be expected, when we consider, in the first 
 place, the strong current of popular feeling on the 
 subject, and, secondly, the personal relations between 
 the leading writers of the New Comedy and the 
 prominent Hetaerae of the time,) but they do un- 
 questionably occur. The most striking example is 
 perhaps that in the Heauton Timorumenus, where not 
 only is the Hetaera contrasted unfavourably with the 
 virgin, (as she herself admits,)^ but her lover is made 
 consistently ridiculous as compared with the lover 
 who contemplates marriage, and in the end comes 
 off badly in the extreme. Very similar evidence is 
 furnished by the Hecyra. In the struggle for the 
 love of Pamphilus, which takes place in that play 
 between the wife and the Hetaera, the former is 
 completely successful, and her victory is gained by 
 sheer amiability of temper (Ter. Hec. i. 2, 85 seqq^ ; 
 indeed, so charming is she, that the Hetaera is 
 
 ^ Cp. Ter. Heaui. Tim. ii. 4, l seqq. 
 
 edepol te, mea Antiphila, laudo et fortunatam iudico, 
 
 id cum studuisti, isti formae ut mores consimiles forent, etc. 
 
 words which raise strange memories of a well-known passage in the 
 
 Dame aux Camelias» 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 177 
 
 driven in the end to congratulate her husband on his 
 good fortune in having married her. (v. 4, 22.) And 
 this victory of the wife becomes the more remark- 
 able, when we observe that the Hetaera is evidently 
 intended to be a very favourable specimen of her 
 class, in every way deserving of the lover she is 
 compelled to lose.^ 
 
 While on this point, it may not be amiss to 
 remark that it is by no means impossible that the 
 famous Thais of Menander really belonged to this 
 class of plays, and that the Hetaera, who gives her 
 name to the piece, is intended as a parody on the 
 typical Hetaera of Middle Comedy. This view, 
 which is not improbable in itself, receives some 
 support from the mock-heroic tone of Fr. i of the 
 Thais^ and still more from Mart. xiv. 187;^ but 
 cannot, of course, be regarded as more than a 
 possible suggestion.* 
 
 Of mere vulgar ridicule or abuse of the ordinary 
 Hetaera, as heartless,^ mercenary,^ and the like, 
 
 ^ Cp. inter alia, v. i, 30 ; 3, 35. 
 ^ ifxol fxkv odv deide roiavrrjv, Bed, k.t.\, 
 
 ^ " haec. {sc. Thais M enandri) primum iuvenum lascivos lusit amores ; '* 
 where hesit must almost certainly mean "parodied" or "ridiculed,'' 
 and lascivos amores " Hetaera-loves " as opposed to the more orthodox 
 amours of which the New Comedy proper treats. 
 
 * In any case, however, it is tempting to read in Prop. ii. 6, 3 : 
 turba Menandreae fuerit nee Thaidos olim 
 tanta in qua populum lusit Erichthonium, 
 ^ E.g. Plaut. CisU i. i, 66. 
 
 Sl. at mihi cordolium est. 
 Gy. quid id? unde est tibi cordolium, commemora, obsecro, 
 quod neque ego habeo neque quisquam alia mulier, ut per- 
 hibent viri ? 
 ^ E.g. Plaut. Trin. ii. I, 15 seqq. etc., etc. 
 
 N 
 
178 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 there is, of course, enough and to spare; but it 
 would be unjustifiable to claim expressions such as 
 these as distinctive of New Comedy, in the face of 
 passages like Epicrates, Antiiais, 2, or Anaxilas, 
 Neottis, I. Menander indeed makes a more serious 
 charge, perhaps, when one of his characters asserts 
 that an Hetaera cannot be good, for she makes a 
 trade of sin : 
 
 ovSeiroO' eratpa rov /caAws Trecj^povriKev, 
 rj TO KaKorjOes TrpoaroSov eibiOev Trotetv. 
 
 (Incert. 107 J 
 
 This is, however, an isolated expression, for Menand. 
 Incert. 36, at first sight similar, is really different. 
 
 But, though the writers of the New Comedy are 
 careful, as a general rule, to avoid anything that 
 might have seemed too severe a stricture on that 
 system of Hetaera-worship which was so distinctive 
 a feature of the age, they are unmistakably emphatic 
 in their assertion that such sensual love is not the 
 only kind of love of which a man is capable. 
 The chivalrous manner in which the lover of New 
 Comedy often behaves to his lady, is one of the 
 clearest features of the change which the authors of 
 the romantic school had succeeded in bringing about 
 on the Athenian stage. 
 
 At once the most striking and the most perplex- 
 ing illustration of this is furnished by the character 
 of Thrasonides in Menander's celebrated play, the 
 Misumenus. This Thrasonides, who belongs to the 
 regular type of the Miles Gloriosiis, is in love with 
 a slave-girl, whom he has obtained in the course of 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 179 
 
 his wars;^ but he has so disgusted her with his 
 boasting (like Leontichus in Lucian) that she has 
 conceived a most violent hatred for him. He then, 
 though she is his slave, and though his passion is 
 so great that he cannot sleep for thinking of her,^ 
 instead of using his undoubted power to accomplish 
 what he wishes,^ tries every means that he can 
 imagine in order to conciliate her, "sending her 
 gifts, and weeping, and praying," ^ that she may look 
 more favourably upon him. 
 
 The denouement of the play is lost. It is not 
 impossible that in the end the slave-girl was iden- 
 tified as an Athenian, and carried off by some more 
 acceptable lover, who thus profited by the chivalrous 
 conduct of his rival, or she may even have turned 
 out to be the soldier's sister, as in the Curculio or the 
 Epidiciis, in either of which cases the scruples of 
 Thrasonides would be necessary to the working of 
 the plot. But all this is, for our present purpose, of 
 no importance. What is of importance, and of the 
 utmost importance, is the fact that Thrasonides, 
 though he is so violently in love with the girl, will 
 not make use of his unquestioned power to gratify 
 this passion, because of the dislike which she feels 
 for him. In fact, his love is of such a kind that he 
 
 •*• TraLdLCTKapiov jxe KaradedovKiaK* evreX^s, 
 
 dv ov8e eh rCov iroXefiiiov ovinhiroTe. {Fr. 3. ) 
 Cp. Arrian, Dissert. Epictet. iv. I. 
 2 Cp. Fr. 10, II. 
 
 ^ Trap' e/AOt 7d/) icrriv ^vdov, ^^eanv d^ fiOL 
 
 /cat /3oi;Xo/xat tovt\ ov ttolCo 84. {Fr. 5.) 
 * Vide Arrian, /oc. cit. where the whole subject of Thrasonides is 
 discussed. 
 
i8o Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 does not merely want to satisfy a sensual appetite — 
 he wants to be loved. Unless he can feel that she 
 loves him, none of those privileges, which, to the 
 ordinary Hetaera-lover of the day, would have been 
 of themselves the complete consummation of love, 
 are of any value to him. t^^tjTi ixoi tovto kol 
 ^ovXojUiat, ov TTOio) Se. 
 
 The aim of the lover is not to gratify himself, but 
 to inspire love.^ That we are here face to face with 
 a form of love which is not only actually absent from 
 Middle Comedy, but is by nature absolutely foreign 
 to that literature and could not possibly appear in it, 
 is too obvious to need further emphasis.^ 
 
 This much, then, is clear ; but there remains a most 
 perplexing question, which, though it is a little aside 
 of our immediate subject, is yet too interesting to be 
 passed by altogether. Why is it Thrasonides, the 
 Miles Gloriosus whom all the Comedians are banded 
 together to ridicule, who appears as the most 
 chivalrous lover of the whole of New Comedy.**^ 
 Why is a man who is universally regarded as a 
 fool, made to give expression to such elevated senti- 
 ments, and to follow such a noble line of conduct } 
 
 ^ This is the view taken of the case by Diogenes Laertius (vii. 130), 
 when he is discussing the Stoic doctrine of love. 
 
 elvaL dk Tov ^pcora iin^dKriv (fxXoirouas dia koXXos ijuL(paLv6jUi€Pov' Kai 
 fi7) eXvai avpovcrlas, dXXd, (piXias. tov yovv Qpaacvvidrjv, Kaiirep iv i^ovalq. 
 ^Xo^'^ct T7]v ipojfjLevTjv, 5ia rb iXLcreiddaL cltt^x^'-^ avrijs, elvat odv rbv ^pojra 
 (pLXias. K.T.X. 
 
 2 One need merely think of Thais, the ideal Hetaera, juLtjdevbs 
 ipCoddv. 
 
 ^ That this is no mere coincidence is shown by the characters, of 
 Stratophanes in Menander's Sicyonius^ and others, of whom we shall 
 speak presently, [p. 182.] 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, i8i 
 
 The first explanation that suggests itself is, of 
 course, "Because he is a fool." This view is cer- 
 tainly advanced in a passage of Plutarch, where 
 Thrasonides is compared to the miser who starves 
 rather than make use of the food he has in the house,^ 
 and seems to find favour too with Thrasonides' own 
 slave.2 But this explanation is not a very satisfac- 
 tory one, somehow. However great a fool Menander 
 might wish to make of the mercenary soldier of the 
 time, this does not seem the natural line for his folly 
 to take, nor was it the line, as we know from his- 
 torical evidence, that the folly of these people 
 actually did as a rule take. A Pyrgopolinices must, 
 one would have thought, have been a far more 
 familiar figure to citizens who had enjoyed a Mace- 
 donian occupation, than a Thrasonides. One might, 
 perhaps, imagine that the behaviour of Alexander to 
 the wife and daughters of Darius — behaviour which 
 was regarded in Greece as somewhat remarkable^ — 
 had suggested the character of Thrasonides, for, after 
 all, the ideal soldier of the age, whether for good or 
 evil, is always Alexander ; only it seems doubtful 
 whether a single action of an unusual kind could 
 
 1 Plut. de Cupid. Div. 524 F. 
 
 [/caiTOt TTws ov fiavLKov ovbk OLKTpbv rb irddos, el tls ifiaTiip firj XP^'^cti Slcl 
 TO ptyouv, fjL7]8k dpT(p 5ta rb ireLvrjVj fjLTjde ttXoijtc^ dia t6 ^LXoirXovTeTv ; 
 dXV iv rocs QpcLcrwvidov /ca/cots iariv' 
 
 Trap' i/xol yap iariv ^v5ov, ^^€(ttlv 64 fiOL, 
 /cat ^OTuXofxai. tout .... 
 Jjs ol ififxaviarraTa ipGjvres, 
 
 .... 01) TTOIW de AC.T.X.] 
 
 ^ MisumenuSy Fr. 6. 
 
 ^ Cp. Athen. xiii. 603 C, where not only is his continence emphasised, 
 but also his treatment of his captives as if they were free. Cp. Menand. 
 Sicyon. Fr. 3. 
 
1 82 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 serve to form so constant a type as the chivalrous 
 soldier-lover. At one time I thought that, as the 
 soldier of New Comedy has generally served in 
 Asia, perhaps he might be supposed to have im- 
 ported his advanced romantic ideas from one of 
 those Greek Asiatic cities which were, as we know, 
 the original home of Greek romance, and indeed of 
 all important developments of Greek erotic litera- 
 ture.\ But there is to modern notions so great an 
 incongruity in the idea of, say, the Colonel of a 
 West India regiment so influenced by the latest 
 school of literature as to model his life on it, that, 
 though such a character would not, perhaps, have 
 seemed so absurd to the Greeks as it does to us, 
 still, in the absence of all definite evidence, I have 
 preferred not to lay undue stress upon what is, after 
 all, entirely a matter of conjecture. Indeed, the 
 question remains to me a very obscure one, and I 
 cannot at present see any satisfactory solution of it. 
 
 But, whatever may have been the causes which 
 led to the creation of this particular character, the 
 soldier-lover of a more or less Thrasonides type is 
 an unquestionable feature of New Comedy. Besides 
 the hero of the Misianenus, of whom we have spoken, 
 in the Sicyonms (also by Menander) we find another 
 soldier, Stratophanes, who buys a slave-girl, and then 
 treats her as if she were a free woman.^ To the 
 same class of feeling, though expressed in a some- 
 
 ^ Mimnermus, Anacreon, and Antimachus were all, of course, natives 
 of Greek Asia, where the cult of women seems always, from the earliest 
 times onwards, to have been more developed than in Greece itself. 
 There is a certain grim irony in the tradition that would make Anaxan- 
 drides, too, a native of Colophon, ^ yi^^ p^^ 2. 
 
Women in Greek 
 
 what different way, belongs the remorse which the 
 soldier Polemon (in the Periceiromene of Menander) 
 feels for the wrong he has done to his alyjxakdiTi^ 
 
 A case in some respects similar, though in others 
 different, is that of the soldier Stratippocles, in the 
 EpidicuSy who falls in love with his captive, but 
 does not touch her.^ The differences, of course, 
 here are that, firstly, the play belongs to Middle 
 Comedy, its moral being that Stratippocles will 
 be happier with his fidicina than with the girl of 
 high birth, for whom he has formed the chivalrous 
 attachment ;2 while, secondly, the continence of the 
 hero is not so much a feature of his character as a 
 necessity for the development of the plot ; and, 
 thirdly, the soldier is here not a mercenary, but an 
 Athenian citizen, who has been fighting against the 
 Thebans. But though, therefore, the case of the 
 Epidicus does not belong to the same category as 
 those previously discussed, the association in it 
 of the soldier with chivalrous behaviour towards 
 women is yet worthy of notice, and, even if only 
 a coincidence, is still an interesting one.^ 
 
 Apart, too, from these very remarkable instances, 
 there are not a few passages scattered about in the 
 
 ^ Plaut. Epid, i. 2, 7. 
 
 ^ Cp. V. I, 45, where the lover's regrets are promptly answered by 
 the assertion that there is another woman ready who will do just as 
 well or better : stultus, tace ! 
 
 tibi quidem quod ames domi praesto. 
 ^ That the character of the soldier belonged essentially to erotic 
 comedy is further shown by Plaut. Capt. prolog. 57 : 
 hie neque periurus leno nee meretrix mala 
 neque miles gloriosus. 
 
184 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 remains of the New Comedy which serve to show 
 that the "love," of which there is so much talk in 
 that literature, is not the merely animal passion of 
 an earlier period. Of these, a striking one is that 
 preserved in Plutarch, ap, Stob. Flor, Ixiii. 34: 
 
 Twv MevavSpov Spa/xarwv, says Plutarch there, ovk lctcos 
 OLTravToyv ev avveKTiKOv icrnv 6 cpojSy oTov wvevfjia kolvov 
 8iaKe)(VK(o<s ; ov ovv /xaAto-ra 6iaarcoTr]v rov 6eov /cat opyiao-rrjv 
 L(r[Ji€v, Tov avSpa o-vi/eTrtAajUi/^avcD/xev els rrjv (y]T7](Tiv, cTret Kal 
 AeAa/cT^Ke Trcpl rov irdOovs cf)i\oo'o<j)MT€pov. a^tov yap etvat 
 Oavfiaros cj^rjo-as to irepl tovs Ipwvras, (ocrirep €(TtIv afxa 
 AaAet. elra diropei /cat f^TC? Trpos kavTov ' 
 
 TLvi SeSovAcurafc (sc, 6 epaa-rrjs) ttot€ ; 
 
 6\p€i y (f>\vapos. K.T.A 
 
 Katpos €(rTLV rj vocros 
 
 ipvxqs. (Menand. Incert, 14.) 
 
 That is : Menander, a writer familiar with love in 
 its most passionate forms (OLao-oortjv koI opyiacmjv), 
 gives us a sober and serious view of the matter. 
 After expressing his astonishment at the ways of 
 lovers, he furnishes us with a realistic account of 
 love as it actually is {wcrirep eo-TLv djuLa XaXec)^ and 
 then proceeds to investigate its causes. For a 
 moment he is puzzled, and questions with himself, 
 but soon he finds the true answer. Kaipo^ Icttlv ri 
 v6a-09 V^fx^9- Love is an affection of the soul as 
 distinct from the body, and has only an accidental 
 connection with the latter. ^ 
 
 Equally forcible, though in another way, is a 
 
 ^ This doubtless refers to some lines, now lost, which preceded the 
 passage subsequently quoted. 
 
 2 This is, of course, nothing but a versified version of the doctrine 
 of the Stoic, Euclides. Cp. Diog. Laert. ii. 108. 
 
Women in Greek Co7nedy, 185 
 
 passage from the Poemdus. The lover and his 
 slave are watching the two girls, and the slave 
 expresses his utter contempt for his master's 
 '' Platonic " affection, to which the latter answers 
 that he loves Adelphasium as he loves the gods.^ 
 Another case is in the Curculio, where the love of 
 Phaedromus for Planesium is fed on nothing more 
 substantial than kisses ; ^ another in the Hecyra, 
 where it is distinctly pointed out that the love of 
 Pamphilus for his wife is induced by other than 
 sensual considerations.^ Other instances, of more 
 or less significance, every reader of the Latin 
 comedians will be able to supply for himself; and 
 it is further worth observing that when a New 
 Comedy character, as occasionally does happen, is 
 made to speak slightingly of " Platonic " love, such 
 a character is always a slave, never a person of 
 refinement.^ 
 
 To proceed to the final point of essential difference 
 between Middle and New Comedy, it will be re- 
 membered that, in the former class of literature, 
 family life and the mutual relations of members 
 of a family were among the stock subjects of 
 ridicule, and that no remarks expressive of any 
 other views on this matter are to be found there, 
 
 ^ Mi. etiamne (a me didicisti) ut ames earn, quam nusquam 
 tetigeris? nihil illuc quidem est. 
 
 Ag. deos quoque edepol et amo et metuo, quibus tamen abstineo 
 manus. (i. 2, 69. ) A remark in v. 4, 49, is similar in spirit. 
 
 ^ Plaut. Cure. i. i, 50 seqq. Further moralisings on the power of a 
 kiss (which almost suggest Daphnis in Longus' Pastor alia^ i. 18) occur 
 in Menand. Incert. 7. 
 
 3 Ter. Ilec, i. 2, 60 seqq, ; 85 seqq. 
 
 ^ e.g. the **Geta" in Menander's Misumenus, Milphio in the 
 Poenulus of Plautus, &c. 
 
1 86 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 at any rate before a very late period.^ Family life, 
 as depicted in the New Comedy, is by no means 
 ideal ; indeed, as we have already had occasion 
 to remark, the unhappy relations between husband 
 and elderly wife are, under certain circumstances, 
 a favourite subject of ridicule, even with Menander.^ 
 But yet instances to the contrary are to be found, 
 and are, in fact, by no means very uncommon. Not 
 to speak of the cases of devotion of wife to husband 
 and husband to wife — such as those in the Stichus, 
 &€., already sufficiently discussed^ — the relations 
 between father and children, and, still more, mother 
 and children,^ are often described as of the most 
 delightful character. 
 
 Of the former, there are interesting examples in 
 Menand. Incert. 59 : 
 
 ato-;(Wo/xat rov 7raT€pa^ KAetroc/xSi/, [jlovov. 
 avTif^Xeweiv eKelvov ov SvvT^o-o/xat 
 dStKwv* TO, S' aAAa paStios x^t^wo-o/xat. 
 Incert 108 : 
 
 6 CTKkrjpOTaTOS TTpOS vloV €V TO) V0v6€T€lV 
 
 TOLS /xev Xoyois iriKpos ecrrt, rots 8' epyois Trarrjp. 
 Incert, 113 : 
 
 firjSei/ 68vva rov irarepa, yiyvcxXTKayv on 
 
 6 fieyLCTTOv dyaTTLJV St' eAa^^tcrr' opyL^erai, 
 Incert, 117: 
 
 ovScttot' a\y]B\% ov^\v ovO' vl<^ iraTrjp 
 
 €L(i)6^ oLTreLXelv, ovt epiov ipuyfjievrj.^ 
 
 ^ Such a passage as Alexis, Incert, 35, would belong to this date. It 
 is very different to the ribald remarks in the Philometor of Antiphanes. 
 
 ^ Cp. supra, p. 173. 3 ji,i(i^ ^ lyi 
 
 * The "mater indulgens" is mentioned in Apuleius, Florid. 16, as 
 one of the stock characters in Philemon. 
 
 ^ Menand. Incert, 109, 114, 115, are all equally to the point. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 187 
 
 The charming interview between the father and 
 his two daughters in the Stichus (i. 2, 32 seqq), is a 
 further, equally striking instance. 
 
 Of the latter relation, that between mother and 
 children, there is a good instance in this same play 
 (i. 2, 51), where, after the father has propounded 
 his intention of marrying again, his daughter reminds 
 him that it will be hard for him to find a second 
 wife like his first. 
 
 An. pel ego uxorem quaere, postquam vostra mater 
 mortua est. 
 
 Pa. facile invenies et peiorem et peius moratam, pater, 
 quam ilia fuit ; meliorem neque tu reperies neque 
 sol videt. 
 
 A still more striking case is that in the Hecyra, 
 where the mother of Pamphilus, thinking that it is 
 her presence which renders it impossible for her 
 son's wife to live with him, resolves to sacrifice 
 herself, and go into voluntary exile into the country.^ 
 The same idea, though less pleasantly expressed, is 
 apparent in Syrus' remark in the Heauton Timoru- 
 menus (v. 2, 38) : matres omnes filiis 
 
 in peccato adiutrices, auxilio in paterna iniuria. 
 
 But it is needless to multiply instances of a state 
 of affairs with which every attentive reader of Plautus 
 and Terence must be sufficiently familiar. ^ 
 
 ^ Vide Ter. Hec. iv. 2, i seqq,, a. passage of great interest. 
 
 ^ Some further remarks on the family relations in New Comedy will 
 be found in Excursus K. 
 
 [Frequent reference is made in these pages to Plautus and 
 Terence, as illustrating the New Comedy. The justification of such 
 reference was to have been dealt with in an Excursus. The author 
 was of opinion that the Latin comedians might be cited to illustrate 
 plot and subject, though we could not be certain that the actual words 
 or expressions in any given passage were due to Greek originals.] 
 
Women in Gi'eek Comedy, 
 
 IX. The Origins of the Romantic Comedy. 
 
 The above investigation into the nature of New 
 Comedy, and into the points of difference between 
 it and the earlier literature, leads naturally to the 
 consideration of a further and final question — that 
 of the origin of these differences which are so 
 strikingly apparent. We have seen that the romantic 
 New Comedy differs entirely in its treatment of 
 women from every form of dramatic art which had 
 preceded it.^ In fact, we have seen that, while the 
 Middle Comedy belongs still entirely to the first or 
 classical period of Greek literature, the New Comedy, 
 with its striking romantic features, belongs essentially 
 to that second period, which it is usual to call the 
 Alexandrian, and forms, indeed, one of the depart- 
 ments of literature in which the romantic tendencies 
 of that period can be studied to the best advantage. 
 What we have to consider is therefore this : How 
 did Athenian Comedy acquire these romantic features 
 which are so conspicuously absent from its earlier 
 phases } when did it acquire them } and to whom 
 was the acquisition due } 
 
 The last of these three questions may be best 
 considered first. There seems every reason to believe 
 that this introduction of the romantic element was 
 due to Menander rather than to Philemon.^ There 
 
 ^ That there was no romantic element in Greek tragedy has already 
 been shown at length. [See above, pp. 37-67.] 
 
 ^ The claims of Diphilus need not be considered. His leanings 
 towards Middle Comedy are generally admitted; in his fragments 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 189 
 
 can be no question that of the two writers, Philemon 
 is the less distinctively romantic. Of the typical 
 New Comedy love-stories preserved in Plautus and 
 Terence, not one professes to be derived from him. 
 The allusions to women altogether are proportion- 
 ately much fewer in his fragments than in those 
 of Menander ; while a large proportion, again, of 
 such allusions as there are, are either references to 
 Hetaerae, or else belong to the old-fashioned miso- 
 gyny of Middle Comedy. The detailed examination 
 of his style of art, which occurs m the Florida of 
 Apuleius, is altogether strongly suggestive of Middle 
 Comedy;^ indeed, Apuleius actually describes him 
 as "mediae comoediae scriptor." It is further to 
 be remarked that the number of coarse allusions 
 to women is proportionately far greater in Philemon 
 than in Menander. Indeed, the whole study of 
 Philemon's treatment of women leaves one with the 
 impression, not only that he was at heart a follower 
 of the old school, but that even when he did for 
 
 there is no suggestion of any romantic treatment of women. In fact, 
 the only real reason for assigning him to New Comedy at all is, 
 perhaps, the story of the Rudens^ which, Arcturus states in the Pro- 
 logue, is derived from this writer. Of the Casina we shall speak 
 elsewhere. [See page 165, note 2.] 
 
 ^ Poeta fuit hie Philemon, mediae comoediae scriptor\ fabulas cum 
 Menandro in scenam dictavit, certavitque cum eo, fortasse impar, certe 
 aemulus. namque eum etiam vicisse saepenumero, pudet dicere. 
 reperias tamen apud ipsum multos sales, argumenta lepide inflexa, 
 agnatos lucide explicatos, personas rebus competentes, sententias vitae 
 congruentes, ioca non infra soccum, seria non usque ad cothurnum. 
 rarae apud ilium cor7'uptelae, et, uti errores, concessi amores. nee 
 eo minus et leno periurus et amator fervidus et servulus callidus et 
 arnica illudens et uxor inhibens et mater indulgens et patruus obiur- 
 gator et sodalis opitulator et miles proeliator ; sed et parasiti edaces 
 et parentes tenaces et meretrices procaces. Apul. Flor, 16. 
 
1 90 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 any reason adopt the romantic principle, he developed 
 this principle from a more sensual point of view than 
 Menander. That this tendency to coarseness is in 
 sympathy with the earlier spirit of Athenian comedy, 
 but is entirely foreign to its romantic development, 
 need hardly be emphasised, after all that has 
 already been said on the subject. And it may not 
 be altogether beside the question here, to call atten- 
 tion to Philemon's invariable pessimism — pessimism 
 most characteristic of a conservative mind in an age 
 of progress, but hardly consistent with such qualities 
 as would be required of the originator of a great 
 artistic and social revolution.^ Furthermore, Philemon 
 is regularly spoken of as the rival of Menander ;2 the 
 reverse is never the case, notwithstanding the fact 
 that the relative ages of the two playwrights would 
 have made the latter the more natural way of putting 
 the case. Again, the much greater success of Phile- 
 mon at the time, notwithstanding the well-nigh 
 unanimous contrary verdict of subsequent ages,^ 
 seems to show clearly that he was the more old- 
 fashioned of the two ; for, as is well known, originality 
 is seldom very welcome on the stage. And lastly, 
 the very large proportion of Philemon's works which 
 appear to have belonged to Middle Comedy pure 
 and simple — a point which will be further discussed 
 directly — seems to be further evidence that this was 
 
 ^ A curious instance of this feeling is his often -ex pressed opinion 
 that animals are happier than men. Cp. Incert. 3, 4, 8, etc. 
 
 ^ Cp. inter alia Apul. Flor. 16. 
 
 3 Among many expressions to this effect, we need only mention that 
 of Quintilian : atque ille quidem {sc. Menander) omnibus eiusdem 
 operis auctoribus abstulit nomen et fulgore quodam suae claritatis 
 tenebras obduxit. Inst, x. i, 72. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 191 
 
 his natural metier, and that it was only a spirit of 
 rivalry with Menander which made him turn his 
 attention to a style of art with which he had no real 
 sympathy.^ As for the Hypobolimaeus, that proves 
 nothing, for there is no evidence whatever by which 
 to fix the date of this resuscitation of the Cocalus 
 of Aristophanes ; indeed, if anything, it rather 
 suggests that Philemon found such subjects so little 
 congenial, that he had to borrow his materials, in- 
 stead of being able to produce them himself 
 
 All this, it may be argued, proves little as to the 
 claims of Menander over Philemon. Indeed, it may 
 even be urged that the very fact that Philemon is 
 the less distinctively romantic of the two, renders 
 it probable that the first introduction of the romantic 
 element was due to him. But such an argument, 
 though at first sight plausible enough, rests on an 
 imperfect comprehension of the real nature of the 
 romantic principle in Greek comedy. Were this 
 principle a direct development of tendencies charac- 
 teristic of the earlier phases of the literature, it would 
 doubtless be right to assume that its first appearance 
 in any tangible shape would be of an unemphatic 
 and tentative kind ; but the romantic principle is no 
 
 ^ To take an instance from modern times. M. Daudet is said to 
 have written his Sappho with the expressed object of showing that 
 he, too, could produce a work which could not be left lying about. 
 Similarly, M. Zola may be imagined to have produced La Rhje^ in 
 order to prove that even he could be decent if he tried. But any 
 attempt to judge of the general character of these authors by the two 
 books mentioned would be obviously futile. In like manner, in the 
 case of Philemon, one has to consider how much of the romantic 
 element in his comedies is due to conviction, and how much to a desire 
 to show that romantic love-stories were a game two could play at. 
 
192 Women in Greek Comedy, 
 
 such development of previous tendencies It is not a 
 development, but a regeneration ; it is not a growth 
 from within, but an annex from without. Whatever 
 anyone may suppose to be the origin of the romantic 
 element, no one with any acquaintance with the 
 subject is likely to wish to maintain that the virgin- 
 love of New Comedy is developed out of the 
 Hetaera - worship of its predecessor on the stage. 
 Indeed, there can be little doubt that, so far from 
 New Comedy appealing to those tastes which Middle 
 Comedy had fostered, its remarkable success was 
 in great part due to a strong reaction against the 
 latter. And thus there is every reason to believe 
 that, when once the new emotion found expression 
 on the stage, such expression was immediately clear 
 and unmistakable ; and that therefore, in looking for 
 the originator of the movement, one must look for 
 that writer of the period whose works exhibit the 
 romantic features most strongly and consistently, 
 and must regard those other writers, in whom such 
 features are less prominent, as more or less unwilling 
 imitators. And if this be so, there can be little real 
 doubt as to the validity of Menander's claim. 
 
 The next question to be considered is — When was 
 this introduction of the romantic element into Greek 
 comedy first brought about } We know that Phile- 
 mon began to exhibit in 330, and that the date of 
 Menander's first play is 322 ; but these facts do not 
 of themselves furnish any information as to the 
 origin of New Comedy proper. For it is an unques- 
 tionable fact, and one of the greatest importance m 
 this connection, that both Philemon and Menander 
 
Wonen in Greek Comedy, 193 
 
 wrote plays which are not romantic, and which 
 belong, therefore, to Middle, rather than to New 
 Comedy. And on this fact hinges the whole ques- 
 tion of the date of the introduction of the romantic 
 element into Athenian Comedy. 
 
 Of the ninet}^ - seven plays of Philemon, which 
 Platonius states were in his time extant,^ hardly 
 fifty titles are preserved, and of these, well-nigh a 
 third obviously belong to what were evidently 
 Middle Comedies.^ When we consider how ex- 
 tremely probable it is that the majority of the plays 
 now entirely lost belonged also to this class (for it 
 is obvious that a later age would tend to preserve 
 such plays as were in harmony with the romantic 
 tastes then prevailing, rather than those that were 
 not), it becomes clear that a very large proportion 
 of the plays of Philemon were not New Comedies 
 at all. With Menander the same is to a certain 
 extent, though not in an equal degree, also true. 
 Of about a hundred plays that he produced during 
 the thirty-two years of his literary activity, while 
 
 1 Platon. de Com. p. 30. ad fin. The passage distinctly suggests that 
 these ninety-seven plays were not all that Philemon actually wrote, 
 crco^erai bk avrov {^cXrifiovos) dpafxara ewra irpbs ivevqKOVTa. M^vavdpos 
 .... yiypa<p€ d^ iravra dpafxara prj' . 
 
 The view that the total number of his plays was greater than ninety- 
 seven seems to acquire further probability from the fact that he lived 
 well-nigh twice as long as Menander, and continued to write up to the 
 day of his death. Cp. Apul. J^/or. 16. — It need hardly be remarked 
 that if plays of Philemon were already lost in the time of Platonius, 
 such plays were, in all probability, Middle rather than New Comedies. 
 
 ^ I have reserved the detailed proof of this fact, and the similar one 
 concerning Menander, for another place, in order that the sequence 
 of the argument may not be disturbed. Vide Excursus. [This Excursus 
 does not appear to have been written.] 
 
 O 
 
194 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 a dozen or so, presumably unsuccessful efforts of 
 his earlier years, are entirely lost, some twenty 
 besides, of those whose titles we know, must be 
 ranked with the old, rather than with the new 
 form of dramatic art. 
 
 Now when we further reflect that it is not probable 
 that, after a writer has once taken to a new and suc- 
 cessful development of art, he will then fall back 
 again to any considerable extent upon the old, and 
 that therefore the Middle Comedies of Menander, 
 and also of Philemon,^ belong, in all probability, to 
 their earlier period and are anterior to the intro- 
 duction of the romantic element, it becomes obvious 
 that the date of the introduction of this element 
 into Comedy, (that is to say, the date of the birth of 
 New Comedy,) must be put considerably later than 
 is usually done, and that, instead of fixing this date 
 a-t 330, or even at 322, we must rather fix it some- 
 where between the years 315 and 310. For assuming, 
 as we seem in every way justified in doing, that 
 about a quarter of the plays of Menander belonged 
 in spirit still to Middle Comedy, and that his rate 
 of production increased rather than diminished with 
 advancing years, a simple calculation will enable us 
 to put the date within these limits. 
 
 Granted then that the introduction of the romantic 
 element into Comedy was due to Menander, and 
 
 ^ It is hard to speak so positively of Philemon if, as is probable, he 
 was merely the imitator and rival of Menander in this respect ; but, of 
 course, if it be granted that his romantic plays are subsequent to 
 Menander's introduction of the subject, it is a matter of indifference 
 for the present argument whether he afterwards reverted to the older 
 style or not 
 
Women in Greek Comedy. 195 
 
 took place about the year 312, there remains the 
 final question, Where did Menander get the idea 
 from ? It has, I trust, been made sufficiently clear 
 by this time that he did not derive it from his pre- 
 decessors in Comedy, nor yet from his favourite model 
 Euripides. He may, of course, have evolved it in- 
 dependently for himself, but this, seeing that a 
 similar conclusion had been arrived at some hundred 
 years before, is not very probable. It has already 
 been demonstrated that the romantic idea, (that is to 
 say, the idea that a woman is a worthy object for a 
 man's love, and that such love may well be the chief, 
 if not the only, aim of a man's life,) had originally 
 been propounded by Antimachus of Colophon at the 
 end of the fifth century^ ; it seems, therefore, well-nigh 
 certain that this idea must have been communicated 
 in some way to Menander from Antimachus, and 
 the only point that remains to be considered is the 
 probable method of this communication. 
 
 It is possible that the influence may have been 
 direct. It is possible that the accident of a copy of 
 the Lyde coming into Menander's hands may have 
 suggested to him the idea which he subsequently 
 developed with such success. It is possible, and, in 
 the absence of evidence, one way or the other, it 
 would be bold to assert that it was not the case ; 
 but, at the same time, it seems on the whole more 
 probable that the influence was of a difl'erent kind, 
 and that Menander's attention was first called to 
 the views propounded by Antimachus through the 
 medium of some third person. While it is, of 
 ^ [Supra^ p. 107 seqq.'l 
 
196 Women in Greek Comedy. 
 
 course, futile to expect proof in such a case as this, 
 there is, perhaps, one personality among those we 
 know belonging to the period, in favour of which, 
 rather than of any other, the evidence seems to tend. 
 This is Asclepiades, the originator of the erotic 
 epigram, and a poet of great influence upon various 
 contemporary writers. It is true that it is usual to 
 place the date of Asclepiades somewhat later than 
 that which we have decided must be fixed for the 
 appearance of the New Comedy, but this later date 
 does not rest on any very strong evidence. Ascle- 
 piades is mentioned along with Philetas in Theocritus 
 vii. 40, in a way which, at any rate, does not exclude 
 the possibility that he was a contemporary;^ Philetas, 
 as we know, was born in the reign of Philip,^ say, 
 338 ; Asclepiades may have been born several years 
 later, even in 330, and yet have had an influence on 
 Menander, for, as we know, he began his career as an 
 erotic poet at a very early age.^ It is by no means 
 improbable that he may have visited Athens to 
 complete his education ; his epigrams show an ac- 
 quaintance with Athenian comedy and life as there 
 described which could hardly have been acquired 
 elsewhere ; such visits were paid to Athens by Calli- 
 machus, Aratus, and others. It will, of course, be 
 urged that the influence may have been just the 
 
 ^ The Scholiast here, and others, go so far as to assert that Theocritus 
 was a pupil of Asclepiades as well as of Philetas. 
 
 2 ^iXt/tSs . , . Giv iiri re ^Ckiinrov Kal ' AXe^dvdpov. Suidas s,z>. 
 
 3 Cp. A7tth. Pal. xii. 46. — The fact that Asclepiades was tired of 
 life at twenty-one is, of course, no proof that he died early. Many 
 people, especially poets, who were very anxious for death in their 
 youth, have developed a wonderfully tenacious hold upon life as they 
 grew older. 
 
Women in Greek Comedy, 197 
 
 reverse, and that Menander suggested the romantic 
 idea to Asclepiades; but this is improbable for two 
 reasons. In the first place, Asclepiades is known to 
 have been a student of Antimachus/ while Menander, 
 as far as we know, was not ; in the second, though 
 Asclepiades shows, as has been said, evident traces 
 of the influence of comedy, such comedy is not New, 
 but distinctly Middle Comedy, as is sufficiently plain 
 from the drinking-scenes described in Anth. Pal, 
 V. 181, 185, from the frequent, or rather, constant 
 allusions to Hetaerae in his epigrams, and from the 
 complete absence from them of those particular 
 features of the romantic idea which Menander him- 
 self developed. It is therefore well-nigh certain that, 
 if there was influence from either side, — and, when 
 one considers the close sympathy between the ideals 
 of the two writers, the conclusion that there was 
 some more than merely fortuitous affinity between 
 them \s almost irresistible — such influence came from 
 the side of the brilliant young Samian, who would 
 thus deserve the credit of having originally inspired 
 not merely the romantic epigram, but also the 
 romantic drama.^ That this was actually so, no one 
 can of course affirm ; but that it may have been, 
 no one who is familiar with the "wild-flowers of 
 Asclepiades " will be likely to deny. 
 
 ^ Cp. Anth. Pal. ix. 63; supra, p. 113. 
 
 ' The fact that Menander called one of his plays Samia, a title 
 which had not been used since the time of Anaxand rides, is one of 
 those interesting coincidences that prove nothing at all. 
 
EXCURSUS A. 
 
 [P. 31.] 
 
 THEOGNIS (261 seqq\ 
 
 THE great difficulty in the way of a satisfactory 
 reconstruction of this passage lies in the fact 
 that it is not certain whether it is to be regarded 
 as simply a description of an erotic incident, or 
 whether it is a yplcpo^) in the latter and, perhaps, 
 more probable case, it is impossible to emend with- 
 out first finding the solution, and to guess a riddle 
 without knowing what that riddle is, rather requires 
 a Daniel or some similar commentator. It is not 
 quite so impossible, however, to improve the passage 
 if it IS looked upon as merely descriptive of an actual 
 event, in which case the account of apparently similar 
 scenes in the Romance of Eumathius may, perhaps, 
 throw some light on the subject. 
 
 In the scene depicted in Theognis, the ttq?? 
 Tepeiva is fenced off from her lover, not only by 
 an objectionable suitor, but also by the presence of 
 her severe " water-drinking " parents. Under these 
 circumstances, it does not seem very probable that 
 the lover would (as the ordinary reading makes him 
 do) throw his arms round her waist and kiss her 
 on the neck ; such behaviour on his part (and its 
 natural consequences) might, it is true, account for 
 the abrupt termination of the poem, but still would 
 
200 Excursus A, 
 
 not be, as I have said, exactly probable, especially 
 after he had been drinking only water. The scene 
 actually described was, perhaps, rather somewhat 
 of the following kind. When the time for drinking 
 was come, the girl in question got up and went 
 round, like the Hysmine of Eumathius, to hand the 
 cup to the guests,^ going, however, first to her 
 parents ; ^ as these were only drinking ^Irvyjiov, her 
 office is contemptuously described as being that of 
 a water-carrier. The last two lines I would then read : 
 
 eV^a jJLecnfjv irepl TratSa Aa^wv ay/cwi/ ec^tA'^cra, 
 SeiXrjv, rj Se repev cfiOeyyer' avts crro/xaTOS. 
 
 I.e., as she came on her round to her lover, he put 
 his arm on her waist and kissed her on the elbow; 
 and she, though she said nothing with her lips, " her 
 eyes were speaking." ^ 
 
 Whether the actual words ought not to be still 
 further emended, is questionable ; but, anyhow, the 
 general sense thus given is a little more compli- 
 mentary to Greek "company" manners. 
 
 The chief objection to this interpretation is, of 
 course, that it bestows on the epigram a decidedly 
 erotic character, which is not elsewhere to be found 
 in this book, and would certainly be an anachronism 
 if the lines belong to the fifth century. 
 
 ^ 'Ta/xivrj irapdhi^ ry dvyarpl 'Zwadivqs oivoxoetv iyKeXe^erai' i] 8^ 
 dve^ibaaro top xirwi^a, iy^fivcoae tu) X^^P^ l^^XP'-^ ayKCovos k.t.X. 
 Eumaih. i. 8. 
 
 ^ ^TTie fJL^v odv 6 "Zujad^vTjs' ovk ^ireide yap fxe avTov wpoTrieTv. eZra 
 Kal 7] ITa^^i'a [i] ttjs 'Tafjiivrjs fJL'fjrijp) avviirieV i/ak dk Tpirov eXx^v ij 
 Tr6<ns. id. idzc/. 
 
 ^ Kal TTLvojv TOP TToba 6\l^(x) TTJs KopTjs, Tr68a Kareindels top i/uidp' ij 
 8^ (TLyCoaa ry yXiJorry, tQ (rx'»7/^ctrt XaXeZ, Kal XaXovaa aiyq. k.t.X. 
 id. iv. I. 
 
EXCURSUS B. 
 
 [P. 48.] 
 
 The fragments of the Phaedra of Sophocles (among 
 which may be included Soph. Fr. 855, and Eur. Fr. 
 431, which both very possibly belong to this play) 
 are interesting for the many parallels they show 
 to the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite {Horn, Hymn, 
 
 iv). 
 
 There, too, special emphasis is laid on the 
 universal sway of Aphrodite, not only over men 
 (1. 3), but also over animals (1. 4-6), and over Zeus 
 and the gods (1. 34 seqq). The animals fawn on 
 her as she comes (1. 69, 70, cp. Soph. Fr, 625). 
 From 1. 7 one might guess that Soph. Fr, 855, 13 
 was originally 
 
 Tiv ov iraXalovcr €s re rpecs (rc/xxAAet OeQv^ 
 
 or something similar. Both 1. 45 and Soph. Fr. 619 
 give Zeus as well as Aphrodite the power of inspiring 
 love ; and other less important parallels could be 
 pointed out. 
 
 These parallels are very striking; and though one 
 must, of course, beware of drawing conclusions from 
 what may be merely accidental or external, it cannot 
 be denied that, if it could be proved that Sophocles 
 was working with this hymn in his mind and with 
 its conception of Aphrodite before him, this fact 
 
202 Excursus B, 
 
 alone would render it very unlikely that he would 
 treat his love-element in that " modern " way in 
 which it has hitherto been the fashion to assume 
 that he did. 
 
 Anyhow, it may not be inapposite to glance at 
 the love- incident which occurs in this Hymn, for, 
 if nothing else, it is interesting as a very typical 
 Greek " love-story." What happens is briefly this : 
 
 Aphrodite, having fallen in love with Anchises, 
 disguises herself as a mortal maiden, and comes 
 upon the object of her affection as he is wandering 
 alone among the byres, singing to himself. 
 
 At first he takes her for a goddess, and is duly 
 humble ; but she assures him that this is not the 
 case, but she is the daughter of the king of Phrygia, 
 and she asserts that she has been carried by Hermes 
 away from her home to be his (Anchises') bride. 
 In her helpless condition, she, therefore, throws 
 herself on his mercy, and begs him by Zeus and 
 his parents : 
 
 dSiJLriTrjv jjidyaycov kol dTreip-qrrjv cj^iXorrjTOS 
 TTarpL T€ (T(^ Bei^ov kol fir^Tept KeSv clSvLrj. k.t,\. 
 
 His answer to this appeal to his chivalrous feelings 
 is prompt and to the point : 
 
 " If you are really not a goddess, but only a mortal, 
 
 OVTl^ €7r€LTa OeO^V OVT€ OvqriOV dv6p(s)TT()iV 
 
 evOdSe fJL€ cx^oret, irplv (ry (j^tXoTrjTi fiiyrjvai, 
 avTLKa vw." 
 
 After this, perhaps even the last two lines of his 
 speech are an anti-climax. 
 
EXCURSUS C. 
 
 [P. 52.] 
 
 THE ANDROMEDA OF EURIPIDES, 
 
 Of all the plays of Euripides, the one which is 
 generally looked upon as especially "romantic" is 
 the Andromeda} and it must be confessed that, at 
 first sight, it does appear to have a certain character 
 of its own. The common view of the story is, that 
 Perseus, seeing Andromeda exposed, falls in love 
 with her, and therefore rescues her. If this view is 
 correct, this play will furnish the solitary instance in 
 Euripides of a man's falling in love with a woman. 
 
 But how far is this view correct } A careful 
 examination of the fragments will, perhaps, show 
 that it requires at least to be modified. 
 
 When the play opens, Andromeda is found exposed 
 on her rock, and after she has made due lamenta- 
 tions, there appears Perseus, bearing evident marks 
 of his long journey, and generally in a deplorable 
 condition.2 On learning from her the state of the 
 
 ^ " Und wie er (Euripides) in diesen alten Heroensagen die Liebe 
 stark in den Vordergrund geriickt hatte, so wurde namentlich das alte 
 Marchen von Perseus und Andromeda unter seinen Handen zu einem 
 der glanzendsten Beispiele ritterlicher Liebe, &c." Rohde, Der 
 griechische Roman^ p. 33. 
 
 2 The dirtiness of his clothes, &c., is made a great point of. Cp. 
 Hesych. 7rept(rxa56i' * rhv vTroKpivdfxevov tov Jlepa^a ws tttujx^^ 'fcii 
 <f>dL<Tifiop(l)ov, This too lends force to Lucian's (hxp^v airdvTwv Kai 
 XeTrrcDv twp e^do/naicav iKeivcav TfyayipdQv. {De Conscr, Hist, I, vol. 2, 
 p. 2. Vide Nauck, Trag, Frag, pp. 392-3. ) 
 
204 Excursus C. 
 
 case, he pities her, and, say the modern critics, falls in 
 love with her. I doubt it. This is not at all the sort 
 of occasion on which a Greek would be likely to fall 
 in love. Perseus is wet and dirty and hungry, and has 
 the prospect of a dangerous encounter before him. 
 Love, to the Greek, is essentially the child of ease and 
 idleness;^ to connect it with stress and struggle is 
 entirely a modern notion. The one and only thing 
 which a Greek in Perseus' position would be likely to 
 do, would be to try whether he couldn't find some- 
 one — a king by preference — to lend him some new 
 clothes ;2 and this, or something of the kind, is, in all 
 probability, what he makes the condition of his 
 
 ^ *B/!)(os yap dpybv kclttI tols dpyois ^<pv ' 
 
 (piXei KCLTOirrpa /cat k6/j,7js ^avdia-fiara, 
 (pevyei 8k julSx^ovs. ^u 54 julol TeKjULrjpiov * 
 ovdels irpoffaLrdv ^iorov rjpdadr] ^porQvy 
 
 iv ToTs d' ^X^^^^^ TJ^TJTTjS TT^^fx' ^5e. 
 
 Eur. J^r, 322 [Danae), 
 
 Cp. Athen. vi. 270 C. Similar passages are very common — in 
 fact, the view may be said to be a universal one ; it arises, of course, 
 from that purely sensual manner of regarding love, on which so much 
 has already been said. Indeed, those who have read the early Greek 
 literature with any attention, need perhaps hardly be reminded of how 
 utterly foreign to the Greek of Euripides' day is the conception of the 
 " galante Ritter " setting out in search of ladies that want rescuing. 
 
 At the same time, it may not be amiss to emphasise a fact which, 
 though sufficiently obvious, is yet often ignored. The fact that the 
 Andromeda was looked upon as a romantic play some centuries later, 
 even if it can be proved, is no proof that it was intended as such by its 
 author, or so understood by its original audience. If Hermesianax 
 could infer from the Odyssey that Homer was in love with Penelope, 
 one may excuse the contemporaries of Lucian if they inferred from 
 Euripides that Perseus was in love with Andromeda, but one need not 
 necessarily regard their inference as a true one. 
 
 ^ One naturally thinks of Odysseus and Nausicaa, of Menelaus in 
 the Helena (427 seqq, ), &c. 
 
The Andromeda of Euripides, 205 
 
 saving Andromeda.^ Then, cheered by the prospect 
 of a warm bath and of a comfortable night's rest, 
 he goes to face the monster. 
 
 But though he does not fall in love with Andro- 
 meda, she falls in love with him, and begs him, when 
 he returns victorious,^ to take her with him anywhere, 
 if only as a slave. She will follow him anywhere, 
 she says, even through the sky if he likes.^ In the 
 improved state of affairs,* Perseus is not averse to 
 these advances ; but an obstacle arises in the shape 
 of Cepheus, who objects to the disreputable appear- 
 ance of his would-be son-in-law. Perseus argues his 
 case with considerable fervour, but apparently with- 
 out success ; and it is Andromeda again who, by 
 some bold stroke, overcomes or outwits her parents, 
 and brings off what she wishes — ovx e'lXero tm irarpi 
 cvjuLjULeveiv ouSe Trj jmrjrpiy aW avOatpeTOff elg to "Apyo? 
 aTrrjXOe julct* €K€lvov evyeveg tl <ppovrj(Ta(Ta? 
 
 In other words, the initiative in the love-affair of 
 Perseus and Andromeda is again almost entirely on 
 the side of the woman, and this play forms in reality 
 no exception to the general rule in this respect. 
 
 ^ Fr, 129. The fact that this line was afterwards quoted ipwTLKds 
 {vide Nauck, ad loc. ), is no proof that it had any such meaning in its 
 original context. 
 
 ^ Fr, 132. There is no real objection to putting this fragment after 
 his encounter with the monster, as the words rd ixofieva [vide Fr. 129 
 Nauck) do not necessarily mean that it followed immediately after 
 Fr. 129. 
 
 ^ i.e. irpbs "OXvfnrov, a very natural remark when one considers the 
 manner of Perseus' first arrival. 
 
 * Fr. 133. dXX* 175^ Toi crojOevra fie/jLvrjadaL irbviav. 
 
 ^ A very interesting parallel to this scene is furnished by the dream 
 of Medea (Apoll. Rhod. iii. 625 seqq.)\ the resemblance is almost too 
 great to be merely accidental. There too, of course, it need hardly be 
 remarked, the initiative is on the side of the woman. 
 
EXCURSUS D. 
 
 [P. 59.] 
 
 While on the subject of the Hippolytus, I cannot 
 refrain from suggesting a couple of emendations in 
 the last scene of the play, which certainly improve 
 the present text artistically, and, perhaps, gain some 
 support from what we know of the two versions of 
 the work. 
 
 The first version ended with the promise of immor- 
 tality to Hippolytus as a reward for his constancy 
 (Eur. Fr, 446) ; in the second, this feature has entirely 
 disappeared, and the last words of the play are a 
 lament for the dead and a complaint of the injustice 
 of heaven. Indeed, it may be said that the injustice 
 of heaven is the chief moral of this second version. 
 
 Read therefore in 1. 141 5 
 
 €t^' r^v dpaiov ^aifxocriv jSpoTcov yevovs. 
 
 '* Were there but a little humanity in the gods ! " 
 Could one but 
 
 Pierce the cold lips of God with human breath, 
 And mix his immortality with death ! 
 
 And, once again, in 1. 1440, when Artemis leaves 
 Hippolytus with the remark that she is very sorry, but 
 she doesn't like death-bed scenes, he exclaims bitterly: 
 
 ^aipovcra kol (tv crret^e, irapOkv^ oXf^la. 
 fxaKpav Se AetVets pctStws oiiiXiav.^ 
 
 I don't much think that Euripides wrote either of 
 these lines so, but I think it is a pity he didn't. 
 
 ^ [The reading XeLireis has considerable MS. authority, and is adopted 
 by the majority of editors ; the author is contrasting it with XeLwoiSf the 
 text of Dindorf, Nauck, and some others.] 
 
EXCURSUS E. 
 
 [P. 87.] 
 
 THE SECOND BOOK OF THEOGNIS. 
 
 The second book of Theognis consists almost en- 
 tirely of love -poems addressed to boys, and might 
 therefore be expected to furnish particularly valuable 
 evidence in the present connection, especially as 
 many of these poems are of a far more personal and 
 purely erotic character than those in the first book. 
 The date of this book is, however, disputed, and I 
 personally am inclined to believe that it is very much 
 later than the time of Theognis — too recent, in fact, 
 to belong to the period we are discussing at all. This 
 being so, I have naturally not chosen to lay stress 
 on its contents. For the sake of completeness, 
 however, I have added here a brief examination of 
 its character, for the benefit of anyone who may 
 believe in it. 
 
 The general tone of these poems, though notice- 
 ably more passionate than that of the earlier collec- 
 tion, is still chivalrous and dignified, and occasionally 
 rises to a very high level indeed. That spirit of self- 
 negation, which we have already observed to be 
 peculiar among the early Greeks to this form of love, 
 is in places very marked. Few passages in all classical 
 
2o8 Excursus E, 
 
 poetry can equal the pathetic dignity of these words 
 of resignation : 
 
 ovK WeXo) (re KaKws epSeti/, ouS' €t /xot afx^ivov 
 Trpos Oecov dOavoLTiov ecrcreTat, to KaAe iral ' 
 
 ov yap aixaproyXycTiV kirl ar/JLiKpyo-t Kadr^fxai^ 
 
 Twv 5e KaXdv TratSwv ourts eV oijk dStKcov.^ (1. 1 279 ) 
 
 or of this farewell : 
 
 KttAb? ewv KaKorrjTi (jyp€Viov SecXoLcnv o/xtAet? 
 
 dv8pd(rLj Kal Sia tovt^ ai(r)(^pov 6v€t3os €;>(etg, 
 (3 TTat • lyu) 8' acKwv t-^s ctt}? (ptXoTyjros dpiapTiov^ 
 
 dyvrjfxrjv epSwv old t' eXevOepos wv. (1. 1377) 
 
 or of this : 
 
 ov3apid cr' ov8' aTrtwv ^ Si^XYjCOfiaL^ ovSe /xe Trcicret 
 oi;8ets dv0p(O7r(i}V ajcrre /ze /x?y o"€ </)tAetv. (1. 1 363) 
 
 Similarly, that fatherly attitude on the part of the 
 older man, which we have noticed both in Theognis 
 and in the Theocritean imitation of Alcaeus, is 
 apparent in more than one place (e.^, 1351 seqq^. 
 This lends a particular point to those passages which 
 compare the lover to a horse's owner or rider (1249 
 seqq, 1267 seqq) 
 
 Again, there is the same appeal to the friend's better 
 feelings that we have noticed in Theocritus (13 19 
 seqq.\ the same appeal to his care for his good name 
 (1295 seqq.)y all marked, too, by the same consider- 
 ation and courtesy (1235 seqq?)] there is the same 
 exhortation to constancy, the same reproof of faith- 
 lessness (1257 seqq. J &c.), the same warning, full of 
 
 ^ The MS. gives o\)Tos€Tovra^^K(^)v (Bergk). Various readings of this 
 have been given. The present one is mine. 
 
 2 dTTtcb;/ rather than dTrewj/. Cp. Prop. iii. 25, 7 : .flebo ego discedens. 
 
The Second Book of Theognis, 209 
 
 earnestness, but withal full of tenderness, as to the 
 shortness of youth (1299 seqq., 1305 seqq)} 
 
 But it is needless to go further into detail. Enough 
 has been said to show the general character of these 
 poems, and anyone who reads them can easily supple- 
 ment these instances with others. So, whatever value 
 one may be inclined to assign to the evidence here 
 adduced, it must, at least, be admitted that there is 
 nothing in it which in any way contradicts anything 
 that has gone before.^ 
 
 ^ Altogether the resemblance between these poems and the IlatSi/cd 
 of Theocritus is very marked. Even in the interesting passage (1367 
 seqq. ), where the love of a boy is actually contrasted with that of a 
 woman, the great charm of the former is said to lie not in kAXXos, but 
 in x^P'-h just as in Theocr. xxx. 4. Whether this resemblance is due to 
 anything more than the similarity of subject is a difficult question, which 
 need not be discussed here. 
 
 2 Similarly, I may add, if anyone cares to regard the epigrams 
 ascribed to Plato as genuine, he will find nothing in them but confirma- 
 tion of what has already been gathered from works of less questionable 
 authenticity. 
 
EXCURSUS R 
 
 [P. io6.] 
 
 WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE COMEDY. 
 
 [Note. — A considerable part of the contents of this Excursus 
 (originally written for the first of the two Essays in this volume) is 
 repeated in the second Essay. The Excursus is printed here without 
 alteration, but it should be noted that the author did not regard it as 
 having attained its final form. ] 
 
 The fragments of the Middle Comedy, belonging, 
 as they do, to the earlier and middle part of the 
 fourth century — that is, to the period of transition 
 between the two great epochs of Greek literature 
 — might have been expected to afford very valuable 
 evidence as to the development of the romantic 
 feeling. Unfortunately, however, this is not the 
 case ; indeed, the information to be gathered from 
 them is, in this respect, of so little importance, that 
 it is hardly worth considering at all. 
 
 Various explanations suggest themselves to ac- 
 count for this somewhat surprising fact. In the first 
 place, the remains of the Middle Comedy are very 
 small compared with the enormous original bulk of 
 this literature, and, besides this, nearly all the more 
 important fragments that we possess are derived 
 from Athenaeus, who generally quotes them with 
 a view to elucidating questions of cookery, or illus- 
 trating the habits of fishmongers. But the real 
 
Women in the Middle Comedy, 2 1 1 
 
 cause of the absence from these fragments of all 
 traces of a romantic element is probably a less 
 fortuitous one, and is to be found in the nature of 
 dramatic literature in general, and of comedy in 
 particular. A play, to be successful, must be behind 
 the times ; if it treats its subjects in an enlightened 
 manner, it will be above the level of the mass of 
 its audience, and they will declare it dull, or ridicu- 
 lous, or both.i Dramatic authors know this well 
 enough, and, for the most part, carefully refrain 
 from insulting the spectators by telling them any- 
 thing new. The writers of the Middle Comedy 
 were no exception to this rule ; and so, while their 
 plays dealt very extensively with women, and not 
 unfrequently, it would seem, with love-stories of a 
 sort, the treatment of these subjects was, out of 
 deference to their public, far more antiquated and 
 unsympathetic than one would have been inclined 
 to expect from writers who were often well ac- 
 quainted with the works of the most enlightened 
 thinkers of the time. Thus, therefore, strange as 
 it may at first sight appear, in all probability those 
 fragments which have survived furnish, on the whole, 
 a very good general idea of the relations between 
 men and women, as depicted in the Middle Comedy ; 
 and there is in reality little reason to believe that, 
 even if we possessed a far larger quantity of this 
 literature, we should be able to learn much more 
 about this particular subject. The romantic element 
 is absent from these fragments because it was absent 
 
 ^ With comedy this is, of course, especially the case, for comedy 
 appeals, in the main, to a lower intellectual class than tragedy, and 
 is therefore compelled to be even more conservative. 
 
212 Excursus F, 
 
 from the complete works to which they originally 
 belonged. 
 
 The main features of the Middle Comedy treat- 
 ment of erotic subjects (as illustrated by the frag- 
 ments) are very plain. There is nowhere any trace 
 of the romantic feeling ; where ** love " is praised or 
 recommended, as is, of course, not unfrequently the 
 case, what is understood thereby is always merely 
 sensual gratification. Plato and " Platonic " love are 
 stock subjects of ridicule. Marriage is invariably 
 alluded to in terms of contempt and dislike, and the 
 women introduced are almost always Hetaerae ; but 
 even these are hardly ever spoken of with any respect 
 or affection, being generally described as vulgar, 
 drunken, and stingy, and in some cases attacked with 
 the most savage brutality. The effort which the 
 women at Athens were making about this time to 
 gain larger liberties, also comes in for its share of 
 ridicule ; and altogether, these comedies show a want 
 of sympathy with every honourable ambition of the 
 age, which throws a strange light on that cultured 
 and artistic Athenian audience which one is generally 
 taught to admire. 
 
 I have before me an analysis^ of all the passages 
 in which women are in any way referred to in this 
 literature ; but, as I have already remarked, the 
 amount of information to be gained from them is 
 not sufficient to warrant a lengthy discussion. A 
 few specimens from the best-known writers will serve 
 to illustrate what has been said, and will give a 
 sufficiently clear idea of the nature of the rest. 
 ^ [Excursus G. : page 219.] 
 
Women in the Middle Comedy, 213 
 
 Anaxandrides is described by Suidas as having 
 been the first to introduce eptara^^ koI irapOevcov (j)9opd^,^ 
 and is therefore important as forming a connecting- 
 link between Old and Middle Comedy ; but there is 
 no important example of this peculiar feature in any 
 of the fragments of him that have survived, though 
 passages like that in the Gerontomania {ap, Athen. 
 xiii. 570 D), and titles of plays like Anteron or 
 Kitharistria, serve to give a very fair idea of the 
 nature of the '' erotic element " thus introduced.^ 
 
 Antiphanes again, though making frequent 
 mention of women, yet does not tell one anything 
 of importance about them. His opinion as to their 
 untrustworthiness is at least emphatic, 
 cyo) yvvaiKi 8' eV tl Trtcrrerw fiovoVy 
 iwav diroOdvYi fjirj f3nocr€(r6aL ttolXlv, 
 TO. 5' aAA* aTTtCTTCo irdvO^ ecus dv dTToddvrj, 
 
 {Incert. 54.) 
 
 ^ Is it merely a coincidence that this pioneer of a love-element, of a 
 sort, in comedy, was a native of Colophon ? 
 
 ^ The view that this erotic element was in no respect romantic, but 
 dealt purely with the sensual side of the matter, is supported by (i) its 
 inherent probability ; (2) the absence of any evidence to the contrary, 
 not only in the fragments of this writer, but also in those of Antiphanes 
 and Alexis, who are known to have imitated him ; (3) the epithet 
 wafjLfjLiapos applied to Anaxandrides. ( Vide Meineke, Com. Fr. i. p. 369. ) 
 Though the general sense of Suidas' words seems plain, their exact 
 meaning is not so clear. Probably ^porras refers to the introduction of 
 iraipat and their admirers, whose mutual struggles de nocte locanda 
 would then provide the action of the play. The sense of irapOivajv 
 (pdopds is even less evident ; but the fact that it is mentioned specially, 
 and after the word ^pwras, certainly seems to imply that the <pdopd 
 formed the climax of the action. In other words, the motive of the 
 plot was the same as in the previous case, with the exception that the 
 woman in question was a iroLpBivos instead of an iraipa. If this were so, 
 then these stories would, of course, differ to^o caelo from those of the 
 New Comedy, where the (^Qopd is an act of unpremeditated indiscretion 
 which has taken place before the play begins, and is atoned for by the 
 hero's subsequent behaviour. 
 
214 Excursus F, 
 
 and his invectives against marriage are occasionally 
 humorous — 
 
 A, yeydjJLr]K€ Si^ttov. B, tl ctv Aeyets ; aXriOivm 
 y€ydfjL7]K€v, ov iyo) ^wvra TreptTrarowra t€ 
 KarcAiTTov ; {Philopator^ 
 
 but, on the whole, his allusions are not very interesting. 
 
 EUBULUS was notorious as a special student and 
 parodist of Euripides, a feature apparent in the 
 misogyny, real or affected, in which he indulges. A 
 good specimen of this is the passage quoted in Athen. 
 xiii. 559 B from his Ckrysilla. There is, besides, in 
 the Campylion an interesting description of violent 
 love for a certain Koa-^xla eralpa, one of whose chief 
 charms, however, seems to be that she knows how to 
 eat decently. The same writer, in the Nannion, 
 dwells on the folly of adultery, supporting his view 
 by arguments which hardly appeal to the "romantic" 
 sense.^ 
 
 Am PHIS grows enthusiastic over the superiority of 
 eraipai to yajmeTal, 
 
 rj fjL€v vofJLi^ yap KaTa(j>povov&' €v8ov /xevet, 
 '^ 8' otSev OTL rj TOi<s rpoirois dyvrjreos 
 
 dvOpdyTTOS €(TTLV TJ TTpOS dWoV dlTLTeOV, 
 
 {Athamas,) 
 and in the Dithyrambus makes a contemptuous 
 allusion to " Platonic " love : 
 
 Tt </)>/s ; (TV ravTt irpocrSoK^s Trctcretv e/xe, 
 0)5 Icrr' epacrrrjs oo-rts, ojpacov c^tAwv, 
 T/ooTTWv ipacrrrjs earn, tyjv oxj/iv Trapels ; 
 
 ^ Cp. Xenarchus, PentathL i, where the same idea is developed. 
 When one reads such lines as these, one is tempted to agree with 
 Aristophon, that ** love had been exiled from heaven." {Pythag. Fr, 2.) 
 
Women in the Middle Comedy, 215 
 
 a<f)p(ji)V y dXrjdios . ovre tovto TretOofJiai, 
 
 OvO^ 0)S TTCVrjS avOpCOTTOS IvO^^AwV TToXXoLKLS 
 
 rots evTropovcriv ov Xa/Setv tl /^ovAerat. 
 
 {Dithyr ambus, 2.) 
 
 Ephippus gives us a pretty picture of a woman (an 
 Hetaera, of course) coaxing away a man's trouble : 
 
 €7r€tTa y* etciovr', eotv AvTrov/xeros 
 
 "^^Xt? ''"^^ ^/^wv, €AcoA(x/c€vcr€v iJSews, 
 
 €(f)LXr)(TeVj ov-)(l crv/XTTtecratra to crrojuta, 
 
 ijcnrep iroXefiLOVj dAAol rotcrt (rrpovOiOLS 
 
 )(yavov(r' 6p.oi(i)S ijcre, TrapepLvOrjcrarOj 
 
 kiroi'qcrk 0^ IXapov €v6e(i)<s r d</)etA€ Trav 
 
 a^TOi} TO AvTTOvi/ KaireSet^ev tAcwv. (Empolc, l). 
 
 Epicrates is chiefly noticeable for the brutality of 
 his AntilaiSy a considerable fragment of which is 
 preserved in Athen. xiii. 570 B. 
 
 Xenarchus' best contribution to literature is, 
 perhaps, his famous 
 
 opKOvs eyw yvvaiKhs €ts oTvov ypdcjiU), (jPentathL 3.) 
 
 Lastly, there is Alexis, who, though he extends 
 from the Middle well into the New Comedy (388 — 
 284 are the dates — rather trying to the credulity — 
 given for his life), yet belongs very distinctly to the 
 former, and shows no signs of a newer spirit, unless 
 it be in the revolt against the artificiality of the 
 Hetaerae, of which there is a specimen in his Isos- 
 tasium. He makes, however, a favourable allusion 
 to " Platonic " love {Helene), though he does not 
 suggest the possibility of its application to women. 
 
 ^ Y^ OF THB ' r "^ 
 
 f UNIVERSITY j 
 
2i6 Excursus F, 
 
 For the rest, he confines himself to the ordinary 
 topics, and his complaints against wives are, here 
 and there, amusing, as when he argues that marriage 
 is worse than disfranchisement : — 
 
 Tovs iilv yovv drifjLOvs ovk la 
 dp)(r)v Xa)(6vTa<s 6 vofios ap^eiv rwv TreAas* 
 €7rav Se yrnJ^ys, ovSe (ravTOv Kvpiov 
 e^ecrrtv etvaf ras yap cvOvvas piovov 
 ecfirjpepivas rots tov /Slov KeKTTjpcOa. 
 
 {Incert. 34.) 
 
 The examination of these fragments has been very- 
 barren of any but negative results, but this very 
 barrenness is not perhaps without a certain signifi- 
 cance. The Middle and the New Comedy kept the 
 stage at Athens (to the exclusion, in great part, of 
 original tragedy) without a check during the fourth 
 century ; but at the same time, the continuity of the 
 dramatic tradition that pervades them is by no 
 means unbroken, and the differences between the 
 two styles of art are very marked. Of all these 
 differences, there is none more striking than that 
 in the treatment of the erotic element. This, which, 
 though introduced early enough into the Middle 
 Comedy, yet never attained to any real development 
 there, appears suddenly in the New Comedy as a 
 feature of overwhelming importance. Nor is this 
 all. The erotic element, which, from henceforward, 
 occupies so prominent a place in comedy, differs in 
 character toto caelo from that which occurs in the 
 earlier dramas. Instead of the eralpa, the New 
 Comedy introduces us to the irapOevo^ ; instead of 
 
Women in the Middle Comedy, 217 
 
 marriage being the stock subject of ridicule, it 
 becomes the hero's ideal.^ 
 
 This change of attitude is so marked, that it seems 
 impossible to regard the later feeling as a develop- 
 ment of the earlier ; the revolution is so violent, that 
 it seems inevitable to admit that it came in some 
 manner from without. And, as a matter of fact, if 
 we consider the period from which the New Comedy 
 dates, it is by no means difficult to conjecture what 
 the source of this external influence may have 
 been. 
 
 Menander brought out his first play, at a very 
 early age, in 322; about this time, Asclepiades and 
 Philetas were already coming into prominence; those 
 influences which induced the Coan school to speak of 
 women in a manner so diflerent from that of previous 
 writers, may well have impressed the Athenian also, 
 and produced a body of poets who, though difl*ering 
 in certain important points from the "Alexandrians," 
 were yet distinctly romantic. 
 
 To this subject of the romantic element in the 
 New Comedy, I hope at some future time to be able 
 to return,^ so that I will not speak of it further here, 
 except so far as to point out that, firstly (an obvious 
 fact, but one that seems sometimes strangely ignored), 
 the New Comedy is distinctly later in date than the 
 Coan school of poets, and cannot therefore, under 
 
 ^ There is, of course, plenty of grumbling at marriage in the New 
 Comedy, but there the characters who give vent to it are the old men, 
 who belong to the previous generation, and whose relations with their 
 wives had consequently not come under the influence of romance. 
 
 ^ [This Excursus was originally written for the first Essay ; the Ntw 
 Comedy is discussed in the second Essay. See above p. 163.] 
 
21 8 Excursus F, 
 
 any circumstances, claim priority for the introduc- 
 tion of the romantic element into literature; while 
 secondly, if the introduction of this element was 
 really due, as is commonly asserted, to the influence 
 of Euripides, it seems strange that, while so many of 
 his views were common property at Athens from the 
 very beginning of the fourth century, not one of the 
 Athenian playwrights, some of whom studied him so 
 thoroughly, should have felt this particular influence 
 till nearly a century after his death. 
 
EXCURSUS G. 
 
 [P. 150.] 
 
 WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE COMEDY 
 FRAGMENTS, 
 
 (Plays in italics and marked with an asterisk are wholly lost. Of 
 those in italics no fragment of importance is preserved.) 
 
 ANTIPHANES. 
 
 Plays named after Hetaerae : — Antea?, A rchestrata ?, 
 Chrysis, Malthace, Melitta, Neottis, Philotis. 
 
 Plays dealing apparently with a similar class of 
 society: — Acestria, Aleiptria, Anterosa^ Auletris?, 
 Corinthia?, Curis?, Dyserotes, Halieuomene ?, Hydria, 
 Mystis?, Neanisci. 
 
 Plays relating to erotic mythological subjects : — 
 Aeolus, Andromeda?^ Antea?, Areas? Caeneus ?, 
 Glaucus, Melanion (the misogynist, cp. Aristoph. 
 Lys. 784), Meleager?, Omphale?, Phaon? 
 
 Other plays, the titles of which suggest erotic 
 incidents : Acontizomene P, Aphrodisius ?, Asoti ?, 
 Delta ?, Epiclerus ?, Gamus ?, Harpazomene ?^ Lemnise, 
 Moechi, Sappho (in the fragments the poetess merely 
 appears as asking riddles). 
 
 Acontizomene. The drunkenness of women. 
 Aeolus I. Parody of the prologue of the Canace of 
 
 Euripides. 
 Agroecus 2. Meretrix magnum malum. 
 
220 Excursus G, 
 
 Aleiptria. The servant-girl threatens to pour hot 
 
 water over some rude visitors. 
 Areas 2. Mention of the Hetaera Sinope, perhaps 
 
 under her nickname of Abydos. 
 Asclepios. An old woman induced to take medicine 
 
 under the idea that it is wine. 
 Asoti. Mulier ducit virum. 
 Bacchae. The drunkenness of wives. 
 Boeotia. A man urges a girl to try a citron at 
 
 dessert. (Copied by Eriphus, Meliboea i. Cp. 
 
 Eubulus, Campylion 5.) 
 Butalion. A girl (?) from the country is asked to 
 
 order dinner. Cp. Acestria (where read (piXrarr] 
 
 in 1. 3 ?), and Alexis, Homoea. 
 Cepurus. Mention of the Hetaera Sinope. 
 Chrysis. i, 2. Description of a wealthy lover. 
 Coroplathus. An obscene allusion. 
 Drapetagogus. A woman's way of eating. 
 Dyspratus i. A woman's stinginess to her slaves. 
 
 (Cp. Epicrates, Dyspratus.) 
 Glaucus. Reference to a vesticontubernium. 
 Halieuomene i. A long fragment addressed by the 
 
 fish-seller to her slave (containing various puns 
 
 on the names of Hetaerae and their lovers.) 
 Hydria i. The praises of a true Hetaera. 
 Malthace. The excuses of an Hetaera. 
 Melitta. A merchant who boasts of his wealth. 
 Metragyrtes. A girl washing a man's feet. 
 Misoponerus. Complaints as to the trouble a baby 
 
 is in the house. 
 Mystis 3. A man inviting a woman to drink, ap- 
 parently to excess. (Cp. Athen. x. 441 C ; 
 
Women in the Middle Comedy, 221 
 
 Eubul. Campyl. 5 ; Anacreont. iv. 12, ixv(jti<$ 
 
 vafxaTO^ rj KuTTpf? vjUievaioL^ KpoTovcra-) 
 Neanisci 2. A girl arguing with her mother on the 
 
 relative values of her poor and her wealthy 
 
 lover (?). 
 Neottis 3. Mention'of Sinope. 
 Omphale 3. Heracles ordering his dinner of Om- 
 
 phale. 
 Philometor. Praises of a mother. (Cp. Alexis, 
 
 Incert. 35.) 
 Philopator. Marriage compared to death. 
 Zacynthius. The pleasure of having one's feet washed 
 
 by a woman. (Cp. Pherecrates, Thalatta, 7, and 
 
 supra p. 128.) 
 Incert. 12. Love cannot be concealed. 
 
 13. Homoeopathic cure for a wife. 
 
 51. Praise of love. (Also in Theophilus, 
 
 Philaulus.) 
 
 52. Marriage the last of ills. 
 
 53. The burden of a rich wife. 
 
 54. The one thing in which you can trust a 
 
 woman is, that when she is dead she 
 will not come to life again — nothing 
 else. 
 
 55. The one advantage of ophthalmia is that 
 
 you can't see your wife. 
 57. To tell a secret to a woman is like telling 
 
 it to the town-crier. 
 71. An old man must forego the pleasures of 
 
 love. 
 95* KacTCopi^ rj iropvrj. 
 
222 Excursus G. 
 
 ANAXANDRIDES. 
 
 The following titles of plays suggest erotic 
 subjects: — Aeschra (name of an Hetaera), Anchises, 
 Anteron, Citharistria, Helene, Locrides?^ Melilotus?, 
 Protesilaus. 
 
 Gerontomania i. Two old men discuss Lais and the 
 
 other ladies they used to know in their youth. 
 Odysseus i. Women are attracted by good dinners. 
 Tereus 2. An allusion suggestive of Theocr. i. %J. 
 
 3. A royal bride. 
 Theseus 2. A girl is easily pleased. 
 Incert. i. The troubles of being married. 
 
 5. A father tells his daughter that a wife 
 
 should not leave her husband. 
 9. Women are slaves of pleasure. 
 10. Love the best schoolmaster. (Cp. Alex. 
 Incert. 38, where, however, the image is 
 somewhat different.) 
 13. An unmarried daughter is a terrible thing. 
 (Cp. 17.) 
 
 EUBULUS. 
 
 Plays named after Hetaerae: — Chrysilla, Clepsydra^ 
 (so called because she used to regulate the duration 
 of her favours by the clock), Nannion, Neottis, 
 Plangon. 
 
 Plays dealing with mythological erotic subjects : — 
 Anchises?, Echo?, Europe?, Ixion ?, Nausicaa ?, 
 Pelops?, Procris? 
 
 Other plays which seem to have dealt with erotic 
 subjects : — Astyti ?, Campylion, Mylothris ?, Orthane, 
 
Women in the Middle Comedy, 223 
 
 Pamphilus, Pannychis, Pornoboscus, Psaltria, Ste- 
 phanopolides. 
 
 Ancylion 3. Kisses mentioned among the prizes at 
 
 a "pannychis." 
 Campylion. Vide supra^ ^. i^^. 
 Cercopes i. The dangerous attractions of Corinth, 
 
 narrated by a traveller. 
 Chrysilla i. The folly of marrying again. 
 
 2. An attempted defence of women breaks 
 down. 
 Nannion. The folly of adultery. ( Vide supra^ p. 158.) 
 Orthane. A party of ladies and gentlemen come 
 
 together to celebrate a sacrifice to Orthane. 
 Pamphilus i. A man takes up his station at the 
 window of an inn to watch the pro- 
 ceedings of a lady opposite. (Cp. 
 Ter. Phormio i. 2, 38 seqq?) 
 3. The drinking capacities of the lady's 
 chaperone. 
 Pannychis. A description of Hetaerae, in part the 
 
 same as in Nannion. 
 Pornoboscus i. A woman describes her keeper. 
 Sphingocarion 2. Women anointing a man's feet. 
 
 3. A lady excuses her absence on the 
 
 previous evening (?). 
 
 Stephanopolides i. A flower girl (?) ridicules the 
 
 cosmetics of the professional 
 
 Hetaerae. 
 
 2. The pleasures of love from a 
 
 woman's point of view. (A 
 
 very graceful passage, with an 
 
224 Excursus G, 
 
 allusion to the legend of Cissus 
 and Ololygon.) 
 3, 4. The flower-girls making up and 
 selling their garlands. (Another 
 pretty passage, with perhaps 
 an allusion to the Hetaera 
 Nannion under her name of 
 Aegidion.) 
 Incert. 3. Why do girls prefer old wine, but young 
 men? 
 9. A woman in a passion. 
 20. A man excuses himself and goes home. 
 25. Mention of the festival Stenia, at which 
 the Athenian women used to abuse one 
 another. (Cp. Theopompus, Aphro- 
 disia I ; supra, p. 148.) 
 
 ALEXIS. 
 
 Plays named after Hetaerae : — Agonis, Atthis ?, 
 Choregis, Dorcis?, Isostasium, Lampas, Meropis?, 
 Opora, Pamphile, Pezonice, Polycleia, Ponera? 
 
 Plays on mythological erotic subjects : — Atalanta, 
 Galatea, Helenes Harpage, Helenes Mnesteres, 
 Hesione, lasts?. 
 
 Other plays apparently dealing with erotic subjects : 
 — Achaeis?, Apocoptomenus, Bostrychus?, Brettia?, 
 Cnidia?, Curis, Epiclerus?, Hypnus, Lemnia?, Leu- 
 cadia ? (can this play have dealt with the proceedings 
 of the comic poet Nicostratus?), Mandragorizomene, 
 Olynthia, Orchestris, Pallace, Phaedrus, Philocalus, 
 Philusa, Poetria ?, Traumatias. 
 
Middle Comedy Fragments, 225 
 
 Agonis. Vide supra, p. 156. 
 
 Apocoptomenus i. Lovers have wings and Love 
 has none. 
 
 Cleobuline. A mention of the Hetaera Sinope. 
 
 Curis I, 2. A father of two sons, one highly re- 
 spectable, the other less so. 
 
 Dropides. An Hetaera brings in a decanter of sweet 
 wine during dinner. 
 
 Graphe. The story of the man who fell in love with 
 the statue at Samos. (It would be obvious to 
 suggest that in this play a man is introduced 
 who falls in love with a picture. More probably, 
 however, this passage comes from the speech of 
 some painter who is extolling his art, possibly to 
 some lady, in the way Ovid used to do. Cp. 
 Ars Amat. iii. 397 seqq., 533 seqq., etc.) 
 
 Gynaecocratia. Perhaps introduced women in the 
 theatre, like the Scenas Catalambanusae of 
 Aristophanes. 
 
 Helene. A mock (?) Platonic view of love. ( Vide 
 supra, p. 161.) 
 
 Hesione 2. The heroine complains that, as soon as 
 Heracles saw that his dinner was ready, he 
 ceased to take any notice of her. 
 
 Homoea. A girl is asked to order dinner. 
 
 Hypnus i. Two women asking one another riddles. 
 
 Isostasium i. An attack on the artificiality of Hetaerae. 
 
 Lampas. The protest of an angry father at his son's 
 extravagance. (Cp. Mnesimach. Dyscolus.) 
 
 Lyciscus i. A mention of the Hetaera Pythionice. 
 
 Mandragorizomene 5. A lover visits his sick lady. 
 (The whole play seems to have turned on a 
 Q 
 
226 Excursus G, 
 
 subject of this kind (cp. Fr. 2), and calls to mind 
 pictures like that in Ovid, Ars Amat. ii. 319 seqq., 
 especially 333 seqq. 
 Mantels. The slavery of marriage. 
 Meropis. A lady complains of the late arrival of 
 
 someone, perhaps her maid. 
 Olynthia i, 2. The poor circumstances of the 
 
 heroine's family. 
 Orchestris. All that women want is plenty of wine. 
 Pallace. Perhaps the answer of the husband to his 
 
 indignant wife. 
 Pamphile. The proper food for a lover. {C^.Incert. 18.) 
 Phaedrus i. The nature of love. 
 Philocalos. A stingy man inviting ladies to dinner. 
 Philusa I. The Aphrodisia. 
 
 Tarantini 5. An allusion to the Hetaera Nannion. 
 Thrason. A talkative woman. 
 Traumatias 2. Only lovers really live. 
 Incert. 14. A repetition of the remark of Eubulus 
 (Ince7't. 3) on the inconsistency of 
 women in preferring old wine and 
 young men. 
 18. The proper food for a lover. (Cp. Pam- 
 phile.) 
 26. Inviting a woman to drink. 
 31. The three pleasures of life. 
 
 34. Marriage worse than disfranchisement. 
 
 35. One's mother is deserving of the highest 
 
 respect. (Cp. Antiphanes, Philometor.) 
 38. Love the best tutor. (Cp. Anaxandr. 
 Incert. 10, where, however, the image is 
 slightly different.) 
 
Middle Coinedy Fragments, 227 
 
 39. Nothing is more shameless than a woman 
 
 — as I know from my own wife. 
 
 40. Nothing is so difficult to guard as a 
 
 woman. 
 53. The word SLaTreTrapOei/evKora. 
 
 AMPHIS. 
 
 Several plays satirising women, such as the Acco"^ 
 (the silly woman), the Gynaecocratia and the Gynae- 
 comania. 
 
 The Scholiast of Germanicus' Aratea quotes the 
 legends of Zeus and Callisto (p. 38), and of the Dog 
 Star and Opora (p. "jS) from Amphis ; these legends 
 seem to have occurred in plays now lost.^ 
 
 Of the Sappho no important fragment is preserved. 
 
 Amphicrates. A confidential slave arguing with his 
 young master on the folly of the latter's attach- 
 ment to a certain lady. 
 
 Athamas. The inevitable superiority of the Hetaera 
 over the wife. 
 
 Curis I, 2. An Hetaera who deserves to be rich, 
 more than Sinope and the others who are. 
 
 Dithyrambus 2. Ridicule of " Platonic " love. 
 
 Gynaecocratia. The liberated husband. (It is easy 
 to imagine how the outraged wife breaks in 
 upon this happy party, something after the 
 manner of Cynthia in Prop. iv. 8.) 
 
 Gynaecomania. Seems to suggest a similar scene, if 
 indeed, the two plays be not one and the same. 
 
 lalemus i. An invective against lettuces. 
 
 ^ [The author is following Meineke i. 404 : the name "Amphis " is a 
 conjectural emendation in the latter passage.] 
 
228 Excursus G, 
 
 ARAROS. 
 The Adonis and the Caeneus dealt with erotic 
 legends, as is plain from Fr. i of the former and 
 Fr. 4 of the latter. The same is perhaps true of the 
 Panos Gonae (Fr. 2.) The Hymenaeus contained a 
 description of a wedding (Fr.2), and the Parthenidion*' 
 may also have dealt with erotic subjects. 
 
 NICOSTRATUS. 
 
 The Pandrosus introduces (Fr. 2, 3) an elderly 
 gentleman supping with a lady, among whose ac- 
 quaintances is numbered Ocimum (Fr. i). 
 
 Incert. 9 describes a prude. 
 
 Besides these, the titles Anterosa^ Habra, and the 
 corrupt Otis^^ seem to suggest erotic subjects. 
 
 PHILETAERUS. 
 In the Atalanta, the fragment which it is usual to 
 assign to a parasite might perhaps be assigned to 
 the heroine of the piece, who would thus appear in 
 her legendary character of the "advanced woman," 
 something like the lady in Juvenal vi. 246 seqq.^ 425 
 seqq, 
 
 Corinthiastes. The superiority of Hetaerae to 
 Gametae. (He repeats the remark in Cynagis 3.) 
 Cynagis i. A list of veteran Hetaerae. 
 
 2. Old age is no excuse for giving up 
 pleasure. 
 Meleager. A dance not suitable for unmarried ladies. 
 
 EPHIPPUS. 
 Empole I. A pretty picture of a woman (an 
 Hetaera, of course,) coaxing away 
 a man's trouble. 
 
Middle Comedy Fragments, 229 
 
 Empole 2. The same (?) urging on a disorderly 
 member of the party the advantages 
 of harmony. 
 
 Ephebi 3. Proceedings commence with the ladies 
 having a drink all round. 
 
 Philyra (named after the Hetaera) 2. The heroine (?) 
 coaxing an elderly gentleman to commit what 
 he considers an extravagance. (Fr. 3 seems to 
 suggest that a younger lover appeared on the 
 scene and expressed himself as jealous.) 
 
 Sappho. How to recognise a iropvog. 
 
 ANAXILAS. 
 
 Neottis I. A violent invective against the whole 
 race of Hetaerae, mentioning various 
 names. 
 
 2. The difference between an Hetaera and 
 
 a Porne. 
 Incert. 2. Rebuke of a jealous lover (?). 
 
 3. The sign of an abandoned woman. 
 4, 5. Remarks on a woman's toilet. 
 
 6. A system of coiffure. 
 
 ARISTOPHON. 
 
 Callonides. The folly of marrying a second time. 
 
 latrus 2. An Hetaera's door is shut to a man with- 
 out money (1. l, leg. SiaireTelg pro SioTrereig). 
 
 Pythagoristes 2. The gods have driven Love out 
 of heaven, and clipped his wings, so that he 
 stays on earth. 
 
230 Excursus G, 
 
 EPICRATES. 
 
 Antilais 2. A savage attack upon Lais. 
 
 3. A list of erotic writers whose poems one 
 learns by heart. 
 Chorus. A man cheated by a lena, 
 Dyspratus. Women's stinginess towards slaves (cp. 
 Antiphanes, Dyspratus). O demens, ita servus 
 homo est ? 
 
 CRATINUS lUNIOR. 
 
 Omphale. The heroine (?) appears dilating on the 
 pleasures of a life of ease, with a view to 
 seducing Heracles. 
 The Titanes also seems to have dealt with erotic 
 subjects. 
 
 AXIONICUS. 
 
 Philinna. One thing, at least, you can trust a woman 
 — that she won't drink water. 
 
 CALLICRATES. 
 Moschion. A mention of Sinope. \ 
 
 DIODORUS. 
 
 Incert. Better a well-educated wife without money 
 than one who does not know how to behave 
 with. 
 
 ERIPHUS. 
 
 Meliboea i. A man giving a girl some citrons at 
 dessert. (Cp. Antiphanes, Boeotia.) Fr. 2 seems 
 to belong to the same scene. 
 
Middle Comedy Fragments, 231 
 
 HENIOCHUS. 
 
 Incert. The cities of Greece, allegorised as women 
 are entertained and made drunk by Abulia, 
 Democratia, and Aristocratia. 
 
 HERACLITUS. 
 Xenizon. Mention of a certain gluttonous Helen. 
 
 PHILISCUS. 
 Philargyri. A woman's powers of persuasion. 
 
 SOPHILUS. 
 
 The Paracatathece and the Syntrechontes both 
 seem to have had erotic plots. 
 
 TIMOTHEUS. 
 
 Incert. An elaborate eulogy of Love, which does 
 not read like the work of a comic poet. 
 
 TIMOCLES. 
 
 Epistolae i. A lover's comic enthusiam. 
 
 Icarii i, 2. Pythionice and her lovers. 
 
 Marathonii. The pleasures of seduction. (Cp. p. 159, 
 note.) 
 
 Neaera i. An unfortunate lover of Phryne. 
 
 Orestautocleides i. Autocleides the paederast ap- 
 pears surrounded by Hetaerae, in the character 
 of Orestes and the Erinnyes. (Cp. Mein. Com, 
 Fr. i. 432.) 
 
232 Excursus G. 
 
 Philodicastes. Mention of a new regulation by which 
 the yvvaiKovojuLoi had to inspect entertainments, 
 to see that they were respectable. 
 
 Sappho. An allusion to Misgolas (cp. supra, p. 157). 
 
 XENARCHUS. 
 
 Butalion. A childless house. 
 
 Hypnus. Happy cicadas, for their females are 
 
 dumb. 
 Pentathlus i. The folly of adultery (cp. Eubulus, 
 Nannion). 
 2, 3. Woman's power of drinking. 
 Priapus. An earnest drinker. 
 Scythae i. The effects of a rival (?). 
 
 THEOPHILUS. 
 
 Neoptolemus i. A young wife does not suit an 
 
 old husband. 
 Philaulus I. Love for a maiden (a citharistrid) 
 described with considerable en- 
 thusiasm. (The first four lines 
 = Antiph. Incert. 51.) 
 2. An anxious father (?) hopes that his 
 son will not fall into the hands of 
 the Hetaerae. 
 
EXCURSUS H. 
 
 [P. 163.] 
 
 WOMEN IN THE FRAGMENTS OF THE EARLY 
 NEW COMEDY, 
 
 In the case of Menander, only the more important 
 allusions are chronicled. \x\ the case of the other 
 writers, everything that bears on the subject is 
 mentioned. 
 
 MENANDER. 
 
 Adelphi i. The happiness of never marrying. 
 
 (Adapted by Terence in his Adelphi^ 
 Andria i. Love makes blind. (Adapted by Terence 
 
 in his Andria) 
 Androgynus 2. An allusion to a wedding ceremony. 
 Anepsii i. Love is, by nature, deaf to advice. 
 2. A daughter is a troublesome thing. 
 Aphrodisia i. Love makes fools of men. 
 
 2. A girl, while delirious, lets out un- 
 
 fortunate secrets. 
 Arrephorus i. The dangers of marriage. 
 
 3. A talkative woman. 
 Carchedonius. (Adapted by Plautus in his Poenulus}) 
 Chalceia 3. Youth is the time for love. 
 
 Colax 4. A list of various well-known Hetaerae. 
 (Adapted by Terence in his Eunuchus.) 
 
234 Excursus H, 
 
 Cybernetae 2. The man who is counted lucky in 
 
 pubHc, but tyrannised over at home. 
 DactyHus i. The obstinate father who refuses his 
 daughter. 
 2. A bridegroom who wants no dowry. 
 (For the plot cp. Ter. Hecyra.) 
 Didymae i. The Cynic Crates' wife. (Cp. Apul. 
 
 Florid, xiv.) 
 Empipramene i. Invective against marriage. 
 
 4. A father's joy (at the recognition 
 of his daughter?). 
 Epitrepontes. (Similar in plot to the Hecyra of 
 
 Terence.) 
 Eunuchus 7. The violent joy of the successful lover 
 in Ter. And. v. 5, 3, is translated literally 
 from this play, (Adapted by Terence in his 
 Eunuchus^ 
 Georgus 6. The unpractical lover. 
 Halieis 6. A daughter is an awkward thing. 
 
 10. The flight of the adulterer. 
 Heauton Timorumenus 3, The respectable girl's 
 home. (Adapted by Terence \x\ his Heauton 
 Timorumenus?) 
 Heros i. Love is omnipotent. 
 
 Hiereia 2. A respectable woman should not leave 
 the house. (The plot deals with a married 
 woman who follows the priests of Cybele about 
 the streets.) 
 Hypobolimaeus 4. The husband should rule the 
 wife. 
 8. fxeyicTTOv Oi^plov yvvr], 
 Leucadia i. Sappho's leap. 
 
Fragments of Early New Comedy. 235 
 
 Misogynes i. The advantages of a wife. 
 
 2, 3, 4, 5. The expense of keeping a wife. 
 4, 5. A woman's superstitions. 
 
 9. The husband seeks refuge with an 
 
 Hetaera. (The plot is concerned 
 with a man who marries a woman, 
 and then conceives a most violent 
 hatred for her.) 
 Misumenus 3. The slavery of love. 
 
 5. Platonic love. 
 
 6. The lover's misery. 
 
 7. The lover in his lady's absence: 
 
 8. An unsympathetic listener. 
 
 10. The lover cannot sleep. 
 12. Jealousy. 
 
 (The plot deals with a Miles Glori- 
 osus, who is in love with a slave 
 girl of his, but will not touch her 
 because she does not love him.) 
 Nauclerus 4. A lover is always easily led. 
 Olynthia 4. Artificial hair. 
 Orge 5. An adulterer is an expensive luxury. 
 Paedion 2. A man who goes round offering amulets 
 
 to men when they get married. 
 Periceiromene. (The soldier who, in a fit of jealousy, 
 cuts off the hair of his slave girl, and afterwards 
 repents.) 
 Perinthia. (Adapted by Terence in his Andria^ 
 
 especially for the first scene.) 
 Plocion 1. The rich, ugly, and jealous wife. 
 
 2. The disagreeableness of the same. 
 
 3. The results of a KctyjuLiKf] iravvvxl^, 
 
 4. The trouble that they bring on a house. 
 
'236 Excursus H. 
 
 Sicyonius. (The soldier who buys a girl, and then 
 
 treats her as if she were a free woman.) 
 
 Synaristosae i, 2. The strange behaviour of some 
 
 women (Hetaerae ?) at dinner. 
 
 4. Love makes one perjure oneself 
 
 Thais I. The ideal Hetaera, faithful to none. 
 
 Thesaurus i. Loveisaseveregod,especially to theold. 
 
 2. Music is the food of love. 
 
 3. The lover must be bold. 
 
 (In order to estimate at its true value the promi- 
 nence of misogyny in the following passages, it is 
 well to remember that a large proportion of the 
 F^^agmenta Incerta of Menander are found in 
 Christian collections of apophthegms.) 
 Incert. i. If you have once married, then you must 
 put up with it. 
 3. A man ought to be allowed the chance of 
 getting to know his wife before mar- 
 riage ; for every woman is an evil, but 
 then one could choose the least. (Cp. 
 102.) 
 
 6. Invective against Prometheus for creating 
 
 women. 
 
 7. The sudden effects of a kiss. 
 
 8. The polygamous habits of the Thracians. 
 14. Of the nature of love. 
 
 16. Women are afraid of death, and seek 
 comfort for trouble in tears. 
 
 27. Women have no gratitude. 
 
 32. A girl's wooing. (Transl. in Plaut. Cist, 
 i. I, 91.) 
 
Fragments of Early New Comedy. 237 
 
 36. The advantages of a iropvri over a respect- 
 able woman. 
 
 TrXetova KaKOvpyeij TrAetov' ot8\ al(T\vv€TaL 
 ovSev, KoAaKcuet fiaWov. 
 
 54) 55) 57- O^^ should not marry money. 
 58. The man who contemplates marriage 
 must consider whether he prefers 
 beauty or worth. 
 73. A man stands up for his wife. 
 99. Virtue doubles the value of beauty. 
 100. A woman must try to lead her husband, 
 
 not drive him. 
 lOi. None are so closely related as man and 
 wife. 
 
 102. A man who marries, may count it as a 
 
 great good if his wife is only a slight 
 evil. 
 
 103. The troubles of a family man. 
 
 104. Advice against marriage. 
 
 105. Marriage is a necessary evil. 
 
 106. A woman's fair words are most to be 
 
 feared. (Cp. 197.) 
 
 107. An Hetaera cannot be expected to be 
 
 good, for she makes her living out of 
 
 mischief 
 112. A mother loves her children more than a 
 
 father. 
 114. The unmarried daughter in the house. 
 117. A lover's threats are not serious. 
 133. A respectable woman does not dye her 
 
 hair. 
 
238 
 
 Excursus H, 
 
 154. 
 
 iSS 
 156. 
 
 18S 
 196. 
 198 
 199 
 241 
 256. 
 258, 
 
 259. 
 294. 
 
 346 
 469, 
 
 Educating a woman is like giving poison 
 
 to a viper. 
 The dangers of beauty. 
 Your wife will be nasty without being taught. 
 A bit of the marriage ceremony. 
 Love cannot be controlled by reason. 
 Women are consistent liars. 
 Night is the time for love. 
 An Hetaera's dress. 
 One must not trust a woman. 
 It is safer to stir up a dog than an old 
 
 woman. 
 Women are irritable. (Cp. 499.) 
 The behaviour of a low woman. 
 Stupid women. 
 An oath to a woman is not binding. 
 
 I have added an analysis of the Gnomae Monostichi, 
 for the sake of completeness. No one will, of course, 
 attach any importance to the views expressed in 
 this nondescript collection. [Cp. Kock, Com. Att. Fr. 
 vol. iii. praef ] 
 
 56. 
 
 n 
 83 
 84 
 8s 
 
 86, 
 87 
 90. 
 
 The happiness of being unmarried. (Cp. 78, 
 
 437. 468, 595.) 
 The expensiveness of wives. 
 Women are the better for being silent. 
 The ideal woman is the good housekeeper. 
 A woman may save or ruin a house. 
 Do not trust a woman. (Cp. 633.) 
 Women consider nothing but their own wishes. 
 There is nothing so wretched as an old man in 
 
 love. 
 
Fragments of Early New Comedy, 239 
 
 91. The man who wants to marry changes his 
 
 mind. 
 
 92. Virtue, not gold, adorns a woman. 
 
 93. A good wife saves a man's position. 
 
 94. It is not easy to find a good woman. 
 
 95. It is better to bury a woman than to marry 
 
 her. 
 
 97. A wife is an expensive luxury. 
 
 98. Marry your wife, not her money. 
 
 99. A good wife is the helm of a household. 
 100. A woman cannot rule ; it is against nature. 
 
 102. Marriage is an evil men bring on themselves. 
 
 103. When about to marry you should consider 
 
 your neighbours. 
 
 106. Women are bad counsellors. 
 
 109. All women are alike. 
 
 134. Woman is the source of every ill. (Cp. 541, 623.) 
 
 156. Love cannot withstand poverty. (Cp. 159.) 
 
 160. Some women are virtuous. 
 
 161. Women are faithless. (Cp. 560.) 
 181. Women are a cause of ruin. 
 
 195. A woman's jealousy. 
 
 197. A married man is a slave. 
 
 199. Try and get a woman as your ally. 
 
 211. Don't marry mere money. 
 
 215. A man must rule his wife. 
 
 231. Women are as dangerous as sea and fire. 
 
 233. A bad woman is a treasure-house of evil. 
 
 248. Women are fiercer than beasts. 
 
 260. A woman should stay at home. 
 
 261. A bad woman is like poison. 
 264. Woman is like the sea. 
 
240 Excursus H, 
 
 267. Woman is as fierce as a lioness. 
 
 304. Woman is a necessary evil. 
 
 324. A wife is a constant cause of grief. 
 
 327. A woman is worse to live with than a lion. 
 
 333. A woman's virtue is worth more than her beauty. 
 
 334. A woman is full of evil. 
 
 353. Never abuse or advise a woman. 
 
 355. Never let a woman into your counsels. 
 
 361. Never waste anything good on a woman. 
 
 382. Marriage is slavery. 
 
 410. A lover's anger is short-lived. 
 
 413. There is nothing worse than a pretty woman. 
 
 426. A harlot's weeping is like a lawyer's. 
 
 469. A woman is dirt silvered over. 
 
 493. Woman is a pleasant ill. 
 
 540. A bad woman is like a storm in the house. 
 
 575. A woman is like a fire. 
 
 600. Women flatter with an object. 
 
 634. The value of a good wife. (Cp. 675.) 
 
 684. May my friends never marry. 
 
 700. Women ruin many men. 
 
 734. Pretty women are conceited. 
 
 735. Your wife is worth taking trouble for. 
 750. A daughter is hard to dispose of 
 757. A poor man should not marry. 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 Adelphi i. Praise of Solon for having introduced 
 
 prostitution. 
 Babylonius. An Hetaera's prospects. 
 Pyrphorus. Greater beauty than any painter could 
 
 depict. 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 
 Fragments of Early New Comedy, 241 
 
 Synephebus. An Hetaera's dress. 
 Incert. 31. A lady going out with a pretty servant. 
 (Cp. Plaut. Mercator, ii. 3, 69.) 
 32. The affectations of a fxv^ XevKog. 
 35. The man who fell in love with the statue. 
 44. A good wife obeys her husband. 
 49. The growth of love. 
 64. A dutiful son and his mother. 
 76. Where women meet, there is sure to be 
 
 mischief. 
 yy. Worth is better than beauty. 
 y8. There is no need to teach a woman 
 
 mischief. 
 85. The folly of taking counsel with a 
 
 woman. 
 95. A conceited woman. 
 103. Woman is an immortal necessary evil. 
 105, 106. Advice not to marry. 
 124. A city of beautiful women. 
 
 DIPHILUS. 
 
 Pallace. A woman's ornament. 
 
 Synoris i, 2, 3. A parasite and an Hetaera playing 
 
 dice. 
 Theseus 2. A Samian lady's riddle. 
 Zographus i. An Hetaera entertains lavishly. 
 Incert. 2. An outburst against the trade of the 
 
 7rO/0l/o/3o(7/CO9. 
 
 6. An ugly girl, from whom even a dog 
 
 won't take a piece of bread. 
 16. The oath of an Hetaera is not to be 
 believed. 
 
 R 
 
242 Excursus H. 
 
 33. It is hard to find a good woman. 
 
 34. A virgin is a treasure that it is not easy 
 
 to guard. 
 47. A woman described as a carcase. 
 
 ARCHEDICUS. 
 Dihamartanon. A dishonest Hetaera. 
 
 The fragments of HiPPARCHUS, Lynceus, and 
 Apollodorus Gelous contain no allusions to 
 women. 
 
EXCURSUS I. 
 
 [P. 163.] 
 
 THE QUESTION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN THE 
 MIDDLE COMEDY. 
 
 It is usual to assume that there was, during the earlier 
 part of the fourth century, a strong agitation at Athens 
 in favour of "women's rights." The social status 
 of the Theban, as well as of the Lacedaemonian, 
 women, had been brought, owing to political events, 
 under the notice of even the most consistent 
 Athenian, and advantage is supposed to have been 
 taken of this fact by the advocates of female liberty 
 at Athens, to endeavour to obtain for the women 
 there some of those privileges which notoriously 
 belonged to their neighbours. This being so, it will 
 be interesting to consider in how far, if at all, this 
 movement is reflected in the literature of the period. 
 
 The general treatment of women in the Middle 
 Comedy being such as it is, there would be every 
 reason to expect to find plays in which these efforts 
 of women to obtain more general recognition from 
 men, would be made the subject of more or less 
 contemptuous ridicule. The fashion started by 
 Aristophanes in the Ecclesiazusae must have been, one 
 would have thought, too fascinating to be abandoned. 
 
 The fact, however, remains that, in such portions 
 of the Middle Comedy as still exist, there is practi- 
 
244 Excursus L 
 
 cally no trace of anything of the kind. There are, 
 it is true, one or two titles of plays which seem 
 at first sight suggestive, but further investigation 
 generally reveals little. Thus the Gynaecocratia 
 and the Gynaecomania of Amphis both seem aimed, 
 not at the tyranny of women in general, but at the 
 tyranny of wives.^ 
 
 As for the Gynaecocratia of Alexis, all that can 
 be gathered from the fragments is that it seems 
 to have had certain features in common with the 
 Scenas Catalambanusae of Aristophanes ; as to its 
 tone or tendency, there is no clue in the two short 
 passages that remain. 
 
 The suggestion made above (p. 228) as to the 
 meaning of the fragment of the Atalanta of 
 Philetaerus is, of course, purely conjectural, and 
 cannot, therefore, bear evidence either way. 
 
 And that is all. This almost entire absence from 
 the Middle Comedy of plays dealing with the 
 question of "women's rights," would seem to justify 
 a certain hesitation in accepting the common view 
 that this question was at the time a burning one. 
 So general a silence on the point, in a literature 
 which deals exhaustively with every other phase 
 of contemporary life, seems not unreasonably to 
 suggest that the extent and influence of the move- 
 ment have been exaggerated, and that, as far as it 
 existed at all, it was confined to a small body of 
 enthusiasts, and was well-nigh without effect on the 
 body of the nation at large. 
 
 ^ Cp. supra, p. 227. This feeling is, of course, common enough ; 
 cp. Alexis, Mantels^ yvvai^l doOXoi ^Cofxev dvr {Kevdipwv^ k.t.X, 
 
EXCURSUS K. 
 
 [P. 187.] 
 
 SOME FURTHER NOTES ON FA MIL V RELA TIONS 
 AS TREATED IN MIDDLE AND NEW COMEDY, 
 
 Though it has nothing to do with our immediate 
 subject, it may be interesting to notice briefly the 
 attitude of the New Comedy towards that descrip- 
 tion of family problems which the Canace of 
 Euripides and similar works had made popular 
 among certain classes of art-lovers. That such works 
 had ever any great hold over the public at large is 
 neither proved nor probable. 
 
 In the first place, we may notice the unpleasant 
 accident by which, in the Curculio, the soldier is 
 made unconsciously to buy his sister as his mistress. 
 Here, however (Plaut. Cure, v. 2, 55 seqq.), as soon 
 as the recognition takes place, Planesium is at once 
 given in marriage by her brother to her lover — as 
 soon, that is to say, as her consent has been obtained 
 to this course {ibid, 73). In the Middle Comedy 
 Epidicus, where a similar incident occurs, the 
 behaviour of Stratippocles is somewhat less correct 
 (Plaut. Epid, V. i, 42 seqq.), though here, too, the 
 side of propriety is at once championed by the slave, 
 and prevails without any real delay. That incidents 
 of this kind were not uncommon in New Comedy 
 seems probable from the nature of that class of 
 
246 Excursus K, 
 
 drama, but there is no reason to suppose that they 
 ever had any other conclusion than that which occurs 
 in the cases quoted above. Cases of rivalry between 
 father and son, such as occur in the Casina and the 
 Mercator, belong to a class of drama which has 
 nothing to do with romantic New Comedy. The 
 denouements of the Asinaria and the Bacchides, which 
 are so little sympathetic to modern ideas, are both ta 
 some extent apologised for by their authors,^ and 
 also, as will be observed, occur in plays which have 
 Hetaerae for their heroines. 
 
 A certain lack of regard for decency on the part 
 of the father in the son's presence, and vice versd^ 
 (which is rather startling to the modern reader in 
 such passages as Plaut. Asin, v. 2, 30 seqq., Ten 
 Heaut. Timor, iii. 3, i, and elsewhere,) is probably 
 most simply explained by autres temps autres moeurs^ 
 Altogether, it would seem that the privacy which is 
 to modern ideas somewhat of an essential in these 
 matters, was at a considerable discount at this period 
 of society. Cp. Plaut. Bacch, iii. 3, 73 seqq.^ Cure, u 
 3, 16 seqq,, etc. 
 
 Lastly, attention may be called to Hanno's rather 
 remarkable method of searching for his lost daughters. 
 (Plaut. Poen, prolog. 106 seqq.). Whether this is in- 
 tended for a realistic study of Semitic habits, can be 
 left to others to decide. 
 
 ^ Plaut. Asin. i. i, 53 seqq. (patres ut consueverunt, ego mitto 
 omnia haec, 1. 64); Bacch. v. 2, 89 seqq. (hi senes, nisi fuissent 
 nihil iam inde a adulescentia, non hodie hoc tantum flagitium 
 facerent canis capitibus, etc.) Of course, if anyone prefers to believe 
 that these apologies are due to the Latin author, no one can very well 
 contradict him. 
 
INDEX 
 
 A. Of Authors and Subjects Referred to. 
 
 [The references are to pages throughout. Where the discussion of a subject is 
 continued over several pages, only the first page is here given. Plays are usually 
 cited under their authors' names.] 
 
 Achilles, and Briseis, 9 ; and Patroclus, 40, 76 ; and Iphigeneia, 63. 
 
 Achilles Tatius, 13, 78, 109. 
 
 Actaeon, 33. 
 
 AdmetuS) and Apollo, 13, 31, 90, 99. 
 
 Aeschylus, 41 ; and Stesichorus, 42 ; Myrmidones of, 40, 82, 92. 
 
 Ajax, and Teucer, 76, 90, 99; of Sophocles, compared to the 
 
 Antigone^ 99. 
 Alcaeus, the comic poet, 149. 
 Alcaeus, the lyric poet, 83. 
 Alcestis, 57, 99. 
 Alciphron, 146, 148. 
 Alctnan, 22 ; and Megalostrate, 23 ; love-poems to boys, 24 ; Par- 
 
 thenia, 24. 
 Alexander and the wife of Darius, 181. 
 Alexandrian poetry, distinctive feature of, i, 69. 
 Alexis, Agonis of, 156; Helene of, 161; on marriage, 162; on 
 
 women, 224, 
 Ameipsias, 147. 
 Amphis on women, 227. 
 Anacreon, 26, 27, 86 ; love-poems to women, 27 ; importance for 
 
 history of the romantic element, 28 ; character of poems to boys, 
 
 86. 
 Anaxandrides, 154, 162 ; on women, 213, 222. 
 Andromache, in the Iliad, 10 ; as the ideal wife, 55, 64. 
 Antiphanes on women, 213, 219; retort to Alexander, 152. 
 
248 Index, 
 
 Antimachus 5, 107 ; and Plato, 1 1 1 ; and Catullus, 1 1 1 ; influence on 
 
 Asclepiades, 113, 197; influence on Philetas, 113 [vide s. v. Lyde). 
 Aphrodite, and Anchises, 202 ; as the rival of Artemis, 59 ; treatment 
 
 of Phaedra, 47. 
 Apuleius, 189. 
 
 Archilochus, 19, 82 ; true motive of his satires, 21 ; and Catullus, 22. 
 Archippus, Ichthys oi^ 147. 
 Ariadne, 12, 14. 
 Aristophanes, 129 ; weddings in, 132 ; views on women, 134 ; Cocalus 
 
 of, 135 ; ^olosicon of, 143. 
 Asclepiades, 69 ; Meleager's criticism on, 73 ; eulogy of Antimachus, 
 
 113; probable influence on Menander, 196. 
 Aspasia, 127. 
 
 Bacchylides, 36. 
 
 Battis, 70. 
 
 Boy-love, in classical Greek literature, 74 ; as an element of classical 
 Greek society, 77 ; as a military institution, 77 ; as an emblem of 
 liberty, 77 ; purity of, 78 ; development of, 79 ; decay of, 79, 102 ; 
 permanent influence on literature, 80 ; in the Anthology. 81 ; in 
 Archilochus, 82 ; in Alcman, 24 ; in Alcaeus, 83 ; illustrated by 
 Sappho, 85 ; in Anacreon, 86 ; in Theognis, 87, 207 ; in the 
 Scoliay 89 ; in Attic tragedy, 91 ; in Alexandrian poetry, 102 ; in 
 Meleager, 103. 
 
 Brother and sister, in Attic tragedy, 48, 10 1 ; in the New Comedy, 
 245. 
 
 Callias, 147. 
 
 Catullus, 81. 
 
 Chionides, 122. 
 
 Clytemnestra, 42. 
 
 Corinna, 36. 
 
 Crates, 126, 128. 
 
 Cratinus, 126. 
 
 Cratinus junior, Tkeramenes of, 151. 
 
 Daphnis, 14, 34. 
 
 Deianira, 43. 
 
 Diphilus on women, 241 ; belongs really to Middle Comedy, i88. 
 
 Diphilus and Gnathaena^ 128. 
 
 Epicharmus, 122. 
 Epicrates, Antilais of, 73, 151. 
 
Index, 249 
 
 Eubulus, on women, 214, 222 ; Campy lion of, 155 ; Nannion of, 158. 
 
 Eumathius, 199. 
 
 Euripides, services to art, 50 ; female characters, 50 ; admiration for 
 women, 5 1 ; view of love, 52 ; striking absence of love-element in, 
 52, 62, (i2ii 6^ \ why E. was not a " romantic " writer, 66 ; E. and 
 the Alexandrians, 53; his misogyny, 51 ; Aeolus of, 38, 52; Andro- 
 meda of, 140, 203 ; Antigone of, 38 ; Chrysippus of, 93 ; Eledra of, 
 65 ; Iphigeneia of, 63 ; Medea of, dd ; Meleager of, 38 ; Phoenix of, 
 38 ; Protesilaus of, 57 ; Sthenebcea of, 38. 
 
 Ganymede, 13. 
 
 Goddesses, preponderance of, in Greek Pantheon, 7 ; in love with 
 mortals, 13. 
 
 Haemon, motives for suicide, 44. 
 
 Helen of Himera, 33. 
 
 Helen of Troy, in the Iliad^ 10 ; in Stesichorus, 33 ; and Theseus, 161. 
 
 Hermesianax, 14, 26, no. 
 
 Hesiod, women in, 8 ; Catalogus of, 12. 
 
 HetPxra, in early times, 19; in Bacchylides, 36; in Early Comedy, 128, 
 
 147, 148 ; in Middle Comedy, 151, 215, 219 ; treated as superior to 
 
 a wife, 158; in New Comedy, 175, 
 Hippolytus, defence of, 61. 
 
 Ibycus, 35. 
 Iphigeneia, 63. 
 
 Jealousy, Attic view as to, 43, 55. 
 
 Lafaye, Catulle et ses modUes^ 20, 22. 
 
 Lesbian Poets, 83. 
 
 Licymnius, 36. 
 
 Love, early Greek views as to, 12,17, 55, 64; in Middle Comedy, 160; 
 
 in New Comedy, 169, 185 ; in Menander, 184 ; in Sophocles, 46 ; 
 
 in Euripides, 52. 
 Love-element, in the lliad^ 75 ; in Hymn, Ho7n, iv. 201 ; in Sappho, 
 
 85 ; in choral poetry, 35 ; in Attic Tragedy, 38, 91 ; in Sophocles, 
 
 46 ; in Euripides, 50 ; in Eur. Andromeda^ 203 ; in classical Greek 
 
 poetry in general, 67 ; in Middle Comedy, 150; in New Comedy, 
 
 163 ; in Asclepiades, 70. 
 Lyde of Antimachus, 107 ; importance of, 108 ; characteristic tone 
 
 of, no. 
 Lyric poetry, subjective, 17; choral, 31. 
 
2SO Index, 
 
 Magnes, 122. 
 
 Mahaffy, Classical Greek Literature^ 20, 63. 
 
 Marriage, in Comedy, 109, 212, 216 {vide s. v. Middle Comedy^ 
 
 New Comedy) ; Sophocles' view of, 43 ; in Greek romance, 109 ; 
 
 in Menander, 170. 
 Maximus Tyrius, distinction between ancient and modern love, 54 ; 
 
 on Achilles and Patroclus, 76 ; on Sappho and Socrates, 85 ; on 
 
 Anacreon, 87. 
 Medea, 12, 14, 66. 
 
 Meleager, criticism of Asclepiades, 73 ; poem to Charidemus, 103. 
 Menalcas, 14. 
 Menander, 2 ; great merit of, 164 ; wrote plays belonging to Middle 
 
 Comedy, 193 ; introduced the romantic element into comedy, 
 
 188; marriage characteristic of, 170; view of love, 184; 
 
 father and children in, 185 ; why elderly married men are treated 
 
 by M. as unhappy, 173; on women, 233; Leucadia of, 146; 
 
 Misogynes of, 174; Misumenus of, 178; Sicyonius of, 180; Thais 
 
 of, 177. 
 Middle Comedy, main features of, 1 50 ; difference from Old Comedy, 
 
 125; difference from New Comedy, 163; women in, 210, 219; 
 
 women's rights in, 243; dislike of marriage, 158 ; ridicules Platonic 
 
 love, 160; ridicules family life, 161 ; parodies mythological erotic 
 
 stories, 161. 
 Miles Gloriosus as the chivalrous lover, 180. 
 Mimnermus, 25 ; and Nanno, 26 ; mentioned by Roman poets, 27. 
 Minos and Zeus, 13. 
 Morychis, law of, 125. 
 Myrtis, 36. 
 
 Nanno, 26. 
 
 Nausicaa, 10. 
 
 New Comedy, 109; ideal character of, 119; difference from Middle 
 Comedy, 163 ; two common types of plot in, 165 ; the married state 
 described as a happy one, 171 ; condemns adultery, 174; only slaves 
 ridicule Platonic love in, 185 ; legal obligation to marry not urged 
 in, 137 ; women in, 233. 
 
 Orestes and Py lades, loi. 
 Ovid, 109. 
 
 Pandora, legend of, 8. 
 
 Parthenius, 15. 
 
 Penelope, 8 ; and Odysseus, 10. 
 
Index, 251 
 
 Phaedra, of Sophocles, 46 ; illustrated from the Homeric Hymn to 
 
 Aphrodite, 201 ; of Euripides, 59. 
 Pherecrates, 125, 128. 
 Philemon, 142 ; wrote plays belonging to Middle Comedy, 193 ; more 
 
 old-fashioned than Menander, 189; on women, 240; Hypobolimaeus 
 
 of, 144. 
 Philetas, 69; influenced by Antimachus, 113. 
 Philoxenus, 36. 
 Phocion on marriage, 133. 
 Phocylides, 19. 
 Pindar, erotic legends in, 6*1, 
 Plato, 6 ; in the Hedy chares of Theopompus, 149. 
 Plato comicus, 145. 
 Plautus, as imitating Middle Comedy, 157 ; as illustrating New 
 
 Comedy, 187 ; and Menander, 234, 236; Captivi oi^ 155 ; Epidicus 
 
 of, 183 ; Poenulus of, 185 ; Stichus of, 187. 
 Poseidippus, 26, no. 
 
 Reitzenstein, Epigramm und Skolion, 25, 29, 34, 59. 
 
 Rhadina, 34. 
 
 Rhianus, poem to Dexionicus, 103. 
 
 Rohde, der griechiscke Romany 75, 203. 
 
 Romantic Element, characteristic feature of, 4; mistaken ideas as to, 
 
 2, 40, 106 ; sudden appearance in literature, 69 ; ditto, explained,. 
 
 104 ; origin among the Greeks, 105 ; nature of in Greece, 108 ; 
 
 ditto, contrasted with mediaeval romance, 109; in the Latin elegiac 
 
 poets, 109. 
 
 Sacred Band of Epaminondas, JJ. 
 
 Sappho, 85, 160; and Phaon, 146; and Sophocles, 45; and Aeschylus,. 
 
 45 ; and Socrates, 85. 
 Scolia, 31, 89. 
 Scylla, legend of, 14. 
 
 Simonides Amorginus, 18 ; and Hesiod, 18. 
 Sophocles, 43 ; and Sappho, 45 ; views on marriage, 45 ; view of 
 
 love, 46 ; Antigone of, 47 ; Cholcides of, 38 ; Niobe of, 93 ;; 
 
 Oenomaus of, 38 ; Phaedra of, 38. 
 Sparta, 6, 24, 77. 
 
 Stesichorus, 33 ; and Aeschylus, 42. 
 Strato, 81. 
 Strattis, 147. 
 Susario, 68. 
 
252 Index, 
 
 Telestes, 37. 
 
 Terence, as illustrating New Comedy, 187 ; and Menander, 233 ; 
 
 Hecyra of, 170, 175. 
 Theocritus, poems to boys, 81, 83; illustrative of Alcaeus, 83; and 
 
 Theognis, 208. 
 Theognis, 29, 87 ; Book II., 207; and Theocritus, 208. 
 Theopompus, 148 ; Hedy chares of, 149. 
 Theseus, and Helen, 161. 
 
 Wife, Sophoclean ideal, 44 ; Euripidean ideal, 55 ; compared with 
 Hetaera in Middle Comedy, 158; ditto in New Comedy, 176; 
 tyranny of wives in Middle Comedy, 244. 
 
 Women, primitive position of, 7 ; in the Homeric poems, 8 ; in 
 Hesiod, 8 ; in the early legends, 1 1 ; in the stories of Parthenius, 
 15; early literary ideal of, 17; in Simonides, 18 ; in Phocylides, 
 19 ; in Theognis, 29, 199 ; in the Scolia, 31 ; in Stesichorus, 33 ; 
 in Ibycus, 35 ; in the later choral poets, 36 ; in Attic tragedy, 40 ; 
 in Aeschylus, 41 ; in Sophocles, 43 ; in Euripides, 50 ; in the 
 early Alexandrians, 69; in Asclepiades, 71; in Greek comedy, 
 118; in the Middle Comedy, 219; in early New Comedy, 233; 
 better position in Asia, 182 ; freemasonry among in Euripides, 58 ; 
 might be attacked openly by name, 151 ; women's rights in the 
 Middle Comedy, 243. 
 
 B. Of Passages Emended or Discussed. 
 
 Aeschylus, Fr, 135, 136 (92). 
 
 Alexis, Graphe (225). 
 
 Anth. Pal V. 164, 4 (73). 
 
 Antiphanes, Acestria, 3 (220). 
 
 Archilochus, Fr. 100 seqq. (20). 
 
 Aristophon, latrus^ Fr, 2 (229). 
 
 Eubulus, Campylion (155). 
 
 Euripides, Hippol. 141 5, 1440 (206), Fr, 132 (205). 
 
 Hesiod, Op. 702 (19). 
 
 Martial XIV. 187 (177). 
 
 Mimnermus, Fr. i (25). 
 
 Philetaerus, Atalanta (228). 
 
 Propertius II. 6, 3 (177). 
 
 Sophocles, Ant. 781 (46), 909 (49) ; Fr. 855, 13 (201). 
 
 Theognis, 261 seqq. (199), 1282, 1363 (208). 
 
 Theopompus, Netnea 8 (148). 
 
TABLE OF COMIC FRAGMENTS 
 
 In the text the fragments of the comedians are cited from Meineke's Fragmenta 
 Comicorum. Graecorutn (5 vols., 1839-57). In the following table the corresponding 
 numbers are given from Kock's Comicortiin Atticorum. Fragmenta (3 vols., 1880-88). 
 The fragments referred to which do not appear in the table, can be found without 
 difficulty in Kock's edition from Meineke's numbers. 
 
 Author. Meineke. 
 
 Alexis. Agonis i 
 
 2 
 
 Incert. 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 18 
 
 26 
 
 31 
 
 34 
 
 35 
 
 38 
 
 39 
 
 40 
 
 53 
 
 Isostas. I 
 Mandragor, 
 
 Olynthia i 
 2 
 Tarantini 5 
 Traumatias 2 
 Amphis. Dithyramb, 2 
 Anaxandrides. Incert. i 
 5 
 9 
 10 
 
 Kock. 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 282 
 279 
 
 293 
 271 
 262 
 
 267 
 289 
 302 
 339 
 314 
 98 
 142 
 144 
 162 
 
 159 
 223 
 
 234 
 15 
 52 
 56 
 60 
 61 
 
 Author. Meineke. Kock. 
 
 Anaxandrides. Imert. 13 78 
 
 17 6^ 
 
 Odysseus i 33 
 
 Tereus 2 47 
 
 3 46 
 
 Anaxilas. Incert, 2 34 
 
 3 36 
 
 4 35 
 
 5 37 
 
 6 38 
 Neottis I 22 
 
 2 21 
 
 Antiphanes. Acestria i 20 
 
 Aeolus I 18 
 
 Agroecus 2 2 
 
 Areas 2 41 
 
 Dyspratus I 89 
 
 Incert. 12 235 
 
 13 3CX) 
 
 51 324 
 
 52 292 
 
 53 329 
 
 54 251 
 
 55 252 
 57 253 
 71 239 
 
254 
 
 Table of Comic Fragments, 
 
 Author. Meineke. 
 
 Antiphanes. Incert. 95 
 Mystis 3 
 Neanisci 2 
 Neottis 3 
 Omphale 3 
 Araros. Caeneus 4 
 Aristophanes. Cocal. 2 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 Z>d!<f<^. 3 
 
 C'^rflj 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 Pelargi i 
 Polyid. 2 
 6'^^«. Ca/. I 
 2 
 3 
 Thesmoph. B. 26 
 
 Aristophon. /(Si^r^/j 2 
 
 Pythagor. 2 
 
 Crates. Incert, 3 
 4 
 
 Kock 
 320 
 16S 
 167 
 170 
 178 
 5 
 347 
 346 
 348 
 349 
 351 
 350 
 354 
 355 
 187 
 141 
 140 
 142 
 438 
 453 
 472 
 864 
 862 
 5338 
 (907 
 
 3 
 II 
 
 Cratinus 302 
 40 
 
 Cratinus. 
 Diphilus. 
 
 Ephippus. 
 
 Seriph. 12 
 
 Incert, 2 
 6 
 
 16 
 
 33 
 
 34 
 
 47 
 Zographus i 
 
 Philyra 2 
 3 
 
 216 
 
 87 
 91 
 
 lOI 
 
 "5 
 136 
 129 
 
 44 
 21 
 23 
 
 Author. 
 
 Eriphus. 
 Eubulus. 
 
 Meineke. Kock. 
 
 Meliboea I 2 
 
 2 7 
 
 Cercopes i 54 
 
 Campyl. i 44 
 
 2 43 
 
 3 41 
 
 4 42 
 
 5 45 
 
 6 46 
 //^<:^^/. 3 125 
 
 9 127 
 
 20 133 
 
 25 148 
 
 Sphingocar, 2 108 
 
 3 106 
 
 Stephanopol, I 98 
 
 2 104 
 
 3 105 
 
 4 99 
 Eupolis. Autolycus 10 44 
 Menander. Andria i 48 
 
 Androgynus 2 57 
 Arrephorus 3 66 
 
 Chalceia 3 509 
 
 Eunuchus 7 190 
 
 Georgus 6 100 
 
 Halieis 6 18 
 
 10 16 
 
 Hiereia 2 546 
 
 Incert. I 654 
 
 3 532 
 
 6 535 
 
 7 536 
 
 8 547-8 
 14 541 
 16 599 
 
 27 564-5 
 
 32 558 
 
 36 566 
 
 54 582 
 
Table of Comic Fragments. 
 
 255 
 
 Author. Meineke. 
 
 Kock. 
 
 Author. Meineke. 
 
 Kock. 
 
 [enander. Incert, 55 
 
 585 
 
 Menander. Misogynes 2 
 
 332 
 
 57 
 
 583 
 
 3 
 
 333 
 
 58 
 
 584 
 
 4 
 
 601 
 
 59 
 
 586 
 
 5 
 
 326 
 
 73 
 
 608 
 
 9 
 
 329 
 
 99 
 
 645 
 
 Misumenus 3 
 
 338 
 
 100 
 
 646 
 
 5 
 
 336 
 
 lOI 
 
 647 
 
 6 
 
 337 
 
 102 
 
 648 
 
 7 
 
 335 
 
 103 
 
 649 
 
 8 
 
 345 
 
 104 
 
 650 
 
 10 
 
 341 
 
 105 
 
 651 
 
 II 
 
 342 
 
 106 
 
 652 
 
 12 
 
 343 
 
 107 
 
 653 
 
 Nauclerus 4 
 
 352 
 
 loS 
 
 662 
 
 Orget^ 
 
 366 
 
 109 
 
 603 
 
 Plocion I 
 
 402 
 
 112 
 
 657 
 
 2 
 
 403 
 
 "3 
 114 
 
 659 
 658 
 
 3) 
 4^ 
 
 404 
 
 "5 
 
 660 
 
 Sicyonius 3 
 
 438 
 
 117 
 
 661 
 
 Synaristosae i 
 
 450 
 
 133 
 
 610 
 
 2 
 
 451 
 
 154 
 
 702 
 
 4 
 
 449 
 
 155 
 
 703 
 
 Thesaurus i 
 
 235 
 
 156 
 
 704 
 
 2 
 
 237 
 
 185 
 
 720 
 
 3 
 
 236 
 
 196 
 
 798 
 
 Nicostratus. Pandrosus i 
 
 21 
 
 197 
 
 745 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 198 
 
 746 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 199 
 
 739 
 
 Pherecrates. Thalatta 2 
 
 56 
 
 241 
 
 727 
 
 3 
 
 52 
 
 256 
 
 8cx) 
 
 4 
 
 51 
 
 258 
 
 802 
 
 5 
 
 54 
 
 259 
 
 803 
 
 7 
 
 53 
 
 294 
 
 879 
 
 Philemon. Incert. 3 
 
 89 
 
 346 
 
 955 
 
 4 
 
 88 
 
 469 
 
 687 
 
 8 
 
 93 
 
 499 
 
 754 
 
 31 
 
 124 
 
 Leucadia i 
 
 312 
 
 32 
 
 126 
 
 Misogynes I 
 
 325 
 
 35 • 
 
 139 
 
2S6 
 
 Table of Comic Fragments. 
 
 Author. Meineke. 
 
 Kock. 
 
 Author. Meineke. 
 
 ECock. 
 
 Philemon. Incert. 44 
 
 132 
 
 Plato. Phaon 4 
 
 178 
 
 49 
 
 138 
 
 10 
 
 i79 
 
 64 
 
 156 
 
 Strattis. Maced. 5 
 
 26 
 
 76 
 
 169 
 
 Theophilus. Philaul i 
 
 12 
 
 77 
 
 170 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 78 
 
 171 
 
 Theopompus. Capelid, 3 
 
 26 
 
 85 
 
 177 
 
 4 
 
 2}^ 
 
 95 
 
 190 
 
 5 
 
 27 
 
 103 
 
 196 
 
 Hedychares 3 
 
 14 
 
 105 
 
 198 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 106 
 
 239 
 
 Odysseus i 
 
 35 
 
 124 
 
 218 
 
 Medus 2 
 
 29 
 
 Philetaerus. Cynagis i 
 
 9 
 
 Timocles. ^/^V. i 
 
 la 
 
 2 
 
 ^.1 
 
 Icarii i 
 
 17 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 Plato. Phaon 2 
 
 174 
 
 Xenarchus. Scythae i 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 ^ai. 
 
 _ 
 
 
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