Una vicenda tracia: Tereo fra tragedia e politica

Abstract

My paper focuses on the Thracian setting of Sophocles’ Tereus, which I regard as an innovation carried out by Sophocles himself. The originality of this choice can be demonstrated through an analysis of Thucydides’ (3, 29, 3) and Pausanias’ (10, 4, 8) witnesses, which attest a Daulian setting for the same story. It is therefore possible to demonstrate that the myth’s displacement resulting from its setting in Thrace can be read as a criticism of Thrace itself, with which Athens had difficult relations at the time. This argumentation is corroborated by an analysis of some aspects of Tereus: the differentiation between “foreigners” and “barbarians” presented in fragment 583 Radt²; the glossectomy which Tereus inflicted on Philomela (referring to the hostility of the barbarians toward ἰσηγορία); the prejudice about the greed of the barbarians (Fr. 587 Radt²); the possible Dionysian background (Frr, 591, 595a Radt²). In this respect, the witness of Thucydides (2, 29, 3), who defends the Thracian king Teres from the accusation of being related to Tereus, seems to be crucial, since in his opinion Tereus was a Thracian from Daulis. Thucydides’ polemical target could be Sophocles, who through his Tereus aimed to take position within the debate between philo-Thracian and anti-Thracian trends, particularly urgent in Athens during Teres’ and Sitalces’ hegemony over Thrace.

Sabrina Mancuso is currently a Lecturer in Greek Grammar and Translation of Greek Texts at Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen. After graduating in Pisa, she completed her Ph.D. jointly supervised in Tübingen and in Pisa in July 2020 with a dissertation focused on the mythical paradigm of Procne in Attic tragedy. Her main research interests are Attic tragedy (especially Sophocles), ancient epics, mythical examples, rhetoric, fragmentary poetry and digital critical editions. 

Keywords: Tereus, Thrace, Sophocles, Tragedy, Politics