OUP (2016) h/b 320pp £29.99 (ISBN 9780199752058)
In this tightly argued and elegantly written critique, L. contests the widely held belief that Euripides was a radical religious sceptic, whose plays sought to undermine traditional Greek notions of the gods, and whose ideas were akin to those of Anaxagoras, Protagoras and Socrates. This view, she argues, is based on a profound misunderstanding of his tragedies, fuelled partly by an overly trusting approach to his ancient biographies and partly by the inability of modern commentators, familiar only with a benign monotheism and Christian morality, successfully to comprehend the nature of a polytheistic religion, whose immortal, ageless gods not only belong to a different species from human beings but for the most part lack empathy with them. An examination of the evidence for Euripides’ life and beliefs shows most if not all of it to be dubious in the extreme, culled from the comedies of Aristophanes or based tendentiously on lines extracted from his own tragedies.
Ignore this spurious evidence, however, and an objective reading of his plays reveals that they contain little that Aeschylus or the traditionally pious Sophocles could not have written. It is true that some of Euripides’ characters voice their views in the language of contemporary 5th C BC sophistry, complaining about the gods and the cruelty of their demands, but ‘it does not necessarily follow that he and his audiences were prepared to regard their religion as an illusion’. Rather, he posited a world, familiar from earlier poets such as Homer and Pindar, in which, while the gods can intervene in human affairs, their ways are unknowable. If Euripides portrays the gods as lacking empathy, their justice violent, unforgiving and administered disproportionately, this is not intended as a criticism but simply a reflection of the reality of pre-Christian religion.
Over six compelling chapters, L. examines many of Euripides’ plays in detail—both those in which gods appear ex machina and those (such as Medea and Hekabe) where, although absent, their presence can be felt ‘behind the scenes’. At the same time, by taking ‘the actions of the gods in Euripides’ dramas literally and seriously’, and by disavowing any hints of irony, she gently but firmly counters the views of many of her colleagues. ‘Far from undermining the religion of his peers’, L. concludes, ‘Euripides, by means of his vivid depictions of the gods, equalled and in some cases surpassed his contemporaries in his ability to describe one of ancient Greek religion’s more important and admirable aspects, the attempt to define and understand what it is to be human.’
Aimed at the general reader, but useful for more advanced students and professional scholars, too, the book includes summaries of many of the plays, including quotations in literal English translation with some Greek terms transliterated. Accessible, readable, and thought-provoking, it deserves a place on the bookshelves of schools, colleges and universities as well as of anyone interested in Greek drama, culture and religion. Highly recommended.
David Stuttard