Presenze politiche di Argo nella tragedia attica del V secolo

This paper addresses the relationship between the mythical and the contemporary Argos in some tragedies of the fifth century, which were composed a few years before or after the two Athens-Argos alliances in 462/461 and 420 a.C.: Aeschylus' Supplices (an analysis of the drama in this perspective is found in § I) and Eumenides, and The Suppliant Women by Euripides. Between the two Aeschylean dramas there are many correspondences (especially in the dramatic structure), which can be properly explained only if we suppose chronological contiguity (§ II). The treatment of Argos in the Euripidean tragedy is radically different from that of Aeschylus, particularly for what concerns the personage of Adrastus, both in the first scene with Theseus and in the exodus (§ III). The attitude of the younger dramatist towards the alliance with Argos seems not so optimistic as in Aeschylus; on the contrary, it reflects a substantial mistrust which can be explained with the different historical context.