Resumo de Suppliant Maidens

It is the oldest piece written by Aeschylus. It permits to establish the fundamental rules of the ancient dramaturgy, by showing components which will become final and which will be used by all the other authors of the Ancient world. First of all, the chorus, which has a capital place in the Greek pieces, is essential : that?s a chorus which tells the story, its development, the successive events through several lyric songs. Thus, the song is the fondamental structure of the Antique tragedy.
This piece tells the story of the Danaides, the fifty daughters of king Danaus, one of the sons of the King of Egypt. But Danaus has a twin brother, Bolos, who has fifty sons. So Bolos proposes to his brother to marry their respective children, fifty girls for fifty boys. But the Danaides do not want these unions. Thus, the piece starts with a long lyric song of the chorus, which represents the Danaides. In this song, they denounce these forced marriages, and express their dissension. Then, with the approval of their father, they leave Egypt for the Greek city of Argos, one of the oldest cities of Greece. Moreover, it is the city where their ancestor Io, (priestess of Hera), with who Zeus had sexual relations. To avoid Io to be punished by Hera, Io was sent in the city of the king of Argos, who owned to their family. The Danaides proved that they are related to the city, but first, the king of Argos refused to protect them, fearing a conflict with Egypt. But as at that time hospitality was a fundamental rule, the king, after having asked for the approval of his citizens, accepted the Danaides in the city of Argos. Later, an officer, head of religious ceremonies, tries to abduct the Danaides. However, he must face the resistance of the king who expels the officer from the city. The piece ends in a song in which the Danaides express their gratitude to the citizens of Argos. However, the maidservants of the Danaides fear for their mistresses that the Aphrodite goddess will punish the Danaides because they have refused love and marriage several times.
The originality of this piece is in the realities exspressed. First of all, about politics, an unstable context is described. Indeed, at that time, wars were frequent, and were caused by personal quarrels between the kings. The war could begin at any time and for weak reasons. Then, the piece is about the good manners which were in use, as hospitality, which was sacred. Lastly, the piece is a real denunciation of the living conditions of the women, who, at the time, had no freedom, and who had not the right to take decisions about marriage. Most of the time, young women did not have to agree to marriage. Their opinion was not asked. They were completely subjected to the male authorities of their family, who decide on everything. This piece is one of the greatest tragedies of the Antique literature. It has a very poetic style. Aeschylus uses enormously images, metaphors, allegories, wonderful descriptions and the poetic language seems to be the paramount preoccupation of his writing.

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