La Periboea di Pacuvio: l’Eneo di Euripide come modello?

Abstract

The essay refers to Pacuvius’ Periboea, a fragmentary tragedy (frr. I-XXVIII D’Anna): it discusses the critical hypothesis concerning the Pacuvian use of Euripides’ Oeneus (frr. 558-570 Kannicht). In Euripides Diomedes, after his father Tydeus’ death, comes back to Calydon to return the power to his grandfather Oeneus, dethroned by his brother Agrius. Some fragments of Periboea and Oeneus have been analysed: in particular as Euripides describes the miserable life of the ancient sovereign (frr. 562-564, 568 Kan- nicht), so Pacuvius emphasises the outrages to the old man (frr. I-VII D’Anna). However, the title Periboea shows a different point of view, since in the Pacuvian plot the woman, Oeneus’ second wife, had to have an important role. The paper proposes to stress the fact that Pacuvius may have referred to the generation previous to Euripides’ one who wants Oeneus freed by Diomedes, while Pacuvius would see Tydeus as Oeneus’ liberator (see Pherecyd. FGrHist 3, fr. 122b Jacoby). For this reason, Tydeus is exiled as, to free his father, he may have accidentally killed his brother Melanippus (fr. XII D’Anna). But then why is the title Periboea? Because Pacuvius puts the accent not on Oeneus, but on his second wife, younger than him and desired by her brother-in-law Agrius (fr. XXIV D’Anna).