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The Self-sacrifice of Menoeceus in Euripides’ Phoenissae, II Maccabees and Statius’ Thebaid
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November 3, 2015
Abstract
In his Phoenissae Euripides introduced a unique case of male self-sacrifice before battle instead of the traditional virgin sacrifice. Its appropriation by II Maccabees and Statius as well as by its important resonance until the end of antiquity demonstrates the success of this innovation. In the male-dominated world of the Greeks and Romans, a male self-sacrifice clearly was more attractive to use than that of a virgin. The example of Menoeceus shows that gender does play a role even in the transmission of myths and mythical motives.
Published Online: 2015-11-3
Published in Print: 2015-11-13
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Preface
- Contents
- In memoriam Walter Burkert (February 2, 1931 – March 11, 2015)
- I. Authoritative Traditions and Ritual Power in the Ancient World
- Introduction: Authoritative Traditions and Ritual Power in the Ancient World
- The Great, the Little, and the Authoritative Tradition in Magic of the Ancient World
- An Anatomy of Tradition: The Case of the Charitêsion
- The Authority of Greek Mythic Narratives in the Magical Papyri
- The Innovative Use of Biblical Traditions for Ritual Power: The Crucifixion of Jesus on a Coptic Exorcistic Spell (Brit. Lib. Or. 6796[4], 6796) as a Test Case
- Sealing the Demons, Once and For All: The Ring of Solomon, the Cross of Christ, and the Power of Biblical Kingship
- II. New Directions in the Study of Myth
- Ishtar Rejected: Reading a Mesopotamian Goddess in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite
- Ancient Wilderness Mythologies—The Case of Space and Religious Identity Formation in the Gospel of Matthew
- The Self-sacrifice of Menoeceus in Euripides’ Phoenissae, II Maccabees and Statius’ Thebaid
- Early Histories Written in Stone: Epigraphy and Mythical Narratives
- Lost Epics and Newly Found Vases: Sources for the Sack of Troy
- Bundling Myth, Bungling Myth: The Flood Myth in Ancient and Modern Handbooks of Myth
- Echo and the Historiola: Theorizing the Narrative Incantation
- III. Varia
- Popular Hatred Against Christians: the Case of North Africa in the Second and Third Centuries
- Aperçus sur la religion romaine de l’époque républicaine, à travers les comédies de Plaute
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Preface
- Contents
- In memoriam Walter Burkert (February 2, 1931 – March 11, 2015)
- I. Authoritative Traditions and Ritual Power in the Ancient World
- Introduction: Authoritative Traditions and Ritual Power in the Ancient World
- The Great, the Little, and the Authoritative Tradition in Magic of the Ancient World
- An Anatomy of Tradition: The Case of the Charitêsion
- The Authority of Greek Mythic Narratives in the Magical Papyri
- The Innovative Use of Biblical Traditions for Ritual Power: The Crucifixion of Jesus on a Coptic Exorcistic Spell (Brit. Lib. Or. 6796[4], 6796) as a Test Case
- Sealing the Demons, Once and For All: The Ring of Solomon, the Cross of Christ, and the Power of Biblical Kingship
- II. New Directions in the Study of Myth
- Ishtar Rejected: Reading a Mesopotamian Goddess in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite
- Ancient Wilderness Mythologies—The Case of Space and Religious Identity Formation in the Gospel of Matthew
- The Self-sacrifice of Menoeceus in Euripides’ Phoenissae, II Maccabees and Statius’ Thebaid
- Early Histories Written in Stone: Epigraphy and Mythical Narratives
- Lost Epics and Newly Found Vases: Sources for the Sack of Troy
- Bundling Myth, Bungling Myth: The Flood Myth in Ancient and Modern Handbooks of Myth
- Echo and the Historiola: Theorizing the Narrative Incantation
- III. Varia
- Popular Hatred Against Christians: the Case of North Africa in the Second and Third Centuries
- Aperçus sur la religion romaine de l’époque républicaine, à travers les comédies de Plaute
