The myth of Polyxena from antiquity to the renaissance

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The myth of Polyxena, never mentioned in Homer's epics, but appearing in numerous other classical sources, is extremely heterogeneous: no single element of the myth, not even the sacrifice on Achilles's grave, is universal. This thesis traces how Polyxena's myth evolved throughout three historical periods: antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The latter two periods are examined primarily on the English material, but examples from other traditions are also discussed. By dividing the myth into motifs, I show how different core elements of Polyxena's myth were foregrounded or discarded, as well as how the connections between these elements changed from one historical period to another. Moreover, using René Girard's concepts of the surrogate and the ritual victim, I show that Polyxena takes Helen of Troy's place at the sacrifice, with connections between the two women, enabling this ritual substitution, found in ancient, medieval and early modern narratives.

Keywords: Polyxena, sacrifice, myth, the Trojan War, antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, surrogate victim, ritual victim

Introduction

The Greek geographer Pausanias, describing a painting that he had seen during his travels, made the following remark: “<... > ôï? ä? ?÷éëëÝùò ôÜöïõ ðëçóßïí ìÝëëïõóÜ ?óôé óöÜæåóèáé ÐïëõîÝíç. ?ìÞñ? ä? å? ì?í ðáñåßèç ôüäå ô? ?ì?í ï?ôùò ?ñãïí.” Pausanias. (1903). Pausaniae Graeciae Descriptio, 3 vols. Leipzig: Teubner. Paus. 1.22.6 “near Achilles' tomb Polyxena is about to be sacrificed. Homer has rightly passed over this cruel deed.” [all translations mine - E. G.] Although not necessarily sharing Pausanias's sentiment, one cannot deny that Polyxena's absence from the Iliad and the Odyssey has greatly affected the depiction of her myth as well as its reception in scholarship. Discussions have focussed on themes such as Polyxena's volition, chastity and courage, inspired by her well-known portrayals in Euripides's Hecuba, Seneca's The Trojan Women and Ovid's Metamorphoses. In addition to this, the parallels between Iphigenia's and Polyxena's myth in classical literature have also been discussed in detail, yet again, only with respect to the few canonical texts. With the exception of Robert Förster's fundamental article Förster, R. (1882). Achilleus und Polyxena. Zwei unedirte Deklamationen des Choricius. Hermes, 17(2), 193-238., focusing on the origins of the love story between Achilles and Polyxena, and Katherine Callen King's monograph King, K. C. (1987). Achilles: Paradigms of War Hero from Homer to the Middle Ages. Berkeley: University of California Press., commenting on the evolution of Polyxena's portrayal only so far as the Greek hero's story is concerned, there have been no comparative diachronic analyses of this myth.

The aim of my thesis is to trace how the myth of Polyxena has evolved from antiquity to the Renaissance. Unlike most research on the topic, I work with a wide variety of texts and genres, exploring what is seen as the canonical version of the myth alongside its many alternative and divergent interpretations. This, in turn, makes it possible for me to examine the complex and non-linear development of the myth's many motifs. The three periods are chosen for the following reasons: antiquity, naturally, provides the origins of the myth as well as introduces many of the core motifs; the Middle Ages reconstructs the myth according to new values; the Renaissance counterposes and reconciles these two traditions. In the study of classical sources, I try to integrate the existing scholarly work on representations of Polyxena with the examination of lesser-known texts. While I base my analysis of Polyxena's image in medieval and Renaissance literature primarily on the English tradition, parallels from other European sources are also discussed.

In this study, I break down the different versions of Polyxena's myth into separate motifs. This approach is necessitated by the fact that, on the one hand, the development of Polyxena's myth is not linear, and, on the other hand, no extant source can illustrate all the nuances of the myth. By splitting the myth into motifs, I can show how those versions of the myth that may appear conflicting, in fact, treat the myth similarly and, conversely, how parallel accounts vary when treating certain motifs. This motif-based approach also allows us to see the connections between the various elements of the myth such as how the introduction of one motif might trigger the appearance of another. In addition to this, when necessary I comment on the intertextual links between the source texts to demonstrate the continuity and the disruption in the myth's reception. Finally, this thesis also offers a theoretical analysis of Polyxena's myth based upon the framework proposed by René Girard in Violence and The Sacred. This analytical lens is used to suggest the intrinsic motivation behind Polyxena's sacrifice which is not manifest in the source material per se. Girard himself never mentions Polyxena in his study.

The thesis consists of three chapters, each dedicated to one of the three historical periods. In the first chapter I look at the myth's development in antiquity. I start by briefly sketching the main sources and then proceed to discuss the myth's origins and core motifs. After this, extracting the motifs, I analyse how Polyxena's myth was constructed in canonical and non-canonical texts of classical literature. It is also in this chapter that I apply Girard's theory concerning the surrogate and ritual victim to Polyxena's sacrifice. The second chapter opens with the discussion of the medieval reception of the myths of Trojan war and, as an integral part of this reception, of Polyxena. Having shown which ancient sources were read and used by medieval authors, I proceed once again to discuss the motifs separately, showing which of them were introduced, developed, or neglected in the Middle Ages. The sources for this chapter are mostly taken from The Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. The last chapter of the thesis looks at the shaping of the myth in Renaissance England. In this chapter I discuss how the myth was reinterpreted in response to the two existing traditions, the classical and the medieval. Using the rich material of the corpus Early English Books Online, I trace the Renaissance reception and interpretation of the motifs discussed in previous chapters. Furthermore, in both the second and the third chapter, I return to Girard's framework, explored in detail in the first chapter.

myth polyxena trojan

Chapter 1. Classical antiquity

From the Epic Cycle to the Greek and Latin tragedies and to the pseudo-historical accounts of the Trojan War, the myth of Polyxena developed dynamically throughout antiquity. This chapter traces the myth's evolution from its first known appearance up to the 4th century CE when it finally acquired the form that predominates in Medieval and Renaissance sources. To examine how the story was changed by the introduction of new elements, the texts are analysed thematically. First, I discuss texts that merely indicate Polyxena's sacrifice and then those that expand on this motif. Next, I focus on the texts that introduce the interpretation of the sacrifice as a ritual wedding between Achilles and Polyxena. The final thematic nucleus considered in this chapter is the love of Achilles to Polyxena, which seems to have originated from this motif of ritual wedding. Such a motif-based approach is favoured over the chronological one as the development of the myth is far from linear and extant sources cannot be assumed to represent the entire evolution of this myth. Finally, in this chapter I offer a theoretically driven interpretation of the myth with reference to Girard's idea of the surrogate and the ritual victim.

1.1 Polyxena's myth in antiquity

Main sources. Tradition and countertradition

Before proceeding to the discussion of particular motifs I offer a brief sketch of the relations between the main sources of Polyxena's myth in antiquity, highlighting which texts formed the canonical tradition and which opposed it. Although never mentioned by Homer, Polyxena's sacrifice was a popular theme in the visual arts See Mangieri, A.F. (2018) Virgin Sacrifice in Classical Art: Women, Agency and the Trojan War. New York: Routledge. and in literature. One of the fullest extant treatments of Polyxena's story is found in Euripides's tragedy Hecuba. Whereas according to an earlier proposal Euripides's play had preceded Sophocles' lost Polyxena, currently the opposite view is commonly held, that it was Sophocles who introduced the ghost of Achilles, while Euripides answered him with the ghost of Polydoros. Calder, W.M. (1966) A Reconstruction of Sophocles' Polyxena Greek, Roman and Byzantine Pp. 553-56; Fantham, E. (1982). Seneca's Troades: A Literary Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Pp. 60-61. Polyxena's myth in the form given to it by Euripides in Hecuba becomes the foundation for Ovid's treatment of it in the 13th book of Metamorphoses, which put

“a tragedy of epic origin back within the framework of the epic.” Ovid. (2000). Metamorphoses Book XIII (N. Hopkinson, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P. 24. Ovid's narrative, along with Euripides's Hecuba and The Trojan Women, in turn, becomes the main sources for Seneca's The Trojan Women. Fanthan 1983, 30. This triad of Euripides, Ovid and Seneca represents what is seen as the traditional version of Polyxena's myth in antiquity. The stand-alone Posthomerica by Quintus of Smyrna, tentatively dated to the middle of the 3rd century CE Maciver, C. A. (2012). Quintus Smyrnaeus Posthomerica: Engaging Homer in Late Antiquity. Leiden, Boston: BRILL. P. 3. , despite deviating in certain details from the texts of these three authors, mostly represents a similar version of Polyxena's myth. As this hexameter poem is “strongly imitative of the Homeric poems, not only in metre, formulae, language, and style, but also in narrative sequence and construction, and characterisation,” ibid 7. it, perhaps, is the closest to an epic depiction of Polyxena's myth among extant sources.

The countertradition to Polyxena's myth in antiquity likely originates from the time of “Homeric revisionism” of first and second centuries CE Merkle, S. (2005). News from the past: Dictys and Dares on the Trojan War. In: Latin Fiction. The Latin novel in context. New York: Routledge. P. 131, even though Polyxena was not a character in the two epics ascribed to Homer. A profound mark on the development of her myth was left by the narratives of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius. Presenting forged eyewitness accounts of the events of the Trojan war, these texts are extant only in Latin translation - Ephemeris belli Troiani (3rd-4th century CE) and Acta diurnal belli Troiani (late 5th century) - both containing introductory letters from the supposed (but probably fictional) translators. In the case of Dictys's account, a recently discovered papyrus fragment proves the existence of a Greek original from between the 66 CE and approximately 200 CE. ibid 137 Moreover, when John Malalas cites Dictys he is clearly using this unabridged Greek original. Griffin, N.E. (1908). The Greek Dictys. The American Journal of Philology 29 (3). P. 332. Although no evidence of a Greek original for Dares exists, nowadays most scholars agree on its existence, without, however, any certainty as to the relation between the Greek Dares's and Dictys's narratives. In addition to Dares and Dictys, one should also mention Philostratus's Heroicus, that likewise belongs to the tradition of rewriting Homer and, in case of Polyxena, rewriting the Euripidean tradition. Merkle 2005, 137. These are the three main sources of the alternative version of Polyxena's myth in antiquity.

1.2 Key motifs and origins

1.2.1 The Epic Cycle

Polyxena must have been a character in the Epic Cycle, although her presence there raises certain problems. One of the only surviving literary sources that link her myth to the Epic Cycle is the Chrestomathy of Proclus. The Chrestomathy, “a kind of primer or resume of Greek literature,” is contained in a fragmentary state within the Codex Venetus. Monro, D.B. (1883). On the Fragment of Proclus' Abstract of the Epic Cycle Contained in the Codex Venetus of the Illiad. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 4. P. 305. Proclus mentions Polyxena's sacrifice as part of The Sack of Troy that he attributes to Arctinus. The problem is that the two folios of Codex Venetus seem to contain two different conclusions of the Trojan War by Arctinus: folio 6, describing the earlier part of the story concludes with a description of the Greeks sailing away, while folio 4 mentions the sacrifice. The fact these two leaves cannot be placed consecutively leads some scholars to the attribution of the two endings to two different poets (such as Lesches or Stesichorus) or to the transposition of the problematic lines. Monro 1883, 308-310. Others claim that it is impossible to positively ascribe the first mention of Polyxena to any of the abovementioned authors. Förster 1882, P. 194.

Leaving aside the question of authorship, the abstract from Proclus is significant as it provides the nucleus of Polyxena's myth: “?ðåéôá ?ìðñÞóáíôåò ô?í ðüëéí ÐïëõîÝíçí óöáãéÜæïõóéí ?ð? ô?í ôï? ?÷éëëÝùò ôÜöïí.” PEG arg. 22-23. “then, having burned the city, they sacrificed Polyxena on Achilles' grave.” In addition to stating the actual fact of the sacrifice, it introduces two important motifs. First, the element that remains unchanged in later versions is the place where the sacrifice takes place, that is, Achilles's grave. In fact, this is the earliest and most stable connection between Achilles and Polyxena. Secondly, in this description the action is collective, no single agent of the sacrifice is named. In further elaborations of the myth, this element is reinterpreted, usually involving Calchas and Neoptolemus. In this description from Proclus there is no mention of the ghost of Achilles; it is conceivable however, that it was the ghost that Neoptolemus sees in The Little Iliad that commanded the sacrifice of Polyxena. West, M.L. (2013). The Epic Cycle: A commentary on the lost Troy Epics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 190.

The second epic that seems to have mentioned Polyxena is Cypria. In the scholia on Euripides's Hecuba, an important source for the origins of Polyxena's myth, one finds the following passage: “?ð? ÍåïðôïëÝìïí öáóßí á?ôÞí (sc. ÐïëõîÝíçí) óöáãéáóè?íáé Å?ñéðßäçò êá? ?âõêïò· ? ä? ô? Êõðñéáê? ðïéÞóáò öçóßí ?ð? ?äõóóÝùò êá? ÄéïìÞäïõò ?í ô?é ô?ò ðüëåùò ?ëþóåé ôñáõìáôéáóèå?óáí ?ðïëÝóèáé. ôáö?íáé ä? ?ð? ÍåïðôïëÝìïõ, ?ò Ãëá?êïò ãñÜöåé.” Schwartz, E. (1887). Scholia in Euripidem Vol. 1. Berolini: Typis et impensis G. Reimer. I 41.

“Euripides and Ibycus say that she [Polyxena] was sacrificed by Neoptolemus. He who has written Cypria says that she perished during the capture of the city she, wounded by Odysseus and Diomedes. She was buried by Neoptolemus, as Glaucos writes.” Cypria was an epic that covered the origins of the war up to the Iliad, providing the missing links for events mentioned in Homer. West 2013, 57 Therefore, the attribution of Polyxena's myth to Cypria is also not without questions, the main being how one of the concluding episodes of the Trojan War was introduced into the epic dedicated to earlier events. One explanation is that the title “ô? Êõðñéáê?” from the scholia on Euripides, in fact, might have referred not to an epic poem but to “a prose history of Cyprus.” ibid 128 n.1 Alternatively, it is possible that Polyxena's story was alluded to alongside the story of another character. For example, it could have been referred to in connection with Achilles, especially his ambush of Troilus at a fountain. West 2013, 122 Greek vases often depicted Troilus, both at the fountain and later fleeing, not alone but together with Polyxena. Mangieri 2018, 81-82 This scene of Polyxena and Troilus at the fountain, however, never appears in literature. Förster 1882, 13 Finally, the sacrifice could have been mentioned as part of the prophesy by Helenus or Cassandra. Förster, R. (1883). Zu Achilleus und Polyxena. Hermes, 18(3). P. 476 In any case, this Cyprian version of the myth is among the very few where Polyxena is not sacrificed but dies from other causes (the other was Philostratus's in which Polyxena commits suicide, discussed in section 4.2. below).

1.2.2 The lyric poets

In addition to the Epic Cycle, Polyxena's story probably can be traced back to the Greek poets Ibycus, Simonides and Stesichorus. Jenner, E.A.B. (1998). Troilus and Polyxena in Archaic Greek Lyric: Ibycus fr. S224 Dav. Prudentia, 30 (2). P. 13 For the first poet, Ibycus, the only source is the same scholion on Hecuba, which states that in his version, as in Euripides, Polyxena was slain by Neoptolemus. Little can be surmised about Ibycus's text as no fragments are extant. Nonetheless, Martin Robertson proposes that Ibycus might have referred to the sacrifice in a poem dedicated to Polycrates (P. Oxy. XV 1790). In this poem, “loaded with epic echoes” and including at least partially the story of Troilus, a mention of Polyxena's sacrifice does seem probable. Robertson, M. (1970). Ibycus: Polycrates, Troilus, Polyxena. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 17. P. 13 It should be highlighted that Polyxena's story is once again connected to that of Troilus, a link that weakens significantly in later versions of her myth.

Stesichorus is another author of whose Polyxena one can judge primarily according to pictorial evidence. The Capitoline Tabula Iliaca, which shows not only Polyxena's sacrifice but also her with Hecuba at Hector's tomb, is inscribed “?ëßïõ ðÝñóéò êáô? Óôçóß÷ïñïí”. Mangieri 2018, 126. “Sack of Troy after Stesichorus” This inscription has stirred much debate, primarily since the panel also shows Aeneas's departure from Troy and since a lyric poem is given precedence over the epics. Petrain, D. (2014). Homer in Stone. The Tabulae Iliacae in their Roman context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 8, 97. However, if one believes that the panel does depict the contents of Stesichorus's poem, then his The Sack of Troy might be the first known source to have introduced Calchas into the story of Polyxena's sacrifice, and, thus, his warning of Achilles's wrath. Förster 1882, 195 In the fragments themselves one can almost definitely see Polyxena's name. PMG, S 135

When it comes to Simonides, there is, in fact, no direct indication that he mentioned Polyxena but there is room for such a conjecture. In Pseudo-Longinus's On the Sublime one finds another comparison of two writers akin to that in Euripides's scholia: “?êñùò ä? êá? ? Óïöïêë?ò <…> ðåöÜíôáóôáé, êá? êáô? ô?í ?ðüðëïõí ô?í ?ëëÞíùí ?ð? ô?÷éëëÝùò ðñïöáéíïìÝíïõ ôï?ò ?íáãïìÝíïéò ?ð?ñ ôï? ôÜöïõ, ?í ï?ê ï?ä? å? ôéò ?øéí ?íáñãÝóôåñïí å?äùëïðïßçóå Óéìùíßäïõ.” Longinus 15.7 Longinus. (1982). Longinus: On the sublime (D. A. Russell, Ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Page, D. L. (1962). Poetae melici Graeci. Clarendon Press. “And perfectly did Sophocles present the appearance of Achilles at his tomb to those in preparation at the time the Greeks were to set sail, I do not know if anyone has depicted this vision more clearly than Simonides”. As has already been mentioned, the appearance of the ghost was part of the tradition (Lesches' The Little Iliad), however, not necessarily in relation to Polyxena. Ñertain fragments of Sophocles' Polyxena survive, allowing scholars to estimate that in this play the ghost did demand the maiden. Calder 1966, 45 The same might be proposed for Simonides's poem and yet there is no evidence to claim that it was he who first linked the appearance of the ghost with the sacrifice.

2.Sacrifice

As has been demonstrated, not all early mentions of Polyxena had her slain on the tomb of Achilles, yet this is the version that prevailed, completely overshadowing Cypria's wounded Polyxena. To illustrate this, it is productive to take a look at a few later texts that reflect only the nucleus of her myth without any elaborations. One of such texts is Euripides's The Trojan Women. Although a protagonist in Hecuba, here Polyxena plays a secondary role. Her story is briefly summarized by Andromache in a speech to Hecuba in the following way: “ôÝèíçêÝ óïé ðá?ò ðñ?ò ôÜö? ÐïëõîÝíç / óöáãå?ó? ?÷éëëÝùò, ä?ñïí ?øý÷? íåêñ?.” Euripides. (1902). Euripidis Fabulae, vol. 1, vol. 2. (G. Murray, Ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Eur. Tro. 622-23 “your child has died, slain on Achilles' grave, a gift to a lifeless corpse”. The location and the general cause (Achilles) are given but there is no elaboration on the myth. A similarly dry account of the events is given by Pseudo-Apollodorus, in the “plain unvarnished summary of Greek myths.” Apollodorus. (1921). Apollodorus: The library (J. G. Frazer, Ed.). London: W. Heinemann. P. xvii Apart from the reference to her among the children of Priam, ibid Apollod 3.12 one learns only the nucleus of her myth: “ÐïëõîÝíçí ä? ?ð? ô? ?÷éëëÝùò ôÜö? êáôÝóöáîáí.” ibid Apollod. Epit. E.5.23. “they slain Polyxena on Achilles' grave”. As is seen from these two brief accounts Polyxena's sacrifice on Achilles' tomb is what constitutes the core of her myth.

2.1 Iphigenia

The connection between the two maidens is hard to ignore. At first glance it might seem that the myth of Polyxena is simply a repetition of Iphigenia's. Both are sacrificed to allow the Greeks to sail, only one at the outset of war and the other at the outcome. Such a duplication does not seem out of place as myths often involve iterative or cyclic events. The link between the two sacrifices appears to have been reflected in Greek art, where two different female sacrifices are shown on two sides of a vase. Mangieri 2018, 110 When it comes to literature, it is Seneca's The Trojan Women that, although never mentioning Iphigenia by name, most deliberately draws attention to the parallel between her and Polyxena.

It is well known that Seneca's play The Trojan Women is indebted to two Euripidean tragedies Hecuba and The Trojan Women for the main plotlines. Stavros Frangouldis, however, claims that Seneca also follows Iphigenia in Aulis, appropriating a Euripidean model of deception “to trap and murder innocent youngsters.” Frangoulidis, S. (2018). Intertextuality and Intratextuality: Euripdes' Iphigenia at Aulis and Seneca's Troades. In Intratextuality and Latin Literature. Berlin: De Gruyter. P. 325 Just as Iphigenia and Clytemnestra are lured to Aulis under a false pretence, deception is employed by Ulysses on Polyxena and Astyanax as well as on their mothers (Hecuba and Andromache respectively). In fact, a fictitious marriage is employed in case of both Iphigenia and Polyxena. The former is led to believe that she is to marry Achilles, the latter is told that she is the bride of Neoptolemus. Moreover, Frangouldis argues that the appearance of a marriage topos in the description of Polyxena's sacrifice - “campo maritus ut sit Elysio” Seneca, L.S. (1921). Tragoediae. (R. Peiper. G. Richter, Eds.). Leipzig. Teubner. Sen. Tro. 944. “to be married in the Elysian fileds” - is due to Iphigenia's speech in Euripides, where she calls the sacrifice her wedding. Eur. IA 1398; Frangouldis 2018, 335. As there was a strong link between maiden sacrifice and wedding rituals in general and in Polyxena's myth in particular (discussed in section 4.1. below), one might disagree with Fangouldis on this point.

Furthermore, while one can agree with Jo-Ann Shelton, who argues that the Agamemnon of Seneca is more compassionate that his counterpart in Aeschylus and Homer and for that reason more akin to that of Euripides, Shelton, J.A. (2016). The fall of Troy in Seneca's Troades. In: The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean. Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song and Liturgy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. P. 205 the numerous references to Iphigenia's myth in Seneca are applicable to her myth per se, not just the version of Iphigenia in Aulis. For example, Talthybius reflects that the Greeks are always delayed in harbour “O longa Danais semper in portu mora / seu petere bellum, petere seu patriam volunt”, Sen. Tro. 164-65. “O a long delay for Greeks in port / whether they want to go to war or to fatherland” while later Calchas advances the comparison by saying that they must pay the same price “Dant fata Danais quo solent pretio viam.” Sen. Tro. 360. “fate gives the Danai the way at an accustomed price” Similarly, neither Neoptolemus's hint at Agamemnon's conduct towards his daughter “Iamne immolari virgines credis nefas?” Sen. Tro. 331. “or now you think the sacrifice of maidens a crime?”, nor Agamemnon's reply “Praeferre patriam liberis regem decet” Sen. Tro. 331. “it befits a king to put the country before the children” necessarily reference the Euripidean version of the sacrifice. Therefore, although the marriage ruse with Neoptolemus, which is found nowhere else in Polyxena's myth, is likely a reflection on Euripides's Iphigenia in Aulis, the allusions to Iphigenia in The Trojan Women are also illustrative of the connection between the two myths, not just the two plays. Even though Seneca is a close reader of Euripides, his play depicts the more generic connection between the figures of Iphigenia and Polyxena in antiquity.

A more perplexing link between Iphigenia and Polyxena is found in Lycophron's Alexandra. The poem, famous for the “notorious difficulty of its language and content,” presents a messenger's account of Cassandra's prophecy, thus, subjecting the words of a “divinely inspired speaker” to the messenger's selection and even possible reinterpretation. McNeils, C., Sens, A. (2016). The Alexandra of Lycophron. A Literary Study. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 5, 8. The poem, often diverging from the canonical representation of the Trojan myths, introduces an unexpected detail into Iphigenia's story which greatly affects her relation to Polyxena. When describing her sister's subsequent death Cassandra exclaims: “ó? ä? ?ì? ðñ?ò íõìöå?á êá? ãáìçëßïõò ?îåé èõçë?ò óôõãí?ò ?öéäïò ëÝùí, / ìçôñ?ò êåëáéí?ò ÷Ýñíéâáò ìéìïýìåíïò.” Mair, A. W., & Mair, G. R. (Eds.). (1921). Callimachus and Lycophron. London: W. Heinemann. Lycophr. 323-325. “the hated lion of Iphis will bring you [Polyxena] to cruel bridal and nuptial sacrifice, imitating the purifications of his dark mother.” On the one hand, if Neoptolemus is the son of Achilles and Iphigenia, the connection between her and Polyxena intensifies. Their sacrifices are matched not only according to external similarity but also intrinsically through Neoptolemus, again complying with the mythic logic of repeating events. On the other hand, one might simultaneously see the analogy between the two as seriously weakened because, when Iphigenia's status is changed from maiden to mother, the image of a virgin sacrificed for a successful sea voyage is undermined. Moreover, although Polyxena's sacrifice is said to imitate Iphigenia's, their stories are, nonetheless, superimposed. This is clearly seen in the description of the sacrifice in the lines 326-329 which can be applied to both Iphigenia and Polyxena. McNeils, Sens 2016, 111-112; Mair 1921, 522 n. a. Therefore, Lycophron's treatment of Iphigenia's myth again challenges the idea that Polyxena's sacrifice at the end of the Trojan war is solely an iteration of the one at the beginning.

2.2 ãÝñáò or revenge?

Unlike Iphigenia, whose sacrifice is deemed necessary for Artemis to give the Greeks a safe passage, the motivation behind Polyxena's sacrifice is more intricate. Achilles's wrath which would punish the Greeks with troubled seas unless appeased by the sacrifice, is presented ambiguously in earlier versions of the myth. Absent from Euripides's Hecuba, it is hinted at by Ovid in whose version the appearance of the ghost is preceded by a change in the sea, but the two events are never explicitly linked. The ghost from Seneca's and Quintus of Smyrna's versions does warn the Greeks of his wrath that would prevent them from sailing away. It should be noted, however, that in Seneca's version Polyxena's death is not sufficient for a successful voyage, Astyanax must also be killed: “non tamen nostras tenet / haec una puppes causa: nobilior tuo, / Polyxene, cruore debetur cruor, / quem fata quaerunt, turre de summa cadat / Priami nepos Hectoreus et letum oppetat.” Sen. Tro. 365-69. “yet not one cause holds back our ships: blood nobler than your, Polyxena, blood is due, whom the fate seeks, from the upmost tower shall fall, Priam's grandson of Hector and meet death.”. In Quintus's versions the winds and storms appear only after the ghost's warning and, moreover, they are used to demonstrate the deification of Achilles, “?ôñåêÝùò ãåíå? ìåãÜëïõ Äé?ò ?åí ?÷éëëåýò: / ô? êá? í?í èåüò ?óôé.” Quintus Smyrnaeus. (1913). The Fall of Troy. (A. S. Way, Ed.). London: William Heinemann. Q.S. 14. 254-5. “certainly Achilles was of great Zeus' family and therefore is now a god” Therefore, the winds seem to play a secondary role in Polyxena's sacrifice.

Unlike Achilles's possible vengeance, the theme that is present in most narratives is that of the Greeks forgetting to show due respect to the war hero. Usually the ghost complains of his tomb lacking the prize (“?ãÝñáóôïí ôýìâïí” Eur. Hec. 115-6 and “sine honore sepulcrum” Ov. Met. 13. 447) and accuses the Greeks of ingratitude (“ingratas rates” Sen Tro. 192 and “?ôáóèáëß?óéí ??óé” Q.S. 14. 218). His reasoning is based on military practice of assigning ãÝñáò (or honor in Latin versions of Ovid and Seneca), “a special portion of the booty” that is assigned by the warriors themselves, the same that was the cause of the dispute in the first book of the Iliad. Benveniste E. (2016). Dictionary of Indo-European Concepts and society. (E. Palmer, Trans.). Chicago: Hau Books. P. 340. Having died before the distribution of prizes (primarily the captive women), Achilles must receive his ãÝñáò posthumously in the form of the sacrifice at the tomb. The ghost himself names Polyxena as his pick of the woman. As Katherine Callen King rightly points out there is nothing surprising in his choice of Polyxena as his prize since she is “the only surviving virgin of the royal house” and, therefore, “the most desirable human prize the Troy contains.” This if one follows the versions where Cassandra is raped by Ajax during the fall of Troy.

King 1987, 187. Moreover, this might bring Polyxena's myth closer with Homer as in book nine, when trying to persuade Achilles to return to arms, Agamemnon promises him the pick of the Trojan women after the sack of the city. ibid In fact, one might see a hint at a prior agreement between Achilles and the Greeks in Seneca's The Trojan Women when the ghost demands “desponsa Polyxene.” Sen. Tro. 195. “the promised Polyxena”.The same term is also used by Seneca of Polyxena in his Agamemnon: “hinc aequaevi gregis Astyanax, / hinc Haemonio desponsa rogo / ducunt turmas” (here Astyanax a company of equal age, here she [Polyxena] promised to the Thessalian funeral pyre, lead the company) (Sen. Ag. 641). At the same time, especially considering later tradition, this could be read as a reference to a betrothal between Polyxena and Achilles.

Finally, in some versions a shift from collective honoring of the dead towards individual vengeance is seen. The sacrifice in Posthomerica, for example, seems to be partially driven by Neoptolemus's personal motivation. By having the ghost come solely to Neoptolemus, contrary to Euripidean (and, thus, Ovidian and Senecean) version, where he appears in front of the whole army, Quintus of Smyrna minimizes the community's role in the sacrifice. Instead of a vision rising from the sea and terrifying the Greeks, Achilles offers Neoptolemus some fatherly instructions and only then demands the sacrifice. As Bellini Boyten shows, Neoptolemus then acts as a “diplomat”, changing Achilles's conditional request to an order, while simultaneously leaving out the information about Achilles's wrath. Boyten, B. (2012). More "Parfit Gentil Knyght" than "Hyrcanian Beast" The Reception of Neoptolemus in Quintus Smyrnaeus Posthomerica. In Quintus Smyrnaeus: Transforming Homer in Second Sophistic Epic. Berlin: De Gruyter. Pp. 327-28. Moreover, unlike the Greeks of Euripides's Hecuba and Seneca's The Trojan Women, who dispute the necessity of the sacrifice, here the Greek army does not hesitate. Nor does Neoptolemus of Posthomerica pause like his Euripidean counterpart who lingers at the moment of sacrifice, “ï? èÝëùí ôå êá? èÝëùí.” Eur. Hec. 566. “willing and not willing” Similarly, in the narrative of Dares Phrygius the role of Neoptolemus's personal vendetta is emphasized, thus downplaying the collective element. After Calchas informs the Greeks that the storms are caused by the fact that “inferis satis factum non esse,” “the dead are not content” Neoptolemus realises that Polyxena who, due to Achilles's love (discussed later), was the cause of his downfall has not been found. Dares. (1873). Daretis Phrygii de Excidio Troiae Historia (F. O. Meister, Ed.). Leipzig: Teubner. P. 49. As in other versions he then kills her at Achilles's tomb, however, if Ovid and Seneca use the verb mactare, in Dares' version one finds jugulare, a verb with fewer religious and sacrificial connotations.

2.3 Ritual substitution

The main explicit reason behind Polyxena's sacrifice is to reward or to avenge the great war hero. At the same time her role seems to have been more essential than just that of Achilles's ãÝñáò. For example, an epigram by Pollianus, describing a picture of Polyxena, concludes with the following words “?í âëåöÜñïéò ä? ðáñèåíéê?ò ? Öñõã?í êå?ôáé ?ëïò ðüëåìïò.” Anth. Gr. 16.150. “in the eyes of the maiden lies the whole Phrygian war”.

See also Mary C. Stieber Euripides and the Language of Craft, 2010. Even acknowledging poetical exaggeration, such a description points to Polyxena's greater significance for the narrative of the Trojan war. The value of Iphigenia's sacrifice, in addition to allowing the Greeks to sail, might be “to inspire the army to courage and patriotism”, showing that if women are ready to die for their country then soldiers certainly should be ready to the same. Hughes, D.D. (2003). Human Sacrifice in Ancient Greece. New York: Routledge. P. 76. Polyxena's sacrifice cannot function in the same way, as it takes place at the very end of the war and, thus, there is no need to motivate warriors to fight more valiantly. In fact, an opposite measure is required: to stop violence and pacify soldiers. This is what Polyxena's sacrifice is used to achieve besides placating Achilles's ghost.

To explain how Polyxena's sacrifice operates as the concluding event of the Trojan War we can draw upon Girard's theoretical framework explicated in Violence and the Sacred. Girard proposes to see in ritual sacrifice a means to repress violence within a society. Instead of attacking each other the community directs its aggression towards a victim from outside of the community or belonging to its periphery. This victim is someone whose death “does not automatically entail an act of vengeance,” otherwise the sacrifice would lose its function as the death of a community's fully integrated member would provoke more violence in form of revenge. Girard, R. (1989). Violence and the Sacred. Translated by Patrick Gregory, John Hopkins University Press. P. 13 Moreover, the victim must be pure, uninvolved in the original conflict, because if someone connected to violence is sacrificed than by association those carrying out the sacrifice might be contaminated by that violence. Girard summarizes the logic behind the sacrifice in the following way: “any community that has fallen prey to violence or has been stricken by some overwhelming catastrophe hurls itself blindly into the search for a scapegoat.” ibid 79 The “scapegoat” or “surrogate victim” is the person who the community chooses to see as the root of all its misfortunes. This substitution of the member for the whole society is then followed by a second substitution. This time a “ritual victim” takes the place of a “surrogate victim.” The “ritual victim” is the one who should be pure and an outsider to the society, so as not to set in motion the vicious circle of revenge but instead to allow the community to “unite against it.” ibid 102. It is noteworthy that in texts where Hecuba plans her revenge and not attacks everyone out of madness, she avenges her son but not her daughter, showing that Polyxena's death indeed does not trigger more violence.

According to this formula, Polyxena must be the “ritual victual”, the outsider who is slain, but the question is whose place she takes. If one sees Polyxena as a substitute for one of the Trojans, say Paris, whose crime has triggered the war, or Hector, the enemy's greatest warrior, one forgets an important aspect. The “surrogate victim,” whose place Polyxena takes, must come from within the society, therefore, the person must belong to the Greeks and this, in turn, points to Helen. It is not difficult to see in her a scapegoat figure, guilty of all the atrocities of the Trojan war. In fact, in Euripides's tragedy this idea is clearly voiced by Hecuba “?ëÝíçí íéí á?ôå?í ÷ñ?í ôÜö? ðñïóöÜãìáôá: / êåßíç ã?ñ ?ëåóÝí íéí ?ò Ôñïßáí ô? ?ãåé.” Eur. Hec. 265-66. “he ought to ask Helen as a sacrifice on his tomb, as she has destroyed him, bringing him into Troy.” Moreover, the Greeks are also sometimes portrayed as wanting to see Helen punished for her crimes. This image is found both in authors representing the main line of tradition - “Óôçóß÷ïñïò ?ðïãñÜöåé ðåñ? ô?í êáôáëåýåéí ?õô?í ìåëëüíôùí” PMG 201 “Stesichorus writes about them being about to stone her to death” and in those who opposed and subsequently challenged the Homeric conventions - “Aiax <…> tantis tempestatibus propter mulierem experti perpessique essent, primus omnium interfici eam jusserat.” Dictys. (1872). Dictys Cretensis Ephemeridos belli troiani libri sex (F. O. Meister, Ed.). Leipzig: Teubner. P.98. “Ajax first entreated to kill the woman, on account of whom they have endured and suffered all this time.” Therefore, the “surrogate victim” is most likely Helen.

The victim must both resemble and differ from the original perpetrator to avoid “complete assimilation.” Girard 1989, 11. Accordingly, it is necessary to look for connections between Helen and Polyxena starting, for example, with their appearance. Polyxena is generally portrayed as attractive, with some narratives, claiming that she exceeded all others in beauty. For example, she is called “virgo formosissima” Hyginus. (1872). Hygini Fabulae (M. Schmidt, Ed.). Jena: Hermannum Dufft. P. 99. “the most beautiful maiden” by Hyginus, while Dares remarks that she “[quae] forma sua omnes superaret.” Dares 1873, 16 “she surpassed everyone in appearance”. It seems proper that Helen's substitute must be deemed more beautiful than others. In fact, one can see a certain similarity between their portraits in Dares: they both are beautiful (“formosa”), of a simple spirit (“animi simplicis”) and, surprisingly, while Helen has the best legs (“cruribus optimis”), Polyxena's legs are straight but her feet are the best (“cruribus rectis”, “pedibus optimis”). ibid 15-16. Naturally, the characteristics such as “beautiful” are very general and are seen in Dares's description of other Trojan women, however, only in relation to Helen and Polyxena does he make reference to legs.

In addition to their appearance there are more reasons to connect the two. First, in Capitoline Tabula Iliaca, already mentioned in relation to Stesichorus, the positioning of Polyxena's sacrifice right under Helen's recovery results in a “strong implied vertical line” linking them. Mangieri 2018, 129 Helen is portrayed as baring her breasts in front of enraged Menelaus, On early mentions of the incident see M. L. West 2013, 219. while Polyxena does the same before her sacrifice. In fact, Anthony F. Mangieri claims that “in seeing Helen exposed from behind and Polyxena frontally, it is almost as if we are seeing two sides of the same person.” Mangieri 2018, 129 The naked breasts of the heroines are described using the same term ìáóôüò by Euripides in Andromache and Hecuba, Mitchell-Boyask, R.N. (1993). Sacrifice and Revenge in Euripides' Hecuba. Ramus 22, P. 121 which might be a further argument for connecting the two incidents. Another textual link between Helen and Polyxena is found in Dictys Cretensis's narrative. Here during one of the attempts to return Helen the Greek ambassadors are instead offered a pick of Priam's daughters: “namque pro Helena Cassandram sive Polyxenam, quam legatis videretur, nuptum cum praeclaris donis Menelao tradendam.” Dictys 1872, 34. “and so for Helen Cassandra or Polyxena, whoever seems fit to the ambassadors, as a bride with magnificent gifts shall be handed over to Menelaus” Therefore, although not necessarily applicable to each text, seeing in Polyxena a “ritual victim,” who substitutes Helen, does explain the significance of depicting her sacrifice as one of the elements necessary for the termination of the Trojan war.

2.4 Who benefits?

While the sacrifice is supposed to benefit the community, in the case of Polyxena, it might be also seen as a preferred outcome for the victim. Other characters often pronounce her as lucky since her sacrificial death is seen to be preferable to captivity. For instance, this is the reason behind Polyxena's appearance in the narrative of Vergil's Aeneid, where Andromache starts the story of her troubles by exclaiming “O felix una ante alias Priameïa virgo, / hostilem ad tumulum Troiae sub moenibus altis / iussa mori, quae sortitus non pertulit ullos, / nec victoris eri tetigit captiva cubile!” Vergil (1900). Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics Of Vergil. (J. B. Greenough, Ed.). Boston: Ginn & Co. Verg. A. 321-324 “Oh the one happy before others, the Priam's maid, ordered to die at an enemy's tomb under Troy's high walls, who suffered no casting of lots, nor arrived at a captive's bed of her victorious master” Andromache makes the same argument in Eur. Tro. 679-80. It is interesting to note that Vergil's Andromache does not name the agent when describing Polyxena's sacrifice. This is surprising as the next few lines are dedicated to describing her own suffering caused by Neoptolemus, thus, a mention of him earlier might have been expected. A similar topos is evoked by Cassandra in her prophecy in Tryphiodorus's The Sack of Troy: “ä?á Ðïëõîåßíç, ó? ä? ðáôñßäïò ?ããýèé ãáßçò/ êåêëéìÝíçí ?ëßãïí äáêñýóïìáé ?ò ?öåëÝí ôéò / ?ñãåßùí ?ð? óï?óé ãüïéò ?ëÝóáé ìå êá? á?ôÞí.” Tryphiodorus. (1928). Oppian, Colluthus, Tryphiodorus (A.W. Mair, Ed.). London, William Heinemann. Tryph. 403-5 “Noble Polyxena, of you, put to rest near your father's land, I will cry little, would that one of the Agrives had killed me upon thine lamentation”

When this rhetoric is given to Polyxena herself, however, it becomes more problematic. As Ruth Scodel points out, the future that Euripides's Polyxena imagines for herself is based on self-deception. She believes that she will be forced to household tasks such as making bread and weaving and, what is worse, “ëÝ÷ç ä? ô?ì? äï?ëïò ?íçôüò ðïèåí / ÷ñáíå?, <…> ” Eur. Hec. 365-6. “my bed will be stained by a slave bought somewhere” As the most prized woman of Troy this would have been an unlikely future for her, but she chooses to ignore “the possibility of her being given to a man of high status.” Scodel, R. (1998). The Captive's Dilemma: Sexual Acquiescence in Euripides Hecuba and Troades. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 98, P. 145. By perceiving the future that she cannot have as degrading to her as king's daughter, she makes her present situation desirable. Polyxena declares “?êï?óá èí?óêù <…> ðáñÝîù ã?ñ äÝñçí å?êáñäßùò.” Eur.Hec.548-549. “readily I die <…> I will bravely hand over my neck” Nicole Loraux shows that in portraying the willingness of Polyxena Euripides plays with idea that sacrificial victims, both animal and human, had to at least appear as freely agreeing to the sacrifice. Therefore, Polyxena's “consent is turned into free choice,” her external acceptance of her fate is her regaining control of the situation. Loraux, N. (1991). Tragic Ways of Killing a Woman. (A. Forster, Trans.). Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. P. 43. One sees this rhetoric just as well in Ovid when Polyxena, demanding not to be touched, argues “acceptior illi, / quisquis is est, quem caede mea palacare paratis, / liber erit sanguis.” Ov. Met. 13. 467-69 “More acceptable to him, whoever he is, who you are trying to appease with my slaughter, will be free blood” Freely given blood is supposed to be more pleasing to Achilles, yet here Polyxena is also pursuing her own goal of not wanting to die a slave. Her willingness to die can, in fact, be read as a subversive act. Robin N. Mitchell-Boyask argues that, unlike Euripides's Iphigenia who chooses to sacrifice herself for her countrymen, Polyxena, be it of Euripides or Ovid, does this for a selfish reason, “her decision to die for herself benefits only herself and not the supposed beneficiaries of the sacrifice.” Mitchell-Boyask 1993, 121

At the same time one can hardly say that the Greeks feel themselves cheated of the beneficial results that the sacrifice is supposed to bring. By contrast, they adhere to the logic proposed by Girard which requires the community to grant almost a sacred status to the sacrificial victim, to “the supernatural being who sows violence to reap peace.” Girard 1989, 86 The Greek soldiers in Euripides describe Polyxena as “ô? ðåñßóó? å?êáñäß? / øõ÷Þí ô? ?ñßóô?” Eur. Hec. 579-80. “extraordinary stout-hearted and the best in spirit” and, piling robes and ornaments to cover her dead body, condemn those who have nothing to offer the maiden. Similarly, in Seneca both sides are mourning her death, but it is the Greek army who laments louder. Sen. Tro. 1161. “clarius victor gemit”

3. Polyxena

Courage

Most narratives portray Polyxena as a courageous maiden that both armies alike cannot but mourn. Quintus of Smyrna's version in this case is the exception that proves the rule. In Posthomerica Polyxena is brought to the sacrifice by force akin to Iphigenia of Aeschylus. Moreover, there might be a verbal link between the description of her being dragged by Neoptolemus in Quintus and Priam's fears of the captive women's fortune in Homer, as both texts employ the verb ?ëêù. Boyten 2012, 329 Unlike her counterpart in Metamorphoses who refrains from crying, Ov. Met. 474-475 “<…> lacrimas, quas illa [Polyxena] tenebat <…>” she is said to “ðåñéêùêýåóêå / äõóìåíÝùí ?í ÷åñóßí” Q. S. 14. 261-62. “shrieked in the hands of the enemy.” and “óôïíá÷?óé êáô? âëåöÜñùí ?Ýå äÜêñõ:” Q. S. 14. 269 “she wailed, tears streamed down from her eyes.” Quintus's narrator compares her tears to the oil pouring out of olives, while her moans remind those of a calf dragged away from its mother. This comparison of a human sacrificial victim to an animal is quite common, for instance, it is employed in Agamemnon, The Phoenician Women as well as Hecuba, Loraux 1987, 34 where the topos is employed by Polyxena to describe primarily her mother's suffering and not her own; her speech concludes with the words “ô?í ?ì?í ä? âßïí ëþâáí ëýìáí ô?/ ï? ìåôáêëáßïìáé <...>” Eur.Hec.213-14. “my life, ruin and maltreatment I do not lament.”

In narratives other than Posthomerica Polyxena is far from being a helpless victim dragged to the sacrifice. Instead she is depicted as using the role given to her as “a means to project authorial ambitions of her own.”Papaioannou, S. (2007). Redesigning Achilles. Berlin: De Gruyter. P. 238. This is especially true in case of Euripides and Ovid, who portray Polyxena as at least partially conducting her own sacrifice. Thus, on entering the sacrificial ground she forbids the Greeks from touching her. “ìÞ ôéò ?øçôáé ÷ñï?ò / ôï?ìï?”. Eur. Hec. 548-49. Moreover, she tears her garments, offering her bosom to the sword: “å? ì?í óôÝñíïí, ? íåáíßá, / ðáßåéí ðñïèõì?, ðá?óïí, å? ä? ?ð? á?÷Ýíá / ÷ñ?æåéò, ðÜñåóôé ëáéì?ò å?ôñåð?ò ?äå.” Eur. Hec. 563-65. “if the bosom, o youth, you desire to strike, strike, if you want the neck, here, the throat is ready.”

This controversial gesture has stirred much debate. For example, it might be interpreted in connection with similar gestures by other heroines. It could point towards Helen baring her breasts in front of Menelaus during the sack of Troy (discussed in section 2.3. above), or to Hecuba exposing her breasts in the Iliad, trying to persuade Hector not to go into battle. If it is the latter, then, as Scodel claims, the implication might be that the sacrifice deprives Polyxena of ever becoming a mother. Scodel 1998, 123. At the same time the gesture can be interpreted as aligning her death with that of male warriors. Loraux argues that in this scene Polyxena gives Neoptolemus a choice of whether to strike her in the throat, like a normal sacrificed victim, or to strike her in the bosom, like a soldier at war. Although closely following Euripides's description, in this Ovid's narrative of the sacrifice diverges from its model: while in Hecuba Neoptolemus chooses the throat, “ôÝìíåé óéäÞñ? ðíåýìáôïò äéáññïÜò”. Eur. Hec.567. his counterpart in Metamorphoses strikes the bosom. “rupit praecordia ferro” Ov. Met. 13. 476; Loraux 1991, 59-60.