Philoctetes (Aeschylus play)
Philoctetes is a play by the Athenian poet Aeschylus. It is now lost except for a few fragments. We do know the broad outline of the plot from a comparison by Dio Chrysostom of the Aeschylus' Philoctetes with Euripides' Philoctetes (431 BCE) and Sophocles' Philoctetes (409 BCE).[1]
Plot
Philoctetes is mentioned briefly in Homer's Iliad, and his story was expanded on in Lesches' Little Iliad and Arctinus' Iliupersis.[1] The Greeks had abandoned Philoctetes on the island of Lemnos on their way to Troy because they could not stand his screams of pain and the odor from his wound after he was bitten by a poisonous snake.[1] However, ten years into the Trojan War they found out that Phioctetes and his bow and arrows were required to conquer Troy.[1]
In the original versions of the story, Diomedes was sent to recover Philoctetes and bring him back to Troy.[1] However, in Aeschylus' play, Odysseus, who was largely responsible for Philoctetes being marooned on Lemnos was sent to fetch him.[1] The plot point of having Odysseus being sent to recover Philoctetes after being responsible for his abandonment is a plot point that Euripides and Sophocles retained in their Philoctetes plays.
Philoctetes did not recognize Odysseus at first as a result of the suffering Philoctetes endured for the prior ten years alone.[1] Odysseus gained Philoctetes' trust by falsely telling him that Agamemnon, who was also responsible for Philoctetes' abandonment, had died and that Odysseus had been executed for committing a shameful crime.[1] It is not known exactly how Odysseus ultimately secured Philoctetes bow and cooperation, or whether he took them by force as he attempted to do in Euripides' and Sophocles' versions.[1] Dio does tell us that Odysseus' pleas and lies were not inappropriate for someone of Odysseus' heroic stature.[1]
According to Aspasius, Aeschylus' and Sophocles' Philoctetes attempted to hide his pain at first, but eventually the pain was too great and he was forced to scream.[1]
Chorus
The chorus in the play made up of men of Lemnos.[1] In In Aeschylus' play, the men of Lemnos had not visited Philoctetes throughout his entire ten year time on the island.[1] Philoctetes told the chorus his backstory of being abandoned by the Greeks.[1] Dio considered Aeschylus' approach of having a chorus that had never visited Philoctetes more straigtforward than Euripides' approach of getting Philoctetes to tell his story to the chorus.[1]
Reception
Dio praised Aeschylus' version for its simplicity, dignity and bold sentiment and diction.[1]