Scythai

Scythai ( Greek Σκύθαι "the Scythians ") is the title of a lost tragedy by Sophocles . We get information about the content of the drama from Scholien (L AR IV 289–291) and from two fragments that the philologist Stefan Radt assigned to the play.

action

The play is about the murder of Absyrtus by Medea and Jason . In contrast to most versions of the legend, Absyrtus is shown here as Medea's half-brother. Otto Ribbeck classifies this passage after Medea's murder and ascribes it to Jason or a friend of Medea in order to atone for the act. Richard Claverhouse Jebb , however, believes that Medea's father Aietes spoke the words.

The return of the Argo to Iolkos is also shown. From this section, a fragment tells us about the route that does not lead over the Tanais ( Don ) river , but over "the same sea as on the outward journey", i.e. through the Black Sea and the Bosphorus . According to the title of the piece, the philologist Heinz-Günther Nesselrath suspects that the murder of Absyrtus must have taken place somewhere in the Scythian country before the return trip and that the Scythians performed as a choir .

literature

• Stefan Radt (editor): Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta (TrGF) IV: Sophocles, 2nd edition, Göttingen 1999. ISBN 3-525-25753-8