The idea of the 'unity of opposites' allows one to see important connections between phenomena normally treated separately: verbal style, ritual, tragic action and cosmology. The stylistic figure of Satzparallelismus in lamentation and mystic ritual expresses the unity of opposites (particularly of life and death) as oxymora. Both rituals were factors in the genesis of tragedy, and continued to influence the style and action of mature tragedy. The author advances new readings of various passages of the Oresteia, which is seen (...) to advocate the replacement of a Herakleitean model of the unity of opposites with a Pythagorean model of their reconciliation. (shrink)

Ἠλ. ὑμᾶς δὲ κωκυτοῖς ἐπανθίζειν νόμος, 150παιᾶνα τοῦ θανόντος ἐξαυδωμένας.Χο. ἵετε δάκρυ καναχὲς ὀλόμενονὀλομένωι δεσπόταιπρὸς ῥεῦμα τόδε κεδνῶν κακῶν τ’ἀπότροπον, ἄγος ἀπεύχετον 155κεχυμένων χοᾶν.κλύε δέ μοι σέβας, κλύ’, ὦ δέσποτ’, ἐξἀμαυρᾶς φρενός.ὀτοτοτοτοτοτοῖ⋅ἴτω τις δορυσθενὴς ἀνὴρ 160ἀναλυτὴρ δόμων †Σκυθιτά τ’ ἐν χεροῖνπαλίντον’ ἐν ἔργωι† βέλη ’πιπάλλων Ἄρηςσχέδιά τ’ αὐτόκωπα νωμῶν ξίφη.152–63 lectio dubia 154 ῥεῦμα Weil: ἔρυμα Μ κεδνῶν κακῶν τ᾽ Schütz: κακῶν κεδνῶν τ᾽ Μ; locum interpr. DoddsCQ3, 13–15 155 ἄγος ΜΣ: ἄλγος Μ; ἄγος χοᾶν ad ῥεῦμα adpositum est 157 (...) μου Blaydes σέβας κλύ᾽ Bamberger: κλύε σέβας Μ 160 ἴτω Bothe: ἰὼ Μ 161 seq. Σκυθιτά, supra ιτ scr. ης, Μ; Σκύθης an Σκυθικά incertum; fort. Σκυθικά τ᾽ ἐν χεροῖν | ἐναργῶς βέλη κτλ., del. παλίντονα tamquam e schol. ad Σκυθικά illatum 163 ξίφη Pauw ex ΜΣ: βέλη Μ. (shrink)