Euphonic Criticism and the Euripidean Ear

Allen J. Romano (University of Chicago)

The sound of Euripides no longer strikes us as it did the ancient audience; however, the ancient reaction to Euripidean sound attests to its possible importance. For example, Aristophanes echoed the memorable acoustic effects employed in the Andromeda and mocked Euripides' characteristic vocal ornamentation (e.g. Frogs 1314, 1348 heieieieieilissō). Euripides drew criticism for his alleged sigmatism (cf. Clayman TAPA 1987) and likely played a role in the musical innovations of the late 5^th century (the so-called "New Music" -- see Hordern 2002, Hall 1999). On the other hand, ancient euphonic theories which might aid our understanding of Euripides' engagement with sound and help us assess sound's possible significance survive in piecemeal fashion, preserved in Philodemus' hostile report of the "kritikoi" and reflected in the still later but extant Peri Sunthēseōs Onomatōn of Dionysius of Halicarnassus. While we cannot distill from such sources any single doctrine of euphony, we can see consistent debate and concern about the arrangement of sounds and the role of onomatopoeia in particular. In this paper, I examine the role of sound in Euripidean drama by using ancient discussions of euphony to shed light on specific acoustic effects in Euripides' Hippolytus. My primary focus will be the messenger speech and the epiphany of Artemis in the last portion of the play. Moreover, Euripides constructs many scenes with an ear towards good and bad sound and his use of sound effects reflects an early concern with sound arrangement and aural imitation similar to that explicated later by Dionysius and the kritikoi.