Journal Phasis - Greek and Roman Studies

Chikhladze, Nino

Phasis 2-3, 2000 
Nino Chikhladze (Kutaisi) 
THE MOTIVE OF AMAZONS IN THE CLASSICAL GREEK DRAMA 
The motive of Amazons regarded by E. Frenzel as one of the popular motives in the world literature1 
originates from the ancient Greek Literature. The reason for the popularity of the motive can be traced 
not only in the patterns of the unusual lifestyle of Amazons2 but also in the fact that the very essence of 
Amazonic values should in itself worry the patriarchal community of the time. The idea of the motive 
can be briefly formulated as follows: It is a reflection of woman's aspiration to attain freedom from 
male domination which is realized not only in the achievement of equality with him but also in excel-
ling him almost in all the spheres of life which are traditionally recognized as his prerogative. 
The representation of this motive is tangible and interesting in the classical Greek drama, which, I 
admit, shows regular conformity to certain rules. 
It has long been noted that in the classical Greek drama, both in tragedy and comedy, woman, oddly 
enough, plays quite an active role that suggests a certain dissonance between the woman protagonist's 
freedom of action in the play on one hand and the limited status of woman in the real life of the time on 
the other 3 • 
The advancement and the activation of woman's role to such an extent in the genre involves traits of 
the life of Amazons of various degrees of intensity4• 
In fact, nine tragedies and three comedies out of those survived to the present reader from the classi-
cal Greek dramas reveal the motive of Amazons with considerable relevance5• 
The pattern of realization of the motive, or the so-called action program is positively homogeneous: 
man being provided with negative function is opposed to woman; eventually male hero is neutralized 
usually either by murdering him or by depriving him of the force by means of which he could have re-
alized his negative function: In spite of the said homogeneity of the pattern its realization is related to 
the variety of forms and expressions. To begin with, tragedy and comedy differ from each other in the 
artistic manifestation of the pattern so that the very fact of neutralization of the negative function in the 
tragedy arouses pity and fear and in the comedy it provokes laughter. 
In most tragedies the members of the opposition are wife and husband. The reason of conflict be-
tween the opposed members can be different but the wife's action is basically motivated by the stimulus 
of taking vengeance upon the husband. Supposedly, this opposition within the dramas of the tragic 
genre should have been broadly realized in The Sons of Aegyptus6, Aeschylus' tragedy, which has been 
lost, in which forty-nine revengeful wives murder their forty-nine husbands on the wedding-night by 
which the Dana'ids neutralize the act of violence committed by the Aegyptus' sons against them in tak-
ing their hands by force. 
In "Agamemnon", the tragedy of the same author, the opposition, husband/wife, is sustained by the 
act of sacrifice of the innocent Iphigenia offered by Agamemnon, by adultery against his wife, and by 
Clytemenstra's wish to remain the virtual ruler of Mycenae (1420-1405). However, because of the man-
1 About the mentioned motive in the world literature see E. Frenzel, Motive de Weltliteratur, Stuttgart, 1980, 11-27. 
2 About the myth of the Amazons see Der Kleine Pauly, Lexicon der Antike, 5Bde, Verlag, 1979, 575 IT. 
3 For the women position in the classical Greece comp. Pomeroy S.B., Frauenleben Altertum, Stuttgart, 1985, 45-66. 
4 Obviously, this motive must have been fully developed in the dramas dealing with the Amazons and about lhl· Lemnian 
Women and if the plays survived they would provide the complete picture. 
5 The tragedians wrote some drama about amazonic-type of persons, though it's very difficult to prove something about them 
because they do not represent the theme. We arc better informed about Aeschylus' dramas which is related to the theme of 
Lemnian women and belong to the Argonautic circle of the tragedies such as 11,e Lem11icm Women and Hypsipile from the 
tetralogy: Argo, Lemnioni, Hypsipyle, Kabeiori. cf. H. Mette, Der vcrlorcnc Aischylos, Akudcmic-Verlag, Berlin, 1963, I 30-
1. The same motive could be found in Aeschylus' tragedy, about which we'll speak in detail below. About the connection of 
these tragedies with the theme of Amazons see also E. Frenzel, Motive der Weltlitcratur, Stuttgart, 1980, 12. 
6 For the reconstruction of drama cf: HJ.Mette, Der verlorene Aischylos, Akadcmie. Verlag, Berlin, 1963, 130- 1. 
The Motive of Amazons in the Classical Greek Drama 65 
ner of action developing in the play the opposition husband/wife can only be dimly suspected on the 
illusory level till it becomes evident from the certain point in the tragedy. 
The neutralization of Agamemnon, or the execution of the act of wreaking vengeance upon him, is 
set in motion only after Clytemenstra's complete possession of the power to control the flow of events 
under her dictates, ordering the husband to perform the ritual of meeting according to her own plan. I 
think that this very fact of possessing power by woman speaks that she is suitable to the function of the 
ruler. 
After taking vengeance upon Agamemnon Clytemenstra readily reveals her lust for power, which 
did not seem so important before that. Her words to Aegisthus are: "I and thou will be musters of this 
house and order it aright" (16 72-3)7. 
In Medea, Euripides' tragedy, the same opposition husband/wife is presented with the new aspect. 
Here the main reason for conflict is adultery and related to it humiliation and mistreating of dignity. 
The act of vengeance is carried out through the number of phases. It starts with Medea's analysis of the 
lack of woman's rights and the inequality with man. Her famous words demonstrates her attitudes: 
"Surely, of creatures, that have life and wit, we women are of all unhappiest, who, first, must buy, as 
buys the highest bidder, a husband-nay, we do but win for our lives a master. Deeper depth of wrong is 
this. Here too is dire risk-will the lord we gain be evil or good? Divorce? - 'tis informy to us: we may 
not even reject a suitor" (228-33). 
And here to it is according to the plan drawn out by woman by which the neutralization of the mem-
ber of opposition is taking place. Jason remains physically intact, he is not murdered but he is devas-
tated morally. Overwhelmed by the grief he says: "0 Zeus, dost thou hear it, how spurned I am? What 
outrage I suffer of yonder abhorred child murderess, yonder tigress-dam? .. would God I had gotten 
them never, this day to behond them destroyed of there!" (1405-14)8. 
In some tragedies the opposition husband/wife is substituted by the man/woman antagonists in 
which the former is provided with the function of violence and unlawfulness. Like in the previous cases 
the pattern maintains its basic principle of a revenge seeking woman. To this respect Euripides' Hecuba 
presents an example of particular importance forming the opposition Polymestor/Hecuba. As different 
from the other examples Hecuba acts with the group of women which marks the higher degree of Ama-
zonness. Women neutralize not only Polymestor but also his young son. It is remarkable in the play that 
Hecuba sees the likeness of her plan with that of the Danaids and of the Lemnian women. To the re-
sponse of Agamemnon's question "How? - women gain the master over the man?" Hecuba says: 
"Mighty are numbers - joined with craft, resistless ... Did not woman slay Aegyptus' sons, and wholly of 
her males dispeople Lernnons?" (882-7)9. 
This model of the opposition is partially realized in Euripides' tragedy Heraclides where Euris-
theus/Alkmena present the opposed members. True, the direct executor of vengeance is Hercule, but it 
is Alkmena who had made her decision to murder Euristheus. To her mind "For all the sufferings, he 
did to us, not one, but thousand death is not enough" (960) 10• 
The tragedies with protagonist Electra with the strong concern to take vengeance show specific ways 
ofrealization of the Amazonic motive. These tragedies are Aeschylus' The Libation-Bearers, Sophocles' 
Electra, and Euripides' Electra. In this case the members of opposition are presented with sets of pairs: 
Aegisthus-Clytemenstra, on the one hand, and Orestes-Electra on the other hand. Pairs are related with 
functions: husband-wife and brother-sister manifesting members of binary oppositions. 
In Aeschylus', Sophocles ' and Euripides' tragedies under discussion Electra's role undergoes certain 
gradations: In Aeschylus' Electra the motive of exacting vengeance becomes prominent but it is Orestes 
who performs the very act of revenge. No sooner the act of murdering begins than Electra disappears 
from the scene11 • 
7 
Clytemenstra is a real androgyne in the phrase: "It a woman thinks like a man she rules with expect hurt" ( I 0-1 1) cf. P. Wal-
cot, Greek Drama in its Theatrical and Social Context, University of Wales Press, 1976, 73. About the importance of mottvc 
of vengeance in Clytemenstra's motivation of her action cf. J. Latacz, Einfllhrung in die gricchische Tragodie, Yandenhocck 
Ruprecht in Gottingen, 1993, 105. ' 
8 For the interpretation of Euripides' "Medea" cf: also: J. Latacz, Einfilhrung in die gricchische Tragodie. Yanden-hocck, Ru-
precht in Gtittengen, 1993, I 05 ; A lesky, Die tragische Di ch tung dcr Hellenen, Gottengen, 1972, 68-9. 
9 For the interpretation of Euripides' "Hecuba" cf. J. Latacz, the named work, p. 81-4; A. Lesky, the named work, p. I 05-7. 
10 Of course, in this case the motive of Amazons is revealed more faintly. 
11 For the development of the Electra's image from Aeschylus to Euripides cf. L. McClure, Spoken hke a Women Princeton 
University Press, New Jersey, 1999, 199 ff. • 
66 Nino Chikhladze 
In Sophocles' tragedy Electra's participation in vengeance seeking expands to the greater degrees. 
Moreover, in case of her brother's disengagement from the events she is ready to carry out the act of 
vengeance. The false information about the death of her brother makes her say the words: "Unaided 
then and by myselfl'll do it, for done it must be, though I work alone" (1019-20)12• 
In Euripides' Electra Electra's role is conspicuously of the leader's. In this case not only the plan de-
vised by the woman is used to neutralize the antagonist but also Electra herself is the active participant 
of the event. She instigates her brother to the action and does not take pity on her mother at the end of 
her life, blaming her with words: "Who wished not Agamemnon home from Troy yet reason fair thou 
hadst to be true wife: Not meaner than Aegisthus was thy lord, whom Hellas chose to lead her war-
array" (1077-82)13• , 
Antigone, Sophocles' tragedy, offers one more different variant of the opposition man/woman. Here 
Creon's negative function is expressed in the fact of his being a tyrant, and his positive function is mani-
fested in his determination to fight against tyranny at the expense of his life. Accordingly, the opposi-
tion takes the following expression: man/woman-fighter against tyranny. In spite of the fact that Anti-
gone did not immediately performed the act of overthrowing the tyranny and murdering the tyrant, 
however, it was her exploits that came into conflict with the tyrant's decisions that caused his complete 
elimination and made him say: "Came, Fate, a friend at need, come with all speed ... and speed my end! 
Away, away! Let me not look upon another day!" (1328-33) 14• 
Euripides' tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis shows this opposition man/woman in a very extraordinary way. 
The opposition is made up on one side of the Achaian army - demanding the sacrifice of Iphigenia and 
on the other - Agamemnon's daughter herself. 
Iphigenia's Amazonic nature is realized not in the neutralization of the male opponent but in the de-
cisiveness and finnness of her resolutions and self-sacrifice that is traditionally expected from the male 
hero. Iphigenia is the first person who decides to make self-sacrifice15 to gain victory in Train war just 
in the same way that is done by male warriors in the battle-field. Her words permeated with patriotic 
spirits explaining her motivation to make such determination and to overcome her weakness can serve a 
good example to whatever the courageous man: "For a light unto Hellas thou fost eredst" me, and I die 
- 0 freely I die for thee! I come to give to Hellas safely victory-crowed" (1472-3). 
Thus, it can be admitted that the tragedies discussed here contain the charge of the motive of the 
Amazons in the images of protagonist women such as: Medea, Electra, Clytemenstra, Antigone, Iphi-
genia... the assumption of which, I think, is absolutely logical. The motive of Amazons is related to the 
chief conflict of the tragedy and the denouement is marked by either the death of protagonist and vic-
tory of her ideas or by the neutralization of the man opposed to her. Thus, in all these cases main con-
flicts of the tragedies is based on the motive of Amazons 16• 
Far more striking picture of the motive of Amazons is given in comedy, namely, in Aristophanes' 
dramas as: The Thesmophoriazusae, The Lysistrata and The Ecclesiazusae11• In this case the degree of 
Amazonic motive is intensified by the fact that the female member of the opposition is represented not 
with one person, but with a group of women, a collective. It is these groups of women who advance the 
thesis for the comedies, which is subsequently followed by complete of partial realization of the said 
thesis. 
As for the other side of the opposition it is represented with different variants. It can be expressed 
either with one man, or a group, or with the political system created by men, and adjusted to men. 
In the comedy The Thesmophoriazusae the opposition man/women is given in the confrontation of 
hostile women against one man, namely, against Euripides who is responsible for the disrespect of 
women and insulting their dignity. Their assessment of Euripides' conducts and manners is expressed in 
the following words: "This market-gardener's son pours out against us. I don't believe that there's a sin-
gle fault he's not accused us of; I don't believe that there is he, calling us double-dealers, false, faithless, 
tippling, mischief-making gossips, a rotten set, a misery to men" (386-95). The mutual agreement be-
12 For the interpretation of the Electra's image in Sophocles' tragedy Electra cf. Ch. Segal, Sophocles' Tragic World, Cam-
bridge, London, 1998, I I 9 ff. 
13 For the interpretation of the image of Euripides' Electra cf. also A. Lesky, Die tragishce Dichtung dcr Hcllencn, G6ttingcn, 
1972, 117-8; J. Latacz, Einfilhrung in die griechische Tragodie, Vandcnhoeck, Ruprechtim G6ttengen, I 993, 258 ff. 
14 About the opposition Creon/ Antigone cf. also E. Frenzel, Stoffc der Weltlitcratur, Stuttgart, 1976, 66 I. 
is About Euripides' interests of selflessness cf. R. sacrifi~ing young women is _in Euri?idcs' trage~ies Hecuba (Polixena) and 
Heraclides (Macaria), but in both cases the women sacnfice themselves only m the am1 of escaping unworthy life. 
16 R. Gordeziani, ibid. 167-74. . . 
17 In these three comedies the motive of Amazons is stated by E. Frenzel, Motive dcr Wclthtcratur, Stuttgart, 1980, 12-3 . 
The Motive of Amazons in the Classical Greek Drama 67 
tween the women and Euripides, worked out at the end of the comedy means, in essence the victory of 
women. According to the agreement Euripides gives up writing such tragedies which might cause the 
humiliation of woman. In return the women spare his life18• 
Undoubtedly, Lysistrata serves the best and brilliant example of the manifestation of the Amazonic 
motive. The members of the opposition are practically all the men of Greece who are obsessed with a 
vehement idea to wage the war, and the women of the whole Greece with the demand to end up the war. 
The women have their distinguished leader. The aim is not the neutralization of men but the neutraliza-
tion of one of the functions of the adult male, namely, the function of conducting the war. Achieving 
this goal signifies factual capitulation of men to women. Aristophanes underlines himself the similarity 
between his women characters and Amazons. The men distressed by the decision of the women will 
say: "They'll turn their first attention, haply, to equestrian fights, it they do, I know the issue, there's an 
end of all the knights. Well a woman sticks on horseback. Look around you, see behold, where ... fight 
the Amazons of old. Shall we these willful women, o my brothers, do, the same?" (676-86)19 • 
The expression of the motive of Amazons reaches its peak in Aristophanes' comedy The Ecc/esia-
zusae. Here the women oppose not only to one man or the group of man, but also to the unfair political 
system and formation created by men, in which women are practically disregarded. In this case the 
victory of women will lead to the promulgation of gyneocracy2°. 
As the present short discussion of the question has shown the motive of Amazons is realized in the 
classical Greek drama, both in tragedy and comedy. However, it is obvious that comedy presents the 
motive more conspicuously and with more variations than tragedy. The reasons of difference in the de-
gree of usage of the motive, I think, should be sought in the difference of principles applied for the 
presentation of reality in tragedy and comedy, respectively. It is impossible that tragedy overpass 
boundary of expressing reality beyond which woman's role in the society would only acquire fantasti-
cal, untrue-to-fact nature. This can be associated with the risk of transforming the tragic image into the 
comic one. Just for the reason of this threat the motive of Amazon is observable in the tragedy only 
within the due limits. Considering the admissible freedom of woman's activity in the society, supported 
by ample parallels in the mythological tradition of the people. 
As for comedy its basic purpose is to overpass these limits in order to produce comic effects and, 
consequently, overpassing the limits and unlashing fantasy creates incredibly vast scope for the realiza-
tion of the motive. 
As it was observed in the present paper Aristophanes' comedies make good example of the certain 
gradation of the motive of Amazons beginning with the negotiating of agreement between men and 
women ending up with the establishment of gyneocracy. 
18 For the interpretation of Aristophanes' The Thesmophoriazusae consider also Dover K.J., Aristophanic Comedy, University 
of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1984, 150 ff. About the Festival ofThesmophoria see H.W. Parke, Festivals 
of the Athenians, Thames and Hudson, London, 1986, 58-72. 
19 For Aristophanes' Lysistrata 's interpretation cf. A. M. Bowie, Aristophanes, Myth, Ritual and Comedy, Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1996, 178 ff. 
10 For the interpretation Aristophanes' The Ecclesiazuasae cf. K. Dover, Aristophanic Comedy, University of California Press, 
190 ff; A. V. Bowie, Aristophanes, 254 ff. 


English

The Motive of Amazons in the Classical Greek Drama

Ratiani, Nestan

The Phenomenon of Marriage in the Epics Of Homer

Lambropoulou, Voula

Το μυστικό τραγούδι της ελληνικής γλώσσας

Georgousopoulos, Kostas

Ιφιγένια και Μήδεια: δύο ξένες σε ξένο τόπο. Μια σοφιστική ανάγνωση των μύθων

Darchia, Irine

Phenomenon of Colour in the Poetry of Pindar

Remediaki, Ioanna

Οι προφορικές μαρτυριές στη θεατρολογική έρευνα: μεθοδολογία και πειραματική εφαρμογή

Gamkrelidze, Thomas V.

Phasis 2-3, 2000 
Thomas V. Gamkrelidze (Tbilisi) 
ZUR FRAGE DES SYSTEMS DER VERSCHLUSS- UND FRIKATIVLAUTE IM 
"MINOISCHEN" NACH AUSWEIS DER GRIECIDSCHEN LINEARSCHRIFT B1 
1. Die Linearschrift B, in der die altesten Texte in griechischer Sprache geschrieben sind, ge-
hort zum Typus der Silbenschriften mit Zeichen, die offene Silben der Struktur CV wiedergeben. Diese 
Schrift entspricht nicht den phonetischen Charakteristika der griechischen Sprache, weder den paradig-
matischen noch den syntagmatischen, und ist deshalb nicht zur Wiedergabe der griechischen Laut-
verhaltnisse geeignet; ilber ihre anderssprachige Herkunft besteht kein Zweifel. Die Linearschrift B gibt 
offensichtlich eine Schrift wieder, die ursprilnglich fiir eine nichtgriechische Sprache geschaffen wor-
den war. 
2. Die orthographischen Besonderheiten der Linearschrift B, die zur Wiedergabe der griechis-
chen Sprache verwendet wurde, aber dennoch spezifische Zilge der Schrift bewahrt hat, die ur-
spri.inglich fiir die Wiedergabe einer Sprache mit wesentlich anderer Struktur als das Griechische 
geschaffen worden war, erlauben einige Charakteristika und ihre Typologische Zugehorigkeit zu be-
stimmen. Als eine solche Schrift, die der Linearschrift B als Quelle gedient hat, kann die Linearschrift 
A betrachtet werden, die offensichtlich eine Sprache nichtindogermanischen und nichtsemitischen Ty-
pus' wiedergibt; diese Sprache kann man bedingt "minoisch" nennen. 
Obwohl jedoch die in vielem noch unklare Frage der wechselseitigen Beziehungen zwischen 
den Linearschriften A und B und der konkreten phonetischen W erte der Zeichen von Linear A noch 
nicht entschieden ist, ist es rnoglich, bereits im Rahrnen von Linear B ilber die Typologischen Charak-
teristika des "Minoischen" zu urteilen; unter "Minoisch" ist die Sprache zu verstehen, fur die ur-
spri.inglich eben die Variante der "agaischen" Silbenschrift geschaffen worden war, die in der Folge der 
griechischen Linearschrift B zugrunde lag. Wenn sich Linear A als eben diese Variante erweist, dann 
kann dieser Umstand zusatzlich Hinweise auf den phonetischen Charakter einer ganzen Reihe von 
Zeichen der Silbenschrift A geben. 
3. Was sich als erstes zum phonetischen Charakter des "Minoischen" feststellen lasst, ist, dass 
diese Sprache <lurch offene Silben der Struktur CV charakterisiert war, <lass sie ferner bestirnmt war 
von der regelmassigen Aufeinanderf olge von Konsonant und Vokal, wobei Konsonantenhaufungen 
entweder ganzlich fehlten oder doch sehr selten waren, und dass sicherlich die Konsonanten r und l 
nicht differenziert wurden. 
4. Eine besonders wichtige Schlussfolgerung bezilglich der phonetischen Natur des "Minois-
chen", zu der fast alle Forscher gelangen, besteht darin, im "Minoischen" das Fehlen der Differen-
zierung der Verschlusslaute nach dem Merkmal Stimmhaftigkeit / Stimmlosigkeit anzuerkennen. Nach 
dieser Auffassung war die distinktive Unterscheidung von Stirnmhaften und stirnmlosen Konsonanten 
(k/g, p/b usw.) im "Minoischen" nicht vorhanden. Diese Schlussfolgerung basiert auf der Existenz von 
jeweils nur einer Reihe von ~eichen zur Wiedergabe der griechischen Labiale bzw. Velaren in Linear 
B, d. h. einerseits des stimrnhaften ~. des stimmlosen TT (und des aspirierten <I>), andererseits des 
stimmhaften y , des stirnmlosen K (und des aspirierten x). Diese griechischen Phoneme werden in der 
Schrift entsprecrend du.re~ die Syllabeme b/pa, blp_e, b/pi'. blpo,_ b/pu und glka, g/ke, glki, glko, glku 
wiedergegeben. Jedoch w1derlegt das Vorhandensem zwe1er Re1hen von Zeichen fiir die stimmhaften 
1 Dieser Beitrag ist von Roland Bielmeier aus dem Russischen ins Deutsche Ubersetzt worden. Die Obersetzung ist vom Ver-
fasser autorisiert. 
2 Siehe J. Chadwick, The decipherment of_Lin,~ar_B, C~bridge, 1~67. Aus den letzten Ar~eiten zu dieser Frage vgl. z. B. L. 
Stephens und J. s. Justeson, Reconstructing ~moan. Phonology. th~ approach from universals of language and universals 
of writing systems ("Transactions of the Amencan Ph1lolog1cal Assoc1at1on", Nr. I 08, 1978, s. 271-284). 
Zur Frage des Systems der Verschluss- und Frikativlaute im "Minoischen'' nach Ausweis def griechischen Linearschrift B 119 
und stimmlosen dentale im System von Linear B - d. h. da, de, di, do, du neben ta, te, ti, to, tu zur 
Wiedergabe des griechischen stimrnhaften Dentals 6 bzw. der stirnmlosen Dentale T und 8 - die These, 
dass in dem schriftsprachlichen System distinktive Unterscheidungen zwischen stimrnhaften und 
stimmlosen V erschlusslauten fehlten. 
Der graphematische Unterschied bei der Wiedergabe der verschiedenen V erschlusslautreihen 
im System von Linear B - jeweilig nur eine Reihe filr "Labiale" und "V elare", gegeniiber zwei Reihen 
filr "Dentale" - sollte zweifellos die Phonembezeichnungen des zugrundeliegenden Sprachsystems re-
flektieren. In diesem Fall miissten sie in dem Sinne interpretiert werden, dass uns hier der typische Fall 
eines Phonemsystems vorliegt, bei dern zwei Verschlusslautreihen nach dem Merkmal Stimmhaftig-
keit/Stirnmlosigkeit differenziert sind, wobei die besonders markierten "rezessiven" Glieder beider Rei-
hen, d. h. das velare g in der stimmhaften Reihe und das labiale p in der stimmlosen Reihe fehlen: 
stimmhaft 
b 
d 
stimmlos 
t 
k 
Typologisch sind diese Systeme vollig regelmiissig, sie finden sich auch in vielen verschiedenen 
Sprachtypen.3 • 
Deshalb sollte man das Verschlusslautsystem des "Minoischen" in Form von zwei "defektiven" 
Konsonantenreihen rekonstruieren, die nach dem Merkmal Stimrnhaftigkeit/Stimmlosigkeit unterschie-
den sind, wobei die Lucken erwartungsgemass bei den besonders "rezessiven" Oppositionsgliedern 
aufueten, d. h. bei dem stimrnhaften Velar g und dem stimmlosen Labial p. Da diese Phoneme demnach 
dem "Minoischen" fehlten, konnten sie folglich auch in der filr das Griechische verwandten Sclnift 
nicht wiedergegeben werden. Daraus erkliirt sich auch das Fehlen entsprechender Zeichen in der gri-
echischen Linearschrift B. Wenn man einen Zusammenhang zwischen den Schriftsystemen A und B 
einriiumt und den Zeichen von Linear A ihre phonetischen Werte aufgrund ihrer graphischen Uberein-
stirnmung mit den Zeichen von Linear B zuspricht, diirfen die Zeichen von Linear A, die die labialen 
und velaren Verschlusslaute wiedergeben, nicht als blpa, blpe, b/pi, b/po, blpu und glka, glke, gild, g/ko, 
g/ku transkribiert werden4, wie es bei der Transliteration der entsprechenden griechischen Zeichen von 
Linear B berechtigt ware, sondern als ba, be, bi, bo, bu und ka, ke, lei, ko, ku, wobei die dem System 
fehlenden "rezessiven" Phoneme, d. h. der stirnrnhafte Velar g und der stimmlose Labial p, aus-
geschlossen bleiben. 
5. In der Typologie werden bestirnmte universal distinktive Relationen irn Phonemsystem zwis-
chen der Gruppe der V erschlusslautphoneme und der der frikativen Phoneme hergestellt. Insbesondere 
legt das fakultative Fehlen des "rezessiven" stimmhaften velaren Verschlusslautes g und/oder des 
stimmlosen labialen p das Vorhandensein der entsprechenden velaren frikativen Phoneme 'Y ~ x 
und/oder der labialen Phoneme w ~ f im System nahe. Die genannten frikativen Phoneme treten bier 
gleichsam als Substitute filr die fehlenden homorganen Verschlusslaute auf: 
stimmhaft stimmlos 
w f 
\; I~ 
'Y X 
3 Siehe Melikisvili, Uslovija markirovannosti dlja priznakov zvonkosti, gluchosti, labial'nosti i veljamosti ("Macne", 5, Tbi-
lisi, 1970, S. 137-58). 
4 Vgl. M. Pope, Aegean writing and Linear~• Cape Town, 19~. . . . . ,, . 
s Siehe Th. V. Garnkrelidze, On the correlation of stops and fricatives ma phonological system (1m Sammelband Umversals 
of Human Language" II, hrsg. von J. H. Greenberg, Stanford, Cal., 1978, S. l 0-46); vgl. a~ch Hierarchi~ relationships of 
dominance as phonological universals and their implications for Indo-European reconstruction ("Festschrift for O. Szemere-
nyi", V. II, Amsterdam, 1979, S. 283-290). 
120 Thomas V. Gamkrelidze 
Die Rekonstruktion des "minoischen" Verschlusslautsystems in Form von "defektiven" Reihen 
im fehlenden stimmhaften velaren und stimmlosen labialen Glied impliziert demnach die Postulierung 
der homorganen Frikative w ~fund 'Y ~ x im System. 
Das nicht vollig klare, isolierte Syllabogramm pu2 in Linear B konnte eben die Fortsetzung 
jenes Zeichens sein, das im "Minoischen" allem Anschein nach den labialen Frikativ f bezeichnet hat. 
Im Griechischen bezeichnete es parallel zu den regelmiissigen Zeichen filr _die Silben mit anlautendem 
~. rr, <I> einen bestimmten labialen Konsonanten, in der Regel ein aspiriertes cp.6 In der gleichen Weise 
konnten die Zeichen von Linear B, die als Silben mit anlautendem q transkribiert werden und zur 
Wiedergabe fiiihgriechischer Labiovelare dienen, die filr das "Minoische" anzusetzenden velaren Frika-
tive bezeichnen. 
6 • 1 (- phut-eres von gn"ech "-w "-vrwp q>VTevw); siehe Morpurgo, Mycenaeae Graecitatis Lexicon, Vgl. Formen w1epur e-re - , · '+' , '+' , 
Roma, 1963, S. 267-268 . 


Zur Frage des Systems der Verschluss- und Frikativlaute im "Minoischen" nach Ausweis der griechischen Linearschrift B

Stasinakis, Giorgos

Εισαγωγή στο έργο και τη σκέψη του Νίκου Καζαντζάκη

Matchavariani, Maia

The Classical Rhetoric in Old Georgian Translations (Based on David Tbeli\u27s Translations of Gregory of Nazianzus\u27 Works)

Kovacs, Judith L.

Phasis 2-3, 2000 
Judith L. Kovacs (Virginia) 
P AIDEIA, THE CARE OF THE SOUL, AND CONCEALMENT IN CLEMENT OF 
ALEXANDRIA 
The topic of this conference invites us to reflect on the heritage of ancient Greece in a new 
time, at the beginning of the second millenium after Christ. My paper concerns another turn of the 
ages--early in the first millenium, when the new Christian religion had to define itself vis-a-vis the an-
cient wisdom, the traditions of both Jews and Greeks. My specific subject is the writings of the first 
Christian thinker to fully engage with Greek paideia, Clement of Alexandria, who taught in this ancient 
center of learning around the year 200. A polymath and Middle Platonist philosopher, Clement con-
verted to Christianity and then proceeded to travel around the Mediterranean world in search of wis-
dom. 1 His travels ended in Egypt, where he found the teacher Pantainos, whom he describes as: "the 
true Sicilian bee" who "plucking the flowers of the prophetic and apostolic meadow, engendered in the 
souls of his hearers a pure substance ofknowledge."2 
As this quotation illustrates, Clement is fond of describing the Biblical message as sophia and 
gnosis, "wisdom" and "knowledge." His most important work, the Stromata, or Miscellanies, has the 
subtitle "Gnostic Notes in accordance with the True Philosophy." This title expresses Clement's belief 
that the Bible, correctly interpreted, is the culmination of the Greek philosophical tradition. His two 
other major works are called the Protrepticus, a title that recalls Aristotle's invitation to philosophy, and 
the Paedagogus, which presents Christ as the perfect Educator. Werner Jaeger, in Early Christianity 
and Greek Paideia, comments on this title: 
The very choice of the title Paedagogus, which shows Christ in a new role, points, of course, to the re-
lation of Christianity to Greek culture,· since for the Greek-speaking world this was paideia, an ideal of 
human existence to which every educated man and woman and every civilized nation had aspired ever 
since the idea was launched by the century that produced Plato and Isocrates. The presentation of 
Christ as the Paedagogus implies a program. What it signifies can be fully understood only against the 
historical backtground of the entire Greek paideia tradition.3 . 
Clement views Christian salvation as a complex process of education. Christ, the Logos, is 
both instructor (paidagogos) and teacher (didaskalos) , and he has a carefully designed plan for the edu-
cation all humankind. Clement describes this plan as follows: 
It is [the nature of the Son] which arranges everything according to "the will of the Father" 
(John 6.40) and steers the whole world in the best way, performing all things with untiring, limitless 
power . . . . [He] has been entrusted with the sacred management of the divine plan. . . . He is the 
Teacher, who educates the Gnostic by mysteries, the believer by good hopes and the hard of heart by 
corrective discipline, which works through the senses. He is the source of providence, operating for the 
individual, for the community, and for the whole universe. (Strom. VII 2, 5.3-6.1).4 
Clement views providence in terms of education. The divine oikonomia, or plan for salvific 
education, is both comprehensive and flexible. Its all-encompassing nature is revealed in the course of 
human history. Building on New Testament teaching that the revelation to the Jews given in the Old 
Testament was a preparation for the superior teaching of the gospel, Clement argues that the divine 
teacher has not neglected the other nations, but has provided them with Greek learning, especially phi-
1 Clement describes his travels and his various teachers in Stromateis I I, 11.2-3. 
2 Strom. I I, 11.2. 
3 Werner Jaeger, Early Christianity and Greek Paideia (Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard, 1961) 133, n.29. Jaeger refers here to 
his 3 volume work, Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture (Oxford and New York: Oxford Press, 1939-1944). 
4 Translations from Clement's works and from Plato are my own. 
Paideia, the Care of the Soul, and Concealment in Clement of Alexandria 229 
losophy, as a parallel way of preliminary instruction. 5 In addition to giving these different revelations 
in history, the Logos oversees the education of each individual, adapting his teaching in order to give 
gradual training in the mysteries of God. Those who are not eager learners - the hard of heart - he 
treats as "servants," teaching them through the elementary method of disciplinary punishment. More 
receptive students, called "faithful s~ants," are motivated through teaching about eschatological re-
wards. The most mature students, who are motivated not by fear of punishment or hope of reward, re-
ceive gnosis, instruction in the divine mysteries.6 
In this ambitious system of paideia the Logos has helpers, both angelic and human. 
7 
As we 
have seen, Clement had great reverence for his own teacher Pantainos, and he thinks that Christians 
who advance to the higher stages of education are obligated to teach others. D,istinguishing two types 
of Christians, the simple believers and the more advanced, called "Gnostics," or "knowing ones," he 
says that teaching others is an essential characteristic of the Gnostic.8 Many texts in Clement's Stromata 
describe the Gnostic, the ideal Christian who by a gradual process of education achieves godlike status. 
These passages give an idea of how Clement understands his own calling as a Christian teacher. The 
Gnostic, Clement claims, is a "living image of the Lord" who mimics the creative work of the Logos 
and shares in the execution of the divine plan of salvation.9 
Clement makes a number of specific comparisons between the paideia of the Logos and that of 
the Gnostic teacher. These include spiritual direction, or care for the individual soul, and the use of 
concealment. The concern of ancient philosophy for psychagogy, the care of the soul, has received 
considerable attention in the last several decades, for example in the writings of Paul Rabbow, Michel 
Foucault and Pierre Hadot.10 These scholars call attention to the differences between ancient and mod-
em ideas of education. In the ancient Greek world, the work of the philosophical teacher was not lim-
ited to conveying intellectual content; it also involved the moral and psychological formation of one's 
students. Hadot says that the main purpose of ancient philosophical discourse, in contrast to modem 
philosophy, is not to transmit information but to produce a psychic effect, "to form rather than to in-
form."11 Teachers such as Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus seek to lead their disciples to a new orientation, 
in which their vision of the world and their personalities are transformed.12 Similarly for Clement 
moral training and the education of the mind are closely linked, and the ultimate aim of both is to 
achieve direct knowledge of God. Quoting the Platonic saying that "like is dear to like,"13 Clement 
says that only the pure and righteous soul can hope to know God. The Gnostic teacher, imitating the 
divine Logos, not only trains the intellect but also cares for the heart and soul of his student. 
In his Paedagogus Clement present the divine Instructor (paidagogos) as a model for this kind 
of teaching. The Logos sympathizes with the nature of each person (Paid. I 8, 62.2). Like a doctor, he 
uses many methods of care, including persuasive words, threats, and punishments (I 7, 61.1-3).14 In one 
passage Clement interprets the punishments described in the Old Testament as the work of the divine 
surgeon: 
For many of the passions are cured by punishment, and by the institution of the sterner com-
mandments, and especially by the teaching of certain principles. For reproof is, as it were, the surgery 
of the passions of the soul. (Paed. I 8, 64.4). 15 
5 Strom. I 5, 28.1-3. 
6 See Strom. VII 2, 5.3-6.1 cited above. 
7 For the role of the angels in the divine paideia see, e.g., Clement's Eclogae propheticae 56 and Strom. VII I, 3.4. 
8 Strom.II 10, 46.1 ; VII 1, 4.2. 
9 Strom. VII 52.1-3. 
10 Paul Rabbow, Seelenfiihrung: Methodik der Exerzitien in der Antike (Munich: Im Kosel, 1954); Michel Foucault, The Care 
of the Self (History of Sexuality, vol., 3; transl. Robert Hurley; New York: Pantheon, 1986); Pierre Hadot, Exercices Spiri-
tuels et Philosophie Antique (Paris: Etudes Augustiniennes, 1987), English translation (with additional essays and introduc-
tory essay by Arnold I. Davidson): Philosophy as a Way of Life, ed. Arnold I. Davidson (Oxford: Blackwells, 1995). 
11 Hadot's views as summarized by Arnold Davidson in his introduction to Philosophy as a Way of Life, 19-20. 
12 Davidson, 21 ; see also Hadot, "Exercices Spirituels," 14. 
13 Gorg. 478c-d, quoted in Paed. I 6, 28.2; see also Strom. VU 3, 13.2. 
14 On the use of medical imagery in Hellenistic philosophy, see Martha Nussbaum, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Prac-
tice in Hellenistic Ethics (Princeton: Princeton, 1994), especially pp. 13-14; 48-53; 115-39; 316-17; 328-29; 417-18. 
15 Marrou and Harl, Le Pedagogue, Livre 1 (SC 70), 226, n. 1, call attention to parallels in Plato, Laws Xi 934a; Gorg. 478d 
and Philo Qu. Gen. I 89. In this section of the Paedagogus Clement's main concern is to defend the Old Testament against 
those who criticize its use of punishments and threats; see I 8, 62.1. For further examples of medical imagery see Strom. II 
16, 69.2, where Clement says that the Lord prescribes many modes of "therapy" to cure different types of sins; Paed. J J, 
3. 1-3; Strom. I 27, 171.1-4 ;VII 7, 48.4; 15, 90.4; Eel. Pr. 9.1. 
230 Judith L. Kovacs 
Clement also sees evidence of this divine care of the soul in the New Testament. He interprets 
Jesus' parable of the vine in John 15 as a symbol of the divine "therapy, which assumes many forms 
and benefits in many ways" (Paed. I 8, 66.4). He compares the work of the Logos to that of a gardener: 
For the vine that is not pruned becomes woody. It is similar with the human being. The Logos - the 
knife - removes the wild shoots; compelling the impulses of the soul to bear fruit, not to indulge in lust. 
Now reproof addressed to sinners aims at their salvation, the word being adapted to the each person's 
conduct, just as the strings of a musical instrument are sometimes tightened and sometimes relaxed. 
(Paed. I 8, 66.4-5) 
Clement uses the same images to describe the careful way the Gnostic teaches his students. 
Noting that "the body is improved by medicine and the soul by philosophy," Clement says that the 
Gnostic serves God by teaching human beings the "contemplation that makes them better."16 He also 
likens the ideal teacher to a gardener: 
For as the treatment of plants is best which produces and harvests fruit through skill and experience in 
gardening, thereby providing to men the benefit that comes from plants, so the piety of the Gnostic 
gathers to itself the fruit of all those who believe through him, and, as more come to understanding and 
thus are saved, it reaches an excellent harvest by its skill. (Strom. VII 1, 3.5-6) 
The divine paideia also involves the use of concealment. Both the divine Logos and the Gnos-
tic teacher conceal certain teachings until they judge their students are ready to receive them. This is 
why Jesus spoke in parables and why the Scriptures contain so many enigmas, sections that advanced 
students must learn to interpret through allegorical exegesis.17 Clement says repeatedly that he is con-
cealing his highest teaching, and he chooses the unusual literary genre of the Stromata partly because its 
miscellaneous form allows him to scatter "seeds of gnosis" without fully revealing it. Like the hereto-
dox gnostics, he speaks of an esoteric oral tradition reserved for the few, which supplements and inter-
prets the plain teaching of Scripture.18 There are no doubt several different reasons for this emphasis on 
secrecy, including a desire to show that his ecclesiastical Gnostic is not inferior to the heterdox gnos-
tics, who claimed secret revelations.19 But Clement's own justifications of the practice of concealment 
emphasize its pedagogical function. 
Speaking of the Gnostic teacher, Clement emphasizes again and again that he must carefully 
scrutinize his students, to see if they are fit to receive the more advanced Gnostic instruction.
20 
This 
recalls classical ideas about paideia:. The ideal system of education outlined by Plato in the Republic 
and in the Laws involves an extended,- carefully-ordered course of study reaching from earliest child-
hood to the contemplation of the Good; which cannot be attained before the age of fifty. A long course 
of preliminary studies is required before students are judged ready for the study of_philosophy, and this 
study is reserved for an elite group of gifted students who are tested before being allowing to proceed to 
the higher studies.21 
Clement even allows that this pedagogically motivated concealment will sometimes necessitate 
telling a lie, or at least misrepresenting the truth.22 In the following text he uses the example of a doctor 
to justify lying: 
16 Strom. VII 1, 3.2-4. For comparison of the Gnostic teacher with a doctor, see also Strom. VII 9, 52.2. 
17 On Jesus' uses of parables see the quotation of Matt. 13.13 in Strom. I 1, 2.3 and Matt. 13.34, in Strom. VI 15, 125.1. The 
practice of concealment in the Scriptures is one of the major themes of Book V of the Stromata, discussed in chapters 4-10 
(#19.1-66.4). 
18 See, e.g., Strom. I l , 13.2. 
19 On Clement's esoterism see Andre Mehat, Etude sur /es 'Stromates' de Clement d'A/exandrie (Patristica Sorbonensia 7; 
Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1966), 492-99; Guy G. Strournsa, "From Esoterism to Mysticism in Early Christianity," in Hans G. 
Klippenburg and Guy G. Stroumsa, Secrecy and Concealment: Studies in the History of Mediterranean and Near Eastern 
Religion (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995), 296; idem, "Moses' Riddles: Esoteric trends in Patristic Hermeneutics," in Interpretation 
in Religion, ed. Schlomo Biderman and Ben-Ami Scharfstein (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1992), 229-48; E. L. Fortin, "Clement of 
Alexandria and the Esoteric Tradition," Studia Patristica 9, Vol. 3 (TUGAL 94: Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1966), 41-56; 
Morton Smith, Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark (Cambridge: Harvard Press, 1973); J. L. Kovacs, "Con-
cealment and Gnostic Exegesis: Clement of Alexandria's Interpretation of the Tabernacle," Studia Patristica 31 , ( ed. Eliza-
beth A. Livingstone; Leuven: Peeters, 1997), 414-37. 
20 See, e.g., Strom. I I. 9.1; 2, 12.3; 13. l; V 8, 54.2-4; VI 15, 115.1, 6; 116.3; VII 9, 53.1. 
21 See Repub. VII 539d-540b; Jaeger, Paideia, II 76-370 and III l 82-262;Henri4renee Marrou, A History of Education in An-
tiquity (Madison: University ofWisco~sin Press, 1982), 6_9-78. Comp~e also Rep~b. VII 535a-536d. . . _ 
22 For a brief discussion of this theme m Clement and Origen see David Satran, Pedagogy and Deceit m the Alexandnan 
Theological Tradition," Origenia11a Quinta, ed. Robett J. Daly (Leuven: University Press, 1992), 119-124. 
J 
Paideia, the Care of the Soul, and Concealment in Clement of Alexandria 231 
The exalted position of the Gnostic is extended further by the one who has undertaken to superintend 
the teaching of others and accepted the management ( oikonomia) in word and deed of the greatest good 
on earth, through which he mediates union and fellowship with the divine . . . . Whatever [the Gnostic] 
has in his mind, that is also on his tongue--to those who by virtue of their assent are worthy to hear it -
since he both speaks and lives out of his understanding. For he thinks what is true and also speaks it, 
except, on occasion, in a medicinal wa.y, as a doctor does to those who are sick, he will lie or speak an 
untruth - as the sophists say - for the deliverance of those who are ill. (Strom. VII 9, 53.1-2) 
As an example of such benevolent deception Clement cites an action of saint Paul described in Acts 
16.3: Paul 's decides to circumcize his companion Timothy, even though he knows that circumcision 
carries no benefit (see Rom 2.25). Paul does this, Clement says, out of concern for Jewish Christians 
who were not yet ready to receive his full teaching.23 Clement's discussion of lying calls to mind Plato's 
statement in the Republic that the rulers who govern according to philosophy may lie for the benefit of 
the state.24 Plato compares the philosopher kings to doctors, who sometimes lie in order to bring about 
a cure. So for Clement the Gnostic teacher will only lie or mislead out of the highest of motives, out of 
love for his neighbor, that is, because of a pedagogical concern to foster a student's continued progress 
in the faith.25 · · 
This pedagogical motive is made clear in an allegorical exegesis of a law about covering a pit 
from the book of Exodus. According to Exodus 21.33-34 if an animal falls into an uncovered pit, the 
owner of the pit is liable for damages. Clement interprets the owner as a symbol of the Gnostic teacher, 
who must carefully guard his advanced teaching ("the depths of gnosis") lest a simple Christian "fall" 
into it and "drown" - that is lest his misunderstanding of advanced teachings causes him to lose his 
faith. Should this happen, Clement says, it is the teacher who will pay the penalty. This exegesis pic-
tures vividly Clement's sense of the awesome responsibility of the Gnostic teacher. 
There is much more that could be said about Clement's view of the paideia of Christ, the Lo-
gos. I hope that what I have said has been enough to make clear two points. The first is the extent to 
which he found classical ideas about paideia useful in articulating the new Christian faith. The time-
honored concept of paideia provided an overarching category for his attempt to give a coherent account 
of the immense variety of teaching found in Old and New Testaments. The second point is the great 
seriousness with which Clement takes his own vocation as a Gnostic teacher. Regarding this as a sa-
cred, awe-inspiring task, requiring prayer, he models his own teaching not only on that of Pantainos but 
also on the greatest of all teachers, the divine Logos.26 
23 Strom. VII 9, 53.3-5. 
24 Repub. Ill 389b-c: "It is appropriate then for the rulers of the city, if for anyone, to lie, where either enemies or citizens are 
concerned, in order to benefit the city." 
25 Compare Origen's reflections on God's use of deception discussed by Joseph Trigg in "Divine Deception and the Truthful-
ness of_Scripture," in Origen of Alexandria: His World and His Legacy, ed. C. Kannengiesser and W. L. Peterson (UND 
Press, 1988), 147-64. 
26 See Strom. l I, 6.1-3; 9.2-3. The sense of teaching as a sacred responsibility is perhaps best conveyed by Clement's use of 1 
Cor 11.27-28 in Strom. I I, 5.1. In this text Paul warns of grave consequences for those who do not examine themselves be-
fore partaking of the Eucharist; Clement applies these words to the Gnostic teacher, who must examine himself to see ifhe is 
worthy to speak and to write. For the teacher's prayer that he may be found worthy, see Strom. I I, 7.1-8.4; 9.2. 


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