The Suppliants (Aeschylus)

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The Suppliants
The Danaides by J.W. Waterhouse
Written by	Aeschylus
Chorus	The Danaides
Characters	Danaus Pelasgus Herald of Aegyptus Attendants
Setting	shore of Argos

The Suppliants (Greek "Hiketides", also translated as The Suppliant Maidens) is a play by Aeschylus. It was probably first performed sometime after 470 BC as the first play in a trilogy which included the lost plays The Egyptians and The Daughters of Danaus. It was once thought to be the earliest surviving play by Aeschylus due to the relatively anachronistic function of the chorus as the protagonist of the drama. However, recent evidence places it after The Persians as Aeschylus's second extant play.

[edit] Plot

The Danaides form the chorus and serve as the protagonists. They flee a forced marriage to their Egyptian cousins. When the Danaides reach Argos, they entreat King Pelasgus to protect them. He refuses pending the decision of the Argive people, who decide in the favor of the Danaides. Danaus rejoices the outcome, and the Danaides praise the Greek gods. Almost immediately, a herald of the Egyptians comes to attempt to force the Danaides to return to their cousins for marriage. Pelasgus arrives, threatens the herald, and urges the Danaides to remain within the walls of Argos. The play ends with the Danaides retreating into the Argive walls, protected.