An Upside-down Procession: the Finale of "Frogs" and "Eumenides"

Abstract

Building on an insight by Kenneth Dover, this paper proposes a comparative reading of the finale of Aeschylus’ Eumenides and that of Aristophanes’ Frogs: in both texts, a torch-lit procession accompanies a character (the Semnai in the tragedy, Aeschylus in the comedy) who must ensure the well-being of the city. In this performative, structural, dramaturgical and thematic similarity, we find Aristophanes’ intention to revive not only Aeschylus as a character, but also Aeschylus as a playwright, espousing a qualifying point of his ideology, the call for the city harmony.