Clytaemnestra's watchman on the roof

Metzger, E. (2005) Clytaemnestra's watchman on the roof. Eranos, 103, pp. 38-47.

Abstract

In the Agamemnon of Aeschylus, an unfortunate error by ancient grammarians, equating ἄγκαθεν (line 3) with ἀνέκαθεν, gave rise to a tradition that the Watchman delivered the prologue from the roof of the σκηνή. Though the error was recognised long ago, the tradition has endured, principally on the argument that the roof provides a good vantage for the Watchman's observations. This article argues that the Watchman did not deliver the prologue from the roof. The argument is based on the Watchman's reference to his "dewy bed" (lines 12-13), a reference by which Aeschylus assimilates the Watchman to a soldier sleeping on the ground, and on the word ἄγκαθεν (line 3), by which the Watchman indicates that he spends his night moving "around" the palace like a dog.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Aeschylus, Agamemnon, watchman, roof, skene, staging.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Metzger, Professor Ernest
• Authors: Metzger, E.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DF Greece; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Journal Name: Eranos
• Publisher: Uppsala Universitet, Institutionen foer Klassiska Spraak
• ISSN: 0013-9947