The Theme Of Identity In Aeschylus Suppliant Women

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Aeschylus’ Suppliant Women brings up varying themes of citizenship and membership to a community as well as identity. This play greatly deals with feelings towards foreigners especially considering that Greek identity is being challenged. In the Suppliant Women, the fifty daughters of Danaus have fled Egypt and come as refugees to a sacred grove near Argos. In attempt to attain asylum, they explain their origins and reasons for running from their marriage proposals to their Egyptian cousins. The ruler of Argos hesitates to grant them entrance in fear of war with the Egyptians and eventually relies on the citizens of the city to decide the maidens faith. The daughters are later granted entrance to Argos and the play ends with them retreating …show more content…
Within Greek history, the theme of foreignness is seen as a method to institute a hierarchy, where Greeks are at the top and anything other is seen as barbaric and inferior. However, within the Suppliant Women, although the women are not evidently Greek upon arrival, they emphasize their lineage to affirm their Greek descendancy as a means to obtain asylum within the walls of Argos. The women explain how they are direct descendants from the Greek god Io, “Our tale is quick and brief: we lay a claim to Argive extraction, since we are the seed of the Prolific Cow, and I am ready to verify this claim with evidence (Poochigian 296-299).” The maidens continue to ask about the legend of Io there at Argos which matches identically to their tale of descent making their case more credible. By explaining their descent from Io and proving their Greek lineage, Pelasgos, the ruler of Argos agrees that they too deserve refuge and is accepting of their …show more content…
By stating that they are in fact Greek shocked Pelasgus because they had different complexions and showed all the characteristics of Libyan Gypsies and Aethiopians (Poochigian 300-312). This lets the reader conclude that the women are all of darker skin and also dress quite differently than the Greeks at Argos. Danaus also later asks to, “...please send some soldiers and a guide along to help me find the temple-fronting altars … they would protect me on the road. You see, our clothes and coloring are different … over boldness often results in fear and time and time again a man has killed kin through ignorance (Poochigian 545-552).” His caution with walking alone in the city comes as a result of their drastic difference in appearance. This also serves to emphasize the kind of threat their residence poses to the citizens as he states that men, because of fear, often kill kin, but in this case we can consider kin to mean fellow

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