Sophocles At Patavium (fr. 137 Radt)

Abstract

One of the most interesting of the myths concerning the migration to the West of those Trojan heroes who survived the destruction of their city is that of Antenor and his sons. That Antenor and his family received the embassy of the Greeks, saved them from attack by a group of Trojans and consistently urged peace and the return of Helen is already established in Homer. The consequent decision of the Greeks to spare the Antenorids at the sack of Troy is almost certainly present in the epic cycle. Somewhat later, two further traditions emerge: first the claim that Troy was betrayed by the Antenorids; second, that Antenor and various of his sons travelled overseas and settled in distant lands, notably Cyrene in Libya and Patavium in the Veneto. For anyone concerned with the development of the myth, it is therefore deeply frustrating that so little should remain of what must have been a crucial text: the Antenoridae of Sophocles. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that there is far more to be known about this play than has hitherto been perceived.