«Nadie te lo reprochará»
La súplica de una madre en Homero, Estesícoro y Esquilo
abstract
In this paper we will see how a motif, used by Homer, Stesychorus and other authors and considered an imitation of Homer, should be seen as a motif deeply rooted in the tradition used by various authors in different genres and in distant times. These are scenes in which a mother or, in her absence, a wet nurse pleads with a young man not to engage in combat because he is going to lose his life. The way they do it is particularly moving: they show the mother’s breast as an evocation of motherhood. The plea is vain, the young men face their enemy: more powerful than this plea is the fear of reproach.
Keywords: Homer • Mother • Aeschylus • Supplication • Hector • Stesichorus • Orestes • Clytemnestra • Callirrhoe • Gerion • Hecuba