The Fragments of Euripides’ Oedipus: A Reconsideration

summary:

This paper provides a thorough reexamination of the surviving fragments of Euripides’ Oedipus (TrGF 5.1, 539a–557) with a view to establishing which are authentic. The use of linguistic, stylistic and metrical criteria shows that only the papyrus fragments, together with a handful of quotations in later authors, can be held authentic. Quotation-fragments (mainly in Stobaeus and Clement) are shown to be spurious. The paper puts forth and discusses the hypothesis that the spurious fragments come not from a full-fledged play but from a rhetorical exercise.