Knowledge Bearers and Narrative Swayers

Enslaved Women in Euripides and Aristophanes

Abstract

Euripidean tragedy and Aristophanic comedy often feature enslaved women as confidantes and messengers, though scholarship has largely overlooked the narratological importance of this group. Through an analysis of enslaved women who receive guests, serve as decoys, act as advisors, and deliver fateful news, this article explores how enslaved women in Euripides and Aristophanes hold access to or withhold critical information. I argue that these women exert a degree of control over surrounding characters and circumstances through their possession of essential knowledge, thus influencing the progression of dramatic plots.