Abstract:
So-called deus ex machina scenes, where a god appears suddenly above the stage at the end of a play, are common in the tragedies of Euripides. These scenes are interpreted by most modern scholars as ironic in intention and subversive in effect, pointing out the absurdity and unrealisticness of tragedy by enforcing an arbitrary and formal ending to the play’s events. This thesis advances an alternative approach to the deus ex machina, interpreting it in a more sincere way, as intended to entertain through visual spectacle and bring a play to an end on a hopeful note, while simultaneously making the play’s events seem relevant to the audience by establishing aetiological links with aspects of the contemporary fifth-century world. This interpretation is developed through a study of the device’s origins and development as well as a detailed analysis of the regular features of the scene type as it appears in Euripides’ plays. Investigation of the deus ex machina’s predecessors in earlier poetry and the theatrical context in which it emerged reveals that its most significant antecedents are in Homeric epic and that it seems to have been first introduced into the Athenian theatre in a climate of dramaturgical experimentation in circa 430 B.C. These factors argue for an essentially serious and sincere basic effect to the device. Analysis of the features of the device itself demonstrates that the gods’ visits in deus ex machina scenes seem to be motivated by genuine care for the mortals they appear to and are essentially directed at ensuring those mortals have a happy future, providing a hopeful and satisfying way to end a play.
