Peleus’ Iliadic Background in Euripides’ Andromache. A Case of Intertextual Characterisation

This article analyses Peleus’ characterisation in Euripides’ Andromache through an intertextual lens, discussing how the readers may relate the tragic Peleus to the same character mentioned in the Iliad. The analysis will be carried out through a narratological approach. It will be argued that Peleus’ character recalls and expands his Homeric version and that the readers (or audiences), having that version in mind, are brought to better understand and appreciate the character’s qualities and role in the play’s structure. Ultimately, it will be highlighted that two aspects of Peleus’ Iliadic past emerge and enhance the emotional impact of the tragic reversal of Peleus’ fate in the Andromache: on the one hand, his comparison to Priam as an old man and king destined to lose his offspring and see the ruin of his oikos; on the other hand, his role as a protector of suppliants in his house.