This is a play by Aeschylus. It is in GB Volume 5 - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes.
Characters
Summary
The Suppliant Maidens (Supplices) is the first and only surviving part of a lost trilogy. The play follows the Danaides, the fifty daughters of Danaus, who have fled Egypt to escape a forced marriage to their fifty cousins, the sons of Aegyptus. They arrive on the shores of Argos, the ancestral home of their foremother Io, carrying olive branches as symbols of their suppliant status. They appeal to the Argive King Pelasgus for protection, claiming that their flight is not a criminal act but a necessary escape from a “marriage unholy that true love shuns.”
King Pelasgus is placed in a profound moral and political dilemma. On one hand, the religious laws of hospitality and the sanctity of the suppliant (enforced by Zeus Hiketesios) demand that he grant them sanctuary. On the other hand, doing so risks bringing a devastating war with Egypt upon his city. Pelasgus demonstrates an early form of democratic leadership by refusing to make the decision alone, stating that he must consult the commonality of the realm. This move highlights the transition from absolute monarchy to a system where the ruler is accountable to the people’s voice.
The Chorus of Danaides, representing the collective voice of the fugitive women, is the central protagonist of the work. They use both desperate pleas and veiled threats—threatening to commit suicide on the altars of the gods if they are rejected—to force the King’s hand. Their arguments center on the idea that divine justice favors the weak and that the gods of the sky and earth will judge Argos if it fails to protect those who flee from “lust that profanes.”
After Pelasgus consults his citizens, the Argive assembly votes unanimously to provide sanctuary to the Danaides, granting them the status of resident aliens immune from seizure. This victory is short-lived, however, as an Egyptian herald soon arrives with a fleet, attempting to drag the women back to the ships by force. Pelasgus intervenes, rebuffing the herald and asserting the sovereignty of Argos and its laws. The play ends with the Danaides entering the city walls, offering prayers of gratitude to Argos while acknowledging the lingering threat of the approaching Egyptian army.