
Here
is a drawing reconstructing the whole vase painting. The play being
performed on this stage set is most likely Euripides’ lost play Peleus.
We can see a young woman eavesdropping at the door to the left and a young
man wearing the headwear of a traveler. To his right is an older
man, who is pouring wine on the ground as a libation. Peleus, who is the
father of Achilles, has accidentally killed his father-in-law and has had
to go into exile. He has come to Acastus in Iolcus, who is in the
act of purifying him. The eavesdropping woman at the door may be
Acastus’s wife, Astydamia, who fell in love with Peleus but was rejected
by the hero. In revenge she wrote a letter to Peleus’ wife that he
was going to marry Acastus’s daughter and to her husband falsely accused
Peleus of trying to rape her. With the help of the gods, Peleus thwarted
Acastus’ attempt to punish him and then killed Astydamia.
Although a temple or palace was the usual
background for tragedy, some plays, like the Philoctetes of Sophocles
and the later play of Euripides (now lost) required a wild setting.
The scenery of the Sophoclean play seems to have been very simple: a
tree
and a rock. The Euripidean Philoctetes
presented
a realistic representation of Philoctetes'
cave.