466 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



and we are brought to the ' secondary ' delay at 1117 (eyvoiKa ydp, a-a<^' 



icr^i Adiov yap ^v | eiTrep ti? aXXos ttio-tos ws yofxev<; avrjp^ where the 



Theban herdsman is brought in and identified by the chorus. Then 

 follows the triangular colloquy between the Corinthian, Oedipus, and 

 the reluctant Theban herdsman, that brings us to the recognition (and 



TrcptTTcreia) in 1182 (lou tov * to, ttuvt' av i$rJKoi (Ta(f)rj, kt\.), where OedipuS 



is finally convinced. Here again we find a well-defined case of a 

 ' secondary ' delay. 



Euripides. 



Ion. 



In this drama Euripides has tried his hand at complicating the plot, 

 but has cheated the imagination of the audience by disclosing every- 

 thing in the prologue. The ' primary ' delay is purposely made long 

 and handled with some skill, but I have no doubt that the audience 

 marked the beginning of the ' secondary ' delay, which really begins at 

 1261 ^^ ( (L Tavp6ixop(f>ov 6/jifxa Kyjcfjicrov Trarpos, ktA.), where lon, after the 

 frustration and discovery of Creusa's plot to kill him, discovers her at 

 the altar and prepares to kill her. This delay is further prolonged 

 and accentuated by the necessity for the appearance of the Pythian 

 priestess (1320, cTrio-xfs, w rrai ktX.), whom the poet, in dire straits, has 

 to call upon to produce the evidence ^^ whereby the recognition may 

 be effected at 1437, a> cfttXTdrr) fioi fi^rep, ktX., and 1439, w tIkvov, ktX. 

 Here we find another case of ' secondary ' delay, and that rather long. 



Iphigenia in Tauris. 



Likewise in this play Euripides, by his rather long prologue, ac- 

 quaints the audience with the general situation. Immediately follow- 

 ing Iphigenia's misinterpretation of her dream, whereby she concludes 

 that her brother is dead, Orestes appears at 67 (opa, (fivkaaa-e fjirj rts iv 

 o-TtySo) ISpoTwv, words addressed to Pylades), and, in fact, is an- 

 nounced to the audience by Pylades in 71, ifioiy', 'OpeVra. Here be- 

 gins the real ' primary ' delay, which is well managed in view of the fact 

 that Iphigenia and Orestes think each other dead. It is worthy of note 

 in this connection to observe the epic flavor that Euripides gave the 



3° I quote the text of Nauck, 3d ed. 



31 A recognition is effected in the Rudens of Plautus (1154 ff.) in a similar 

 manner, apparently a direct imitation of the scene in the Ion ; Creusa establishes 

 her identity by describing, previous to seeing, the ' swaddling clothes ' of her son ; 

 similarly. Palaestra describes certain crepundia in order to prove that she is the 

 daughter of Daemones. 



