'Andrómeda', de Eurípides

Andrómeda, de Tamara Lempicka (1929)

Estava a ler o Leviatã de Hobbes, quando, no oitavo capítulo, em que, discutindo as virtudes intelectuais e o contrário destas, o filósofo se debruça sobre a loucura, encontro a seguinte anedota:

Houve uma vez uma grande afluência de gente em Abdera, cidade da Grécia, por causa da representação da tragédia de Andrómeda, num dia extremamente quente. Em resultado disso, uma grande parte dos espectadores foi acometida de febres, sendo este acidente devido ao calor e à tragédia conjuntamente, e os doentes limitavam-se a recitar iambos com os nomes de Perseu e Andrómeda. O que foi curado, juntamente com a febre, pela chegada do inverno. Esta loucura foi atribuída às paixões suscitadas pela tragédia. (trad.: João Paulo Monteiro e Maria Beatriz Nizza da Silva; INCM, Lisboa: 1995) 

[There was once a great conflux of people in Abdera, a city of the Greeks, at the acting of the tragedy of Andromeda, upon an extreme hot day: whereupon a great many of the spectators, falling into fevers, had this accident from the heat and from the tragedy together, that they did nothing but pronounce iambics, with the names of Perseus and Andromeda; which, together with the fever, was cured by the coming on of winter: and this madness was thought to proceed from the passion imprinted by the tragedy.]

Curioso com o episódio, resolvi investigar (uma boa edição do Leviatã teria estas informações em nota). Com a ajuda da rede, localizei a fonte da estória, narrada no começo do Como Deve a História Ser Escrita [Πῶς δεῖ Ἱστορίαν συγγράφειν], de Luciano:

There is a story of a curious epidemic at Abdera, just after the accession of King Lysimachus. It began with the whole population's exhibiting feverish symptoms, strongly marked and unintermittent from the very first attack. About the seventh day, the fever was relieved, in some cases by a violent flow of blood from the nose, in others by perspiration not less violent. The mental effects, however, were most ridiculous; they were all stage-struck, mouthing blank verse and ranting at the top of their voices. Their favourite recitation was the Andromeda of Euripides; one after another would go through the great speech of Perseus; the whole place was full of pale ghosts, who were our seventh-day tragedians vociferating, O Love, who lord’st it over Gods and men, and the rest of it. This continued for some time, till the coming of winter put an end to their madness with a sharp frost. I find the explanation of the form it took in this fact: Archelaus was then the great tragic actor, and in the middle of the summer, during some very hot weather, he had played the Andromeda there; most of them took the fever in the theatre, and convalescence was followed by a relapse--into tragedy, the Andromeda haunting their memories, and Perseus hovering, Gorgon's head in hand, before the mind's eye. (trad.: Fowler & Fowler, Loeb Classical Library)

[Ἀβδηρίταις φασὶ Λυσιμάχου ἤδη βασιλεύοντος ἐμπεσεῖν τι νόσημα, ὦ καλὲ Φίλων, τοιοῦτο· πυρέττειν μὲν γὰρ τὰ πρῶτα πανδημεὶ ἅπαντας ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης εὐθὺς ἐρρωμένως καὶ λιπαρεῖ τῷ πυρετῷ, περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑβδόμην τοῖς μὲν αἷμα πολὺ ἐκ ῥινῶν ῥυέν, τοῖς δ' ἱδρὼς ἐπιγενόμενος, πολὺς καὶ οὗτος, ἔλυσεν τὸν πυρετόν. ἐς γελοῖον δέ τι πάθος περιίστα τὰς γνώμας αὐτῶν· ἅπαντες γὰρ ἐς τραγῳδίαν παρεκίνουν καὶ ἰαμβεῖα ἐφθέγγοντο καὶ μέγα ἐβόων· μάλιστα δὲ τὴν Εὐριπίδου Ἀνδρομέδαν ἐμονῴδουν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Περσέως ῥῆσιν ἐν μέλει διεξῄεσαν, καὶ μεστὴ ἦν ἡ πόλις ὠχρῶν ἁπάντων καὶ λεπτῶν τῶν ἑβδομαίων ἐκείνων τραγῳδῶν, σὺ δ' ὦ θεῶν τύραννε κἀνθρώπων Ἔρως, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἀναβοώντων καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πολύ, ἄχρι δὴ χειμὼν καὶ κρύος δὲ μέγα γενόμενον ἔπαυσε ληροῦντας αὐτούς. αἰτίαν δέ μοι δοκεῖ τοῦ τοιούτου παρασχεῖν Ἀρχέλαος ὁ τραγῳδός, εὐδοκιμῶν τότε, μεσοῦντος θέρους ἐν πολλῷ τῷ φλογμῷ τραγῳδήσας αὐτοῖς τὴν Ἀνδρομέδαν, ὡς πυρέξαι τε ἀπὸ τοῦ θεάτρου τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ ἀναστάντας ὕστερον ἐς τὴν τραγῳδίαν παρολισθαίνειν, ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐμφιλοχωρούσης τῆς Ἀνδρομέδας τῇ μνήμῃ αὐτῶν καὶ τοῦ Περσέως ἔτι σὺν τῇ Μεδούσῃ τὴν ἑκάστου γνώμην περιπετομένου.] 

A Andrómeda parece, de facto, ter sido uma peça popular, como o atesta o seguinte episódio narrado por Ateneu (12.53.7):

And Nicobule says that during dinner every sort of contestant exerted their efforts to entertain the king, and that in the course of his last dinner Alexander in person acted from memory a scene from the Andromeda of Euripides, and pledging toasts in unmixed wine with zest compelled the others also to do likewise. (trad.: Gulick, Loeb Classical Library) 

[Νικοβούλη δέ φησιν ὅτι παρὰ τὸ δεῖπνον πάντες οἱ ἀγωνισταὶ ἐσπούδαζον τέρπειν τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῷ τελευταίῳ δείπνῳ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐπεισόδιόν τι ἀπομνημονεύσας ἐκ τῆς Εὐριπίδου Ἀνδρομέδας ἠγωνίσατο καὶ τὸν ἄκρατον προθύμως προπίνων καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἠνάγκαζεν.] 

Já Aristófanes, nas Rãs (52-54), confirma o apreço em que a peça era tida: é ao lê-la que desperta em Diónisos o desejo de descer aos infernos, para visitar Eurípides. Transcrevo, por fim, apenas o que nos chegou do coro a que Luciano alude (frg. 136, ed. & trad.: Collard & Cropp, Loeb Classical Library).

And you, Eros, tyrant over gods and men — either they don't teach us to see beauty in what is beautiful, or help those who are in love to succeed in their efforts as they suffer the toils that you yourself have crafted. If you do this, you will be honoured by mortals, but if you do not, their learning to love will itself deprive you of the thanks with which they honour you.