Dangerous Desires: Pathological Erôs in Euripides’ fragmentary Aeolus, Cretans, Protesilaus, and Oedipus

This paper investigates the representation of pathological erôs—an excessive or socially transgressive form of erotic desire—in four fragmentary tragedies by Euripides: Aeolus, Cretans, Protesilaus, and Oedipus. The study addresses how Euripides dramatized forms of erôs that go beyond the bounds of socially acceptable behavior, including sibling incest, mother-son incest, bestiality, and obsessive mourning expressed through eroticized attachment to inanimate objects. The objective is twofold: to assess the presence of medicalized language and imagery in these plays, and to explore how the dramatist and his characters conceptualize and respond to such desires. Methodologically, the paper combines philological close readings of the extant fragments with intertextual comparisons (notably with Homer, Ovid, and later sources), and draws on affect theory and ancient medical discourse. The analysis reveals that Euripides used the language of illness, divine punishment, and moral ambiguity to present a complex picture of erotic transgression. The plays often dramatize the tension between individual emotion and societal norms, and—despite their fragmentary state—offer unique insights into ancient perceptions of desire, agency, and punishment. By shedding light on lesser-studied dramas and emphasizing their emotional and ethical dimensions, the paper contributes to the reassessment of the Euripidean corpus. It argues for the centrality of pathological erôs in the tragic imagination and highlights the fragmentary plays as fertile ground for exploring the intersections of passion, gender, and normativity in classical Athens.