Wikipedia
Amphitryon (; , gen.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side"), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis.
Amphitryon was a Theban general, who was originally from Tiryns in the eastern part of the Peloponnese. He was friends with Panopeus.
Having accidentally killed his father-in-law Electryon, king of Mycenae, Amphitryon was driven out by Electryon's brother, Sthenelus. He fled with Alcmene, Electryon's daughter, to Thebes, where he was cleansed from the guilt of blood by Creon, king of Thebes.
Alcmene, who was pregnant and had been betrothed to Amphitryon by her father, refused to marry him until he had avenged the death of her brothers, all but one of whom had fallen in battle against the Taphians. It was on his return from this expedition that Electryon had been killed. Amphitryon accordingly took the field against the Taphians, accompanied by Creon, who had agreed to assist him on condition that he slew the Teumessian fox which had been sent by Dionysus to ravage the country.
The Taphians, however, remained invincible until Comaetho, the king's daughter, out of love for Amphitryon cut off her father's golden hair, the possession of which rendered him immortal. Having defeated the enemy, Amphitryon put Comaetho to death and handed over the kingdom of the Taphians to Cephalus. On his return to Thebes, he married Alcmene, who gave birth to twin sons, Iphicles and Heracles. Only the former was the son of Amphitryon because Heracles was the son of Zeus, who had visited Alcmene during Amphitryon's absence. He and Alcmene also had a daughter named Laonome.
He fell in battle against the Minyans, against whom he had undertaken an expedition, accompanied by the youthful Heracles, to deliver Thebes from a disgraceful tribute. In the play Heracles by Euripides, Amphitryon survives to witness the murders of Heracles' children and wife.
Amphitryon is a 1935 German musical film. Written and directed by Reinhold Schünzel, it is based on plays by Molière, Plautus, and Heinrich von Kleist, which in turn are based on Greek mythology.
The film is known by a variety of other names: Amphitryon – Happiness from the Clouds, Amphitryon – Aus den Wolken kommt das Glück in Austria, Amfitryon in Greece, Anfitrione in Italy, Det gudomliga äventyret in Sweden.
Amphitryon was filmed in Ufa-Atelier, Neubabelsberg, from 2 February 1935 – May 1935. It was one of UFA's many multiple-language version films: a French version, Les dieux s'amusent (The gods are having fun), was shot at the same time.
Amphitryon or Amphitruo is a Latin play for the early Roman theatre by playwright Titus Maccius Plautus. It is Plautus’ only play on a mythological subject; he refers to it as a tragicomoedia (tragic comedy) in the prologue. The play is mostly extant, but includes several large missing sections in its latter portion. The plot of the play involves Amphitryon’s jealous and confused reaction to Alcmena’s seduction by Jupiter, and ends with the birth of Hercules.
Amphitryon may refer to:
- Amphitryon, a character of Greek mythology
- Amphitryon (film), a 1935 German musical film
- Amphitryon (play), a Latin play by Plautus from ca. 190-185 B.C.
- Amphitryon (Dryden), an English comedy after Plautus and Molière
- Amphitryon (Molière), a French comedy after Plautus from 1668
- Amphitryon (Kleist), a German play after Molière and Plautus from 1807
- Amphitryon 38, a 1929 play by Jean Giraudoux
Amphitryon is a French language comedy in a prologue and 3 Acts by Molière which is based on the story of the Greek mythological character Amphitryon as told by Plautus in his play from ca. 190-185 B.C. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 13 January 1668. A whiff of scandal surrounded the play, with some claiming that Molière was criticizing the amorous affairs of Louis XIV of France in the guise of Jupiter. It was performed again three days later at the Tuileries Garden in the presence of Louis XIV.
Amphitryon was an immediate success with the French aristocracy and the play was performed a total of 29 times by Easter 1668. The popularity of the work was such that one of the names of the characters became a part of the everyday French language. The word 'Sosie' in French now means look-alike, a reflection of the events in the play where the character Sosie (a part which was portrayed by Molière himself in the comedy's first production) is a doppelgänger of the God Mercury.
The plot can be summarized as follows. After his wedding night with beautiful Alcmene, Amphitryon leaves to participate in a war. Jupiter, who is fascinated by Alcmene's beauty, come to earth under the appearance of Amphitryon, accompanied by Mercury who has taken the appearance of Amphitryon's servant Sosie. Amphitryon is successful in war and sends Sosie back home to report this. Sosie is greeted by his look-alike Mercury, who beats him and convinces him that he Mercury is the real Sosie. The real Amphitryon meets Alcmene and is naturally confused and shocked by her account of an amorous night. Various other confusing episodes of the same type take place, including a confrontation between the two Amphitryon's. In the end, Jupiter assumes his real aspect and tells Amphitryon that his wife was faithful, since he had to take on Amphitryon's aspect in order to seduce her. He informs Amphitryon that his wife will bear Jupiter's child, the demi-god Hercules.
Richard Wilbur translated the play for the work's first professional production in the English language which was directed by Darko Tresnjak and presented by the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston in March 2001. However, Australian poet W. J. Turner had already written an English adaptation of the play in 1933, known as "Jupiter Translated", and which was performed with music composed by Anthony Bernard.
Amphitryon is an English language comedy by John Dryden which is based on Molière's 1668 play of the same name which was in turn based on the story of the Greek mythological character Amphitryon as told by Plautus in his play from ca. 190-185 B.C. Dryden's play, which focuses on themes of sexual morality and power, premiered in London in 1690. Notable innovations in Dryden's adaptation compared to previous plays on Amphitryon included music by Henry Purcell and the character of Phaedra, who flirts with Sosia but is eventually won over by Mercury’s promises of wealth.
Although popular with the public, Dryden's play was attacked by Jeremy Collier in his 1698 pamphlet entitled "A Short View of the Immortality of the Stage" for undermining social mores and attacking the political values of his day. The work was later altered significantly by John Hawkesworth for a production in 1756, with him removing what he considered the morally objectionable material.
Category:1690 plays Category:Plays by John Dryden Category:Adaptations of works by Molière