The present paper examines the dramatic significance and thetheatrical function of babies and baby-items in Euripides’ plays in which theyappear as concrete stage props. More specifically, this paper examines theelement of realism inherent in this sort of material (οἰκεῖα πράγματα), whichbears strongly on the everyday and the domestic, and further examines theways in which realism is transformed in order to serve purely dramatic purposes. In one section, the discussion focuses on the on-stage presence of thebaby Opheltes in the opening scenes of Hypsipyle and on the κρόταλα withwhich the protagonist tries to amuse or comfort him while delivering hermonody. In another section, the discussion focuses on Ion’s birth tokens inthe climactic recognition-scene of Ion. On both occasions, special emphasisis laid on the subtle ways in which the poet manipulates realism in order toreinforce pathos and generate empathetic effect.
