This paper explores references to sacred lands and sacred cities in Euripides’ Trojan Women, arguing that they collapse the distance between the mythical city of Troy, on which the play is based, and the classical city of Athens, in which the play was first performed. Part I reviews the political interpretations of this tragedy in light of the Peloponnesian war, ranging from the traditional view of the play as a critique of Athenian brutality to the newer understanding of the play as one which may have prompted awareness of Athenian vulnerability. Part II compares references to sacred cities in the Homeric epicsto those in the Attic tragedies in general, emphasising the uniqueness of the Trojan Women in the number of references it contains and their centrality to its plot. Finally, Part III examines references to sacred cities in the Trojan Women, leading to the conclusion that these references are not mere examples of poetic conventionality as has previously been claimed, but descriptions subtly chosen by Euripides to sensitize his Athenian audience to the vulnerability of their city in the face of Spartan aggression. With this conclusion, the study supports more recently proposed political interpretations of the play as one which casts the Athenian audience as possible victims of war.
