This paper reexamines the choral odes in Thesmophoriazusae 947–1000 and 1136–1159, which follow the reenactments of Helen (846–928) and Andromeda (1009–1135). I argue that these songs respond to concerns raised earlier (383–430) about how Euripidean drama “teaches” its audiences. They present a counter-model to the behaviorist model of learning projected in the first episode (esp. 395–427), which imagines spectators passively internalizing Euripidean tragedy. Instead, the odes show the chorus’s dynamic reactions to the miniature re-performances of Helen and Andromeda staged by Euripides and his kinsman. Styled as cult hymns, the songs portray celebrants moved by what they have seen —unlike Critylla and the Scythian guard— but still able to maintain perspective, unlike the overwhelmed husbands envisioned earlier. Rather than succumbing to tragic illusion, the chorus preserve their grip on reality and reaffirm their communal obligations. Their “cognitive blend,” or “subjunctive reality” (Golab 2023), remains balanced, and the odes evoke a constructivist model of learning: the chorus, as active interpreters rather than passive absorbers, are galvanized by Helen and Andromeda to a deeper emotional and intellectual grasp of “what matters” (Cates 1998) in their lives.
