Subject
Gyges, King of Lydia, -approximately 648 B.C. -- Drama Books
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Friedrich Hebbel
Gyges und sein Ring
"Gyges und sein Ring" by Friedrich Hebbel is a tragedy written in 1854. At the court of King Kandaules, the Greek Gyges possesses a magical ring that grants invisibility. When Kandaules persuades Gyges to use it to secretly view the veiled Queen Rhodope, the violation triggers devastating consequences. Rhodope demands blood atonement for her dishonor, forcing a deadly choice between the king and his friend. This blank verse drama explores honor, shame, and the irreversible nature of transgression in a tale drawn from ancient Greek mythology.
André Gide
Der König Candaules: Drama in drei Akten
"Der König Candaules: Drama in drei Akten" by André Gide is a drama written in 1899. King Candaules allows the fisherman Gyges to secretly enter his wife Nyssias's bedchamber using a magic ring that makes him invisible. Gyges spends the night with the queen, who believes her husband is with her. When she discovers the deception, she demands revenge. Based on ancient Greek sources, this story explores themes of voyeurism, betrayal, and shame, and later inspired the psychological term "candaulism."
Jalmari Hahl
Kandaules : $b 3-näytöksinen näytelmä
"Kandaules : 3-näytöksinen näytelmä" by Jalmari Hahl is a play written in the early 20th century. Set in ancient Lydia, it centers on King Kandaules, his veiled Egyptian queen Arsinoë, the victorious general Gyges, and the seer-priest Farnakes, as war, religious rivalry, and the king’s worship of beauty and fortune strain court and city. Public triumph and private desire entwine as ceremony, oracles, and jealousy foreshadow a dangerous collision of love, power, and hubris. The opening of the play unfolds in Tyche’s temple courtyard by the Aegean: Farnakes prays to the sun god Sanson and warns against foreign gods; Mandane tries to sway Kandaules and is rebuffed; then a messenger announces Gyges has defeated the Myssians. Kandaules exalts Tyche, summons the veiled Arsinoë to crown Gyges, refuses the crowd’s plea to unveil her, and orders relief for storm-stricken citizens, while an oracle tells Gyges that admiration will lift him to the heights of ambition. Factions harden—priest against king, people stirred by demagogues, Mandane spreading doubt. At the start of the second act, in Arsinoë’s chambers, the queen prays to Isis and confides her loneliness to Nitokris; Mandane intrudes with accusations and insults before Filebos warns the king is near. Kandaules arrives, speaks of elevating Gyges, defends his creed of beauty, confesses his past with Mandane and his cruelty to Filebos (whom he now frees), and begins recounting how he sought and “found” Arsinoë—where the excerpt cuts off.
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