Euripides' Phoenissae and Summoned Entrances in Greek Tragedy

Clark examines Euripides' Phoenissae and summoned entrances in Greek tragedy. Summond entrances of one sort or another make up almost ten percent of all entrances in Greek tragedy. It is possible to divide these summoned entrances into several types. In one type, someone is dispatched from the stage to fetch the summoned character, as at Eur. Med. 180-181, where the Chorus ask the Nurse to fetch Medea outside. A second type also uses an intermediary, but instead of sending him from the stage, the summoner calls to someone inside the skene and asks him to send out the summoned character. The earliest extant example of this is Orestes knocking on the door at Aesch. Cho. 653-667 and asking for the man or woman of the house to be brought out. The third category involves the summoner calling directly to the summoned character, asking him to come out from the skene.