oa Het schild van Achilles in Euripides’

This article examines the first stasimon of Euripides’ Electra, which contains a description of the shield of Achilles. After an introduction on the choral ode, the shield of Achilles is subjected to archaeological analysis. This analysis focuses on the question whether the decorative emblems on the shield are realistic or fantastic. The question is, in other words, whether this shield could appear on the archaic-classical battlefield. Important in this discussion is also to what extent the shield design is influenced by the description of Achilles’ shield in Iliad 18. The article ends with a literary interpretation of the shield emblems, relating for instance the images of Perseus and the Gorgon, the sun and stars, as well as the Sfinx and the Chimaera to the events in the plot.