‘Si credere dignum est’: some expressions of disbelief in Euripides and others

Abstract

In this paper I shall review some common expressions of scepticism or disbelief, as they are used in Greek literature. I shall argue that these are frequently not at all what they purport to be, and express not disbelief but some quite different attitude. I shall then try to show how this applies to some apparent expressions of scepticism about myth or religion in Euripides. Suppose someone tells me a powerful real life story about a Cabinet Minister or the President of the United States. I might respond with a number of expressions which purport to cast doubt on its truth— ‘incredible’, ‘fantastic’, ‘I don't believe it’, ‘I can't believe it’, and so on—but in fact simply comment on the striking, surprising, shocking or truth-is-stranger-than-fiction aspects of the story, and no more deny its truth than would, e.g., ‘amazing, Holmes!’ Indeed, ‘I can't believe it’ generally means that the speaker does believe it, for good or ill. Again, suppose I say ‘I can't believe that a Parliament House will be built in Swansea’.

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