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TUTORIAL – CC 2

Plautus- Auluraria (The pot of Gold)- A character sketch of

Euclio

NAME: RITANWITA DASGUPTA

SEMESTER : 1

COLLEGE ROLL NO: BA 270

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

SHRI SHIKSHAYATAN COLLEGE

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Abstract

“The Pot of Gold, originally titled as – Aulularia by Titus Maccius Plautus, a Roman playright

of the old Latin period, is assumed to be inspired from one of Menander’s lost comedies. The

title of the play, “Pot of Gold” draws immediate attention to the importance given to money

and as a consequence, the popularity of the play lies in the portrayal of Euclio, a miser defined

by his greed and avaricious nature. The character of Euclio generates fun from his obsession

with a buried pot of gold. Plautus exposes the materialistic, acquisitive inclination of

contemporary Roman society in the figure of Euclio. At that time, there were enough number

of people in the Roman society preoccupied with everyday matters related to money. This

prevented them from partaking in the joyous aspects of the society even when it did not cost

them anything. This feature was proficiently depicted by Plautus in the character of Euclio,

who having, stumbled upon the eponymous pot of Gold, jealously guards it instead of putting

it to good use and is so terrified of someone stealing his treasure that the gold brings him no

happiness at all and turns out to be more troublesome than its worth.
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Introduction

The plot of the play “The pot of Gold” revolves around Euclio, the central figure of the play.

The two main strands of the plot are Euclio’s desperate antiques to keep his pot of gold hidden

from prospective thieves which he had received from his household God and Phaedria’s affair

with Lyconides. Wealth may not be quite the bliss it is often assumed to be – which unraveled

the best by no one but Euclio. His obsession for money carries his frugality and thrift to absurd

lengths so as to make himself a cruel victim of humor and mirth even among his servants. The

play beautifully slows a number of transformations that occur in a person’s behaviour after a

certain period of time. At the beginning of the play, we see that Euclio is poor, but when he

discovers the treasure (the pot of Gold) he immediately becomes rich, avaricious as well as

possessive. As and when he becomes possessive, he becomes garrulous and quarrelsome. So,

one cant get the message by reading the play that greed engulfs a man and makes him a mad

man.

Euclio can be seen as a figure of internal exile. He refuses to communicate with anyone in

society. He goes to an extreme and rejects the role of a helpful neighbour. This is a kind of self

imposed isolation from society. Euclio’s “Pot of Gold” possesses a symbolic value also that

exists because he treasures it disproportionately over his pregnant daughter, Phaedria. The play

denounces Euclio’s miserliness as a great vice. The love for riches is a source of anxiety. Euclio
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learns this lesson at the end of the play and is shown to willingly give it away to Lyconides.

The play also shows the difference beyween the miser’s passion for his gold and ordinary

acquisitiveness which the Romans regarded as virtue.

E. J. Thomas begins his commentary on Plautus’s The Pot of Gold with the observation: ―The

Pot of Gold stands alone among the comedies of Plautus as a character piece. He continues,

―The character of the miser is developed in connection with a simple plot dealing with middle-

class life, but it is the picture of the avaricious Euclio that gives unity to the whole. At the

outset, Euclio has discovered buried in his hearth a pot of gold which his grandfather had

concealed, and with it his native stinginess is enhanced into a great passion. The household

deity that he is, Lar who speaks the prologue, explains that he has revealed the treasure so that

Euclio may arrange a marriage proper for his daughter Phaedria, whose generosity and

devotion have touched the god. We are told that this discovery was a reward for virtue – not of

Euclio’s but his daughter’s. The god also relates the fact that the unfortunate girl has been raped

by a rich young neighbour. The pot of gold, says Lar, will provide the dowry to make marriage

to this young man possible. In addition, the god has arranged that the young man’s uncle will

ask Euclio for the girl’s hand, simply to speed things up a bit.

Euclio- a Paranoid character

By finding a pot of Gold he faces an immediate personal crisis. Instead of putting the money

to good use, he is so afraid of losing it that he spends all the time concealing his fund. He

becomes paranoid and begins to look at his neighbors as potential thieves. Being so

preoccupied with his gold, he fails to realise his own daughter, Phaedria’s crisis and behaves

in an extremely odd yet funny way. His rationality is found at stake when he agress to the

elderly Megadorous wedding his daughter just because he asks for no dowry. After his pot of

Gold is stolen, he almost loses his sanity. Lyconides’ confession of deflowering Phaedria is
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considered as the former’s admission of stealing his Gold. His anxiety turns into an

excruciating and irritating suspicion. He suspects almost everybody of possessing evil

intentions. He so unduly reprimands Staphyla thinking her of being inquisitive. He does not

think for a second before quarreling with the cooks and other servants believing them to be

culprits.

Euclio spoke the soliloquy:

Just asking, that’s all his promising is. He’s got this mouth wide open, waiting to swallow

down that gold. Bread in one hand and stone in the other. A rich man toadying to a poor man

– I wouldn’t trust him an inch. Holding out the hand of friendship and ready to smite you with

it. I kmow’em – barnacles that cling on to anything they touch.(Plautus, 222).

One of the fundamental flaws in Euclio’s character is his overly suspicious nature.He rebukes

Staphyla of being over- inquisitive, he suspects Megadorous of having secret designs over his

pot of gold, and even when he finds a number of cooks working in his house, he immediately

jumps into the conclusion that they have been sent to this house by Megadorous to steal his pot

of Gold.

Euclio- greed and avariciousness in his personality

From the character, we get to see how a man fails to distinguish between the importance of a

pot of gold and his own daughter when Euclio becomes completely obsessed with his gold. He

complains to the spectators that he had indeed wanted to spend lavishly on his daughter’s

wedding-

“I meant to bring myself upto scratch and make a decent show for my daughter’s marriage but

I couldn’t do it.” (Plautus 376)

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But when he gets the pot of gold, he becomes a complete skinplint. The penny pinching Euclio

attempts to describe himself as a poor man even after acquiring wealth. His aggressive nature,

impractical decision and whimsical actions are all on account of his avarice. Thus the plot of

the story revolves around Euclio and his greed.

The play starts with his reproach to Staphyla as he says-

“Get out, I say: go along with you! Get the hell out of here, you snooping swivel-eyed old

busybody ” (Plautus 44)

From this speech we can decipher how greedy and insolent he is, at the same time he is

possessive regarding the Pot of gold which he received from his household God : Lar

Familiaris.

As Phaedria was a devotee of Lar familiaris worshiped him sincerely and thus the pot of gold

was supposed to pass down to her. Euclio in his greed never was concerned about the fact the

Phaedria was assaulted by Lyconides and she was impregnated by him. Instead he was busy

guarding a mere pot of Gold and just wants to get rid of her in exchange of no dowry.

It is indeed ironic that as a father Euclio is only concerned about his gold and is unaware of the

true state of his daughter. Phaedria’s rape is an expression of theft in the family structure-

violation of both of his proprietary rights.

What is even more infuriating that Euclio says this in his misery of a material object, and that

too regarding his daughter-

“I’ll see my daughter dead before I enter into any association whatever with you or your

nephew or anyone of your kin.”

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There is a famous saying, which says, “with greed comes an overpowering sense of guilt.” The

guilt is regarding his failure of preserving the pot of Gold when it was supposedly stolen and

he went more mentally unstable and paranoid.

This extreme attitude to wealth, as Segal explains, reflects on the Roman’s aversion to

spending; an idea that is challenged in the play. There are many ways of looking at the figure

of the miser, Euclio. Ostensibly, he is a person fixated with guarding his pot of gold. The

treasure is wealth that has been transferred from one generation to the next as mentioned by

the household god, Lar Familiaris. The household god informs the audience how Euclio did

not belong to the upper crust of the society, despite being in possession of the pot of gold. The

Lar chose to not reveal it to his predecessors as they did not pay allegiance to him. As a result

the gold is not wealth that has added to the family’s assets at any point in time. It remains a

frozen entity. The Lar presents the prologue and the series of events that will take place. He

also determines the plot by playing around with the hidden wealth, the pot of gold. According

to Alison Sharrock in his book, “Reading Roman comedy: Poetics and playfulness in Plautus

and Terence” :

“Irrelevant though it is directly to the plot, however, the series also has a programmatic effect,

for this play will be about the proper movement of property between the generations – and it is

that which was so sadly lacking in Euclio’s ancestry. The Lar has given us, in effect, ‘spare’

information.” (35)

This “spare” information gives us an idea of Euclio’s world. The prologue explains clearly that

Euclio has been given this pot of gold so it can be passed on to his daughter, Phaedria as she

had served the household god with sincerity. So far this has been stagnant wealth, not part of

any social transaction. Euclio, as miser, is seen not only as guardian of this wealth, but also as
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a misanthrope who does not participate in any socialisation of money or relations. In short he

is placed outside the socio- economic discourse.

Euclio- as an agelast

Segal sees Euclio as a person who is unable to participate in any form of laughter in the play.

Euclio is the agelast not so much for being melancholic but for his greed regarding the Pot of

Gold. Euclio is obsessed with preserving gold, so much so that, he does not let it come into

circulation. The miser does not try to increase his wealth nor does he spend it.

Euclio felt that the gold had become a constant source of perturbation to himself. Thus the vices

of greed and the way the possession of wealth does not necessarily come as a blessing to its

recipients.

The so called Euclio’s poverty has isolated him badly enough throughout his life. His discovery

of the gold which he is determined to keep as secret isolates him even more. Euclio can be seen

as a figure of the internal exile. He refuses to communicate with everyone in the society. This

kind of self-imposed isolation from the society made him lose the exuberant part of his

personality.

Segal’s views provide an insight into the workings of Roman society. He does not reveal his

newly acquired status for fear of theft. It seems as if his possession of the gold is a moment of

stasis that will not allow any change. This extreme attitude to wealth, as Segal explains,reflects

on the Roman’s aversion to spending; an idea that is challenged in the play. There are many

ways of looking at the figure of the miser, Euclio. Ostensibly, he is a person fixated with

guarding his pot of gold. The treasure is wealth that has been transferred from one generation

to the next as mentioned by the household god, Lar Familiaris. He refuses to enjoy any moment

in his life even when he does not have to spend anything. If we relate this to the idea of social

participation, then we see how through use of exaggeration and the comic mode, Plautus
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comments on the people obsessed with concerns of wealth. Therefore, such people are unable

to enjoy anything at all. However, as pointed out by Segal, Euclio, unlike other agelasts is

finally well integrated into the society. We must remember that this only happens once he is

rid of the pot of gold.

David Konstan in “Social themes in Aulularia” sees figures such as that of the miser as a

misanthrope. They remain outside society and due to their obsession sever all ties with the

social world. If comedy is seen as an “affirmation to community” then the play is also about

the integration of this misanthrope.

The misanthrope and the miser, on the contrary, have themselves their

ties with society. It is they who will not marry or allow their characters

to marry, they who will not engage in commerce with their fellows

which is the right use of wealth….the miser and the misanthrope,

resolve its inner bonds and encyst themselves within society as internal

exiles. (308)

Euclio: An ironically comic character

There is comic irony in the incident where Euclio himself facilitates the eavesdropping slave’s

access to the treasure. Euclio maintains a farce of poverty, even though he has become rich on

finding the gold. He even attends a meeting to seek donations and projects himself as a needy

old man. Euclio’s assent to Megadorus’ proposal for Phaedria stems from his happiness at not

having to provide a dowry for her. Plautus stresses his contempt of Euclio’s miserliness by

giving the steward Strobilus scenes where he narrates stories about Euclio’s stinginess. For

instance, he suggests that if someone stole a grain of salt from Euclio, he would see it as a

serious burglary. The comedy in the play arises mainly from the dramatic irony of the action.
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Despite Euclio’s obsessive attempts to protect his pot of gold, it is stolen from him. Funnily, it

is his own fault that the slave gets his hands on Euclio’s treasure. Comical situations also arise

from the dialogue. Witty descriptions of characters and recalling past incidents by Strobilus,

Euclio and other characters add to the humour. Euclio’s description of Staphyla in an early

scene is demeaning no doubt, but raises much laughter in the audience. The main source of

humour remains Euclio who, in his frantic attempts at preserving his gold and his suspicion of

the others, is hilarious. The play is replete with instances of comic irony, when there is a gap

between the dialogues and the intent of the character, and the subsequent action. For instance,

the exchange between Euclio and Lyconides is a classic example of Plautus’ wonderful

dramatic irony. Lyconides meets Euclio, who laments the loss of his gold. Lyconides

misinterprets it, and assumes that Euclio is talking about Phaedria. He then admits that he is

the cause of Euclio’s unhappiness, which leads to Euclio suspecting him to be the thief.

Euclio’s redemption:

At the end of the play, Euclio undergoes a great change of heart. When he comes to know that

he had lost his pot of gold, at first, he laments, but when he receives the pot of gold from

Lyconides and the slave, he becomes overjoyed and he presents that to Lyconides as a gift,

which shows how great he has become, and how beautiful his heart has been transformed into.

He says:

“But first I must see this treasure safely put away…I’m just wondering what is the best thing I

can do with it…Here, you take it,”

There is a famous saying, “All’s well that ends well” and it goes well with this drama. At

the very end of the play we see Euclio’s great transformation. From an extremely stingy man,

Euclio becomes the most magnanimous man.

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That Euclio is not a bad soul is established in the end. Undergoing a sea change, he values sleep

more than anything else. He also declares that he will be the happiest man in the world, if the

money could do some good, instead of the most miserable. He says:

Day or night, I’ve not had a moment’s peace with that treasure in my mind. Every hour I

have thought of some thief nosing around my house, some accidents exposing the whereabouts

of the hidden hoard. A dozen times I have tried to find new hiding places for it, dog pits in my

garden, pulled up the hearth-stones, looked for secret crannies in the rafters. A dozen times a

night I have woke to hear a spade scratch or a lock unturned. Now at last – I’m going to sleep.

(Plautus- reconstructed conclusion)

The loss of gold helps him realize the value of proper utilization. He redeems himself and

appears to be a good hearted man by offering the pot of gold to Lyconides as dowry. The

poverty and hard toil of three generations may turn Euclio into a miser after having a fortune

but he finally cheers his soul by leaving the pot of gold behind. Thus Euclio’s fascinating

transformation keeps the plot interesting and entertaining. To sum up, Euclio has been a

prominent dramatic persona, a character worth reading.

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Conclusion:

The play, the Pot of Gold, through the character of the protagonist, Euclio, no doubt provides

us with amusement. The play has also become significant as it conveys moral lessons to us.

Greed, avarice and miserliness are so widespread that this lesson can bring some changes in

people’s thought processes.

The Pot of Gold denounces Euclio’s miserliness as a great vice. The love for riches is a source

of anxiety. Euclio learns this lesson at the end of the play and is shown to willingly give it away

to Lyconides. John Wright sums it up, ―An old man, living in angry isolation, is redeemed, or

at least to society, through the medium of the exuberance and innocent loves of the younger

generation. (507) The extent of Euclio’s conversion, or at least his return to normality, can be

judged by a single line of his that happens to survive from the play’s denouement: ―A dozen

times a night I have waked to hear a spade scratch or a lock turned. Now at last—I’m going to

sleep. Thus amidst his materialism, he still has a heart of gold, much significant than a mere

pot of gold. This makes him the best character as he undergoes a personality development, and

grows as a benevolent person.

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Works cited:

Konstan, David.” The social themes in Plautus’ Auluraria” Arethusa,vol 10, no. 2, Fall 1977,

PP. 307-320, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26307550

Segal, Erich, Introduction. Roman laughter: the comedy of Plautus, OUP,1987

Walting, E. F, translator, The Pot of gold and other plays. By Plautus, Penguin books, 1965

Sharrock, Alison. Reading Roman comedy: Poetics and playfulness in Plautus and Terence,

Cambridge University press, 2009

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