Amphitryon

About

Molière's 1668 verse comedy — based on Plautus — follows Jupiter's assumption of the identity of Amphitryon in order to seduce his wife Alcmena, while Mercury similarly displaces the servant Sosie. The comic confusion about identity and the theological implications of divine adultery are treated with light irreverence; the play is primarily a vehicle for verbal wit rather than social satire. Dryden and Kleist both wrote their own versions of the same myth, giving the Amphitryon story one of the longest dramatic lineages in Western theater.