A Lifelong Loyalty
Robert Böhme’s Aeschylus Correctus
Abstract
Robert Böhme was the first modern scholar to argue that Aeschylus’ Oresteia underwent extensive reworking in antiquity, anticipating Roger Dawe’s later work. This paper reconstructs Böhme’s theory and shows how it was shaped by the poet Stefan George, whom Böhme likely encountered in Heidelberg, and by his involvement in NSDAP politics. Recognizing these influences allows for a clearer assessment of his philological work. Despite his biases, Böhme engaged rigorously with linguistic, metrical, and dramaturgical problems in the Oresteia, offering insights that remain relevant today. The paper also recovers a neglected but revealing episode in the reception of Aeschylus in twentieth-century Germany.
open access | peer reviewed
Submitted: Nov. 26, 2025 | Accepted: Dec. 24, 2025 | Published Feb. 27, 2026 | Language: en
Keywords Stefan George-Kreis • Aeschylus • Twentieth-century Germany • Aeschylus’ modern reception • Oresteia • Ancient Interpolations
Copyright © 2026 Giulia Colli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.