Journal | Lexis
Journal issue | Num. 40 (n.s.) – Giugno 2022 – Fasc. 1
Research Article | Self-Reflexivity and Choral Projections in Euripides' Helena
Self-Reflexivity and Choral Projections in Euripides' Helena
A Prelude to Bacchae
Abstract
Earlier scholarship identified Euripides’ later plays, with the exception of the Bacchae, as examples of the supposed attenuation of tragedy’s choral element, a development considered to be characteristic of the period and linked to the emergence of New Music. However, in the last two decades, by paying special attention to χορεία, scholars have seriously questioned the idea of a decline of lyric at the end of the late fifth century and have argued for a wider tendency of the poets to increase choral activity by re-instilling traditional elements, especially those linked with Dionysos. My aim is to show that Helen’s second stasimon represents Euripides’ conscious project of recovering rituality and disclosing the elements of the purest Dionysiac χορεία.
Submitted: July 16, 2021 | Accepted: Dec. 14, 2021 | Published June 30, 2022 | Language: it
Keywords Euripides • Dionysos • χορεία • Mother of the Gods • Helen
Copyright © 2022 Barbara Castiglioni. 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.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Lexis/2724-1564/2022/01/006
