L’‘Omero tragico’: Sofocle e Omero
Studi sull’Aiace e sulle Trachinie
open access | peer reviewed
- Giacomo Scavello - Utrecht University, Netherlands - email
Abstract
The tragic poets themselves regarded Homer as their master, and Aristotle in the Poetics considers epic and tragedy as two particularly kindred genres. Unlike Aeschylus and Euripides, however, no monograph has been devoted to the study of the vast and complex Homeric legacy in Sophocles. This book represents a first attempt in that direction, examining two tragedies, Ajax and the Trachiniae. The investigation of Homeric reworkings and echoes is conducted on multiple levels – lexis, allusions, poetic imagery, core themes – and focuses especially on the choral odes, while nevertheless taking into account the plays as a whole. It seeks to offer original interpretative insights both with respect to the characters and to the central themes of the two tragedies. The analysis integrates linguistic and stylistic dimensions with an inquiry into the intertextual and dramaturgical resonance, as well as the conceptual scope, of Sophoclean Homerisms. The ancient renown of Sophocles as the ‘tragic Homer’ is thus confirmed in these pages, both in terms of poetry and of thought.
Keywords Intertextuality • Ancient Greek Language • Odyssey • Ajax • Tecmessa • Ancient Ethics • Sophocles • Deianeira • Heracles • Homer • Epic poetry • Iliad • Greek Tragedy • Ancient Greek Thought
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-992-4 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-992-4 | ISBN (PRINT) 978-88-6969-993-1 | Published Dec. 22, 2025 | Accepted Sept. 16, 2025 | Submitted May 29, 2025 | Language it
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