Elettra alla tomba del padre
L’aiuto del morto nelle Coefore
Abstract
This contribution examines Electra’s role at her father’s tomb in Aeschylus’ Choephoroi. Through close analysis of prayers and invocations in ll. 124a-151 and subsequent interventions in the kommos, it investigates a dramaturgical line parallel to Orestes’, establishing its ritual and symbolic preconditions. Electra’s prayers, libations, and distancing from maternal behaviour define an autonomous performative space within her brother’s actions. Rather than acting as an autonomous agent of vengeance, she opens the communicative channel to the deceased father, enabling “the dead to kill the living” (l. 886).
open access
Pubblicato 27 Febbraio 2026 | Lingua: it
Keywords Vengeance • Libation Bearers • Ritual Lamentation • Prayer • Electra
Copyright © 2026 Andrea Taddei. 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/10.30687/979-12-5742-013-0/005