Basta chiedere? Forme, lessico e rituale della preghiera in Aesch. Cho. 1-3

Taking as its starting point the analysis of the prayer that opens Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers, this paper explores the relations between the forms and gestures of this prayer addressed to Hermes Khthonios and further invocations used within the same tragedy, by Orestes, Electra and the Chorus, addressed also to Agamemnon and Zeus. Through a reconstruction of the religious context contemporary to the representation of the tragedy, and considering epic antecedents, textual as well as gestural elements are analysed to understand dramatic strategies used by Aeschylus to shape the characters and build the plot of the drama