Ricorda (e non dimenticare) di celebrare le feste. Alcuni aspetti del rapporto tra memoria e riti tra Omero e la tragedia

Abstract Remember (and do not forget) to celebrate festivals. Some aspects of the relationship between memory and rituals, from Homer to Tragedy The relationship between memory and ritual can be studied from different perspectives. In this article, the focus is on the role of memory prior to the performance of a ritual or festival, the coercive role of memory as a means of constructing prayer to the gods. After a brief analysis of two passages from the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (vv. 146-50) and Iliad XXII (386-90), four tragic passages (Euripides’ The Children of Heracles 770-81; Troades 1060-80; Aeschylus’ Seven Against 17 Autori, abstract, keywords Thebes 166-80; Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus 1552-5) are discussed to show how this relationship is staged in the drama and, more specifically, through the role of the Chorus in these tragedies.