Ciclo epico e drammi satireschi in Sofocle: ricognizioni su alcune opere di soggetto pre-iliadico (Ἔρις, Ἑλένης γάμος, Ἀχιλλέως ἐρασταί)

This paper investigates the relationship between Sophocles’ satyric production and the Trojan epic cycle. The first section provides a set of preliminary observations and quantitative data on this topic. The following sections focus on three plays connected with the antecedents of the Trojan War, namely Ἔρις, Ἑλένης γάμος, and Ἀχιλλέως ἐρασταί. The (presumably) satyric Ἔρις and Ἑλένης γάμος are the subject of section 2: in § 2a the conjectural identification of Ἔρις with another Sophoclean satyr play, Κρίσις, is rejected, and their likely status as distinct satyr plays reasserted; then, in § 2b, a re-examination of fr. 181 R. is proposed, by means of which the ascription of Ἑλένης γάμος to the satyric genre is corroborated. Sections 3-4 focus on Ἀχιλλέως ἐρασταί: section 3 explores the play’s relationship with the previous mythical tradition; section 4 calls attention to a possible Iliadic reminiscence detected both in fr. 153 R., from Ἀχιλλέως ἐρασταί, and in a further Sophoclean fragment (619 R.), from Troilus.