Ricerc@Sapienza

The article aims at highlighting the strong influence of Ilias 2 on Aeschylus’ Persians and Herodotus 7. 1-100 (the section dedicated to Xerxes’ preparations of the expedition against Greece). In Herodotus’ book 7 Homeric hypotext merges with that of Aeschylus, the result being a complex interaction between Homer, Aeschylus and Herodotus as well as a competitive attitude of the latter towards Aeschylus and his use of Ilias 2. The analysis focuses on three main levels: typical scenes (council or assembly; dream of the commander; catalogue of the army), motives (e. g. the selection of the commanders; the premonitory signs), and vocabulary.