Technai e prerogative divine sulla scena del teatro di Eschilo

Abstract

The paper investigates so-called technai in Aeschylus’ works, particularly with regard to the role attributed to the Gods as primary, if not unique actors and discoverers of technical knowledge. From the detailed study of the vocabulary of the word techne and its connected forms, extended to all Aeschylean dramas, a double meaning of technical knowledge emerges, a traditional as well as a specifically Promethean one. From this point of view, the dramatic plot described in Prometheus Bound seems to be particularly relevant in order to understand aspects of continuity and differences which underlie Greek thought and specifically Aeschylus’ on techne. The paper closes by a critical review of the following two passages of the Aeschylus’ work: Agamemnon v. 1129 and fr. 375 Radt.