Il ritmo incongruo: metro e testo nella sezione lirica della parodos dei Persiani di Eschilo

The lyrical section of the Aeschylus’ Persae parodos (at ll. 65-139) is very expressive both in a thematic and in a rhythmical sense, but the meanings and rhythms of the choral song are not congruent. An astrophic passage (ll. 93-101), displaced by many editors in a different order in respect to the manuscript tradition, divides the choral song in two parts. The theme is the earth- and sea-power of the Persian army, represented as an impressive parade, but semantic and rhythmical-metrical levels don’t interweave each other in a coherent form.
The analysis of the rhythmical mood within the choral song, in connection with the expressions of Persian glory the Chorus states, detects the actual dramaturgical strategy of Aeschylus, in order to reveal the contradiction between the accents of pride and the expressions of anxiety, foreseeing the tragic ending of the drama.