Epic Echoes in Aeschylus’ and Sophocles’ Pastoral Satirical Drama

Abstract

The space and pastoral characters of the only fully preserved satirical drama, Euripides’ Cyclops, have been studied in relation to their Homeric hypotext, even though
this line of research hasn’t been applied to fragmentary satirical dramas. This article argues that the pastoral elements found in Aeschylus and Sophocles draw on a literary tradition in which the portrait of the shepherd and the landscape descend from epic poetry, especially Homer’s.