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This paper focuses on two different epic themes, often intertwined: weeping and abstinence from food. Starting from the question τέκνον τί κλαίεις; (Thetis to Achilles), the first section explores the use of a specific ‘tragic formularity’ in scenes with veiled figures. Inspired to some extent by Parry’s analogie, in the second part of the essay we aim at highlighting the presence of epic hints in Ajax and Medea, where the prostrated characters are mad with grief and refrain from eating (and drinking). The models of these minute ‘type-scenes’ are epic – Homer and Homeric Hymns – yet relocated to a dramatic and performative context.

Starting from preliminary remarks on the relationship between epic, orality and written tragic texts, the paper focuses on the ‘tragic formulae’ of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon as part of a common repertoire. Probably introduced by Aeschylus, some ‘formulae’ became a shared legacy (often exclusively within the frame of the theatrical production). Some patterns acting as internal stage directions are also ‘formulaic’.

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