In Sicily, where Aeschylus spent his last days, Syracuse has been hosting a
festival of classical productions since 1914, when Agamemnon re-opened the ancient
Greek theatre. For the past century, all over Sicily, this play and the entire Oresteia was
(and is) frequently chosen in order to celebrate the-foundation (or rebirth) of a community,
or to reflect dramatic events, such as earthquakes and mass movements which
inundate and submerge Sicily. Such is the case of the tragedy Agamènnuni, based on
Aeschylus’s drama, and first part of the trilogy Orestea di Gibellina, by the Sicilian artist
and playwright Emilio Isgrò (Barcellona di Sicilia, 1937-): first staged in 1983, as a choral
performance on the ruins of the town of Gibellina, and re-performed on 9th July 2021 as
a monologue by Vincenzo Pirrotta. The latter, a Sicilian actor, playwright and director,
has previously adapted Eumenides, and other ancient texts in his own language, and
style, and performed them over decades in Gibellina, in ancient Greek theatres as well
as in non-conventional place, in Sicily and abroad. The study aims at showing how, in
both artists, Sicily appears as a crossroad and a melting pot of cultures and languages,
where Greek heritage is still vibrant, and strong.