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The earliest indirect evidence about silence on the Aeschylean stage is in Aristophanes, Frogs 911-913, where Euripides mentions an Achilles who is silent and fixed for a large part of a drama. The difficulty in interpreting these verses is due to the fragmentary trilogy of Achilles: in fact, only Mirmidones, thanks to P. Oxy. 2163, show some information about the use of silence in performance. In particular, fr. 11 of the papyrus attests a characterization of the veiled, seated, and twisted main character, just testified in the scholia vetera of Frogs. Thanks to this, it is possible to underline the silence typology, body language and performative elements of Achilles' character. Aeschylus creates an innovative theatre in which the absence of sound expresses feelings better than speeches do.

This paper analyzes P.Oxy. XX 2247, which is attributed to Aeschylus on the paleographic basis. After a general presentation of the papyrus, a linguistic commentary is proposed, suggesting, where it is possible, some remarks and overall reconstruction of the context; moreover, we discuss elements that confirm the attribution of this work to Aeschylus.

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