| Summary: | Given the enormous variety of Greek sacrificial practices, the presence of fire on the altar was to be one of the few constant elements in the experience of the participants : in blood and bloodless offerings, the presence of a bright fire was essential for the good outcome of the rite. In tragedy, where the sacrifice is often portrayed as a perverted ritual, the description of the sacrificial flame is an alternative strategy to represent the sacrifice, instead of focusing on the blood of the victim, the slaughter and the sacrificial violence. Focusing on the interferences between the ritual and the dramatic experience, this article analyses the different dramatic configurations of a ritual image in the texts of Greek tragedy. The image of the fire burning in the sacred space is used by the tragic poets to represent the different dynamics of the sacrificial action. The tragic modes of action of the sacrificial fire are thus explored in the interaction with the ritual spaces and the agents of the sacrifice, focusing on the networks of actions which determine the effectiveness of the rite. Observing how a ritual image is adapted to the plot of the tragedy allows us to reflect on the tragedy as a complex ritual experience, which exploits the various forms of plasticity of the rite.
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