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Delahoyde & Hughes
Orpheus
THE PERSIANS
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The Persians, first produced in 472 bce, is extremely unusual in
two ways: 1) it is based on a recent historical event -- the defeat of
Xerxes and the Persians by the greatly outnumbered Athenians in the 480
bce naval battle at Salamis -- instead of a distant mythological one;
and 2) that it presents the enemies of Athens, those despotic
empire-builders who would have enslaved the Athenians, with pity,
compassion, and a degree of admiration.
A Chorus of Persian elders frets at the absence of news concerning Xerxes
and his men in their military bid for Greece: "Doom is the omen / In my
heart convulsed, / As it whines for its master" (49). They supply an epic
catalogue of warriors and we frequently hear about the effect of foreign
wars on those waiting at home. Xerxes' mother, the Queen and widow of
Darius, frets about her dream involving a woman resisting being yoked by
Xerxes to a chariot. The yoke broke, Xerxes fell, and dead daddy appeared
to give pity. The Queen made sacrifice and saw an omen -- a falcon
picking at the head of an eagle. She is baffled as to why Xerxes would
want to travel so far for a conquest (56) and impressed by the Greeks
having defended themselves against Darius in earlier years.
A herald announces that the Persians have lost despite the great odds
against the Greeks, and that "The lifeless rotting corpses glut the
shore, / And adjacent fields of Salamis" (58). Xerxes is still alive. It
sounds as if the Persians were set up -- their ships were moored so as to
prevent Greek ships from escaping the bay, but none tried. In the
morning, the Greek navy attacked and the Persians could not maneuver. The
Queen goes off to pray and sacrifice and the Chorus mourns the defeat.
The Queen and the elders summon the spirit of Darius from Hades. He
arrives, kvetching about the ascent. Darius is surprised that Xerxes
tried to conquer the sea and calls it "ignorance" and "youthful pride"
(74). The Queen says advisers mocked Xerxes for staying home instead of
venturing out for Persian expansion. Darius advises no more wars against
Greece and that the elders lighten up. He returns to Hades.
The Chorus remembers Persia's glory days. Xerxes arrives and offers a
litany of dead Persians in an "ubi sunt" dirge. Xerxes castigates himself
and validates the strength of the Greeks.
Aeschylus. The Persians. Trans. Seth G. Benardete. Aeschylus II. 2nd ed. by David Grene & Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. 43-86.