Introduction to Aeschylus' Persians

by John Porter, University of Saskatchewan

The following material is intended to accompany the translation of Aeschylus' Persians in

the collection of translations of Classical authors.

• Introduction
• Questions to Consider
• Aeschylus' Persians and Contemporary Politics
• Aids to Reading the Persians
• The Structure and Meters of the Play

Introduction

In 480 B.C. the combined naval forces of the Greeks, led by Athens, defeated a much
more imposing Persian force under their king Xerxes in the narrows off of the island of
Salamis (west of Athens). This Greek victory (along with a victory by land a few months
later at Plataea in Boeotia) put an end to Xerxes' plans to expand his realm westward into
Europe and was a just source of pride for the forces of Athens in particular. In 472 B.C.
Aeschylus celebrated this victory in his play, The Persians. Despite its evident pro-
Athenian bias, this work is more than a simplistic piece of jingoistic self-congratulation.
Aeschylus attaches a paradigmatic significance to the defeat of Xerxes, using that defeat
as the basis for a probing examination of empire and human ambition — one that well
might have ominous overtones for the Athens of his time, with its own increasingly
imperialistic ambitions abroad.
For an account of Xerxes' expedition and its aftermath, see Herodotus, The Histories,
books 7-9 (especially 8.40ff.) and J.B. Bury and R. Meiggs, A History of Greece (fourth
edition: London and Basingstoke, 1975) 167ff.
For background on Aeschylus' life and works, see s.v. "Aeschylus" in the on-line Perseus
Project's encyclopedia.

Questions to consider

How does Aeschylus manage the presentation and the interaction of his
characters? the construction of scenes? How is the chorus employed? In
particular, examine: the relative number of lines devoted to choral songs
versus spoken, "dramatic" verse; the nature of the "plot" (What happens in
Persians?); the degree to which Aeschylus strives for realism.

What themes or images stand out as you read the play?

What are the various causes alleged in the play for Xerxes' fall? Are they
mutually compatible? Compare Herodotus' account: What similarities can
 you find in the view of Xerxes' fate in Herodotus and Aeschylus? Do the
two authors use any similar images or techniques to convey their views?

How does Aeschylus deal with the historical material that forms the basis
of his play? (You might try contrasting the dramatic technique of Persians
with that, e.g., of one of Shakespeare's historical dramas — e.g. Henry V.)

Aeschylus' Persians and Contemporary Politics

Read The World of Athens H.I. 22-27; 5.78-96.

We have seen that Herodotus' Histories, in celebrating the glorious triumph over Xerxes'
forces, seem to comment on the political situation of Greece in his day (see Course Notes
on Herodotus). For many scholars the same is true of Persians, produced in 472. Some
have argued that the play is intended to recall the role played by Themistocles in the
victory at Salamis. In 472 Themistocles' fortunes were on the wane: as leader of the
"democratic" faction in Athens he began to lose in a power struggle against the more
conservative political faction under the leadership of *Cimon (Miltiades' son). In 472 or
471 Themistocles was ostracized and his political career came to an end. (In the 480s to
460s ostracism was the political weapon of choice. We have evidence that the actual
votes at ostracisms were often "rigged" - pre-inscribed ostraca would be passed out in
advance. [Of the nearly 1500 ostraca discovered, most of them dating to this period, 542
bear Themistocles' name.] We know that Themistocles had successfully staved off
several earlier attacks by hoisting his opponents on their own petard, so to speak.) It has
been suggested that part of this political battle was waged on the symbolic front, with
Cimon's supporters playing up the glories of Marathon while Themistocles' faction
celebrated Salamis. Many feel that Aeschylus' selection of the Persian Wars (and, more
specifically, the battle of Salamis) as the subject for one of his plays in 472 was no
accident. This hypothesis gains weight when we consider that *Pericles (an important
member of Themistocles' faction and, later, the leader of the "democrats") acted as
producer (choregus) for Aeschylus' play.
But Persians may have a larger significance as well. Aeschylus' picture of the downfall of
the ruthless and hybristic tyrant Xerxes has been felt by some to bear an ominous
relevance to Athenian foreign policy in the late 470s. Increasingly the *Delian League
was showing signs of its coming transformation from a voluntary league for mutual self-
defense to a naval empire dominated by Athens. (Review The World of Athens, H.I. 22-
28.) What began as a series of brilliant victories against Persia (479: Mycale, Sestos; 478:
Cyprus, Byzantium; 476/5: Eion) and against criminal elements (475/4: Scyrus, a
notorious base for pirates), took a dire turn in 472/1 when the League used military force
against Carystus (southern Euboea) to compel it to join the League against its will. This
venture was an indication of things to come: in 470-69 the island of Naxos attempted to
leave the League and was reduced to submission; in 465-63 Thasos met a similar fate. By
c. 454 the treasury of the League was transferred to the Acropolis in Athens and the
facade of a voluntary and democratic alliance was dropped altogether: the League had
become an Athenian naval empire, its members subject states (although the Athenians
continued to refer to them, euphemistically, as "the allies"). Would it have required an
undue amount of foresight on Aeschylus' part to have seen where Athenian policy was
leading? [FN 1]

Aids to reading The Persians

J.C. Hogan, A Commentary on The Complete Greek Tragedies: Aeschylus.

Chicago and London, 1984.
A.J. Podlecki, The Persians by Aeschylus. Englewood Cliffs, 1970.

The Structure and Meters of the Play

Lines 1-154 — The Parodos

• Meter
o 1-64: marching anapaests (chanted)
o 65-139: lyric meters (sung)
o 140-54: anapaests

• Subject
o Memories of the grand expedition led by Xerxes against Greece
o Anxiety about the possibility of defeat

Lines 155-245 — The Queen and the Chorus

• Meter
o 155-75: trochaic tetrameters
o 176-214: iambic trimeters
o 215-45: trochaic tetrameters

• Subject
o The Queen's anxiety — her troubling dream
o Discussion of Athens (Xerxes' main objective)

Lines 246-531 — The Messenger's Report

• Meter
o 246-48: trochaic tetrameters
o 249-55: iambic trimeters
o 256-89: epirrhematic passage (the chorus sings in lyric meters, the
Messenger responds in iambic trimeter)
o 290-531: iambic trimeters

• Subject
 o The Messenger reports the defeat of the Persian host at Salamis through
the wiles of a Greek double agent
o Further disasters en route back to Persia

Lines 532-97 — The First Stasimon

• Meter
o 532-47: anapaests
o 548-97: lyric meters

• Subject
o Choral lament for the fate of the Persian host
o Anxiety about the security of Xerxes' empire

Lines 598-851 — The Ghost of Darius

• Meter
o 598-622: iambic trimeters
o 623-33: anapaests
o 634-80: lyric meters
o 681-93: iambic trimeters
o 694-702: brief kommatic passage (the chorus sings in lyric meters, Darius
responds in trochaic tetrameters)
o 703-58: trochaic tetrameters
o 759-851: iambic trimeters

• Subject
o Darius learns of the fate of Xerxes' expedition and sees therein the work of
the gods
o Darius reviews the history of the Persian monarchy and foretells further
disaster for the Persian land forces at Plataea

Lines 852-907 — The Second Stasimon

• Meter
o Lyric meters

• Subject
o Praise of Darius' successful reign, contrast to that of Xerxes

Lines 908-end — Xerxes

• Meter
o 908-30: melic anapaests
o 931-end: kommos (both Xerxes and the chorus sing in lyric meters)
 • Subject
o Arrival of Xerxes
o Lament for Xerxes, his men, and his reign

NOTES
FN 1 See, in general, D. Rosenbloom, "Myth, History, and Hegemony in Aeschylus," in
B. Goff, ed., History, Tragedy, Theory: Dialogues on Athenian Drama (Austin, 1995) 91-
130. For a contrary view, see C. Pelling, "Aeschylus' Persae and History," in C. Pelling,
ed., Greek Tragedy and the Historian (Oxford, 1997) 1-20. [Return to text]