The Persians (American Theatre in Literature Program) [Paperback]

Aeschylus (Author), Robert Auletta (Editor)

Book Description

Series: American Theatre in Literature Program | Publication Date: April 1, 2000

The Persians, Aeschylus' earliest surviving tragedy, holds a fascination both for readers of Greek drama and Greek history. Not only is it the earliest existing play in the Western tradition, it is drawn directly from the playwright's own experiences at the battle of Salamis, making it the only account of the Persian Wars composed by an eyewitness. And as pure tragedy, it is a masterpiece. Aeschylus tells the story of the war from the Persian point of view, and his pride in the great victory of Greeks is tempered with a real compassion for Xerxes and his vanquished nation. Lembke and Harrington have rendered this stunning work in a modern translation that loses none of the original's dramatic juxtaposition of serenity and violence, hope and despair.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An] exciting, audacious, yet careful translation....Herington's scholarly evocation of the 'archaic wholeness of vision' supports the translation brilliantly. A very useful text."--Michael shaw, University of Kansas --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Sun & Moon Press (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155713135X
• ISBN-13: 978-1557131355
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,037,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The tragedy of a proud people., March 26, 2000

By 

Carl Anderson (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persians (Greek Tragedy in New Translations) (Paperback)

"Persians" deals with a people trying to exceed mortal limits. The king of persia blinds his people into believing they can accomplish deeds that exceed the laws of the divine and it's natural order. The king invades Greece despite bad omens. The people in Persia are told they are defeated by a messenger and mourn in mad disbelief. Searching for answers they summon the spirit of a once great king who cannot undo what has now been done. Persia's once proud army, security, and young sons are perished. This translation is excellent. The ending of the play through subject matter is sad enough, but the helpless lines delivered by King Xerxes and the chorus through dialogue toward each other at the end of the play is devastating.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A unique Greek tragedy by Aeschylus about a historical event, April 4, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Persians (Greek Tragedy in New Translations) (Paperback)

"The Persians" is a minor work in the extant plays of Aeschylus, but has considerable historical if not dramatic significance. The play is the second and only remaining tragedy from a lost tetralogy that is based on the historical events of the Persians Wars. The play was performed in 472 B.C., eight years after the defeat of the invaders at the Battle of Salamis. The speech by the Messenger is assumed to be a fairly accurate description of the battle, but the focus of the play is on the downfall of the Persian Empire because of the folly of Xerxes. After the ghost of Darius, father of Xerxes and the leader of the first Persian invasion that was defeated at the Battle of Marathon laments the ruin of the great empire he had ruled, Xerxes offers similar histrionics concerning the destruction of his fleet.

The play is interesting because Aeschylus presents Xerxes, a foreign invader, as exhibiting the same sort of hubris that afflicts the greatest of mythological heroes in these Greek tragedies. Laud and honor is given the Athenians for defeating the Persians in battle, but Aeschylus surprisingly provides a look at the Persian king's culpability in the downfall of his empire. There is a reference in the play to the tradition that Xerxes was descended from Perseus (for whom the Persian race was therefore named), but even so it seems quite odd to turn him into a traditional Greek tragic hero. Aeschylus had fought the Persians at the Battles of Marathon and Salamis, which certainly lends authenticity to his description of events.

Aeschylus won the festival of Dionysus in 472 B.C. with the tetralogy of "Phineus," "The Persians," "Glaucus of Potniae," and the satyr play "Prometheus the Fire-Kindler." Phineas was the king who became the victim of the Harpies, while this particular Glaucus was the son of Sisyphus and the father of Bellerophon who was torn to pieces by his own mares. Consequently, this particular tetralogy clearly has the theme of kings brought down by their own folly. But even within that context, the fact that Aeschylus would write of a historical rather than legendary figure, not to mention a Persian rather than a Greek, remains more than a minor historical curiosity.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The first play based on recent history., June 12, 1999

By 

R. D. Allison ([e-mail]) (Gainesville, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persians (Greek Tragedy in New Translations) (Paperback)

This is generally not considered one of the better plays of Aeschylus; yet, I did enjoy it, even though there is very little action. Perhaps it is because it dealt with a subject of contemporary interest to its original audience. In fact, it is the oldest surviving play based on an event of recent history. The play was first produced in 472 B. C., only eight years after the Battle of Salamis. The speech by the Messenger in the play is the earliest known historical account of that battle. The play takes place in the Persian court and simply presents the arrival of a messenger carrying the news of Persia's defeat and is followed by the entry of a disgraced Xerxes. This play also contains the earliest known appearance by a ghost in a drama.