Aeschylus: Persians

by David Rosenbloom

Overview

Aeschylus' Persians is the earliest extant Greek tragedy and sole surviving historical tragedy. Produced in 472 BC, the play tells the story of the defeat of the Persian king Xerxes in his attempt to expand his empire by conquering Greece and his returban in rags to Persia to face the condemnation of his elders. The first product of the Western imagination to represent the causes and limits of imperialist conquest, the Persians is particularly relevant today. The play is rich in verbal and visual imagery and unflinching in its depiction of the horrors of a defeated invasion and the glory of a successful defence. But the Persians is not merely a paean to Western freedom, democracy, courage and technological supremacy; it is a meditation on the tendency inherent in wealth, power and success to take on a momentum of their own and to push societies to the brink of ruin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780715632864
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/25/2007
Series:	Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

David Rosenbloom is Senior Lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington. He has published on Greek tragedy, comedy, history and oratory and has been a Junior Fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies and visiting Professor at Princeton University.

Table of Contents

Preface     7
Maps     8
The Persians, History, and Historical Drama     11
Fear     39
Pathos     62
A Tragedy of Succession     83
The Synoptic Moment     104
A Harvest of Tears     122
Interpreting and Reinterpreting the Persians     139
Notes     165
Bibliography     189
Guide to Further Reading     207
Chronology     211
Glossary     215
Index     219