The Persians

Atossa and the chorus summon the ghost of King Darius, Xerxes’ father and Atossa’s husband, to comfort them after the news of the defeat of the Persian forces at Salamis. Darius is depicted as a wise king whose reign was so successful, that, according to Atossa, he “led a life of such happiness that Persians looked on [him] / as a god” (Lines 711-12)—a foil to the hubristic and rash Xerxes.  However, rather than consoling the living, Darius creates more anxiety for the future by invoking the past. Darius, too, lost to the Greeks (during the battle of Marathon), his defeat was not seen as calamitous, but rather as a matter of course during the frequent Greco-Persian conflicts of the era. This loss did not define his reign; rather, Darius followed in the footsteps of a long line of successful Persian leaders to add to this nation’s wealth, power, and status. Darius accuses Xerxes of undoing everything his ancestors accomplished. Xerxes’ rupture of Persia’s steady rise spells trouble for its future potential. The dead king warns the Persians never to attempt an invasion of Greece again.

Aeschylus promotes several aspects Greek patriotism in The Persians. The messenger’s report of the Battle of Salamis describes the Greek victors as canny and effective warriors: Strategic enough to outflank Xerxes’ enormous fleet, brave enough not to flee despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, and brutal enough to kill so many Persian soldiers that the messenger is staggered by the slaughter. Darius, meanwhile, attributes Greek victory to another factor: Greece as a “country itself fights as their ally,” meaning that the Greeks warriors know how to use their homeland’s terrain and geography to their advantage, while a vast host like the Persian army would starve in this kind of harsh environment. Another way to praise the Greeks is to vilify their enemies. Darius points out that the Persians “did not scruple / to plunder the images of gods and set fires to temples,”—behavior that underscores the piety and spiritual superiority of the Greeks, who respect and honor the gods, and in return are blessed by them.

As he enters the play in the final episode, Xerxes is marked by his appearance. Costuming was important in Greek tragedy, and Xerxes’ torn royal robes and empty quiver signify his fallen status. His nobility is diminished by his bad rulership, and his armies have been destroyed. The play ends with an exodos (or final scene of departure) characterized by a ritualized exchange of laments between Xerxes and the chorus. The king describes his anguish, and the chorus reinforces it by moaning, shouting, and dancing as Xerxes directs. Aeschylus gives no closure to the stricken king’s suffering; though Atossa ostensibly left the stage to gather more appropriate attire for her son, Xerxes’ robes, representing the nobility and dignity of his social status, are never restored.