Aeschylus’s "The Persians," a summary Automatic translate

The tragedy "The Persians," written by the great ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, was first performed in 472 BC. It is a unique work of ancient literature, as it is the only surviving tragedy based not on a mythological plot, but on a true historical event — the defeat of the Persian fleet by the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis, in which the author himself participated.

The play won the competition of playwrights at the festival of the Great Dionysia in Athens, and the choregos (organizer of the production) was the young Pericles, the future famous statesman.

Alarm in Susa

The action unfolds in the Persian capital of Susa, before the palace and tomb of King Darius. A chorus of elders, known as the "Faithful," awaits news of King Xerxes’s grand campaign against Greece. The elders guard the opulent palaces and treasury, but a vague anxiety torments their souls. The entire male population of Asia has gone to war: cavalry, infantry, and naval forces have set out from Susa, Ecbatana, and the ancient towers of Kissian.

The Chorus lists the renowned commanders who set out on the campaign: Amisters, Artaphernes, Megabates, Astaspes, Artembares, Masistes, and the archer Imaeus. They were joined by the rulers of the conquered peoples, including the Egyptians under Suscanus and Pegastagon, the Lydians under Mitrogatus and Arcteus, and warriors from Babylon. All of Asia, obeying the king’s command, was deserted. The elders recall with horror how the army crossed the Strait of Hellespont, tying the rafts together with ropes and throwing the "heavy yoke" of the bridge around the neck of the sea. Xerxes, whose gaze is like that of a ravenous dragon, led countless armies against Greece, and the Chorus fears that the gods may ensnare the Persians in a net of fate from which they cannot escape.

Atossa’s Dream

Queen Atossa, Xerxes’ mother and the widow of King Darius, comes out to the elders. She confesses that she has been plagued by nightmares ever since her son set out on campaign. The previous night, her dream was particularly vivid: she saw two tall and impeccably beautiful women — one in Persian attire, the other in Dorian. They were sisters, but they lived in different lands. A quarrel broke out between them, and Xerxes, trying to reconcile them, harnessed them both to his chariot. The Persian woman obediently accepted the harness, but the Greek woman rebelled, tore the harness and broke the yoke. Xerxes fell, and his father, Darius, stood by, mourning.

Upon awakening, Atossa went to the altar to offer sacrifice to the gods who ward off evil. There, she saw an ominous sign: an eagle sought refuge at the altar of Phoebus, but a hawk swiftly swooped down on it, pecking at its head as it meekly surrendered. The chorus advised the queen to pray to the gods and summon the shade of Darius to bestow good fortune on her son. Atossa asked the elders about Athens: where the city was, how rich it was, and who ruled it. The chorus replied that the Athenians were not slaves and were subject to no one, yet they had managed to destroy Darius’s army in the past.

Messenger of trouble

A messenger appears and brings terrible news: the entire barbarian army has perished. The shores of Salamis are littered with the bodies of the slain. Atossa, overwhelmed by grief, asks for details. The messenger lists the fallen leaders: Artembaros was dashed to pieces on the Silenian Rocks, the thousand-man Dedakos and Tenagon perished, as did many other noble Persians — Lileus, Arsames, Argestes. However, Xerxes himself survived.

The queen inquires about the progress of the naval battle, perplexed by how the Greek fleet, outnumbered, dared to engage. A messenger explains that the Greeks had only three hundred ships, while Xerxes had a thousand. The defeat was due to an evil demon and the enemy’s cunning. One of the Greeks secretly informed Xerxes that the Greeks planned to flee on their ships that night. Believing this, the king ordered his ships to block all exits from the strait, surrounding the island of Ayanta. The Persian sailors stayed awake all night, patrolling the waters.

At dawn, the Greeks heard not the cries of fugitives, but a triumphant battle cry and trumpet blasts. Singing, the Greeks rushed to the attack, calling for the liberation of their homeland, children, wives, and the graves of their ancestors. The Greek ships began ramming the Persian vessels. In the narrow strait, numerous barbarian ships were huddled together, interfering with each other and breaking oars. The Greeks surrounded them and battered them like tuna fishermen. The sea disappeared under debris and bodies. Never before had so many people perished in a single day.

Massacre on the island and retreat

The messenger adds that the troubles weren’t over yet. The most noble and loyal warriors Xerxes landed on the small island of Psyttaleia (where, according to legend, Pan dances in circles) to finish off the Greeks fleeing by swimming were themselves trapped. After their victory at sea, the Greeks landed on the island and slaughtered all the Persians with stones and arrows. Xerxes, watching the battle from a high hill, burst into tears, tore his clothes, and ordered his land forces to retreat.

The remnants of the army fled through Boeotia, Phocis, and Doris, suffering from thirst and hunger. Near the Strymon River in Thrace, the god sent an untimely frost, freezing the waters. The Persians, even those who had previously not worshiped the gods, began to pray fervently. The army managed to cross the river, but the rising sun melted the ice, and many drowned. Only a pitiful handful returned to their homes.

The Shadow of the Tsar

Atossa and Horus pour libations to the dead, invoking the soul of Darius. The former king’s shade rises from the tomb. Learning from his wife of the destruction of the fleet and the city of Athens (meaning the loss of an army), Darius asks which of his sons led the army. Hearing the name of Xerxes, he laments his son’s folly in deciding to chain the sacred stream of the Hellespont like a slave. Darius calls this insolence and a disease of the mind, a mortal’s attempt to argue with Poseidon.

The ghost foretells that the Persians’ suffering is not yet over. The elite army left in Greece (under the command of Mardonius, though his name is not mentioned) awaits destruction on the plain by the Asopus River in Plataea. This will be punishment for their impiety: the Persians burned Greek temples and destroyed altars. Darius orders the elders never to wage war against the Greeks again, as their very land is an ally in battle, killing enemies with starvation. Before fading back into the darkness, Darius asks Atossa to greet her son in proper attire and console him, as Xerxes has torn his robe as a sign of grief.

Lamentation of Xerxes

The chorus in the stasimon recalls the happy times of Darius’s reign, when the Persians won victories without such terrible losses and owned many islands and cities, including the Greek city-states in Ionia.

Xerxes appears, alone, in rags, with an empty quiver — the only vestige of his former glory. He curses his fate and confesses that he is ashamed to look the elders in the eyes. A mournful lament (kommos) begins. The king and the chorus call out to each other, mourning their fallen friends and commanders. The chorus asks where Pharnuches, Ariomardes, Sevalkes, Lileus, and the other heroes are. Xerxes bitterly replies that they all perished, striking the strongholds of Salamis.

The king admits that the Persians have been defeated by the Ionian fleet and that he himself has brought shame upon his family. At Xerxes’s command, the elders beat their chests, tear their gray beards and clothes, weep loudly, and wail in the Mysian manner. The procession slowly retreats to the palace, accompanied by cries of despair. "I follow you, O king, weeping."