Aeschylus' "Persians": The OG Greek Tragedy

Emily and Cam break down “The Persians”—the oldest surviving Greek tragedy, which offers a surprisingly sympathetic take on the enemies of Athens.Visit our homepage to subscribe, to find us on social media, and to contact us by email:https://havetogawilltravel.comCover photo adapted from an image of the Salamis Soldiers' monument, by Ziegler175:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SalamisPaloukiaSchlacht2.jpg----------00:10 - Introduction01:43 - Aeschylus and his historical context01:56 - The subject of the play (and its peculiarity)03:06 - The Battle of Salamis and the Persian Wars05:10 - Aeschylus’ Career06:22 - The Persians in performance06:30 - The Dionysia of 472 BCE and Aeschylus’ tetralogy08:35 - Pericles as producer (choregos)09:09 - A synopsis of the play11:12 - The structure of Greek Tragedies (or, how do we know that the Persians only needs two actors apart from the chorus?)14:03 - Interpreting the play: sympathy for the Persians?15:06 - The survival of the play: evidence of its popularity?16:04 - Triumphalism vs. a recognition of common experience17:06 - Differences between Greek and Persians in the play: archers vs. spearmen, autocracy vs. autonomy, proskynesis and lamentation20:36 - Aeschylus argues for common experiences: the Persians as Homeric heroes, the horrors and the costs of battle, and Aeschylus’ rejection of the “effeminate Persians” trope26:37 - The play’s main theme: empire and hubris27:00 - Xerxes and his bad decisions27:56 - The gods’ desire to punish Xerxes28:53 - The hubris of Xerxes, or the hubris of the Empire? (Featuring Emily’s rant about hubris in ancient and modern thought)34:27 - Aeschylus, the gods, and Athenian imperialism36:55 - The social function of tragedy: thinking through big problems37:28 - What staging the Persians can tell us about the play39:12 - Wrap-up