Source edition
Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This Greek tragedy depicts the catastrophic defeat of the Persian Empire at the Battle of Salamis, uniquely told from the perspective of the defeated Persians. Set in the Persian capital of Susa, the drama begins with the Queen Mother Atossa and the chorus of Persian elders anxiously awaiting news of King Xerxes’ expedition. Their fears are realized when a messenger arrives to deliver a devastating, detailed report of the fleet's destruction and the army's agonizing retreat. In her desperation, Atossa summons the ghost of her late husband, King Darius, who emerges from the underworld to condemn his son Xerxes' reckless hubris and predict further ruin for the empire. Finally, Xerxes himself returns in tattered garments, and the play concludes with a poignant, ritualistic lamentation shared between the ruined king and the chorus, mourning the loss of their imperial glory.