First Folio by Aeschylus new version by Ellen McLaughlin directed by Ethan McSweeny April 4—May 21, 2006 Teacher Curriculum Guide The Persians
First Folio
by Aeschylusnew version by Ellen McLaughlin
directed by Ethan McSweenyApril 4—May 21, 2006
Teacher Curriculum Guide
The Persians
Table of Contents Page Number
A Brief History of the Audience…………………….1
About the PlaywrightOn Aeschylus..….……………………..………………………3The History of Greek Drama….……………………….4
About the PlaySynopsis of The Persians…………...……………………6The Persian Wars….……………………..…………..……..7Rise & Fall—Timeline of the Persian Empire………………………..…………………………9The Body Politic……………………….........................11Interview with the Adaptor: Ellen McLaughlin……………………………...13
Classroom Connections• Before the Performance…………………...………15 Choral Performance Activity Timeline of Recent History—Compare to Athens and Persia Who Writes History? Recording World Events Why Do This Play Today? Performance in Aeschylus’ Time
Blame vs. Responsibility
• After the Performance………………………………16 Write a Story from the Enemy’s Perspective The Role of the Audience Responsible Leadership Political Theatre Director’s Vision—What Would Your Play Be Like? Comparing Translations and Adaptations
Suggested ReadingThe Persians Resource List…………………………...17
Welcome to the Shakespeare TheatreCompany’s production of The Persians byAeschylus!
Each season, the Shakespeare Theatre Companypresents five plays by William Shakespeare andother classic playwrights. The EducationDepartment continues to work to deepenunderstanding, appreciation and connection toclassic theatre in learners of all ages. Oneapproach is the publication of First Folio: TeacherCurriculum Guides.
In the 200506 season, the EducationDepartment will publish First Folio: Teacher
Curriculum Guides for our productions of Othello,The Comedy of Errors, Don Juan, The Persiansand Love’s Labor’s Lost. The Guides provideinformation and activities to help students forma personal connection to the play beforeattending the production at the ShakespeareTheatre Company. First Folio guides are full ofmaterial about the playwrights, their world andthe plays they penned. Also included areapproaches to explore the plays andproductions in the classroom before and afterthe performance. First Folio is designed as aresource both for teachers and students.
The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s EducationDepartment provides an array of School,Community, Training and Audience Enrichmentprograms. A full listing of our programs isa v a i l a b l e o n o u r w e b s i t e a tShakespeareTheatre.org or in our EducationPrograms Brochure. If you would like moreinformation on how you can participate in otherShakespeare Theatre Company programs,please call the Education Hotline at202.547.5688.
Enjoy the show!
First Folio Teacher Curriculum Guide
A Brief History of the AudienceI can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across thisempty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that isneeded for an act of theatre to be engaged. — Peter Brook, The Empty Space
unfortunately ended with what the Christians called“morally inappropriate” dancing mimes, violentspectator sports such as gladiator fights, and thepublic executions for which the Romans were famous.The Romans loved violence, and the audience was alively crowd. Because theatre was free, it was enjoyedby people of every social class. They were vocal,enjoyed hissing bad actors off the stage, and loved towatch criminals meet large ferocious animals, and,soon after, enjoyed watching those same criminalsmeet their death.
The Far EastIn Asia, theatre developed in much the same way ithas elsewhere, through agricultural festivals andreligious worship. The Chinese and Japaneseaudiences have always been tireless, mainly becausetheir theatre forms, such as the Japanese “Kabuki” and“Noh” plays and Chinese operas, could last anywherefrom one to three days, beginning between six andnine in the morning! In China, the audience wasseparated; the higher classes sat closer to the action ofthe play, and the lower classes, generally a louder,more talkative bunch, would be placed in stalls at theback. The audience expected a superior performance,and, if it lacked in any way, the audience could stopthe production and insist on a different one. In Japan,theatre began with allday rice festivals and templeplays sponsored by priests. These evolved into “streetperformances” where the performers led the audienceon a trip through the village. In theatre houses, theupper classes sat in constructed boxes, and women indisguise (it was not considered proper for arespectable woman to be seen at the theatre) andlower classes would stand below with the “inspector”standing on a high platform in the middle, keeping astrict eye on everyone.
A Couple of Hundred Years without ArtTolerance took a holiday during the period ofEuropean history known as the Dark Ages. During thistime period, culture of all kinds went on hiatus—mostespecially that frivolous, godless display of lewd andlicentious behavior known as theatre. Fortunately it
The nature of the audience has changed throughout history, evolving from a participatory crowd to agroup of people sitting behind an imaginary line, silently observing the performers. The audience iscontinually growing and changing. There has always been a need for human beings to communicatetheir wants, needs, perceptions and disagreements to others. This need to communicate is thefoundation of art and the foundation of theatre’s relationship to its audience.
1
In the BeginningTheatre began as ritual, with tribal dances andfestivals celebrating the harvest, marriages, gods, warand basically any other event that warranted a party.People all over the world congregated in villages. Itwas a participatory kind of theatre. The performerswould be joined by the villagers who believed thattheir lives depended on a successful celebration forthe harvest to be plentiful or the battle victorious.Sometimes these festivals would last for days, and thevillage proved tireless in their ability to celebrate.Many of these types of festivals survive today in thefolk history of areas such as Scandinavia, Asia, Greeceand other countries throughout Europe.
It’s Greek to MeThe first recorded plays come from the Greeks (fourthand fifth centuries B.C.E.) Their form of theatre beganin much the same way previous forms did. Itstemmed from the celebration of the wine harvestand the gods who brought citizens a fruitful harvest—specifically Dionysus, the god of wine. Spectators hada great deal of respect for their gods, and thousandswould flock to the theatre to experience a full day ofcelebration. The day of drama and song made for alively crowd. Staffbearers patrolled the aisles to keepthe rowdies under control. While theatre was free,your seat was determined by your station in life. Therich had cushioned seats at the front, while thepeasants, artisans and women were forced to takeseats at the back. In the later years, after a full day ofdrink, Greek audiences were not above showingdisapproval at a lessthanspectacular performance.Stones were thrown, as well as other sloppy objects,hissing was popular, and loud groanings ofdiscontent could usher any actor into earlyretirement.
The Romans, or the Inspiration for GladiatorThe Romans took the idea of “spectator” an inch or sofurther. Their theatre (first through third centuriesB.C.E.) developed in much the same way as theGreeks, with comedy, tragedy and festivals, but
reemerged, with some severe restrictions, during theMiddle Ages.
Pageant WagonsWestern theatre further developed from the Greekand Roman traditions through the Middle Ages with“Mystery Plays” sponsored by the church. Organizedtheatre was frowned upon, as it was a place forcongregation of the lower classes, encouragingdisease and immoral behavior. Church leaders wouldallow performances of bible scenes, however, for thepeople who could not read. These productionsmoved to different locations much like traveling the“stations of the cross.” To spread the good word tothe broadest section of the population, these playsleft the confines of the church building and began totravel on what were known as “pageant wagons.”These wagons held one entire location, and a seriesof wagons hooked together permitted a company totell an entire story just about anywhere. Troupes ofactors would roam the countryside setting up makeshift theatres in inns, pubs, public squares—prettymuch anywhere they could park.
Within This Wooden ODuring Shakespeare’s era—the Elizabethan period—theatre companies were awarded status andprivilege based on patronage from wealthylandholders or the royal family. With patronage camemoney, so the companies began building theatres.The theatre of Shakespeare’s day was attended by all,was inexpensive and was known to be an incrediblygood time. Surrounding the stage was the lower “pit”where the “groundlings” (or lower classes)congregated, and above, octagonally surroundingthe pit, were the stalls reserved for the upper classes.If you were stationed in the pit, it was not uncommonto have a goblet of wine dumped on your head—orto be drooled or spat upon by the “more civilized”people above you. Elizabethan audiences did notknow what it meant to be quiet for a performanceand would talk back to the actors. Thought to beinvolved in spreading the “black plague,” the theatresclosed in 1592, abruptly ending the good time.
Look at Me, Look at Me...During the Restoration (16601700), theatre becamea luxury. For the almost entirely upperclass audience,the purpose of going to the theatre was “to see, andto be seen.” The stage was a rectangular areabetween a long hallway of boxes. The best seats inthe house were often right on stage! The houselights were up full so the audience could see eachother better, not the action on stage. The theatre ofthe Restoration consisted mainly of light, fluffycomedies performed in an oratorical style—actorsposing, wearing BIG costumes and practically
screaming over the din of the audience. Theatrecompanies still existed on the patronage of the verywealthy and often performed plays exclusively in thesalons of the rich, famous and powerful. A fewhundred years later, opera composer Richard Wagnerfigured out that to focus the audience’s attentionaway from themselves and onto the stage, the lightsneeded to be off—forcing the audience to watch theperformance. Since that time the audience has takenits cue that the performance is about to begin fromthe lights overhead beginning to dim. This smalladjustment in lighting effectively erected a permanentbarrier between the action onstage and the audience.
Freud—Tell Me about Your MotherWhile dimming the house lights has drasticallychanged the overall aesthetic of theatre, anothermodern movement has had even greater impact ontheatre in the 20th century. Psychoanalysis—id, ego,superego and subconscious desires—made theatremore introspective in its search for truth. Twentiethcentury theatregoers spend a great deal of timepondering the psychological motivations ofcharacters. There is now an imaginary wall, called the“fourth wall,” separating the performers and theaudience. It affects how we view the performanceand how actors portray characters—we can observethe people onstage as they relate their problems, fearsand desires without them noticing us at all.
Now the Options Are EndlessToday, for the audience, just about anything goes.History has shared with us many types of theatre andwe, the spectators, bring our own experiences andhistories to the event, causing us to react differently todifferent productions. Unlike movies or television, theactoraudience relationship is a “live” relationship:each is in the other’s presence, in the same place atthe same time. It is the exchange between the twothat gives theatre its unique quality. As audiencemembers we have an obligation to be attentive,allowing the performers to fulfill their obligation—toentertain and enlighten us. There is always a dialoguebetween audience and performer, whether visual orvocal. All individuals participating in the theatricalevent, whether as audience or performer, bring to it apersonal background and experience that becomesvital to their response to the interaction. In the sameway, participants leave the performance enrichedboth by their own individual experience and by that ofthe larger community to which they belong for a briefmoment within the confines of the theatre walls. Wemust listen to capture and understand what theperformers are trying to communicate, and, at thesame time, they must listen to us.
2
Aeschylus was born in 525 B.C.E. in the Greekcity Eleusis, near Athens. The sacred rites toDemeter, the goddess of agriculture and
fertility, were performed in Eleusis. The celebration ofsimilar rituals in Athens gave rise to Greek Tragedy.According to legend, Aeschylus began writing at theinstruction of the gods. The god Dionysus came tohim in a dream and ordered him to write tragedies.The next day, Aeschylus wrote his very first play.
When Aeschylus was born, Greek theatre was still inits earliest stages. Thespis, known as the first actor,died only nine years before Aeschylus’ birth. BeforeAeschylus, plays were performed by a single actorand a chorus. Aeschylus introduced the second actor,thereby bringing dialogue into Greek tragedy.Aeschylus first submitted a play to the City DionysianFestival in Athens in 500 B.C.E. He did not win, and itwould be another 15 years before he took home thegrand prize. Over his lifetime, Aeschylus won thecompetition 13 times, an achievement unmatched byany other playwright.
Before Aeschylus became a tragedian, he was asoldier. He served Hieron, the tyrant of Syracuse, andfought in the Battles of Marathon and Salamis in thePersian Wars. His play, The Persians, was writtenabout the Battle of Salamis. Aeschylus told the storyof the battle from the viewpoint of the defeatedPersians. In this play, Aeschylus included the firstghost scene in theatre. Today, only seven ofAeschylus’s plays survive, although he wrote morethan 90. Only one copy of Aeschylus’ complete worksexisted, and it was taken to the library in Alexandria,
On Aeschylus
Egypt, to be reproduced. While it was there, thelibrary burned, and many important works, includingAeschylus’ plays, were lost forever.
In his later years, Aeschylus traveled to Sicily to writefor wealthy patrons. He died there in 456 B.C.E., thecause unknown. According to legend, an eaglemistook his bald head for a rock. The eagle dropped atortoise on him to crack open its shell and that wasthe end of Aeschylus. Aeschylus wrote his ownepitaph, and it reads: “Of his noble bravery the fieldof Marathon can speak, or the longhaired Persianwho knows it well.” That his contribution to thetheatre goes unmentioned has never been explained.Today, Aeschylus is referred to as the “Father ofTragedy.” He is considered to be not only one of thegreatest Greek Tragedians but also one of thegreatest playwrights in history.
3
Roman portrait bust of Aeschylus, the Father of Tragedy, who lived 525B.C.E.—456 B.C.E. This bust may be a copy of a Greek original.
Detail from an Athenian clay vase, depicting Demeter, the goddess ofagriculture, about 480 B.C.E. This goddess was worshipped inAeschylus’ hometown Eleusis with rituals similar to those that gave riseto Greek Tragedy.
Cap
itolin
e M
use
um
s, Ro
me.
Bad
isch
es L
ande
smu
seu
m, K
arlsr
uh
e.
G reek theatre began around 530 B.C.E. in thecity of Athens and the earliest plays wereperformed at the Festival of Dionysus. The
festival took place every year within the first twoweeks of March and usually lasted between five andseven days. It was a religious festival created to payhomage to Dionysus, the god of wine and harvest.He was seen as a promoter of peace and was thepatron god of agriculture and theatre. The festivalwas planned, managed and run by an elected officialknown as the Archon. Every year, at the end of thefestival, a new Archon would be elected and theywould immediately begin planning for the nextfestival. It was the Archon’s responsibility to select theplaywrights who would present their work as well asthe judges who would determine a winner. TheArchon would select one set of playwrights topresent works of tragedy and another set to presentworks of comedy.
The plays were presented in one of the first theatrestructures, the Theatre of Dionysus. This theatre waslocated near the Acropolis, which was a majorstructure in Athens including several religioustemples. The theatre space itself resembled a modernday baseball stadium and was made up of threeparts: the orchestra, the skene and the audience. Theactors performed in the orchestra, a large circularspace with buildings behind it. These buildings werecalled the skene and held a backstage area for theactors where they would change their costumes orrest between scenes. Skene were often painted andused to represent the setting of the play. The modern
The History of
4
word “scenery” comes from the word “skene.” Thestage was surrounded by the audience on threesides. The seats for the audience sloped upward sothat they looked down at the action below.
The Festival started with a grand processional intothe Theatre of Dionysus. As people entered thetheatre, they carried baskets of bread and otherfoods along with jugs of water and wine as offeringsto Dionysus. At the end of this processional, groupsof singers or Choruses would perform Dithyrambs forthe audiences. A Dithyramb is a song, accompaniedby the flute, which chronicles the life of the godDionysus. Usually the songs would focus on onespecific instance in his life. Only men and boysperformed the Dithyrambs. After the choralperformances, audiences would spend the rest of theevening singing and dancing. On the second day ofthe festival, the three playwrights who had beenselected to present tragic plays would announce thetitles of their works, and the next three days wouldbe dedicated to the performance of these plays.
Tragedies consisted of a cycle of three plays, and anaudience would spend an entire day watching allthree. This collection of three plays would often endin a Satyr play. A Satyr play was a burlesque andovertly sexual play that usually contained charactersfrom Greek myth. Sometimes a character from thepreviously performed tragedies would appear in theSatyr play where they would engage in various formsof debauchery. On the sixth day of the festival, five
Greek
A reconstruction of the Theatre of Dionysus, birthplace of Greek theatre, as it appeared in the late 4th century B.C.E.
Fric
ken
hau
s, D
ie A
ltgrie
chish
e Bu
hn
e, 1
917.
5
comedies would beperformed. Comedieswere considered tobe less sophisticatedthan the tragedies;however, it was still agreat honor to winfor best comedy.
At the end of thefestival, the judgeswould determine awinner. Along with atrophy and wreaths
of ivy, the most prized reward for winning the playcompetition was a goat. The playwright who wonthe goat had the opportunity to sacrifice that goat toDionysus. The word “tragedy” comes from the Greekwords for “goat song.” According to the few recordsthat scholars have found from that time period,Aeschylus won the prize for best tragedy more timesthan any other playwright.
Greek plays weren’t spoken, they were sung muchlike operas. Over time, Greek plays changed a greatdeal. Originally, the structure of Greek plays includeda large chorus singing in unison about the life of agod. The chorus of a Greek play was made up ofanywhere from four to 30 people standing at theback of the orchestra. The members of the choruswould be dressed alike and often wore black. In 534B.C.E., a single actor and playwright named Thespisleft the chorus to perform solo. He sang a solo line inthe story, and the chorus responded to what he said.This callandresponse performance is considered tobe the first tragedy. Thespis was considered the firstactor, which is why actors today are sometimesreferred to as “thespians.” Aeschylus, born nine yearsafter Thespis’ death, introduced the second actor intoGreek theatre. As Greek plays continued to evolve,the number of people in the chorus became less andless as more playwrights would write parts forindividual actors to break free from the chorus, thuscreating dialogue and scenes. Individual actors oftenperformed wearing masks to represent theircharacters. Their costumes were long and flowing,and they wore large platform shoes to make themappear taller onstage. Although actors didn’t have avery high status in Athenian society, they receivedrigorous training and were often fed special diets toensure that they would perform well during thefestival.
Athenians took great pride in their theatre festivaland looked forward to it every year with greatanticipation.
The Classical Unities
The classical unities were derived from Aristotle’sPoetics, in which he gives a detailed description ofwhat characterizes a good tragedy. Europeanneoclassical critics of the 16th and 17th centuriesexpanded these characteristics into the three strictrules for the structure of any play.
• Unity of ActionA play should have only one plot, or action. Thereshould be no (or few) subplots.
• Unity of PlaceA play should occur in only one location.
• Unity of TimeA play’s action should occur within one day’s time.
Aristotle was definitely familiar with Aeschylus’ work.He writes in the Poetics, “Aeschylus first introducedthe second actor; he diminished the importance ofthe chorus and assigned the leading part to thedialogue.”
The Persians, which follows the unities, features thechorus alternating with the actor. In later plays, as inThe Orestia, Aeschylus would further develop therole of the second actor.
Fragment from a vase, showing atragic actor holding a mask, probablydating from the 4th century B.C.E.M
artin
von
Wag
ner
Mu
seu
m, U
niv
of W
urz
burg
.
Avery Brooks as Oedipus and Petronia Paley as Jocasta in theShakespeare Theatre Company’s 2001 production of The OedipusPlays.
Phot
o by
Car
ol R
ose
gg
.
T he Persians takes place in Susa, the capitalof Persia. The time is 480 B.C.E., shortly afterthe battle of Salamis. The chorus of “trusted
ones” have gathered near the tomb of Darius theGreat to await news of King Xerxes' expeditionagainst the Athenians. The “trusted ones” arecommunity leaders like the Head of Treasury and theMinister of Religion. They are the old men left to runthe government of a country at war. The chorusdescribes how King Darius, Xerxes’ father, created avast empire but was unable to defeat the Greeks atMarathon. Naturally, when Xerxes inherited hisfather’s throne, he desired to be as great as his fatherwas. Therefore, he launched this expedition toconquer the Greeks and rule the world. The entirePersian citizenry has been drafted and the capital cityis vacant. Now, without word or report of the war’sprogress, those on the home front are oppressedwith worry. Wives, mothers and grandfathers watchas the realm is drained of its youth and splendor.
Atossa, Xerxes’ mother and Darius’ widow,approaches the chorus for guidance andreassurance. She is alone in her palace and hauntedby her own “useless importance.” She relates to thechorus a terrible nightmare. In her dream, her son,King Xerxes, commands a chariot led by two distinctlydifferent horses, one Persian and the other Greek.Xerxes cannot control the wild Greek horse. Hischariot is overturned, and he is trampled. Darius, longdead, is in her dream, too, as a witness of Xerxes’misfortune and disgrace. She also reports that shesaw a dark hawk mortally wound an eagle on herway to worship and make sacrifices to the gods. Shebelieves the sight to be a bad omen for Persia. The“trusted ones” attempt to calm Atossa. They claimthat the dream and the omen are only warnings andthat there is time for redress. Atossa is not satisfiedand probes the chorus for information about theGreeks. She wants to know about the people andcountry that would not be made slaves by herhusband or son.
A herald arrives, the last surviving soldier of the fallenPersian army. He lists the names of the Persianleaders who have been killed. With this news, worryis replaced by grief. Persia has been beaten down,and Athens stands victorious and intact. The heraldtells them that King Xerxes escaped and is returningto the city. He relates the tale of the battle and itsgory outcome. Atossa retreats to Darius’ tomb, andthe citizens grieve for the country’s great loss and forthe terrible fate of their wretched king.
After being entreated by the queen and the “trustedones,” King Darius appears as a ghost. The ghost isignorant of his empire’s collapse. Atossa explains thattheir son caused the defeat of the entire PersianEmpire by constructing a bridge of boats across theriver Hellespont and marching his soldiers across it.Darius condemns his son for taking such a risk andtrying to chain the “sacred Hellespont” like a slave. Theghost holds Xerxes responsible since he attempted todominate the gods. The chorus considers vengeance,but Darius forbids it. Instead he orders the leaders torehabilitate Xerxes, teach him selfcontrol and stop himfrom challenging the gods. The ghost urges the livingto mourn for the dead and to “never again squanderthe grace of good fortune in lusting for yet more.” Headvises Atossa to care for her son when he returnsand warns her that he will “long for the forgetfulnessof death.” The ghost departs for the underworldreminding all to appreciate life.
King Xerxes finally returns in defeat and shame to facehis citizens. He recounts the battles and how heunderestimated his foes. The king confesses to leavingthe dead noblemen unburied at Salamis. The choruslaments the great loss of so many fathers, sons andbrothers. Atossa, full of sorrow, greets her son andurges him to ask the country for forgiveness. Xerxesbegs forgiveness and honors the dead with grief.
6
Synopsis of The Persians
Ghost of Darius Appearing to Atossa by George Romney, 17341802.
ww
w.u
albe
rta.
ca
A t one time, the Persian Empire was the greatestempire in the ancient world, controlling areasfrom Macedon to Egypt, from Palestine and
the Arabian Peninsula across Mesopotamia to India.The Persian King Cyrus (580–529 B.C.E.), also knownas Cyrus the Great, founded the Persian Empire byunifying two Iranian tribes—the Medes and thePersians. Cyrus, known for his conquests, ushered in anew era in the age of empire building. In this time avast “super state” composed of many dozens ofcountries, races and languages was controlled by asingle ruler.
Among the many lands conquered by the Persianswas Lydia, which was made up of Greek citystatesalong the coast of Asia Minor. Lydia was home to theIonian Greeks. The Ionian Greeks were unhappy withthe Persian rule, due in large part to heavy taxes,forced service in the Persian army and Persia’sinterference in local government. In 499 B.C.E.,
The Persian Wars
Aristagoras, ruler of the Ionian city Miletus,encouraged a rebellion against the Persians.Aristagoras went to the Greek mainland for help. TheSpartans refused to help, but the Athenians gave him20 ships. In 498 B.C.E., the Athenians marched onSardis, the capital of Lydia, but were unable to capturethe citadel. The city accidentally burned to the ground.The Athenians left Lydia, and the Persians, led byDarius I, quickly regained control over the rebelliousGreek cities.
Because of its involvement in the conquering of Sardis,Athens quickly drew the attention of the Persians. ThePersians planned to squash future rebellions byattacking and conquering Athens. They began bymoving down the Greek eastern coast towardsMarathon where they met the Athenians in battle. TheAthenian army stood alone and was outnumbered bythe Persians three to one. Fortunately, the Greek armyhad Miltiades on their side. Miltiades was a former
7
ww
w.li
brar
y.ya
le.e
du/M
apC
oll/
mid
east
.htm
l
The Persian Empire, 1729. The caption in Turkish reads, “Ibrahim Mutafarrikah’s engraved map of the Persian Empire, showing also theCaucasus, southern Russia, Transcaucasian Turkestan, Iraq and part of Anatolia.”
Persian soldier familiar with the tactics that the Persianarmy would employ. The Athenians defeated thePersians, chasing them all the way to the water andcapturing seven of their ships. An account of theBattle of Marathon was written down by Herodotus,considered to be the world’s first historian.
The Battle of Marathon was a decisive win for Athens,and they began to consider themselves the center ofGreek society. In Persia, however, the loss was notgreat and Darius planned to return. Before he coulddo so, Darius was killed in battle (quelling otherrebellions in the empire) and his son Xerxes tookcontrol of the Persian Empire. Xerxes, determined toavenge his father’s defeat, amassed an army ofapproximately 150,000 men and a navy of 600 shipswith which to attack Athens. Many of the Greek citystates, fearing such a powerful army, did not fight thePersian invasion. Only a few resisted, including Sparta,Corinth and Athens. The Athenians feared the Persianarmy and were sure they would see their city burned.Guided by the Greek politician Themistocles, theyprepared for the ensuing attack by building up theirnavy, which consisted of 200 ships. Themistoclesunderstood that the Persians could succeed only iftheir army was continually supported by supplies fromthe navy. He knew that the key to winning the battlewas to disrupt communication between the two. TheAegean Sea could be a violent place, and Themistocleskept the Athenian navy safe in harbor while many ofXerxes’ ships were destroyed. As the Persian armyapproached, many Athenians fled to the island ofSalamis and watched as Xerxes burned Athens.
The definitive naval battle took place off the coast ofSalamis. The Persian boats were much larger than theGreeks, and to combat this, the Greeks turned theirmore maneuverable boats into fighting platforms,filling them with soldiers who would engage theenemy in combat. The Athenians defeated themajority of the Persian fleet and the Persians withdrewtheir army. Mardonius, a Persian general, stayed onthrough the winter in Greece but was defeated in 479B.C.E. by the largest Greek army in history, led by KingPausanias of Sparta.
After the battle of Salamis, the Greek citystates unitedtogether to form the Delian League, whose aim was toprotect and strengthen the citystates. The DelianLeague was so named because the treasury was kepton the island of Delos, a neutral territory. Themembers of the League were given an equal vote andcontributed money, troops and ships. Athens was putat the head of the league because of its navalsupremacy, its fairness in dealings with other Greekcities and because many of the cities were unhappywith the tyrannical behavior of King Pausanias.
Athens profited greatly from the league andcontinued to demand money and ships even whenthe danger from Persia was over. They eventuallymoved the treasury from Delos to Athens, whichangered many allies. When several citystates wantedto secede from the league, Athens would not allow it.The Delian League transformed into the AthenianEmpire. This empire came to an end during thePeloponnesian war when Athens was defeated bySparta.
A Persian nobleman terracotta figure fromPersepolis.
Arc
hae
olog
ical
Mu
seu
m, T
ehra
n.
Bust of Herodotus (484425 B.C.E.), known as“The Father of History,” who wrote an accountof the Persian Wars.
Met
ropo
litan
Mu
seu
m o
f Art
8
Timeline of the
9
Persian Empire
♦ 559–521 B.C.E. – The Empire is created. The King ofPersia, Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great), conquers the lands of Media,Lydia and Babylonia to control the majority of land betweenmodern day Eastern Greece and Pakistan. Cyrus’ son andsuccessor, King Cambyses, occupies the Egyptian capital cityof Memphis to add parts of Egypt to Persian rule. He diesreturning to Persia.
♦ 521 B.C.E. – Darius I (Darius the Great) assumes thethrone. Darius claims royal bloodline through ancientPersian ruler “Achaemenes,” and his successors are called theAchaemenid dynasty. During his rule, the Persian Empire is atthe height of its power. He establishes a system of districtsand local governors called satraps. Darius rules until 486B.C.E.
♦ 494 B.C.E. – Athens sponsors the Ionian Revolt inEastern Greece. Persia successfully crushes the rebellion afterfour years of battle, but Darius is incensed by Athens’ supportof the campaign.
♦ 490 B.C.E. – First Persian invasion of mainlandGreece, led by Darius I, is repulsed at the Battle of Marathon.According to ancient scholar Herodotus’ records of the event,6,400 Persians died compared to Greece’s 192 casualties.
♦ 486 B.C.E. – Xerxes I, son of Darius, assumes thethrone. Xerxes prepares for the second invasion of Greeceby storing provisions along the road through Thrace. He alsoallies with Carthage and builds a bridge of ships over theHellespont for troop travel.
Relief sculpture of Darius I enthroned at Persepolis. Thelotus blossom he holds is a symbol of royalty.
The Persian Empire as depicted in Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923.
Perr
yC
asta
eda
Libr
ary
Map
Co
llect
ion
, ww
w.li
b.u
texa
s.edu
ww
w.o
znet
.net
/cyr
us/
dariu
s1.h
tm
♦ 480 B.C.E. – Xerxes leads the Persian army against the alliance of Greek citystates.
◊ Battle of Thermopylae — Whileattempting to hold a strategic mountainpass, King Leonidas of Sparta is defeated,but not without huge losses to the Persianarmy as Spartans and Thespians fight tothe death.
◊ Battle of Artimeserium — A suddenstorm destroys 200 Persian shipssurrounding the evacuated island ofEuboea. After two days of indecisive battle,the Greek navy retreats after hearing ofLeonidas’ fall.
◊ The Persian army occupies Athens.
◊ Battle of Salamis — The Greeks send a slave to Xerxes to trick him into believing thatthe Greek navy will be retreating under cover of dark. Convinced, Xerxes searchesthroughout the night for the fleeing fleet. The Greek Navy attacks the exhaustedPersians in the morning with their ships, called Triremes, in the strait off Salamis. ThePersians’ bulkier ships are destroyed by the more maneuverable Greek ones. Xerxeswatches the sea battle from a throne erected on Mount Aegaleus. Aeschylus fightsalong with the Greek navy.
◊ Xerxes retreats to Sardis — He leaves a small army to control what parts of Greecehe still occupies and turns from Greece to quell a Babylonian rebellion.
♦ 479 B.C.E. – The Persianarmy left to control Greece isdefeated in Plataea.
♦ 465 B.C.E. – Xerxes isassassinated by a religiousleader, vizier Artabanus.Artaxerxes I takes the throne.
♦ 423 B.C.E. – Darius IIassumes the throne.
♦ 405 B.C.E. – Artaxerxes IIassumes the throne. Egyptsoon revolts from Persian rule.
♦ 358 B.C.E. – Artaxerxes IIIassumes the throne.
♦ 338 B.C.E. – Artaxerxes III isassassinated. Succeeded byArtaxerxes IV.
♦ 336 B.C.E. – Artaxerxes IV is assassinated. Succeeded by Darius III.
♦ 330 B.C.E. – Darius III is deposed by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. His death endsthe Achaemenid Dynasty and the greatest empire Persia has ever known.
A Greek Trireme, the more maneuverable ship used to defeat thePersians at the Battle of Salamis.
A map of the Battle of Salamis.
wik
iped
ia.o
rg
wik
iped
ia.o
rg
10
A rtists sometimes use theatre to express ideas that oppose accepted social doctrines ordirectly protest government actions. They hope to spur their audiences to createsocial change. This type of theatre is called agitprop or political theatre. The
messages in political theatre can be so inflammatory that audiences can be moved to protestor riot. Augusto Boal, a Brazilian playwright, activist and author of The Theatre of theOppressed, used theatre in the 1950s and ‘60s to protest the government of dictatorshipunder which he lived. Boal’s theatre was so threatening to the political administration thathe was arrested and tortured. Political theatre became very popular and widespread in the20th century, but history is full of examples of theatre used for political reasons.
Aeschylus, author of The Persians (472 B.C.E.), reflected the politics of his time in his writing.Scholars and historians have limited information about performances in ancient Greece, sothey can only speculate about the playwright’s political leanings. For example, we know thatAeschylus was writing about current events: the Battle of Salamis, the subject of the playand a great victory for the Greeks, took place a mere eight years before The Persians wasfirst performed. We also know that many of the Athenian audience members, includingAeschylus himself, were veterans of the battle. In addition, we know that the choregoi, orproducers, of the plays at the Festival of Dionysus where The Persians was first presentedmay have been engaged in a propaganda battle, attempting to glorify their past politicaland military victories for future gain. For all of these reasons, one might expect The Persiansto tell the story of a glorified Athenian victory for an audience of veterans and politicians.But Aeschylus didn’t write a triumphant piece from the point of view of his countrymen—instead, he wrote a tragedy from the point of view of the vanquished Persians. What does itmean to write from an enemy’s perspective? Some scholars believe that the play was indeed
THE BODY
Agitprop:A combination ofthe words“agitation” and“propaganda.”Agitprop is dramaor art that intendsto inciteaudiences.
Choregoi:(singular—Choregos)Wealthy citizenswho wouldsponsor aparticular play inthe Festival.
11
POLITIC
The chorus in East Moat Theater’s production of The Persians in Crania, Crete, 2000.
ww
w.c
han
ia.g
r
a glorification of Athenian victory and that theaudience members would have felt pride as theywatched a play about the fall of their enemy. Butother scholars believe that the structure of the play istoo complex for such a onesided reading. ThePersians mourn the loss of their country and list atlength the young men who fell in battle. TheAthenian audience must have remembered thenames of the Greek soldiers who died in battle as thisscene took place. Could the play be a memorial forthe fallen men, on both the Persian and Atheniansides? Were the Athenian soldiers in the audienceable to feel empathy for characters that representedan enemy? Another reading of the play takes intoaccount other contemporary events in Athens. At thetime of the first performance of The Persians, manycitizens were concerned that the Atheniangovernment was no longer adhering to the ideals ofdemocracy on which the state was founded. Theyfeared that Athens was becoming too concernedwith power and was itself becoming an empire.Because the tragedy in The Persians is blamed onXerxes’ overconfidence and pride, perhaps the playwas Aeschylus’ warning to his own country against
national hubris, or an exaggerated sense of pride andconfidence in one’s own country, bordering onarrogance.
With this in mind, how might The Persians beconsidered a piece of political theatre today? Doesthe play have any relevance to our own politicalclimate? It is interesting to note that all Americanproductions of this play have taken place after 1970—Americans first saw The Persians during the time ofthe Vietnam conflict, when many American citizenswere protesting the war and the actions of thegovernment. In 1993, during the first Gulf War,Robert Auletta and Peter Sellars produced anadaptation of The Persians that contained a strongantiwar message. The production created a greatdeal of controversy by specifically identifying thedefeated and sympathetic Persians with Iraq and byimplicating the United States as an arrogant superpower. Some critics felt that the power of the dramawas lost by making a classic play so specificallyfocused on contemporary events, rather than lettingthe audience draw their own comparisons.
Considering current events, do you think this play hasany political relevance today? How might anaudience respond differently to this play today thanin Aeschylus’ time? Political theatre is intended toaffect its audience in strong ways and ultimatelyadvocate for change. Take note of your own andfellow audience members’ reactions to the story asyou watch the play. Is this a piece of political theatre?
12
Paul Santiago and Michael Wiles in The Persians at the Aurora Theatre,2004.
Roberta Maxwell as Atossa and Len Cariou as Darius in The Persians atthe National Actors Theatre, directed by Ethan McSweeny in a newversion by Ellen McLaughlin, 2003.
Phot
o by
Car
ol R
ose
gg
.
Phot
o by
Dav
id A
llen
.
Interview with the adaptor
13
Ellen McLaughlin
A translation is a play rewritten from its original language to another.Translators work to keep the play as close to the original aspossible, but often there are not direct word replacements. This
leaves some room for interpretation, but usually no drastic changes aremade. The word “adapt” implies a modification according to changingcircumstances, such as an organism adapting to a new environment.Similarly, an adaptation in drama is a play rewritten into a new formbecause of a new culture, audience, political era or philosophy. An adaptermay add, cut and combine elements of the play, just as Ellen McLaughlindoes for The Persians. Two of the biggest changes McLaughlin made tothe play were adding a prologue telling some facts about Aeschylus anddividing the Chorus into different characters with separate voices.Traditionally the Chorus members would speak together.
Ellen McLaughlin is an American playwright and actor for stage and film.Her adaptations include Iphigenia and Other Daughters (from Euripidesand Sophocles), The Trojan Women (Euripides), Helen (Euripides) andLysistrata (Aristophanes). She also has written the original plays Tongue ofa Bird and Infinity's House. As an adapter, McLaughlin does not translate
the play from the Greek herself; instead she reads many different translations before adapting. McLaughlin wascommissioned to write this adaptation very quickly by Tony Randall, founder and artistic director of the NationalActors Theatre, after the war in Iraq began. Here are some of McLaughlin’s thoughts about the play, the Greeksand adapting.
Lawrence Thoo, Paul Santiago, OwenMurphy and Christopher Herold in ThePersians at the Aurora Theatre, 2004.
Phot
o by
Dav
id A
llen
.
What makes this play different from otherGreek tragedies?The Persians is an imaginative act of extraordinarycompassion and originality. Yet it is typical of all theGreek plays that have survived for us in itsunsentimental and cleareyed view of politics andwar. The great Greek dramatists were citizens in aunique political experiment—a burgeoningdemocracy, newly minted, unsettled and constantlyunder threat, both from within and without. All ofthem were active in that experiment. As playwrights,they were far from marginal figures in their society.And all of them served their time as soldiers. Whenthey write about freedom, they know from vitalexperience the price of that freedom. When theywrite about war, they know its terror.
How is this play different than otheradaptations you have written?Of all the texts I’ve worked with, this is the one Istayed closest to. This was partly a function of thehaste I was in to get a coherent text together so wecould go into rehearsal. (It’s the only time I’ve everhad the experience of hearing my words outside myown head for the first time in the first rehearsal for afull production. I didn’t even attend auditions; I was
How did you come to write this version of ThePersians?When America went to war in March 2003, [Tony]Randall cancelled his spring season at the NationalActors Theatre and decided to mount, as quickly aspossible, the first play in the Western canon:Aeschylus’Persians. The play is rarely performed; it isa difficult text, a thorny and palpably ancient piece,and can be daunting in even the best translation. Thedirector Tony chose, Ethan McSweeny, suggestedthat I take a whack at writing a new version. It meantworking at breakneck speed, since Tony wanted togo into rehearsal as soon as was feasible.
What were your ideas and concerns as youbegan working on it?I endeavored to let the play breathe, concentratingon bringing the vividness of the language andimages to the fore. The idea was to blow the dust offthe piece without disturbing the strangeness andwonder of it, which owe much to its sheer age andthe peculiarity of the remote era that generated it.The Persians is one of the great acts ofcompassionate imagination by a playwright, and it isa startling, evocative statement about the horrors ofwar, no matter which side one is on.
still writing the script while they were going on.)There was precious little time to mull over the pieceand toy with radically new readings. But my fidelitywas also due to my desire more than anything to justget out of the way of the play and let it speak clearly.I wanted the language to release the power inherentin the play without tampering with the basicstructure. It’s also such a littleknown play, due to itsdifficulty, that I didn’t feel I had the right to mess withit too much. This was not likely to be one of severalproductions an average audience member mighthave a chance to see over the course of a regulartheatregoing life. Then too, I didn’t want to makeartificial parallels. George H. W. Bush is not Darius,George W. Bush is not Xerxes. We, for that matter,are neither the Persians nor the Greeks. The glibformulaic response does justice neither to us nor tothe Greeks and belittles the complexity of whatAeschylus was responding to and our own distinctnational crisis. I did, however, take liberties with thetext throughout, usually in terms of drawing outparticularity in the character of the chorus (it wasEthan’s idea to give each chorus member a specificarea of authority, as if they were members of acabinet), and I streamlined several sections, alwaystrying to find vivid images and clear, drivingmotivations to impel the language. I complicatedAtossa’s journey through the piece and added anentirely new choral section, the chorus’ songconcerning Xerxes’ flogging of the Hellespont. (Thatmaterial is not part of the Aeschylus; it’s fromHerodotus.) I thought that section made clearer thegrowing mutinous feeling of the chorus toward theirabsent king.
Do you consider The Persians to be an antiwarplay?Yes, this is an antiwar play, but it is complex,sophisticated and far from naive. All Greek plays areantiwar plays because they were written by veterans,men who knew, firsthand, the real face of battle andthe pity of war. This is a play written by a man whoparticipated in battles that changed history andpreserved his fragile country with its unlikely notionsof freedom in the face of overwhelming odds.Nevertheless, because he was there, he knows thehorror of such a war, and he never deludes himselfthat it was anything other than the nightmare it was,both for the victors and for the defeated. Such astutesensitivity and wisdom have never graced thetheatrical literature of war since. We have much tolearn from the founders of theatre now. Ideology hasovertaken experience in our age: the truth of war isso drowned in bombast and vague polemical notionsthat we can forget the magnitude of its terror. Weforget the real color of blood.
Excerpts from American Theatre and The Greek Plays, bothpublished by TCG.
14
Opal Alladin in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 19981999production of Euripides’The Trojan Women.
Looking southwest over the Theatre of Dionysus where Greek dramaswere given in Athens, from a stereograph published in 1907.
Phot
o by
Car
ol R
ose
gg
.
Libr
ary
of C
ong
ress
.
Classroom Connections Before the performance...
Timeline of Recent History—Compare toAthens and Persia
The Persians is a play that focuses on a series of warsbetween Athens and Persia and the aftermath of thoseconflicts. Create a timeline of wars in which Americanshave been involved, starting with the Revolutionary War.(this link may be helpful: http://americanhistory.about.com/library/timelines/blt imelineuswars.htm).Compare your timeline to a timeline of Athens and Persia.You can find the history of the Persian Empire in the FirstFolio, and you can look up a timeline of Greek historyhere: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ancientgreece/timeline/index.shtml. Are there any similarities betweenthe events occurring in our recent history and events thattook place in Athenian and Persian history? If so, what?
Performance in Aeschylus’ Time
Aeschylus contributed more to theatre than his writing.In his time it was common for playwrights to serve as thedirectors of their plays, as well as actors, producers anddesigners. Ask the class to brainstorm on artists who“multitask” in today’s world on the stage or screen. Whatreasons can they come up with to explain why today’sartists tend to stick to one job? Does it benefit actors toonly be actors, writers only writers? Could there bebenefits to contributing in many ways?
Who Writes History? Recording WorldEvents
Ask students to pick a person who is prominent in politics,government, science or literature and write a briefparagraph about this person’s life or achievements. Askstudents to discuss how and where they got theirinformation. Assign students partners and ask them tonow write a paragraph about the other prominentperson. Compare stories. How were they similar ordifferent? Ask students to consider their choices: If youlived in a different country, do you think you would havepicked the same person to write about? Would you havewritten a different story? Why or why not?
Why Do This Play Today?
Aeschylus mentions no Greek leaders in The Persians.Instead, the playwright evokes pity for the defeatedenemy. The characters are shown respect throughouttheir sorrow and grief. In small groups, have studentsreview the synopsis and then describe the story, actionand plot. Lead a discussion with the entire class toconsider what the play is about. Ask students to usedescriptive words or phrases to describe how they feelabout the play. Follow up the discussion with writing anessay or a journal response to the following questions:How is this play relevant to our own time and society?What is the message or moral of the play and how does itrelate to current events? What do you expect to feel orthink after you see this production?
Choral Performance Activity
The Greek chorus performed a myriad of tasks in the play.It gave advice, expressed opinions, offered backgroundinformation and represented the common people of thestory. The chorus not only entertained the audience withsong and dance but also showed the audience how anideal spectator would react. What would a chorus looklike in modern theatre? How would they relate to theaudience? What could the audience learn from them?Ask students to form a circle and decide upon a story toretell, as a chorus, like a Greek myth or fairy tale. Thestudents should tell the story as a group, adding in anyinformation they feel is necessary. Each student must addone sentence to the story. Students should not changethe story but continue to honor all the contributions thatcame before. The last person must find a way to end thestory that ties up all the loose ends and comes to aconclusion. Coach students to look for ways to speaktogether or vary their intonation to enrich the choralperformance.
15
Blame vs. Responsibility
When Xerxes enters the play, he cannot comprehendwhat caused him to lose the war. We are told the gods,offended by his hubris (excessive pride), gave the victoryto the Athenians. After trying to place the blame for hisdefeat on others, Xerxes undergoes the anagnorisis.Anagnorisis is the recognition by the tragic hero of sometruth about his or her identity or actions thataccompanies the reversal of the situation in the plot.Xerxes realizes it was his own pride that lost the war andaccepts responsibility. He ends the play more noble thanwhen he entered. Discuss with your class what happensto Xerxes after the play ends. In modern movies andplays, what usually happens to villains who acceptresponsibility for their mistakes? What would havehappened to Xerxes if he had not admitted his pride? Inour time period? In Aeschylus’?
Classroom Connections …After the performance
16
The Role of the Audience
Theatre is a unique art form, meant to be a dialoguebetween performer and audience. The role of theaudience has changed over time—from the severaldayGreek festivals where the audience would celebratethrough a full day of drama, to the Restoration wherewealthy audience members would sit on stage, to today’straditional dimmed houses. After the experience ofwatching The Persians, ask students to journal about theirexperience in the theatre. What emotions did theyexperience during the show? Were there any ideasexpressed in the play with which they strongly agreed ordisagreed? Did they feel comfortable as an audiencemember? Did they wish they could have been more orless participatory in the production? Reread “A BriefHistory of the Audience,” and ask students to write theirguidelines of what they believe the audience’s roleshould be during a show.
Political Theatre
After attending the Shakespeare Theatre Company’sproduction of The Persians, reread the First Folio article“The Body Politic.” Ask students if they felt the productionwas relevant to politics today. What issues do studentsthink the production was addressing? Why might amodern director use a piece of classic literature to expressan opinion about current politics? Do students thinkclassic theatre is an effective or appropriate forum forvoicing opinions about current events? Why or why not?What similarities did the production of The Persians sharewith other types of socially conscious drama? Do studentsthink that political theatre can spur social change?
Write a Story from the Enemy’s Perspective
The Persians was written by Aeschylus, a Greekplaywright and soldier who fought in the Battle ofSalamis. Rather than a play relishing in the defeat of amajor empire, The Persians is a moral lesson on thesubject of tyranny. Why would Aeschylus choose to writea play from the enemy’s perspective? What can be gainedfrom exploring someone else’s version of an event? Askstudents to write a story from an “enemy’s” perspective.How does it change their view of the event?
Responsible Leadership
Xerxes returns home to his people in disgrace. He is theonly survivor of the invasion of Athens. Having lost“thousands on thousands” of the sons of Persia, theChorus defiantly refuses to bow to their king upon hisreturn. Instead they rebuke him for the tragedy that hehas brought upon their people. Xerxes accepts hischastisement and laments his shame. His mother soonleads him pitiably home. As a responsible leader, howelse might Xerxes have returned home to his people?Must he accept the blame and reprimands of hiscouncilors? What should he do or how should he act topick up the pieces of his homeland? Ask the students towrite another ending to The Persians. Have them createan alternate manner in which Xerxes returns to hispeople.
Director’s Vision—What Would Your Play BeLike?
When preparing a play for production, it is largely up tothe director to decide how to present that play to anaudience. Directors decide what they want an audienceto take away from the production as well as how toguide the actors in the play to tell the story. Directors alsowork very closely with set, lighting, costume and sounddesigners to create their concept of the play. If you weregiven the job of directing The Persians, what would yourproduction look like? Where would it take place? Whatyear would you set it in? What would the set look like?How would you want your actors to dress? What kind ofmusic would you want to play or lighting would youwant to use on stage? Write a proposal answering thesequestions and describing why you made these decisionswith support from the text. Ask students to present theirconcepts in an oral presentation for the class, and then
Comparing Translations and Adaptations
Read aloud two excerpts from The Persians (Lines 155170). The following links will connect you to two differentonline versions.
Robert Potter’s translation:www. ac s .ucalg ary. ca/ ~vand ersp/C ou rses/ text s/aescpers.htmlJohn Porter’s translation:duke.usask.ca/~porterj/DeptTransls/Persians.html)
What are the similarities? How are they different? Askstudents to write their own adaptation using the samesituation of Queen Atossa leaving her palace to speakwith the Counselors of Persia.
The PersiansBooks on Aeschylus and Greek History
• Allen, Lindsay. The Persian Empire. University of Chicago Press, 2005.
• Aylen, Leo. Greek Tragedy and the Modern World. Methuen & Co, Ltd, 1964.
• Cartledge, Paul, ed. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece. Cambridge UniversityPress, 2002.
• Cohen, Richard. By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers andOlympic Champions. Random House, 2002.
• Green, Peter. Ancient Greece: A Concise History. Thames & Hudson, 1979.
• Green, Peter. The GrecoPersian Wars. University of California Press, 1998.
• Hadas, Moses. Greek Drama. Bantam Classics, 1984.
• Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Back Bay Books, 1998.
• Herodotus. The Persian Wars. McGrawHill, 1964.
• Lloyd, Alan. Marathon: The Crucial Battle That Created Western Democracy. Souvenir Press, 2005.
• Pelling, Christopher. Greek Tragedy and the Historian. Clarendon Press, 1997.
• Smyth, Herbert Weir. Aeschylean Tragedy. University of California Press, 1924.
• Souza, Phillip. The Greek and Persian Wars 499—386 BC. Osprey, 2003.
• Storey, Ian Christopher and Arlene Allan. A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama. Blackwell Publishers,2005.
• Strauss, Barry. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece—and WesternCivilization. Simon & Schuster, 2005.
Websites
• www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/greek.html—TheatreHistory.com, a compilation of links to articlesabout Greek Drama
• www.ancientgreece.com—Ancient Greece, a comprehensive guide to ancient Greek art, cultureand history.
• lilt.ilstu.edu/drjclassics/lectures/history/PersianWars/persianwars.shtm—Dr. J’s Illustrated PersianWars
17
Resource List