Aeschylus Persians Benard Ete

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    THE COMPLETE GREEK TRAGED I E SEJited byDavid Grene and Richmond Lattimore

    AESCHYLUS' I I TH E SUPPLIANT MAIDENS

    Translated by S. G. BenardeteTHE PERSIANS

    Translated by S. G. BenardeteSEVEN AGAINST THEBESTranslated by DavidGrene

    PROMETHEUS B O U N DTranslated by DavidGrene

    Second Edition

    THB UN IVBRS I TY OF CH I CAGO PRB S SCHICAGO II LONDON

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    INTRODUCTION TO THE PERSIANSh e Persians was produced at Athens in 472'B.C., eight years after

    the naval battle at Salamis, which the play celebrates. We learnfrom its Argument that it was modeled on a lost play, ThePhoenissaeofPhrynichus, but that Phrynichus had announced at once the defeatof Xerxes, whereas Aeschylus presents a chorus of old men whovoice their hopes and fears, by themselves and with Xerxes' mother ,before the news of the defeat comes. This delay of course makes thePersians' defeat so much the greater, as it heightens the magnificenceof their doom. The Queen then invokes her dead husband Darius(at whose tomb the scene is laid), who had led an unsuccessfiilexpedition against Greece ten years before. He consoles the Queenand Chorus but predicts another disaster at Plataea (479B.C.). Soonafierward, Xerxes, his garments torn, returns alone, and he andthe Chorus conclude the play with a lament.

    The Persians is unique in several ways. It is the only extant Greektragedy that is not mythical but based on a contemporary event.The daring of such a presentation is easy to imagine. To showsympathetically, sine ira et studio, on the stage at Athens the defeat ofher deadliest enemy testifies to the humanity of Aeschylus and theAthenians. No other tragedian we know of, of any country at anytime, has ever dared to go so far in sympathizing with his country'sfoe. It is the more remarkable when we consider that Aeschylushimself and almost all of his audience fought at Salamis or Plataeaand that the war, moreover, was between freedom and slavery.Here are the Persians, having started an unjust war and suffering adeserved defeat, presented not as criminals but rather as greatand noble, dying deaths that are to be as much pitied as the deaths ofAthenians. To praise the Athenians at Athens, Socrates remarks, orthe Spartans at Sparta is not very difficult; but to praise the Atheni-

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    " T H E P E R S I A N S "ans at Sparta or the Spartans at Athens demands great rhetoricalskill; and for Aeschylus to praise before their conquerors thePersians, the enemies of all Greece, is without precedent and withoutimitation.

    Although The Persians is historical in substance, Aeschylus de-liberately introduced what the entire audience must have known tobe false. He makes up Persian names, very few ofwhich correspondto the generals we know to have been at the battle; his figures forthe size of Xerxes' Beet at Salamis are greatly exaggerated; thePersians call upon Greek gods, though everyone knew that theirgods were different; the Queen performs a Greek sacrifice at thetomb ofDarius; neither the Chorus (except once) nor Darius men-tion the Persians' defeat at Marathon only ten years before; and per-haps what is most striking, Aeschylus invokes from the past Darius,so that his presence, being both ghostly and real, might transforman ugly reality into a poetic past. By thus changing many details ofthe real story, Aeschylus removes the Persian War to the realm ofmyth, where the memory of hisaudienceis prevented from confirm-ing or denying at every point the truth of what he says.

    The contemporary is almost perforce untragic, for excessive at-tention to detail (and the contemporary must be shown accurately)stifles poetry and does not allow the poet to alter his subject;whereas tragedy, being abstracted from the present, is given a freerein, unhampered by wha t the audience knows to be so, to mold thestory to its own demands. Just as verse is an abstraction from prose,reducing it to order, so tragedy abstracts from history and bringsnecessity out of chance.If Aeschylus addressed his play specifically to his Athenian coun-

    trymen, how can he also speak to us, who are not Athenians, acrossthe reach of time? This certainly must be said.The Persian War wasnot merely one parochial war among others, in which the issues ofright and wrong are ambiguous, as was the case in the Pelopon-nesianWar. The PersianWar was a war of liberty versusdespotism,and all free men of all times in reading The Persians will identifytheir cause with the cause of the Greeks. In this sense, then, we are

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    ABSCHYLUS ,.Athenians ourselves, and thus our sympathies and u n ~ r s t a n d i n g become sufficiently enlarged to comprehend the merits ofour foes.

    Sincethe doom ofthe Persiansis impressed upon usby the regularmeters of the chorus, which convey even to our ears the effect ofmarching or lament, I have tried, so far as English would allow, toreproduce them in such a way that the reader can "hear" the moodof each song. I hope that, after a little practice on his part, therhythm will become clear.

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    CHARACTERS

    Chorus of Persian eldersQueen of Persia, wiftof Darius,

    mother of XerxesPersian HeraldGhost of DariusXerxes

    THE PERSIANSSCBNII: In the background the palace of Xerxes at Sousa, in the center

    fOreground the tomb oj Darius.ChorusOf the Persians goneTo the land of GreeceHere are the trusted:As protectors of treasureAnd of golden thronesWe were chosen by XerxesEmperor and king,Son ofDarius-In accord with ageGuards of the country.For the king's returnWith his troops of goldDoom is the omen 10In my heart convulsed,As it whines for its master;For all Asia is gone:To the city of PersiansNeither a herald nor horseman returns.And some AgbatanaAnd some Sousa andAncient Kissa leaving,Both on horse and on shipAnd on foot displayedLegions of battle: zoArtaphrenes, Megabates,Astaspes, Amistres,

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    ABSCHYLUS ,.Leaders of Persians, kings,Who are slaves of the greatestof kings,Guarding the legions they rush,And as bowman and knight,With their temper resolved,Fearful in aspect,Dreadful in battle.And exultant in horsesArtembares,Masistres,The brave archer Imaeus,And Pharandakas,And the driver of horsesSousthenes.And others were sentBy the flourishing Nile:Egyptian-born Sousiscanes,Pegastagon, great ArsamesRuler of sacred Memphis;And AriomardusGoverning ancient Thebes;And who dwelling by marshesAre rowers of ships,Skilful and countless.And the Lydians softWho inhabit the coastFollow commanders and kings:Metrogathes and brave Arkteus,And golden SardissendMany charioteers,Horses by threes and by fours,Fearful the sight to behold.And the neighbors ofTmolus-They threaten to yoke

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    \ c THB PBl lSIANS, .In servitude Hellas; soAnd the Mysian lancers,Tharybis, Mardon,Anvilsof battle.And golden BabylonPours forth her crowds-Borne by their ships-Who in drawing the bowRely on their boldness.3 And the tribes from all AsiaWho carry the swordFollow beneath theAwesome parade of their king.Thus of the Persian landOfher men the flower is gone,Nursed by the earth,and all Asia 60Laments, consumed by desire;And parents and wivesCounting the daysTremble at lengthening time.The destroyer of citiesnow,That kingly army. has goneOver the strait to the land40 On linen-bound pontoons-

    ".' Tightly was clamped the way-Helle of Athamas crossing, 70Yoking the neck of the sea.-And the furious leader the herd

    1.-. Of populous Asia he drives,Wonderful over the earth,And admirals stem and roughMarshals of men he trusts:Gold his descent from Perseus,He is the equal of god.= 80

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    AESCHYLUS ,.In his eyes lazuli BashingLike a snake's murderous glances, ' ~ ~ I . With his mariners, warriors, many,And his Syrian chariot driving,Hard on the glorious spearmenThe archer Ares he leads.-To the great torrent of heroesThere is none worthi ly equal,Who resist, by defenses secured,The unconquerable billows of ocean:Persians are never defeated, 90The people tempered and brave.=For divine fate has prevailed since 102It enjoined Persians to wage wars,Which destroy towers and ramparts,And the glad tumult of horsemen,And cities overthrown.- When the vast ocean was foaming,By the winds boisterous whitened, ,.lThen they learned, trwting to cablesAnd to pontoons which convey men,To scan the sacred sea.= 113

    Deceitful deception of god-What mortal man shall avoid it? 93With nimbleness, deftness, and speed,Whose leaping foot shall escape it?Benign and coaxing at firstIt leads us astray into nets whichNo mortal is able to slip,Whose doom we never an Bee. 101

    Thus sable-clad my heart is tom,Fearful for those Persian arms,

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    THB PBRSIANS ..Lest the city hear, alas!That reft of men is Sousa;- iiiAnd lest the city Kissa shall,When the crowds of women cry,

    I)Sing antiphonal, alas! 12 0 "i\ And rend their garb of mourning.= 1All the horse and infantry 'I"Like a swarm of bees have goneWith the captain of the host, 1

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    Who joined the headlands of either land,Crossing the yoke of the sea.- 130

    Beds with longing fill with tears, ':i,)',1,Persian wives in softness weep; j."'jlEach her armed furious lord 10Dismissed with gentle love and grief,Left all alone in the yoke. = i!lBut come, Persians,Let us in this ancient palace sit, 14

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    , j ' : ' ~ . "j',!And deep and wisely found our thoughts: ',H':IllHow does King Xerxes fare, Darius' son,How fare his people? Has arrows' hailOr strength of spear conquered?But lo! she comes,A light whose splendor equals eyes of gods,The mother of our king, I kneel.

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    W'ii, rB. 'itiJIIll,INow allmust address and salute her.

    (Enter Queen.)'['1:J

    !o most majestic Queen of PersiansIn ample folds adorned,

    :- ;i!iiHail, aged Xerxes' mother,Consort of Darius, hail!Mistressof the god of Persians,Mother of a god thou art, i

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    .. ABSCHYLUS , . .. THB PBRSIANS ,.'; ,Unless the fortune of heir arms Sisters they, who casting for their father's land,

    Now at last has altered. She Greece received, she Asia, where to dwell.Queen Then strife arose between them, or so I dreamed;

    Leaving my gold-clad palace, marriage- And my son, observing this, tries to check 190Chamber of Darius, and my own, 160 And soothe them; he yokes them to a chariot,His queen I'm come. Care quite grates my heart; Bridles their necks: and one, so arrayed, towersI fear, my friends, though not fearful for myself, Proud, her mouth obedient to reins;Lest great wealth's gallop trip prosperity- But the other stamps, annoyed, and rends apartExalted by Darius and some god- Her trappings in her hands; unbridled, seizesIn its own dust. But, unexpectedly, The car and snaps its yoke in two;That dread has doubled: sums of cowardly My son falls, and his father, pitying,Wealth do court contempt, and indigence Stands by his side, but at whose sight XerxesQuenches ambition's flame, even if there's strength. Tears his robes. Thus in the night these visionsThough wealth we have unstinted; yet fear Dreamed: but when, arisen, I touched the springs' 2.00Is for mine eye, Xerxes, whose presence here Fair-flowing waters, approached the altar, wishingI count the palace-eye. So things stand thus. 170 To offer sacrifice religiouslyAdvise my reason, Persians, old sureties: To guardian deities, whose rites these are,All my gains with your counsel lie. Then to Phoebus' hearth I saw an eagle fleeing:

    Dumb in dread I stood: a falcon swoopedChorus Upo n him, its wings in Bight, its claws pluckedo Queen of Persia, be assured that never At his head: he did no more than cower. hare-like.Twice hast thou to tell us word or deed, Those were my terrors to see, and yours to hear. 2.10Which our willing strength can guide; for we My son, should he succeed, would be admired;Are loyal, whom thou dost call thy counselors. But if he fails, Persia cannot hold himQueen To account. Whichever comes, safe returned. sovereignWith frequent, constant, and nocturnal dreams He shall rule.I have lived, as soon as my son, gatheringHis host had gone, his will to pillage Greece; ChorusBut never a more vivid presence came Queen mother, excessivefearThan yesternight's. 180 Or confidence we do not wish to give thee.Two women as an apparition came, ' , I f thy dreams were ominous, approach'One in Persian robes instructed well, :-' ., The gods with supplications; pray that theseThe other Doric, both in splendor dressed, Be unfulfilled, and blessings be fulfilledWho grand and most magnificent excelled For thee, thy son, thy city, and thy friends.Us now, their beauty unreproached, spotless; Next thou must libations pour to Earth

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    A B S C H Y L U S ,.And dead; and beg Darius, of whom thou didst dream, Send thee those blessings from the nether worldTo light, for thee and for thy son; and hideIn darkness evils contrary, retainedWithin the earth. Propitious be thy prayers.We, prophetic in our spirit, kindlyCounsel thee: allwill prosper.

    QueenAh, loyally have answered the first expoundersOfmy dreams. May these blessings ripenlAnd all, as you enjoin, I'll sacrificeTo nether gods and friends, as soon as IReturn. But one thing more I wish to know: 230My friends, where is Athens said to be?

    ChorusFar toward the dying flames of sun.

    QueenYet still my son lusts to track it down?Chorus

    Then all Hellas would be subject to the king.Queen

    So rich in numbers are they?Chorus

    So great a hostAs dealt to Persians many woes.Queen

    Are bow-plucked shafts their armament?Chorus

    Pikes wielded-close and shielded panoplies.Queen ,What else besides? Have they sufficing wealth? 24ChorusTheir earth is veined with silver treasuries.

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    T HB P Bl l S IANS ,.QueenWho commands them? Who is shepherd of their host?

    ChorusThey are slaves to none, nor are they subject.

    QueenBut how could they withstand a foreign foe?

    ChorusEnough to vanquish Darius' noble host.

    QueenWe mothers dread to calculate-

    ChorusBut soon thou'lt know all: a Persian runner comes,Bearing some fresh report of weal or woe.

    (Enter Herald.)Heraldo cities ofAsia, 0 Persian land,And wealth's great anchorage IHowat a single stroke prosperity's :&50Corrupted, and the Bower of Persia falls,And is gone. AlasI the first herald of woe,He must disclose entire what befell:Persians,all the barbarian host is gone.

    Choruso woe I woeful-evil,Novel and hostile.Alas I Persians weepHearing this woe,-

    HeraldHow allhas been destroyed, and I behold zooThe unexpected light ofmy return.

    ChorusOh long seemsour agedLife to us elders,

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    cTBB PBJ lS lANS ..c ABSCBYLUS ..Alas I hearing woeUnexpected.

    HeraldAnd since I was witness, deaf to rumor's tales,I can indicate what sorrows came. i"

    QueenLong am I silent, alas! struck downBy disasters exceeding speech and question.Yet men perforce goo-sent misfortunes mustEndure.Speak, disclose entire whatBefell, quietly, though you grieve.

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    Chorus Who did not die?For whom of the captaiwWoe upon woe, in vain Shall we lament? Whose sceptered deathdrained his ranks,The crowd of arrows, massed, '1070 Manless?Came on the hostile land. HeraldHerald Xerxes lives to behold the light, but-The lifeless rotting corpses glut the shore, QueenAnd adjacent fields of Salamis. o for my palace a greaterlight, ]0 0. Chorus And after blackest night a whiter day.

    Woe upon woe, of mends HeraldThe sea-dyed corpses whirl Artembares, captain of ten thousandVagrant on cragged shores.... Horse, wasdashed against Silenia's

    Herald Rugged shore; and satrap Daclak:es,The bow protectednone, but all the host,Defeatedin the naval charge, was lost.

    ChorusRaise a mournful, doleful cryFor Persians wretched:All they made all woe.Alas1the host destroyed.

    '1080

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    Spear-struck, did lightly tumble nom hisship;And native-born Tenagon, the bravestBactrian, stillhaunts sea-buffetedAjax' isle; and Lilaeus, Arsames,And Argestes, conquered near the islandWhere dovesdo thrive, beat a stubborn coast;And neighbors of Egyptian Nile-waters, ,Adeues, Arkteus, and, third, shielded]1 0

    Herald Phamouchw, from a single shipo most hatefulname of Salamis1 Were drowned; and Matallw,satrap ofChrysa,o woeI how I mourn recalling Athens. Dying, leaderof a thousand horse,Chorus Changed to richest red his thickset flowingAthens hateful to her foes. Beard,and dipped his skin in crimsondyes;Recall how manyPersians widowed vain,And mothers losingsons.'"

    I

    . .,And Magian Arabw and BactrianArtabes, all aliens in a savageCountry, perished; Amphistreus, who wielded

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    c ABSCHYLUS, .The much-belaboring spear, and Amistris,Brave Ariomardus, allmade Sardis weep;And MysianSeisames, Tharybis,Commander of fivetimesfifty ships,His race Lyrnaean, &it to look upon(His fortune was not), dead he lies;And the leaderof Cilicians single-handedTaxed the enemy with toil, and noblyDied. So many of the rulersIRecall, but of the many woes,reportBut few.

    QueenAlas I I hear the greatest

    Ofmisfortunes, shame ofPersians, and shrillLament. But tell me, returning to your tale,What was the numberof the Grecian ships,That thought themselves a match for PersianArms in naval combat?

    HeraldHad numbers counted,The barbarian warships surely would havewon;The Greeks but numbered thirty tens, and tenApart from these a chosen squadron formed;

    But Xerxes, and this I know full well, a thousandLed; and seven and two hundred rankedAs queens in swiftness. The count stood so.Seemed we unequal? Some deity destroyedOur host, who weighingdown the balance swungThe beam of fortune. The gods saved the cityOf the goddess.

    QueenWhat? Athens stillStands unsacked?

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    c THB PBRSIANS ,.320 Herald As long as there are men

    The city stands.Queen

    What was the beginning 3S0Ofdisaster? Tell me. Who began?The Greeks? My son-exultant in hisnumbers?HeraldEither an avenger or a wicked

    330 God, my Lady (whence it cameI know not),Beganthe whole disaster. From AthenianRanks a Greekapproached, addressing XerxesThus: "When the gloom of blackest nightWill &ll, the Greeks will not remain, but leapTo rowing-bench, and each by secret courseWill save hislife." And he your son, upon 360His hearing this, in ignorance ofGreek

    ..,;- Guile and the jealousy of gods,Harangued hiscaptains publicly: "As soonAs sunlit raysno longer burn the earth,And darkness sweeps the quarters of the sky,340 Rank the swarm of ships in three flotillas,Guard they the entrances, the straits sea-pound,And girdleothersround Ajax' isle;But i f the Greeks escape their evil doom, 370Contriving secret flight, all your heads

    Will roll. I warrant it." So he spokeIn humored pride: of the god-given futureNothing he knew. And, having supped, they setThemselves in order, eachheart obedient;And sailors bound a thong about each oar.When the glareofsunlight died, and nightCame on, every man wasat his oar,Every man at arms who knew them.e 61 ,.

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    c ABSCHYLUS lO c THB PBRSIANS "

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    Rank encouraged rank, and long-boats sailedTo stationseach had been assigned.All night the captains kept the Beet awake;And night ran on. No Grecianarmy setSecret sail: but when the steeds of day,White and luminow, began to crossThe sky, a song-like, happy tumult soundedProm the Greeks,and island rocks returnedThe high-pitched echo. Fear ell among us,Deceived in hope; for they (and not as if to Bee)A solemn paean chanted, and to battleRwhed with fervent boldness: trumpets Bared,Putting every Greek aBame. At onceConcordant strokes of oars in dissonanceSlapped the waters' depths: soon we sawThem all: first the right wing led in order,Next advanced the whole armada;A great concerted cry we heard: "0 GreekSons, advanceI Free your lathers' land,Free your sons, your wives, the sanctuariesOfpaternal gods, the sepulchersOf ancestors. Now the contest's drawn:All is at stakeI" And babel Persiantongues

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    With ships' wrecks and men's blood.Corpses glutted beaches and the rocks.Every warship urged its own anarchicRout; and all who survived that expedition,Like mackerel or some catch of fish,Were stunned and slaughtered, boned with broken oarsAnd splintered wrecks: lamentations, criesPossessed the open sea, until the blackEye of evening, dosing, hushed them. The sumOf troubles, even if ! should rehearse themFor ten days, I could not exhaust, RestContent: never in a singledaySo great a number died.

    QueenAlas! a seaof troubles breaks in wavesOn the Persians and barbarian tribes.

    HeraldBut what we've told would scarcely balance woesUntold: misfortune came upon them, whichSwung the beam to weigh them double these.

    QueenBut what greater hatred could fortune' show?

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    Rose to meet it: no longer would the actionLoiter. Warships struck: their b ~ beaks

    What misfortune came upon the soldiers,Swinging the beam of troubles to greaterwoes? 440

    Together: a Grecian man-of-war began HeraldThe charge, a Phoenician ornamented stern 410 All the Persians, who were in nature's prime,Was smashed; another drove againstanother. Excellent in soul, and nobly bred to grandeur,First the floods of Persians held the line, Always first in trust, met their deathBut when the narrows choked them, and rescuehopeless, In infamy, dishonor, and in ugliness.Smitten by prows, their bronzejaws gaping, QueenShattered entire was our Beet ofoars. Oh, wretched am I, alas! what doomThe Grecian warships, calculating, dashed Destroyed them?Round, and encircledus; ships showed their belly: HeraldNo longer could we see the water, charged There isan island fronting Salamis,

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    480c AESCHYLUS"

    small, scarce an anchorage fOr ships,Where the dancer Pan rejoices on the shores.Whither Xerxessentthosemen to killThe shipwrecked enemies who sought the islandAs a refuge (easily, he thought,The Grecianarmswould be subdued);He also bid them rescue friends. He connedThe future ill. For when a god gave GreeksThe glory, that very day, fenced in bronze,They leaped ashore, and drew the circle tightAt every point: mewed up. we could not turn.Many rattled to the ground, whom stonesHad felled, and arrows, shot by bowstring,Othcn killed; and in a final rush,The end: they hacked, mangled their wretched limbs,Until the life of allwas gone.Xerxes mourned, beholding the lowest depthsOfwoe; who, seated on a height that nearThe sea commandedallhis host, his robesDestroying (and his lamentations shrill),Dispatched his regiments on land: they fledOrderless. Now you may lament their fate,Added to the others' summed before.

    Queeno hatefuldeityI how the PersiansYou deceivedl Bitter was the vengeanceWhich my sonat famous Athensfound:She could not sate her appetite with thoseWhom Marathon had made the Persians lose.For these my son,exactingas requitalPunishment (or so he thQught)Calledon himself so numerousA train of woes. Tell me, what ships escaped?Where are they now? Can you clearly tell?

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    c THE PEl lSIANS"

    HeraldWho captained the remaining ships set sailBeforethe wind, fleeing in disorder;

    45 But the army perished in Boeotia: some,In want of precious water, were racked with thirst,And some, gasping emptily on ak,Crossed to Phocis, Locria, the MalianGuI: where Spercheianwaters kindly drenchThe plain;and thenceAchaea and ThessalyReceived us, wanting: there most diedIn hunger and in thirst: both we felt.To Magnesia and Macedonia we came,The River Axius, the reedy marsh460 OfBolba, the mountain Pangaeon,AndThrace. There in the night a god

    ,.,;{: Roused winter out of season: all, who hadBelieved the gods were naught, sang their chants,To earthand sky obeisance made.When we ceased invoking gods, we triedWaters that had turned to ice:

    470 Whoever startedbeforeApollo's raysSpreadand scattered in the sky, heWas saved. Soon the brilliant orb of sun,Its rays aflame, meltsthe river's midst:One fills upon the next: happy he whoselifeWas first cut short! The rest did make their wayBut painfully through Thrace: not many fledTo hearth and home. Thus the city of PersiansMayWnent, regrettingthe loss of youth.Truthful I have been, but omit manyOf the woesa god has hurled againstThe Persians.

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    SOO

    SIO

    (Exit Herald.)

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    c AESCHYLUS , .Chorus o toilsome deityl how heavilyYou leaped upon allPersia1Queen

    Alas1woe is me, the host destroyed.o bright night's spectacle of dreams,How clearly you foresaw my woe,And you, my counselors, how poorly judged.But yet, as you counseled thus,First to the gods I'll offer prayer; and thenTo Earthand dead I'll come to offer gifts,A sacrificial cake. I know I prayFor what is done and gone, but a brighterFortune, in time to come, may there be.And you, worthy of trust, exchangeworthy counsel;My son, should he return before my ownReturn, comfort and escort him home:I fear to woes he'll add more woe. (Exit Queen.)

    Chorus01 royal Zeus destroyedThe multitudinous, proudHost of the Persian men,And the cities of SousaAnd ofAgbatanaConcealed in the darkness of grief.Many with delicate handsRending their veils,Drenching theirbreasts,Swollenwith tears,Sharing their woe,Ladies of PersiaSoftly are weeping,Desiringeach

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    c THB PBRS IANS ,.Him. to beholdwedded but lately,Couchesforsaking,Soft as their coverlets(Youth was voluptuous),Theirsorrows, insatiate woe.And I the paean's song recite,520 Doom of he gone,Woe upon woe.

    ,WI, Now allAsiaDesolate, void,Sighslament:Xerxes led, 550Alas,Xerxes lost,o woe,

    530 Xerxesheedless alldischargedWith oceanargosies.Why was Darius so long without harm,Archery's captainof citizens,Loved Sousa's lord?-Armies, naviesLazuli-eyed,Linen-winged 560

    '.WarshipJled,o woe.Warshipsrammed destructivelyBy Grecian arms.

    540 Scarcely escaped was the leader alone(So we have heard) in theThracianplains, bitter ways....They of the first death.Alas,

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    c THB PBRSIANS lOc ABSCHYLUS lO (Enter Queen.)Left by necessity,Woe, QueenRound by Kychraean shores, ;( My friends, whoever's wise in ways of evil570os, Knows how, when a flood of evil comes, 600Moan in your anguish, Everything we grow to fear; but whenCry to the heavens your grief, A god our voyage gladdens, we believeos, Alwaysthat fortUne's never-changing windWail long-weeping Will blow. As my eyes behold aU thingsMourn.ful cries.- As fearfulvisitations of the gods,So my ears already ring with cureless songs:Tom in thesea-swirl, Thus consternationterrifies my sense.Alas, Therefore I departed from the palaces,Mangled by voiceless, Alone returning, unaccompaniedWoe, By chariots, by pomp and ceremony.Fishof the unstained sea. To the father of my son I bringOh, 61 0Propitiousofferings, libationsHouses deprived grieve, For the dead: a milk-sweet draught of sacred kineSonless, to heavens their grief, S80 Unblemished; and resplendent liquorsof the honeyOh, Working bee, with liquid droplets of a maidenElders mourning, Stream are mingled; and this elixirHear all woe.= Of an antique vine, whose mother isThey throughout the Asianland The wild fields; and golden-green the fruitNo longer Persian laws obey, Of fragrant olive trees, always BourishingNo longer lordly tribute yield, Their leafy age; and plaited Bowers, childrenExacted by necessity; o f the fecund earth. My friends, reciteNor suffer rule as suppliants, Your chantsand threnodies; recallTo earth obeisance never make: Darius, daemon over these libations 62.0Lost is thekingly power.- 590 To the dead, sepulchral honors, whichNay, no longer is the tongue I lavish on the nether gods.Imprisoned kept, but looseare men, ChorusWhen loose the yoke ofpower's bound, o Queen of the Persians,To bawl their liberty. ' To the dark chambersBut Ajax' isle, spilled with blood Libations pour;Its earth, and washed round by sea, while, kindness imploringHolds the remainsofPersia.'" Of the gods,the conductors,

    lO c 69 ,.c 68

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    c ABSCHYLUSWe offer prayer:Ye sacred divinities,Earth and King Hermes,Conduct him to lightUp from the dead,Wh o alone of all mortals,A remedy knowing,May show us the end.

    630

    Hearest thou, blessed kingEqual to god,As I proclaim no wChantings unpleasantBarbarow mournfulClear and diverse?Miserable sorrowsI shall cry out.Below dost thou hearken?-Earth and the other godsLeaders of dead,Glorious demon

    640

    Him let arise thence,God of he PersiansSousa his mother;Send up the man whomNever surpassedThe Persian land buried.";"Loved is the man, loved his tombHiding his loving ways.Aedonew conductor,Would that Aedoneus send 6.s0Lord Darius alone:-Never by war wasted his men,Never in&tuate,

    70

    THB PBRS IANS

    Called a god in wisdom,God in wisdom he was,Ruled his people well.....Paclshah, ancient Padshah,Appear on the height of thy tomb,Raise thy slipper s a f f i o n ~ y e d . Flash the lappets of hy crown:Father Darius,Oh hither come, woe.-

    660

    Hear the recent sorrows,o master of masters appear.Stygian gloom doth Bit about;All the youth hath perished now.Father Darius, Oh hither come, woe .....

    670

    Oh, alas, Oh lo much-lamented by his friends in death:The ships with triple banks ofoars are gone.(The Ghost ofDarius rlsts.) 680

    Dariuso f.Uthful followers, companionsO f my youth! 0 Persian counselorslWhat burden's burdening the city, whichIn lamentation moans, and makes the plainsTremble? And terrified lsaw my wifeBeside my tomb, and graciowly receivedHer offerings; and you lamented, standingNear my tomb, wi th cries of resurrectionCalling piteowly. Ascent is not easy.The chthonic deities more readilyReceive than give; but 1, a potentateAmong them, came: be quick, that I be 00-Reproached for being late. What recent woe

    690

    Upon the Persians weighs? 71

    !..

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    c AESCHYLUS ..Chorus1'.111 slwned to behold thee,I'm slwned to address thee,Who was anciendy ~ e d . - DariusSince I have risen obeyingLaInentations, lengthennotYour tale, but speak succinctly,Recounting aU. la y aside yourReverence toward me.

    ChorusI tremble to please thee,I trem.ble to tell theeWhat is loth to be told.= 700DariusAJan ancient fear obstructs your sense,You, aged consortofmy marriage,Noble Queen, cease your weeping; tell meClearly:many Woes arise by sea, manyCome by land, the longer life is racked.

    Queeno King, exceeding mortal happinessBy happy fate! How, as long as you beheldThe eyesofSUD, you spent, how envied! a blessedLife like god's; and now J envy you 71 0Your dying, ere you saw this depth ofwoe.Everything,Darius, you willhearSUccinctly: Persia is destroyed.DariusHow? A lightning-boltofhunger?CivilStrife withinthe city?

    QueenNo, but alIThe host's destroyed at Athens.

    c 72 ,.

    " THB

    DariusPBRS IANS .

    Who amongMy sons was general? Tell me. .

    QueenPurious Xerxes, who drained the plain manless,DariusBy foot or warship was his vain attempt?QueenBy both: a double front ofdoubled hosts.DariusBut how did so great an army cross the strait?QueenDevices, yoking Helle's strait, a path

    Afforded.Darius He accomplished this? To dose

    Great Bosphorus?Queen So it was; some godContrived it.

    Darius Alas! a great divinityDeceived his sense.

    Queen The evil end he madeIs present to the eye.

    Darius What befell themThat you thus lament?

    Queen The naval host,Destroyed, destroyed the landed host.

    DariusThus all the people spears destroyed.c 73 ,.

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    "ABSCHYLUS ,. c TUB PBRS IANS ,.QueenThus Sousa groans desolate.

    DariusAlas! the goodly host! Alas! defenders!

    QueenAll the Bactrians destroyed, no youth remains.

    Dariuso woe! the youth of allies gone.Queen

    73

    :: ,

    : \

    By folly thought to conquer allthe godsAnd Neptune. Had not my son diseased hissense?I fear my labored wealth willfall the preyOfconquerors.

    QueenWicked men counseled this, furious

    Xerxes learned; saying you acquired wealthBy spear, while he, in cowardice, playedThe warrior at home, and multiplied

    750

    Xerxes By nothing hisancestral wealth. So oftenAlone with few they say. These wicked men reproached him, until heDarius Did plot hismartial way toward Greece.

    Perished how? DariusPerished where? So their great, eternal deed is donelQueen Never had anyone before made this 760To the joyous bridge Sousa so empty and so desolate,They came, the yoke of continents. ' ; Since Zeus, our Lord, bestowed that honor:

    Darius One man to wield his rod's authorityHe was saved? Can this be true? Over allof Asia, rich in Bocks.

    QueenYes, a clear report without dispute.

    DariusAlas! that prophecy was quick to actlZeus hurled against my son its lightning-end,While I expected after many yearsThe gods would make an end; but when a man'sWilling and eager, god joins in. The springOf evil's found: my son in ignoranceDiscovered it, by youthful pride; who hopedTo check the sacred waters of the HellespontBy chains, just as if it were a slave. He smoothedHis way. yoking Neptune's Bowing BosphorusWith hammered shackles. Mortal though he was.

    740;

    :

    Pint was Medus leader of the host;Next hisson fu1illed the office well,Whose reason was the helmsman to hisspirit;Third was Cyrus, fortunate, whose ruleBrought peace to all: the Lydian peopleAnd the Phrygian he acquired,And marched hismigh t against Ionia:No god resented him, for he was wise;And fourth was Cyrus' son. who shamed his countryAnd ancestral throne; but Artaphrenes(Aided by his guile) and hismends.Whose task this was.slew him in his palace.After him, I, willing, drew the lotTo rule, and often led a mighty host;But never did I cast so great a woe

    770

    780c 74 ,. c 75 ,.

    ," :

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    c ABSCHYLUS, .Upon my city. Xerxes, my son, a$ youngIn age as sense, ignored my wisdom. KnowThis well, my comrades old as I, all of usWho held these powers, neverwrought somanyWoes.

    ChorusTo what end, my Lord Darius, dost thouHarp on this? How could we, the PersianPeople, fare the best?

    DariusI f you leadNo expedition to the land-ofGreece, 790Not even if the Median host bemore;For Grecian soilis their own ally.

    ChorusWhat dost thou intend by that, "their own ally"?

    DariusIt starves to death excessive numbers.Chorus

    But, be sure, we'll raise a well-equippedAnd chosen host.Darius

    But even they, who nowRemain in Greece, shall find no safe return.Chorus

    What? shall not all the host returnAcross the straitofHelle?Darius

    Few ofmany,If the oracles of godsare credited: 800As we gaze at what has passed, no haltProphecy succeeds, but eitherallOr none. I fwe credit them, he leaves

    76 ,.

    T R B P B I I51 AN'S ,.Behind, hisempty hopes persuading, chosenNumbers ofhis host, who now are stationedWhere Asopus floods the plain, its rich sapKindto Boeotia; here await themThe lowest depths ofwoe to suffer, paymentForhisprideand godless arrogance.They, invading Greece, felt no awe,Theydid not hesitate to plunderimagesOf gods, and put temples to the torch; 81 0Altars were no more, and statues, like trees,Were uprooted, tom from their basesIn all confusion. Thus their wickednessshall no less make them sufter:Other woesthe future holds in store,And still the fount of evils is not quenched,It wells up,and overflows: SO greatwill beThe sacrificial cakeof clotted goreMade at Plaeaea by Dorian spear.And corpses, piledup like sand, shall witness,Mute,evento the centuryto come,Before the eyes ofmen, that never, beingMortal, ought we cast our thoughts too high. 820Insolence, onceblossoming, bearsIts fruit, a tasseled field of doom, from whichA weeping harvest's reaped, all tears.Behold the punishment of these I rememberGreece and Athens! lestyou disdainYour present fortune, and lustafter more,Squandering great prosperity.Zeus is the chastener of overboastfUlMinds, a grievous corrector. Therefore adviseHim, admonished by reason, to be wise, 830And cease hisoverboastful temperfromSinning against the gods. And you, agedMotherofXerxes, goto the palace;

    77 ,.

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    c ABSCHYLUS Gather up rich and brilliantcloths, and goTo meet your son; for he, in grief, hasrentHis embroidered robes to shreds. Gently sootheHim with your words: to yours alone he'll listen.Now shall I descend to nether gloom.Elder counselors, farewell, and thoughIn time of troubles, give daily pleasures 840To your soul, as wealth cannot benefitThe dead.

    (The Ghost ofDarius descends.)ChorusAlas I the woes upon us and the woesTo come have grieved me hearing them.

    Queeno godI how many sorrows move against meIBut one torment has the deepest fang,Hearing that dishonor folds about my sonIts robes. But I shall go to gather upAdornments, and try to meet my son. 850When evilscome on thosewe dearly love,Never shall we betray them.(Exit Queen.)Chorus

    Oh! alas, Ohl what a great and a good lifewas ours,Civilly ordered, as long as the agedRuler of all,Mild, unconquerable king,Equal to god,Dariusruled the land.-Glorious arms we displayed, and the bulwarks of customAll they did guide. And returning from battle 860Griefhadwe none,Victors, unburdened of all,Happy and glad,To home again we came.-

    c 78

    c THB PBRSIANS Por many the cities he sacked nevercrossing the Halys,Nor leaving his hearth in a rush:At the mouth of the River Strymon,Near Thracian places,The islands of Achelous;Both cities beyond the Aegean, surrounded by towers,Obeyedhimour lord, and who round 'The broad straitofHelleboasting,And recessed Propontis,And gateway ofPontus, Bosphor;=

    870

    And the isles along the headland washed by seaLyingclose to shore:Samos and Chiosand Lesbos the olive-planted,Paros and Naxos and Mykonos,And Tenos the neighborof Andros.

    880

    And the islands in the midstof sea he ruled:!karos and Lemnos,Rhodus and Knidos and cities of Aphrodite,Paphos and Solus and Salamis,Whosefounder's the cause of hese sorrows.=

    890

    Thus the wealthyand populous lands,The Ionianprovince, he ruled;And thestrengthof his helmeted menWas unwearied, innumerable allies.But now we bear god-routedfortunes,Overcomeby the blowsof the sea.

    Xerxesall. hateful thisdoom, woe isme,Wretchedalas, without augury.How savagely swooped the deity.What will be&.ll me?I swoonBeholding these citizens aged.

    c 79

    900

    (Enter Xerxes alone.)

    91 0

    c ABSCHYLUS , .

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    Zeus! would that late had covered meWith the Persians gone!Chorus

    Oh alas, King, for a brave host,For the great honor of Persian rule,For the ranks of men whom a god bas slain.Nations wail their native sons,Who by Xerxes stuffed up hell;Many heroes, Persia's bloom,Archers, thick: array ofmen,Myriads have perished.Woe, 0 King of noble strength.Cruel! Cruel! Asia kneels. .

    XerxesHere am I, alas, 0 woe:To my native and ancestral landWoe is theevil I've become.

    ChorusLoudly shall I send, for your return,An evil-omened shout, an evil-practiced cry:A weeping wail of Persian mourners shaU I sing.-

    XerxesSend a wail of evil soundLamenting and grievous: nowFortune again bas changed for me.

    ChorusMOurning wailall-weepingshall I send,In honor ofyour woes and sea-struck: grief:Again a wailing filled with tears I'U cry.=

    XerxesIonian Ares spelled,Protected by their ships,Their partisan in war.

    c 80

    920

    930

    940

    950

    .---

    c THB PBRS IANS ,.Reaping gloomy Bats of seaand demon-haunted shores.

    ChorusOh alas!

    Xerxes Lament and ask for all.ChorusBut where are the others?Where is thy retinue,Like Pharandakas,

    Sousas, Pelagon, and Agabatas,Dotamas, Psammis, Sousiscanes 960Leaving Agbatana?-

    XerxesThe lost I desertedthere,Who from the ships ofTyreTo Salaminian shoreVanished and were gone, their corpses

    pounding stubborn shores.ChorusOh alas! but where is Pharnouchus

    And brave Ariomardus?Where is Seualkes lord,Or Lilaeus grand,Memphis, Tharybis, and Masistres, 970Artembares and Hystaechmes?These I ask you about....

    XerxesOh alas, woe,Who all, beholding ancient, hatefulAthens, gasp on shore,Woe upon woe, wretched in a singlesweep of oar.ChorusDid you leave that Persian there,Your trusted universal eye, 980

    .. 81 ,.

    .:>

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    c ABSCHYLUS "Who made his count by myriads,Batanochus' son Alpistus?Of Sesames,ofMegabates,Great Parthus and Oebares you left behind?o woe, 0 woe, 0 miseries.You tell ofwoes on woes.-

    XerxesOh alas, woe, 990The magic wheel oflonging for my friends you turn, you tellMe hateful sorrows. Within my frame my heart resounds,

    resounds.Chorus

    And for the others still we long:The leader of ten thousand menOfMardia, Xanthes, Angchares,And Diaexis and Arsamas,Masters of horsemen,And Dadakas and Lythimnas,And Tolmus who never slaked his spear.I see about the moving tents, 1000I see no followers. =

    XerxesGone are the hunters of the pack.

    ChorusGone, alas, tuneless.&rxesOh alas, woe.

    ChorusWoe, 0 godsWho brought these unexpected woes!How baleful gleams the eye ofdoom.

    &rxesStruck by woes perpetual

    c 82 "

    . THB PBRS IANS .

    ChorusStruck by recent-

    XerxesA recent woe. 1010

    ChorusWoe, alas,They met the men-of-war without success:How luckless was the Persians' war.=

    XerxesAlas, in so vast an army I am struck.ChorusWhat is not lost, thou curse of the Persians?

    XerxesBehold the remnants of my power.Chorus

    I see, I see.XerxesAnd this receptacle. 1020

    ChorusWhat is this that is saved?

    XerxesA treasure of arrows.

    ChorusHow few from so many!

    XerxesWe are reft of protectors.ChorusGreeks stand firm in combat.-XerxesAlas, too firm! I scan an unexpected woe.ChorusYou mean the host, routed and broken?

    c 83 "

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    c AESCHYLUS ..Xerxes

    My garments I rent at in y woe.Chorus

    Alas, 0 woe. 10JOXerxes

    And even more than woe.Chorus

    Double and triple the woe.Xerxes

    Painful to us, but to enemiesjoy.Chorus

    And docked was our power.Xerxes

    I am stripped of escorters.Chorus

    Sea-dooms stripped us ofour friends.=XerxesWeep, weep, weep for the woe, and homeward depart.Chorus

    Alas, 0 woe, misery.Xerxes

    Shout antiphonal to me. 1040Chorus

    To woebegone woeful gift of woes.Xerxes

    Raising a cry, join together our songs.Xerxes and Chorus

    Alas. 0 woe, woe, woe upon woe.Chorus

    Hearing this calamity,.Oh! I am pierced.

    XerxesSweep, sweep, sweep with the oar, and groan for my sake.

    c 84 ..

    c THE PERSIANS ..Chorus

    I weep, alas, woe isme.Xmces

    Shout antiphonal to me.ChorusMy duty is here, 0 master,lord.Xerxes

    Lift up your voice in lamenting now. 10S0Xerxes and Chorus

    Alas, 0 woe, woe, woe upon woe.Chorus

    Black again the blows are mixed,Oh, with thegroans.-

    XerxesBeat your breast and cry Mysian songs.

    ChorusWoe upon woe.

    XerxesTear your whitened hair tighdy clenched.

    ChorusTighdy clenched, plaintive.

    XerxesPiercing cry.

    ChorusAnd so I shall.-

    XerxesFull-fold garments with strength of hand rend.Chorus

    Woe upon woe.Xerxes

    Pluck your hair and pity the host.Chorus

    Tigh dy clenched, plaintive.c 8s ..

    1060

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    c ABSCHYLl1S ,.Xerxes

    Drench your eyes.Chorus SEVEN AGAINST THEBES

    And so I weep. =Xerxes

    Translated byDavid G r ~ Shout antiphonal to me.

    ChorusAlas, 0 woe.~ r x e s Wretched, homeward depart.Choruso woe, alas. [070

    ~ r x e s Through the city lamentation.

    ChorusLament indeed.

    XerxesSoftly stepping, moan.

    Choruso Persian land in hardness stepped.~ x e s o woe, woe, in triple banks of oars,o woe, woe, in argosies destroyed.Chorus

    We shall escort theeWith moumfullament. (Exeunt omnes.)

    i. !

    I!I' .

    :b:_,

    c 86 ,.f