The Emptiness of Asia - Aeschylus' "Persians" and the History of the Fifth Century (Hardcover)

Aeschylus' Persians as the earliest surviving Greek drama and the only tragedy with an historical theme has been a critics battlefield for centuries. Harrison makes a sensitive literary reading to extract valuable, but carefully qualified, historical information from this classic text, attempting to avoid the previous subjective pitfalls of literary critics who treat the play as if it is in an historical vacuum and historians who claim too much on too little evidence. First performed in 472BC, the play's subject - the victory at Salamis eight years before - was still fresh in the minds of its audience. The play possesses a wealth of valuable evidence about the battle itself and 5th-century Athenian perceptions of themselves and their enemies. Triumphanalist but surprisingly sensitive, the play focuses on the Persian women left at court receiving the news of Xerses' defeat as 'the entire land of Asia mourns, emptied of its men.' Harrison examines how the constant stressing of the immensity of the Persian army, the greatness of their vices and the totality of their defeat reinforced the Greeks conception of the greatness of their victory and virtues. There is a great deal more to be extracted from the text about Athenian attitudes towards their growing empire and the internal conflict between proponents of democracy and tyranny. Harrison is careful but revealing in his conclusions and while this book may be dry to those not used to classical textual analysis it will be incisive and refreshingly objective to those who are. (Kirkus UK)

Aeschylus' "Persians" is not only the first surviving Greek drama, it is also the ony tragedy to take for its subject historical rather than mythical events: the repulse of the army of Xerxes at Salamis in 480 BC. It has frequently been mined for information on the tactics of Salamis or the Greeks' knowledge of Persian names or institutions, but it also has a broader value, one that has often been realised. What does it tell us about Greek representations of Persia, or of the Athenians' self-image? What can we glean from it of the politics of early fifth-century Athens, or of the Athenians' conception of their empire? How, if at all, can such questions be approached without doing violence to the "Persians" as a drama? What are the implications of the play for the nature of tragedy? This book provides aims to provide both a more satisfactory reading of the "Persians" and a richer picture of fifth-century history - the history both of events and of ideology.

General

Imprint:	Bristol Classical Press
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	August 2000
First published:	2001
Authors:	Thomas Harrison
Dimensions:	241 x 160 x 24mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	240
ISBN-13:	978-0-7156-2968-0
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > Classical, early & medieval Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Plays & playwrights > General Promotions
LSN:	0-7156-2968-9
Barcode:	9780715629680

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