The Persians, Aeschylus' earliest surviving tragedy, holds a fascination both for readers of Greek drama and Greek history. Not only is it the earliest existing play in the Western tradition, it is drawn directly from the playwright's own experiences at the battle of Salamis, making it the only account of the Persian Wars composed by an eyewitness. And as pure tragedy, it is a masterpiece. Aeschylus tells the story of the war from the Persian point of view, and his pride in the great victory of Greeks is tempered with a real compassion for Xerxes and his vanquished nation. Lembke and Harrington have rendered this stunning work in a modern translation that loses none of the original's dramatic juxtaposition of serenity and violence, hope and despair.

About the Author
Janet Lembke, a poet, is the author of Bronze and Iron, and is co-translator of the forthcoming edition of Euripides's Suppliants, also in the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series. C. John Herington is Professor of Classics and Talcott Professor of Greek at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including Poetry into Drama and Aeschylus.

Reviews
[An] exciting, audacious, yet careful translation....Herington's scholarly evocation of the 'archaic wholeness of vision' supports the translation brilliantly. A very useful text. * Michael shaw, University of Kansas *



Book Information
ISBN 9780195070088
Author Aeschylus
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 181g
Dimensions(mm) 137mm * 213mm * 13mm