Table Of ContentLooking at P ersians
i
Also available from Bloomsbury
Looking at Agamemnon, edited by David Stuttard
Looking at Ajax, edited by David Stuttard
Looking at Antigone, edited by David Stuttard
Looking at Bacchae, edited by David Stuttard
Looking at Lysistrata, edited by David Stuttard
Looking at Medea, edited by David Stuttard
ii
Looking at Persians
Edited by David Stuttard
iii
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
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BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are
trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain 2023
Copyright © David Stuttard & Contributors, 2023
David Stuttard has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work.
Cover design: Terry Woodley
Cover image © Terracotta kylix eye-cup (drinking cup) c. 520 BC, Greece.
Fletcher Fund, 1956/The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author
and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have
changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no
responsibility for any such changes.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stuttard, David, editor, translator. | Aeschylus. Persae. English (Stuttard)
Title: Looking at Persians / David Stuttard.
Description: London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2022021824 | ISBN 9781350227927 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781350227965 (paperback) | ISBN 9781350227934 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781350227941 (epub) | ISBN 9781350227958
Subjects: LCSH: Aeschylus. Persae. | Aeschylus–Themes, motives. |
Greek drama (Tragedy–History and criticism. | Literature and history–Greece.
Classifi cation: LCC PA3825.P3 L66 2022 | DDC 882/.01—dc23/eng/20220525
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022021824
ISBN: HB: 978-1-3502-2792-7
ePDF: 978-1-3502-2793-4
eBook: 978-1-3502-2794-1
Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
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iv
Contents
List of Contributors vi
Foreword vii
Introduction: Persians in Context D avid Stuttard 1
1 Persians on Stage Paul Cartledge 15
2 Athens and Persia, 472 bce L loyd Llewellyn-Jones 27
3 Persians ’ First Audience R obert Garland 45
4 Imperial Stirrings in Aeschylus’ Persians Sophie Mills 59
5 Homeric Echoes on the Battlefi eld of P ersians Laura Swift 73
6 Individual and Collective in Persians Michael Carroll 85
7 Land, Sea and Freedom: Th e Force of Nature in Aeschylus’
Persians Rush Rehm 99
8 Th e Persians Love their Children, too: Common Humanity in
Persians Alan H. Sommerstein 115
9 Atossa H anna M. Roisman 129
10 Th eatrical Ghosts in P ersians and Elsewhere Anna Uhlig 151
11 Words and Pictures C armel McCallum Barry 163
12 National Th eatre Wales: Th e Persians (2010) Mike Pearson 177
Aeschylus’ P ersians translated by David Stuttard 189
Bibliography 245
Index 255
v
Contributors
Michael Carroll is Lecturer in Greek Literature at the University of
St Andrews.
Paul Cartledge is A. G. Leventis Senior Research Fellow, Clare College and
A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture Emeritus, University of
Cambridge.
Robert Garland is Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Emeritus Professor of
the Classics, Colgate University.
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is Professor in Ancient History at Cardiff University.
Carmel McCallum Barry is former Lecturer in Classics, University College,
Cork.
Sophie Mills is Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina
Asheville.
Mike Pearson was Emeritus Professor of Performance Studies at
Aberystwyth University and an Honorary Professor at Exeter University.
Rush Rehm is Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies, and of
Classics at Stanford University and Artistic Director of Stanford
Repertory Theater.
Hanna M. Roisman is Arnold Bernhard Professor of Arts and Humanities,
Emerita, Department of Classics, Colby College.
Alan H. Sommerstein is Emeritus Professor of Greek, University of
Nottingham.
David Stuttard is a freelance writer, historian and theatre director, and
Fellow of Goodenough College, London.
Laura Swift is Senior Lecturer in Classical Studies at The Open University.
Anna Uhlig is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of
California, Davis.
vi
Foreword
Aeschylus’ P ersians is unique. Th e earliest surviving Greek tragedy, it is also
the only one not to be set in the world of mythology. Indeed, the real historical
facts around which it is constructed – the Persian Wars and Xerxes’ invasion
of the Greek mainland in 480 b c – occurred just under eight years before the
fi rst performance (in March or April 472 bc ), and most of the audience and
performers had fought in the Battle of Salamis, a description of which forms
a central part of the drama. Nonetheless, in all other respects, P ersians adheres
to patterns with which we are familiar from other Athenian tragedies.
Th is collection of essays begins with assessments of P ersians ’ place in
history (including its context and the eff ect it may have had on its fi rst
audience) before considering some of the issues raised by the play, highlighting
its main character, Atossa, the chorus, and the compelling necromancy scene,
and ending with a director’s view of an important modern production.
Th e volume concludes with my own translation of the play. Written (like
the rest of the book) during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, this is the fi rst
translation in the L ooking at . . . series which at the time of writing is yet to be
performed. Th e challenges of translating Aeschylus are many, and I refer
readers to my introduction to L ooking at Agamemnon for a more detailed
consideration. Suffi ce to say here, however, that his style is dense, sometimes
ambiguous and on occasion not easily comprehensible, and that rendering
his poetry into English can require oft en diffi cult choices, with which others
may not always fully agree. For this reason, while suggesting to contributors
that they use my translation wherever possible, I have been more than happy
for them to use their own or others’. Readers will notice the occasional
unintelligible outburst (printed in italics) such as é -e , aiai and ototototoi .
Simply transliterated, these represent incoherent groans or exclamations, as
meaningless in Greek as they are in English, but nonetheless an important
part of the text, indicating heightened emotion.
Th ose wishing to use the translation for productions of their own should
contact me through my website, www.davidstuttard.com , where applications
for performance should be made before the commencement of any rehearsals.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who have been involved in the
production of this book, especially the twelve contributors, who, despite the
impact of the pandemic and the many upheavals to which it has given rise,
have been so generous with their time. It has been a pleasure to work with
every one of them. At Bloomsbury, my thanks go to the incomparable Alice
vii
viii Foreword
Wright, who commissioned this volume, and her assistant Lily Mac Mahon,
who oversaw its development with the wisdom of Athena and the patience of
a saint. Th anks, too, to Merv Honeywood and all at Refi neCatch who oversaw
its layout, and especially to Roza I. M. El-Eini, who edited the text, and to
Terry Woodley, who designed the stunningly appropriate cover – triremes
(reminding us of Salamis); a hoplite (Aeschylus himself fought the Persians
as a hoplite); and gigantic eyes (ideal for a Looking at volume): what more
could anyone ask for?
Last but defi nitely not least, a massive thank you to the home team: my
wife Emily Jane, without whose support I would fi nd myself as adrift as
Xerxes at the end of P ersians ; and our two cats, Stanley and Oliver, who, like
the Great King viewing the Battle of Salamis from Mount Aegaleos, prefer to
watch while others do the work.
Post Script
As this volume entered its fi nal stages of production, we were saddened to
learn of the death of one of its contributors, Mike Pearson. A towering fi gure
in the world of theatre and scholarship, he will be sorely missed. Th is book is
dedicated to his memory.
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