Persians

Book excerpt: Persians is both Aeschylus' first extant tragedy and the earliest surviving drama in the Western tradition. Because Aeschylus was there at the struggle between Greeks and Persians in the straits of Salamis in 480 B.C., the Persians is not merely a play but a valuable historical document. The description of the battle contained here is in fact the only account of any event in the Great Persian Wars that has been composed by an eyewitness. Lembke and Herington faithfully recreate in modern language Aeschylus' account of the frightful contrast between the human work of butchery and the serene, sunlit natural background of Salamis. Though critics have argued for centuries about the veracity of the historical details, Aeschylus' poetic vision makes the Persians a compelling dramatic experience--Jacket.