Aeschylus on Darius and Persian Memory

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Date
2015
Authors
Sampson, C. Michael
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
JSTOR
Abstract
This paper considers how Aeschylus dramatizes the memory of his Persian characters, and argues that the contradictory recollection of Marathon in Persae reflects an imperial ideology with which failure is incompatible: the dramatis personae frame Xerxes' defeat at Salamis as unprecedented even as they summon Darius as a semi-divine benefactor. With recourse to what historians and anthropologists term “social” or “collective” memory, the paper then considers how such a portrayal of Persian memory would have resonated with an Athenian audience in 472 engaged in democratic debate over the nature of the burgeoning Delian League.
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Keywords
Greek tragedy, social memory, Aeschylus, Persian war
Citation
C. Michael Sampson. “Aeschylus on Darius and Persian Memory.” Phoenix 69 (2015): 24–42