The National Theater presents to the world the tragedy "Persians" of Aeschylus, on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Many European festivals canceled their program this year due to COVID-19. The Athens and Epidaurus Festival, determined to meet its obligations towards its audience, in the difficult summer of 2020, strictly implementing the health protocols, presents a new condensed program entitled SUBSUM. As part of this year's Festival, for the first time - and even in the era of the pandemic - a significant production of ancient Greek drama will be broadcast live on the internet. It is also the first time that a play from the ancient theater of Epidaurus is broadcast live.
Argyris Pantazaras talks about the value of the "Persians" today
The National Theater, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, presents to the world audience the tragedy Perseus of Aeschylus, on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis.
The show will be broadcast live on the internet at 21.00 Greek time, in collaboration with Google Greece. Live streaming will be available worldwide except in Greece, exclusively through the YouTube platform, free of charge. However, the international community is given the opportunity to donate any amount they wish. All proceeds will be donated to support the National Theater and Greek actors. Google will host the live streaming, will provide technical support and free viewing of the show internationally via YouTube.
The live streaming of the show will take place with English subtitles and will last about 90 minutes. It will be available at livefromepidaurus.gr, as well as through the websites of the National Theater, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival and the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and directly from the National Theater's YouTube channel.
Aeshylus' "Persians"
The Persians takes place in Susa, which at the time was one of the capitals of the Persian Empire, and opens with a chorus of old men of Susa, who are soon joined by the Queen Mother, Atossa, as they await news of her son King Xerxes' expedition against the Greeks. Expressing her anxiety and unease, Atossa narrates "what is probably the first dream sequence in European theatre." This is an unusual beginning for a tragedy by Aeschylus; normally the chorus would not appear until slightly later, after a speech by a minor character. An exhausted messenger arrives, who offers a graphic description of the Battle of Salamis and its gory outcome. He tells of the Persian defeat, the names of the Persian generals who have been killed, and that Xerxes had escaped and is returning. The climax of the messenger's speech is his rendition of the battle cry of the Greeks as they charged: "On, sons of Greece! Set free/Your fatherland, set free your children, wives,/Places of your ancestral gods and tombs of your ancestors!/Forward for all" (401–405).
At the tomb of her dead husband Darius, Atossa asks the chorus to summon his ghost: "Some remedy he knows, perhaps,/Knows ruin's cure" they say.[8] On learning of the Persian defeat, Darius condemns the hubris behind his son's decision to invade Greece. He particularly rebukes an impious Xerxes’ decision to build a bridge over the Hellespont to expedite the Persian army's advance. Before departing, the ghost of Darius prophesies another Persian defeat at the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE): "Where the plain grows lush and green,/Where Asopus' stream plumps rich Boeotia's soil,/The mother of disasters awaits them there,/Reward for insolence, for scorning God." Xerxes finally arrives, dressed in torn robes ("grief swarms," the Queen says just before his arrival, "but worst of all it stings / to hear how my son, my prince, / wears tatters, rags" (845–849)) and reeling from his crushing defeat. The rest of the drama (908–1076) consists of the king alone with the chorus engaged in a lyrical kommós that laments the enormity of Persia's defeat.
