Editing Aeschylus (section)

===''The Persians'' (472 BC)===
{{Main|The Persians}}
[[File:Dariuslarge.jpg|thumb|right|''The Ghost of Darius Appearing to Atossa'', drawing by [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]].]]
''The Persians'' (''Persai'') is the earliest of Aeschylus' extant plays. It was performed in 472 BC. It was based on Aeschylus' own experiences, specifically the [[Battle of Salamis]].<ref name="F244">{{harvnb |Freeman |1999 |p=244}}</ref> It is unique among surviving Greek tragedies in that it describes a recent historical event.<ref name=F243/> ''The Persians'' focuses on the popular Greek theme of [[hubris]] and blames Persia's loss on the pride of its king.<ref name=F244/>

It opens with the arrival of a messenger in [[Susa]], the Persian capital, bearing news of the catastrophic Persian defeat at Salamis, to [[Atossa]], the mother of the Persian King [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]]. Atossa then travels to the tomb of Darius, her husband, where his ghost appears, to explain the cause of the defeat. It is, he says, the result of Xerxes' hubris in building a bridge across the [[Hellespont]], an action which angered the gods. Xerxes appears at the end of the play, not realizing the cause of his defeat, and the play closes to lamentations by Xerxes and the chorus.<ref name="Vellacott">Vellacott: 7–19</ref>