The Persians

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Persian Set Design”

In this activity, students will use creative and visual thinking to imagine the setting of Aeschylus’s play.

Aeschylus’s Persians is full of striking visual imagery, with references to the Persian court at Susa, the ghost of Darius, and the rags of Xerxes. For this activity, design one aspect of the set or wardrobe of the play. For example, you might illustrate the Persian palace for the set, masks for the chorus or characters, or the costume for Atossa, Darius, or Xerxes. Use guiding questions like these to influence your design choices:

• How do Aeschylus’s descriptions in the play itself indicate what he wanted the set and costumes to look like?
• What was the Persian dress and architecture of the period like?
• How did the Greeks imagine Persian dress and architecture?
• How can your design use color and patterns in a way that is visually striking and appealing to an audience?

Present your design to the class and discuss the process of planning and completing your contribution. Connect facts about craft of dramatic performance in ancient Greece as you present your work.

Teaching Suggestion: Depending on the goals of the assignment, students do not necessarily need to strive for historical accuracy. In fact, some students may want to experiment with changing the setting of the play to a different historical era, perhaps even the present.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with aphantasia may find it difficult to visualize the scenes they are being asked to draw. These students may benefit from having some preselected visual references to utilize. For example, this review of a 2006 production of The Persians includes two images that may be helpful references.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Aeschylus’s The Persians focuses on the aftermath of the Greek victory at Salamis.

• How does Aeschylus represent Greek nationalism in the play? (topic sentence)
• Discuss the ways in which Aeschylus’s play explores specific aspects of Greek nationalism and the way Greek nationalism is connected to the Persian Wars. Does the play represent Greek nationalism as completely positive? Does Aeschylus include veiled critiques of Greek nationalism?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the overall effectiveness of The Persians as an inspiration toward Greek nationalism.

2. In the second episode of The Persians, Atossa and the chorus speak to the ghost of Darius.

• Why do Atossa and the chorus summon Darius’s ghost? (topic sentence)
• Analyze the scene with Darius to discuss the motivations and objectives for the summoning of Darius. In your discussion, explain the significance of Darius’s revelations and advice.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the role and importance of this scene within the larger context of the play.

3. Gods and omens are very prominent throughout the play.

• What is the overall role of supernatural elements such as gods and oracles in the play? (topic sentence)
• Identify and analyze the significance of at least three examples of supernatural elements in the play. Discuss their similarities and differences.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, reflect on why Aeschylus might have made such prominent use of the supernatural in his play.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The Persians is full of lists, including long lists of Persian rulers and of Persian nobles, commanders, and soldiers who fell at Salamis. What do these lists contribute to the play? What would these lists have meant to the Persian characters of the play? What would they have meant for Aeschylus’s Greek audience? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explore the significance of the play’s use of lists. Consider connecting one or more themes from the play in your discussion.

2. When Xerxes finally arrives on stage at the end of the play, Aeschylus gives much attention to his ragged and torn attire. Why are Xerxes’s rags so significant? What do they represent or symbolize? How does Xerxes’s appearance reflect the fate of Persia? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss the deeper meanings associated with Xerxes’s visual appearance.

3. Throughout the play, the chorus, Atossa, and the ghost of Darius blame Xerxes for the ruin of Persia. How does Xerxes’s hubris, arrogance, and impulsiveness lead to his defeat? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, discuss the message the play conveys in having blame rest on the shoulders of Xerxes. Is Xerxes really the only one responsible for the defeat at Salamis? What other circumstances may have contributed?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why is the chorus worried about Susa at the beginning of the play?

A) All the men are gone.

B) The Greeks are planning an invasion.

C) Their empire is in revolt.

D) There is an economic crisis.

2. What omen does Atossa see when she wakes up?

A) An eagle fleeing from a hawk

B) The ghost of Darius

C) Two women yoked to her son’s chariot

D) Persia in ruins

3. Why does the chorus regard Athens as such a formidable foe?

A) Athenian soldiers outnumber Persian soldiers.

B) Athens defeated the Persians once before.

C) The gods are on their side.

D) Athenians are extremely rich.

4. How does the Persian messenger represent the Greeks?

A) As greedy and cowardly

B) As overconfident

C) As impious and blustering

D) As cunning and brave

5. How does Xerxes react when he sees the Greeks defeat his army?

A) He hides his emotions.

B) He tears his robes and cries out.

C) He praises the judgment of the gods.

D) He summons his father’s ghost.

6. How is Darius depicted in the play?

A) As a wise and successful king

B) As an impious king

C) As a cruel and tyrannical king

D) As a madman

7. According to Darius’s shade, how did Xerxes show hubris?

A) By refusing to sacrifice to the gods

B) By preferring the Greek gods to the Persian gods

C) By trying to stop the flow of the Hellespont

D) By referring to himself as a god

8. What advice does Darius’s ghost give Atossa for Xerxes?

A) To invade Greece again

B) To focus on building projects instead of conquest

C) To stop offending the gods

D) To abdicate the throne immediately

9. Why does Atossa leave the stage?

A) To kill herself

B) To avoid seeing Xerxes

C) To weep in private

D) To bring suitable garments for her son.

10. What happened when Darius invaded Greece?

A) He defeated the Greeks.

B) He was defeated by the Greeks.

C) He was shipwrecked.

D) He signed a treaty with the Greeks.

11. What makes the chorus so confident about Persia’s prospects against the Greeks?

A) The gods have promised them victory.

B) The courage of Xerxes is renowned.

C) The Persians have greater military and territorial power.

D) The Greeks are known for their cowardice at sea.

12. How do the Greeks showcase their brutality at Salamis?

A) By slaughtering many Persians in battle

B) By sacrificing prisoners to the gods

C) By scorning the gods

D) By killing Persian women and children

13. Which of the following quotes best illustrates the dangers of tempting fortune?

A) “Let no one despise the fortune he possesses and, through lust for more, let his prosperity go to waste.” (Lines 824-26)

B) “The city-sacking army of the King / has now passed over to the neighbor land on the other / side of the water.” (Lines 65-70)

C) “But what man can escape / the guileful deception of a god?” (Line 114)

D) “Come on, sons of the Greeks, for the freedom of your homeland, / for the freedom of your children, your wives, the / temples of your fathers’ gods, and the tombs of your ancestors!” (Lines 402-04)

14. Why do the gods turn against Xerxes?

A) The gods are fickle.

B) Xerxes is an atheist.

C) His father angered them.

D) Xerxes demonstrates hubris.

15. According to Darius, why should mortals make the most out of life?

A) Living a good life guarantees a happy afterlife.

B) Mortals cannot bring their wealth to the underworld.

C) Mortals’ ghosts deserve to be happy.

D) Pleasure is the only important thing.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is the geographic extent of the Persian Empire? Why is the great size of the Persian Empire so important in a contextual understanding of the play?

2. How is Darius a foil to Xerxes?