Aeschylus, The Persians

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Aeschylus’

Persians

(

Persai

), produced in 472 BCE at the City Dionisia of Athens, is not only the earliest surviving Greek tragedy, but also the first known play in the history of European theatre. It is thus rightly considered an invaluable source for the history of the early tragic genre, but it should not be forgotten that more than sixty years separate it from the beginning of the tragic contest in Athens (around 535 BCE) and that Aeschylus had been active as a dramatist since 499 BCE. Thus,

Persians

is neither a piece of “primitive” dramaturgy, nor the work of an apprentice playwright. In the dramatic contest of 472 Aeschylus presented, besides

Persians,

the tragedies

Phineus

and

Glaucus of Potniae

, and the satyr play

Prometheus

; unlike the rest of his dramatic production, the…

2987 words

Citation: Medda , Enrico. "The Persians". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 October 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7372, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7372 The Persians 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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