Die Perser (The Persians)
by Aeschylus recreated by Durs Grünbeinby Aeschylus recreated by Durs Grünbein
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Xerxes, ruler of the vast Persian empire, plans to conquer Greece. He goes into battle in 480 BCE with a vastly superior force of ships and warriors. However, an act of military cunning robs him of victory. Almost three hundred thousand men from his army are killed. Eight years later, Aeschylus, who had fought on the side of the victorious Athenians, decides to present the events from the point of view of the defeated. In »The Persians« he has written not only the oldest surviving tragedy in world literature but a plea for humanity that is still acutely relevant – even after 2,500 years.
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Drunk on his own power, Xerxes, the ruler of the vast Persian empire, goes into battle against the rebellious Greeks in 480 BCE with a vastly superior force of ships and warriors, confident of victory. However, an act of military cunning by the hopelessly inferior Greeks brings him and his army a crushing defeat in the straits of Salamis. Almost three hundred thousand of his men are killed and an entire generation is wiped out.
Eight years later, Aeschylus, who had fought on the side of the victorious Athenians, wrote the oldest surviving tragedy in world literature: »The Persians«. The play could have celebrated the triumph of the Greeks and paid tribute to their own sense of superiority. However, Aeschylus decided to present the events from the perspective of the defeated and to represent the infinite pain, despair and grief of those they left behind.
»We are defeated. By fate
That will last an eternity.«
The clash of the Persians and the Greeks is not only an encounter between two peoples, but two fundamentally different ways of life: a mighty empire against a loose confederation of city states, an overwhelming army against a coalition of individual Greek armies, a monarchy with a god-like ruler against a young democracy. While the city of Athens that the enemy burnt to the ground is rebuilt around him, Aeschylus takes advantage of the free speech and artistic license that democracy offers to put himself in the place of the enemy – and produces a powerful demonstration that a modern and humane state can only be based on humanity and compassion.
The Greek director Anestis Azas makes his debut at the Residenztheater with a work that has lost none of its relevance – even after 2,500 years.
