Product Description

Aeschylus' "Persians" is not only the first surviving Greek drama, it is also the ony tragedy to take for its subject historical rather than mythical events: the repulse of the army of Xerxes at Salamis in 480 BC. It has frequently been mined for information on the tactics of Salamis or the Greeks' knowledge of Persian names or institutions, but it also has a broader value, one that has often been realised. What does it tell us about Greek representations of Persia, or of the Athenians' self-image? What can we glean from it of the politics of early fifth-century Athens, or of the Athenians' conception of their empire? How, if at all, can such questions be approached without doing violence to the "Persians" as a drama? What are the implications of the play for the nature of tragedy? This book provides aims to provide both a more satisfactory reading of the "Persians" and a richer picture of fifth-century history - the history both of events and of ideology.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #257966 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Review
"The Emptiness of Asia by Thomas Harrison (Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of St. Andrews) is a literary study of Aeschylus' "Persai" alongside Herodotus' "Histories," which will provide the reader with comprehensive understanding what actually happened at the battle of Salamis and afterwards. A scholarly dissection of political and ideological motivating factors underpinning "Persai" in the context of the times, The Emptiness of Asia is a fascinating and thoughtfully insightful analysis -- and a welcome addition to Hellenic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists." -- The Midwest Book Review

Customer Reviews

History, Tragedy and Ideology
This is not just an excellent book about Aeschylus' Persians, it is a searching and important study of the way in which Greek tragedy can be used and abused by historians of ancient Greece. It treats Persians as both a case study in the difficulty of reading Greek drama but also as a fascinating text for rethinking our understanding of the relationship between Athenian empire, democracy and literary projections of the 'other'.