In his play, “Persians,” Aeschylus depicts the Persian defeat at the Battle of Salamis as a result of the Persians’ confidence in their own numbers that caused them to underestimate the Greeks and their military skills and the hubris of Xerxes that arises from viewing himself equal to a god, which contributes to the Persian god bringing about the downfall of the army at the Battle of Salamis. Herodotus also shows the superiority of Persian military numbers and how the overconfidence in those numbers that arise from satiety and hubris lead to the Persians underestimating the Greeks. Xerxes is also depicted by others as above other mortals, thus contributing to his satiety and hubris, which leads to inhuman supernatural forces steering him towards
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Aeschylus shows his audience how the Persian royalty is seen as divine beings instead the mortal humans they really are. The queen is described as the “bedmate of the Persians’ theos, also mother of their theos” (157-158). She is wife to the Persian god and mother of their god; that is to say, the king is not only equal to the Persian god but simultaneously is seen as the Persian god. To further the point, Xerxes is also described as “a man of golden birth, the equal of gods” (80). “Equal of gods,” instead of lower than gods like all other mortal humans are. The arrogance in assuming that Xerxes is equal to the Persian god is a huge characterizing factor to his hubris, which causes him (in the play) to invoke the wrath of the divine and cause the Persians’ downfall. Herodotus also shows Xerxes’s satiety through the perceived self-image from the other Persians, who also see Xerxes as inhumanly mighty. Xerxes is already depicted as seemingly above other humans, as when Mardonius flatters the king by saying Europe was “worthy of no mortal master but the king” (VII.5.3). By saying “no mortal master but the king” Mardonius is already placing Xerxes above all other humans. Mardonius then continues on, saying outright that the king “surpass[es] not only all Persians that have been but also all that shall be” (VII.9). …show more content…
However, the god never makes a physical appearance to express his displeasure. Strophe C states that “Fate, by decree of the theos, has held sway since olden times” (93-95). So the Persians’ are aware that their victories rest upon fate, which in turn is determined by their god. And they cannot fight the will of the god either. After all “what man, being mortal, will avoid the crafty deceit of the theos?”(107-108). Because ultimately this is what happens; the Persians lose their divine favor, presumably because of their satiety and hubris, and as a result they lose to the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis. Herodotus also depicts divine interference as a factor to the Persian loss as well. Even the Persians know that “the god smites with his thunderbolt creatures of greatness and does not suffer them to display their pride” (VII.10e). There are people, such as Artabanus (uncle of Xerxes) that warn him of his satiety and hubris and thus how the god would now be set against the Persians. It is from this fear that they believe that although the Persians have the larger army, “a large army is destroyed by a smaller” and therefore the Persians would be defeated. As a result of Xerxes’s satiety and hubris, the god, or at least a supernatural figure, now leads the Persians to ruin. When Xerxes changes his mind about
Aeschylus shows his audience how the Persian royalty is seen as divine beings instead the mortal humans they really are. The queen is described as the “bedmate of the Persians’ theos, also mother of their theos” (157-158). She is wife to the Persian god and mother of their god; that is to say, the king is not only equal to the Persian god but simultaneously is seen as the Persian god. To further the point, Xerxes is also described as “a man of golden birth, the equal of gods” (80). “Equal of gods,” instead of lower than gods like all other mortal humans are. The arrogance in assuming that Xerxes is equal to the Persian god is a huge characterizing factor to his hubris, which causes him (in the play) to invoke the wrath of the divine and cause the Persians’ downfall. Herodotus also shows Xerxes’s satiety through the perceived self-image from the other Persians, who also see Xerxes as inhumanly mighty. Xerxes is already depicted as seemingly above other humans, as when Mardonius flatters the king by saying Europe was “worthy of no mortal master but the king” (VII.5.3). By saying “no mortal master but the king” Mardonius is already placing Xerxes above all other humans. Mardonius then continues on, saying outright that the king “surpass[es] not only all Persians that have been but also all that shall be” (VII.9). …show more content…
However, the god never makes a physical appearance to express his displeasure. Strophe C states that “Fate, by decree of the theos, has held sway since olden times” (93-95). So the Persians’ are aware that their victories rest upon fate, which in turn is determined by their god. And they cannot fight the will of the god either. After all “what man, being mortal, will avoid the crafty deceit of the theos?”(107-108). Because ultimately this is what happens; the Persians lose their divine favor, presumably because of their satiety and hubris, and as a result they lose to the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis. Herodotus also depicts divine interference as a factor to the Persian loss as well. Even the Persians know that “the god smites with his thunderbolt creatures of greatness and does not suffer them to display their pride” (VII.10e). There are people, such as Artabanus (uncle of Xerxes) that warn him of his satiety and hubris and thus how the god would now be set against the Persians. It is from this fear that they believe that although the Persians have the larger army, “a large army is destroyed by a smaller” and therefore the Persians would be defeated. As a result of Xerxes’s satiety and hubris, the god, or at least a supernatural figure, now leads the Persians to ruin. When Xerxes changes his mind about