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The Persians
The Persians (Πέρσαι)
is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. It is the oldest
surviving play in history. It is also notable for being the only extant Greek
tragedy based on contemporary events.
It was produced in 472 BC along with three other plays, which do not survive,
but which probably also had something to do with the Persian Wars. The first
play, Phineas, was apparently about the mythological figure Phineas, who helped
Jason and the Argonauts pass into Asia. The Persians was the second part. The
play is especially notable in that it is the only surviving ancient Greek
tragedy that is based on an actual historical event, namely the Battle of
Salamis. That battle took place in 480 BC, only eight years before The Persians
was performed. Aeschylus had participated in the battle, and it is likely that
most of his Athenian audience had either fought in the battle or had been
affected by it directly. Glaucus Potnieus, the third part, seems to have been
about the Battle of Plataea of 479 BC. The fourth play, a satyr play, may have
been about Prometheus.
Persian Empire
The term Persian Empire refers to a series of historical empires that ruled
over the Iranian plateau. The political entity which was ruled by these kingdoms
has been known as Iran (lit: Land of Aryans) throughout its own recorded
history.
List of ancient
Persians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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