Aeschylus and Herodotus' Portrayals of Persians - Essay Example

It is a war against tyranny and oppression that they have been subjected to for a long duration. Persians viewed Greeks as weak and hence wanted to put all the Greek states under their own authority. However, as Persian engaged in protracted war, the unexpected happened and they were defeated on the battlefield. Persian war on Greeks is found on the work of Aeschylus a playwright and Herodotus a historian of the time. Actually, Aeschylus is said to have participated in the war. They largely focus on the conflict that took place during this period.

Both the personality and character of Persian rule is emphasized in their work. This paper seeks to compare Aeschylus and Herodotus’ portrayals of Persians. Firstly, Aeschylus and Herodotus portray Persians as people willing to have absolute power. This search of power makes them to engage in various aggressive expansions depicted in Aeschylus and Herodotus’ work. The authority’s aim was to expand its empire with all necessary means but the most obvious was through barbaric activities. The Persian authority’s aim was to maintain dominance on vast empire and this was a source of their pride.

The Persian power was based on pride, and luxurious deeds and this makes Aeschylus believe this was the cause of defeat. Pride is seen when Darius says, “Zeus is the chastener of over boastful minds, a grievous corrector,” (Aeschylus 829-830). . Xerxes is shown by Herodotus saying Persia must act or suffer the consequences. Persian used their power to the detriment of the Greeks as seen from Herodotus account, “Greece has relied on courage to keep poverty and despotism at bay” (Herodotus 7102).

There is also comparison of Xerxes to god and this shows how Persian viewed authority and power. Secondly, both Aeschylus and Herodotus portray Persians as people who are weak although they had wealth and power. The two authors in various aspects portray the weak nature. Aeschylus work though he participated in the war appears to glorify the military tactics of the Greek allied forces. The state of the king Xerxes after war is a good example of weakness that led to their defeat. After the war, her mother laments of his condition after arrival from war, He says, “my prince wears tatters and rags” (Aeschylus 845).

Aeschylus uses the king as a representative of the people of Persia to show his poor condition in a state of utter defeat. In addition, the description by the messenger of the situation in the battle filed shows how weak the Persian have become. He gives a precise description of the people who have lost their lives due to military might of the Greeks. He propounds on this when he says that, “The entire children, wives, homes, and gods temple were under the hand of the Greece” (Aeschylus’ 401-405).

The state of Persian weakness is further depicted on comparison of their weapon with that of the Greeks. Aeschylus emphasizes on the use of arrows as the primary weapon of the Persians, “Archers whose valiant fingers draws arrows to the ear” (Aeschylus 46). This shows a low level of military might by playwright as