Post by lurker4now on Jun 15, 2005 6:14:31 GMT -5
Europe and Asia in the view of classical Greece (5th cent. B.C.)
Introduction
In 472 B.C. the great dramatist, Aeschylus, presented to the Athenians his tragedy the Persians. Just as the poet Phrynicus had done four years before with The Sack of Miletos, Aeschylus broke one of the most respected laws in composition and mise-en-scene: nothing except traditional myth shall be the matter of the tragic word. The reality of the situation was that the great naval victory of Salamis (480) over Persian King Xerxes’ gigantic fleet was already considered by Athenian citizens a part of the city’s saga. A miracle was made possible by the protection of the patron deities and the intervention of the ancient heroes, protectors of the sacred land of Attika. The majestic poetry of Aeschylus skillfully draws the tale from the Persian point of view: in the royal palace the choir of old counselors and Atossa, the mother of the king, try in vain to avoid the anguish suggested by the ominous signs of defeat, till the moment when first a messenger, and then the king in person, announce the destruction of the Persian army, and the glory of the Athenians. In the first part of this tragedy Atossa asks the choir for help in decoding the horrible dream in which her son, King Xeres, tries to put two beautiful women under the same yoke. One of the women is happy with the condition of charioteer, but the other refuses to obey and eventually causes the king’s fall. This vision not only clearly foresees the end of the war, but also emphasizes the different characters of the two lands, which God had divided and the man could not unify. Asia and Europe are presented as two entities radically alien to each other yet condemned to exert a high degree of fascination in their union: an image which has long remained in European culture.
Original Source
G. Murray, Aeschyli tragoediae 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955 (repr. 1960)
ejdoxavthn moi duvo gunai'kæ eujeivmone,
hJ me;n pevploisi Persikoi'" hjskhmevnh,
hJ dæ au\te Dwrikoi'sin, eij" o[yin molei'n,
megevqei te tw'n nu'n ejkprepestavta poluv,
185
kavllei tæ ajmwvmw, kai; kasignhvta gevnou"
taujtou': pavtran dæ e[naion hJ me;n ÔEllavda
klhvrw/ lacou'sa gai'an, hJ de; bavrbaron.
touvtw stavsin tinæ, wJ" ejgw; ædovkoun oJra'n,
teuvcein ejn ajllhvlh/si: pai'" dæ ejmo;" maqw;n
190
katei'ce kajpravunen, a{rmasin dæ u{po
zeuvgnusin aujtw; kai; levpadnæ uJpæ aujcevnwn
tivqhsi. chj me;n th'/dæ ejpurgou'to stolh'/
ejn hJnivaisiv tæ ei\cen eu[arkton stovma,
hJ dæ ejsfavda/ze, kai; ceroi'n e[nth divfrou
195
diasparavssei, kai; xunarpavzei biva/
a[neu calinw'n, kai; zugo;n qrauvei mevson.
pivptei dæ ejmo;" pai'", kai; path;r parivstatai
Darei'o" oijktivrwn sfe: to;n dæ o{pw" oJra'/
Xevrxh", pevplou" rJhvgnusin ajmfi; swvmati.
200
kai; tau'ta me;n dh; nukto;" eijsidei'n levgw.
English Translation
Aeschylus. Aeschylus, with an English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. in two volumes. 1. Persians. Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926.
www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Pers.+200
I dreamed that two women in beautiful clothes, one in Persian garb, the other in Dorian attire, appeared before my eyes; both far more striking in stature than are the women of our time, [185] flawless in beauty, sisters of the same family. As for the lands in which they dwelt, to one had been assigned by lot the land of Hellas, to the other that of the barbarians. The two, as I imagined it, seemed to provoke each other to a mutual feud, and my son, when he had become aware of this, [190] attempted to restrain and placate them. He yoked them both to his car and placed the collar-straps upon their necks. The one bore herself proudly in these trappings and kept her mouth obedient to the rein. The other struggled and with her hands [195] tore apart the harness of the car; then, free of the curb, she dragged it violently along with her and snapped the yoke in two. My son was hurled to the ground and his father Darius stood by his side filled with pity. But Xerxes, when he caught sight of him, tore the garments covering his body. [200] Such was the vision I beheld in the night.
Questions
Examine the metaphoric imagery of this passage and try to find analogies in art and literature of the Greek and Roman culture using media as Perseus:
perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Pers.+176
Explain the different behavior of the two women and try to elucidate the prejudice which till now remains.
Study the Persian war and confront this attempt of unification with the one made by Alexander the Great.
Bibliography
E. Hall, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity, Cambridge 1977
G. Ceausescu, Un topos de la littérature antique : l'éternelle guerre entre l'Europe et l'Asie, Latomus 50 (1991) 327-341
Studi sull'Europa antica. 1 / a cura di Marta Sordi. Alessandria : Ed. dell'Orso, 2000. 140 p. (Studi di storia greca e romana ; 1). • Seminario svoltosi a Milano, presso l'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, il 15 dicembre 1999.
Introduction
In 472 B.C. the great dramatist, Aeschylus, presented to the Athenians his tragedy the Persians. Just as the poet Phrynicus had done four years before with The Sack of Miletos, Aeschylus broke one of the most respected laws in composition and mise-en-scene: nothing except traditional myth shall be the matter of the tragic word. The reality of the situation was that the great naval victory of Salamis (480) over Persian King Xerxes’ gigantic fleet was already considered by Athenian citizens a part of the city’s saga. A miracle was made possible by the protection of the patron deities and the intervention of the ancient heroes, protectors of the sacred land of Attika. The majestic poetry of Aeschylus skillfully draws the tale from the Persian point of view: in the royal palace the choir of old counselors and Atossa, the mother of the king, try in vain to avoid the anguish suggested by the ominous signs of defeat, till the moment when first a messenger, and then the king in person, announce the destruction of the Persian army, and the glory of the Athenians. In the first part of this tragedy Atossa asks the choir for help in decoding the horrible dream in which her son, King Xeres, tries to put two beautiful women under the same yoke. One of the women is happy with the condition of charioteer, but the other refuses to obey and eventually causes the king’s fall. This vision not only clearly foresees the end of the war, but also emphasizes the different characters of the two lands, which God had divided and the man could not unify. Asia and Europe are presented as two entities radically alien to each other yet condemned to exert a high degree of fascination in their union: an image which has long remained in European culture.
Original Source
G. Murray, Aeschyli tragoediae 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955 (repr. 1960)
ejdoxavthn moi duvo gunai'kæ eujeivmone,
hJ me;n pevploisi Persikoi'" hjskhmevnh,
hJ dæ au\te Dwrikoi'sin, eij" o[yin molei'n,
megevqei te tw'n nu'n ejkprepestavta poluv,
185
kavllei tæ ajmwvmw, kai; kasignhvta gevnou"
taujtou': pavtran dæ e[naion hJ me;n ÔEllavda
klhvrw/ lacou'sa gai'an, hJ de; bavrbaron.
touvtw stavsin tinæ, wJ" ejgw; ædovkoun oJra'n,
teuvcein ejn ajllhvlh/si: pai'" dæ ejmo;" maqw;n
190
katei'ce kajpravunen, a{rmasin dæ u{po
zeuvgnusin aujtw; kai; levpadnæ uJpæ aujcevnwn
tivqhsi. chj me;n th'/dæ ejpurgou'to stolh'/
ejn hJnivaisiv tæ ei\cen eu[arkton stovma,
hJ dæ ejsfavda/ze, kai; ceroi'n e[nth divfrou
195
diasparavssei, kai; xunarpavzei biva/
a[neu calinw'n, kai; zugo;n qrauvei mevson.
pivptei dæ ejmo;" pai'", kai; path;r parivstatai
Darei'o" oijktivrwn sfe: to;n dæ o{pw" oJra'/
Xevrxh", pevplou" rJhvgnusin ajmfi; swvmati.
200
kai; tau'ta me;n dh; nukto;" eijsidei'n levgw.
English Translation
Aeschylus. Aeschylus, with an English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. in two volumes. 1. Persians. Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926.
www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Pers.+200
I dreamed that two women in beautiful clothes, one in Persian garb, the other in Dorian attire, appeared before my eyes; both far more striking in stature than are the women of our time, [185] flawless in beauty, sisters of the same family. As for the lands in which they dwelt, to one had been assigned by lot the land of Hellas, to the other that of the barbarians. The two, as I imagined it, seemed to provoke each other to a mutual feud, and my son, when he had become aware of this, [190] attempted to restrain and placate them. He yoked them both to his car and placed the collar-straps upon their necks. The one bore herself proudly in these trappings and kept her mouth obedient to the rein. The other struggled and with her hands [195] tore apart the harness of the car; then, free of the curb, she dragged it violently along with her and snapped the yoke in two. My son was hurled to the ground and his father Darius stood by his side filled with pity. But Xerxes, when he caught sight of him, tore the garments covering his body. [200] Such was the vision I beheld in the night.
Questions
Examine the metaphoric imagery of this passage and try to find analogies in art and literature of the Greek and Roman culture using media as Perseus:
perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Pers.+176
Explain the different behavior of the two women and try to elucidate the prejudice which till now remains.
Study the Persian war and confront this attempt of unification with the one made by Alexander the Great.
Bibliography
E. Hall, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity, Cambridge 1977
G. Ceausescu, Un topos de la littérature antique : l'éternelle guerre entre l'Europe et l'Asie, Latomus 50 (1991) 327-341
Studi sull'Europa antica. 1 / a cura di Marta Sordi. Alessandria : Ed. dell'Orso, 2000. 140 p. (Studi di storia greca e romana ; 1). • Seminario svoltosi a Milano, presso l'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, il 15 dicembre 1999.