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Interwoven Collective Memories and Athenian National Identity in Aeschylus’ Persians
(2023) Bonatch, Laken; Sigelman, Asya C.
The Persian Wars had an immense cultural and political impact on Athens in the 5th century, leading to a variety of art, architecture, and entertainment on subjects related to the Persian empire and the war. As a historical moment that invoked both national pride and shared trauma from the Athenian population, the Persian Wars soon took on a life of their own in Athenian collective memory. Persians, a tragedy written by Aeschylus less than a decade after the end of the war, was produced and performed in the context of this post-war Athenian memory. In this thesis, I argue that Persians has three layers of collective memory: First, the genre of tragedy created a shared viewing experience for an audience of Athenians concerning their collective mythological or historical past. Next, Persians presented an Athenian-centered narrative of the battle of Salamis that was significant in emphasizing Athens’ role in the Persian Wars compared to the other Greek city-states. Finally, Aeschylus created a fictional Persian memory within the tragedy to reinforce the Athenian collective memory of the Persian empire and bolster Athenian national identity. To defend this argument, this thesis is grounded in collective memory theory, 5th-century Athenian history, and a close reading of Aeschylus’ Persians.