Lyric and dramatic forms of the Persian defeat in Aeschylus, Timotheus and Euripides

Abstract

This paper examines how the defeated oriental barbarian is given voice in Aeschylus’ Persians, Timotheus of Miletus’ nomos Persians, and Euripides’ Orestes. A narratological, literary and linguistic analysis illustrates how literary genre, realistic or mythical setting, and chronology determine the portrait of this type of character in each work. It is shown that, although the formal rules of the different genres are still in force, the influence of the New Music movement brings closest Timotheus and Euripides’ representations of the barbarian.