AESCHYLOU, Persians, translated by Giorgos Blanas, directed by Savvas Stroumpos, Tuesday, July 11, at the Vrachon Theater in Byron
The Persians they are played out in the landscape of Nemesis (moment of divine wrath and vengeance). The earlier stages of the terrible triptych of the ancient Greek tragedy Hybri (violent, insolent and arrogant attitude) and Ati (blurring, blindness of the mind) have already preceded, since we are, in fact, at the beginning of the painful end of the Persian empire. In their attempt to process the feeling of terror that overwhelms them, the Persians are overwhelmed by the paranoia of their superior weaponry. From their monstrous tendency for more and more power, wealth, power, from their thoughtless expansionism, as well as from the rage to fight ceaselessly, until they conquer the desired territories, considering any dead people as collateral losses, any disasters that the attitude brings about their.
So, with the beginning of the project we are in the landscape of Nemesis. Tisi (punishment and crash) occurs. Agony and fear. News does not come from anywhere, yet everyone feels the destruction that has been done on the battlefield, to be precise in the sea carnage of the naval battle of Salamis, without anyone daring to admit it. The Persians stubbornly refuse to draw conclusions from the deadly battles of the previous period.
Aeschylus does not ridicule the enemies of Athens, at the same time, his criticism is absolutely relentless, especially regarding their will for power and wealth, their imperialistic intemperance. It mines the tragic matter from the Persian stalemate within the landscape of Nemesis. As long as they refuse to act reflectively and self-critically, to fundamentally question their cannibalistic attitude and see how they will face the coming destruction, the only path left to them is wild and unconditional and boundless lamentation. The mournful ferocity of the Persians is linked to the poet’s critical attitude towards their attitude. The connection of these two dimensions illuminates the tragic scale of the Persian tragedy. Ecstatic lament and critical attitude have a common root, and this is because it is necessary to demonstrate as clearly as possible the terrible fall of the once mighty rulers and arrogant Persians.
If Aeschylus had fleshed out or ridiculed the Persians it would have been nothing more than a poetic and political pettiness on his part. The Athenian tragedian could not tread such paths. Instead. Through the attitude of the Persians – an attitude of deep conscientious and political blindness – with its tragic results, he photographs the evolving imperialist arrogance of the Athenians themselves, who, under the guise of their democratic principles, indulge in the same voracious politics as their worst enemies. . In fact, he becomes so cruel to his compatriots that he critically compares them to the Persians, only eight years after the naval battle of Salamis (The tragedy was written and performed in 472 BC, the naval battle of Salamis dates to 480 BC). Aeschylus sees the coming end of the Athenian democracy (The defeat of Athens by Sparta dates back to 404 BC, where the Peloponnesian War ends) and warns, emphasizing democratic values which tend to be forgotten due to imperialist arrogance.
Aeschylus through the Persians shows the Athenians, thus creating a poetic filter of critical attitude to express his political, social and existential anxiety regarding democracy itself. Let’s act accordingly. Every arrogant, bloodthirsty and expansive power is reflected in the “Persians”. How close to us is the blinding narrative of the “end of history”. How arrogant arrogance of the supposed winners, how much expansionist fury, how empty barbarianism. The time of now finds us in a corresponding landscape of Nemesis. But how much longer will the tragedy of wintering humanity continue?
The performance of the Zero Point Group will be the result of a long-term workshop on the ancient tragedy. The basis of the research process is the method of psychophysical training of actors by Th. Terzopoulos. Six actors participate in the show. They all form the dance, through which the characters of the play emerge.
*Savvas Stroumpos is a director and actor
