r
leader opens the play with expressions of apprehension: no news has come
from the host absent in Greece. The Chorus at first express full
confidence in the resistless might of the great army; but remembering
that the gods are jealous of vast power and success in men, yield to
gloomy forebodings. These grow stronger when Atossa, the aged mother of
Xerxes, appears from the palace and relates the evil dreams which she
has had on the previous night, and the omen that followed. The Chorus
beseech her to make prayer to the gods, to offer libations to the dead,
and especially to invoke the spirit of Darius to avert the evil which
threatens his ancient kingdom. Too late! A messenger arrives and
announces that all is lost. By one fell stroke the might of Persia has
been laid low at Salamis. At Atossa's request, the messenger,
interrupted at first by the lamentations of the Chorus, recounts what
has befallen. His description of the battle in the straits is a passage
of signal power, and is justly celebrated. The Queen retires, and the
Chorus sing a song full of gloomy reflections. The Queen reappears, and
the ghost of Darius is invoked from the lower world. He hears from
Atossa what has happened, sees in this the fulfillment of certain
ancient prophecies, foretells disaster still to come, and warns the
Chorus against further attempts upon Greece. As he departs to the
underworld, the Chorus sing in praise of the wisdom of his reign. Atossa
has withdrawn. Xerxes now appears with attendants, laments with the
Chorus the disaster that has overtaken him, and finally enters
the palace.

The economy of the play is simple: only two actors are required. The
first played the parts of Atossa and Xerxes, the second that of the
messenger and the ghost of Darius. The play well illustrates the
conditions under which Aeschylus at this period wrote. The Chorus was
still of first importance; the ratio of the choral parts in the play to
the dialogue is about one to two.

The exact date of the 'Suppliants' cannot be determined; but the
simplicity of its plot, the lack of a prologue, the paucity of its
characters, and the prominence of the Chorus, show that it is an early
play. The scene is Argos. The Chorus consists of the daughters of
Danaues, and there are only three characters,--Danaues, a Herald, and
Pelasgus King of Argos.

Danaues and Aegyptus, brothers, and descendants of Io and Epaphus, had
settled near Canopus at the mouth of the Nile.