Death, Memory, Intertextuality: Warrior Catalogues in Aeschylus’ Persians

When analyzed as an ensemble, the three warrior catalogues found in Aeschylus’ Persians reveal a striking multiplicity of intertexts operating under their surface. These intertexts, drawn from both literary and epigraphic sources, encourage the audience to understand the Persian warriors in two conflicting ways, at once close and distant from their experience, thereby prompting a complex emotional response. The ensemble of the warrior catalogues also showcases the play’s bold experimentation with the catalogue form, which is seamlessly incorporated into the dramatic texture or surprisingly hybridized with other forms.