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INTERIORITY, THE ‘DEEP EARTH’ AND THE SPATIAL SYMBOLISM OF DARIUS' APPARITION IN THE PERSIANS OF AESCHYLUS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2014

Emmanuela Bakola
Emmanuela Bakola*
Affiliation:
King's College London
*
*Email: emmanuela.bakola@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article demonstrates that the spatial category of depth is crucial for understanding Aeschylus' Persians. Underground spaces are often symbolically represented in Greek drama not only on a vertical axis but also by the interior of the stage-building (skene). By investigating the connections between ‘interiority’ and ‘depth’, this article argues that the most economical and effective reconstruction of Darius' apparition is to suppose that he emerged from the interior of the skene, whose existence at this date is often disputed. The article furthermore analyses the multifaceted concept of the earth in the Persians, to suggest new ways in which underground, ground and interior spaces can be connected holistically to other spatial and natural imagery.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Cambridge Classical Journal , Volume 60 , 30 April 2014 , pp. 1 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I wish to thank Oliver Taplin, Fiona Macintosh, Chris Carey, Adam Lecznar, Antonis Petrides, Aspasia Skouroumouni, Lucia Prauscello, Richard Rawles and Vasso Kampourelli for their generous feedback; the anonymous readers for the Cambridge Classical Journal for their constructive suggestions, and the Leverhulme Trust for sponsoring my project on Aeschylus and the earth.

References

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