Persians characters

Also known as Queen Mother

Appears from the start

The widowed queen of Persia and mother of Xerxes. While the king and his army are away in Greece, she comes before the elders at Susa troubled by a dream and an ominous encounter between birds. Her questions draw out the contrast between Persian monarchy and the independent Greek cities, and her fear gives the distant war an immediate human cost.

Also known as The Elders

Appears from the start

A council of elderly Persian nobles left in Susa while the younger men march with Xerxes. They begin in anxious admiration of the empire's power, question the messenger and the royal family, help call up Darius, and finally join Xerxes in mourning the disaster.

Appears from the start

A survivor who reaches Susa from Greece with the first direct account of the expedition's defeat. He reports that Xerxes is alive but that much of the Persian leadership and fleet has been destroyed, turning the court's unease into public grief.

Also known as Ghost of Darius

Appears from the start

The dead Persian king, husband of Atossa and father of Xerxes, summoned from the underworld by offerings and lamentation. He interprets Persia's defeat as the consequence of an overreaching campaign and warns that further suffering awaits the army still in Greece.

Also known as King of Persia

Appears from the start

The Persian king and son of Atossa and Darius, who has led an immense invasion of Greece. He returns to Susa alive but stripped of his army and prestige, and his exchange of grief with the elders closes the tragedy.