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The Battle of Salamis
Libations were an essential part of everyday religious practice in ancient Greece (and throughout the ancient world). To give libations typically involved pouring a liquid—usually wine, but also honey and milk—onto the ground, as a way to honor the dead and offer human bounty up to spirits. It is telling that while Aeschylus’s rendering of the Queen of Persia sees libation as central to prayer, in reality, libation was a custom more associated with the Greeks than with the Persians. The presence of libations in The Persians is thus another sign of just how much Aeschylus’s depiction of another culture in fact reflects on his own cultural mores.
Libations Quotes in The Persians
The The Persians quotes below are all either spoken by Libations or refer to Libations. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Persians Quotes
CHORUS LEADER: Queen mother, excessive fear
or confidence we do not wish to give you.
If your dreams were ominous, approach
the gods with supplications; pray that these
be unfulfilled, and blessings be fulfilled
for you, your son, your city, and your friends.
Next you must pour libations to the Earth
and the dead: and beg Darius, of whom you dreamed,
to send those blessings from the nether world
to light, for you and your son; and to hide
in darkness evils contrary, retained
within the earth. Propitious be your prayers.
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At the very beginning of The Persians, the Chorus expressed complete confidence in their empire’s army, boasting that Persians are “never defeated.” But now, having heard the Queen’s frightening dream about the eagle and the falcon, they no longer feel “excessive […] confidence.” Instead, the Chorus Leader starts urging the Queen to be deferential, telling her to offer “supplications” (prayers and sacrifices) to the gods, and “libations” (offerings of milk and honey) to the spirit of her dead husband Darius. This change of heart on the part of the Chorus shows the Persians’ use of religious rituals, but it also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusa
QUEEN: Ah! woe is me, the army all destroyed.
O bright night’s spectacle of dreams,
how clearly you foresaw my woe,
and you, my counselors, how poorly you have judged.
But yet, as you counseled thus,
first to the gods I’ll offer prayer; and then
to Earth and the dead I’ll come to offer gifts
from the house, a rich libation. I know I pray
for what is done and gone, but a brighter
fortune, in time to come, may there yet be.
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After the Messenger departs, the Queen tries to process the destruction her son’s army has suffered at Salamis. But even as the Queen expresses her “woe,” she also appears uniquely able to look towards the future. Even as she mourns what is “done and gone,” she is determined to usher in “brighter” days ahead. And in bridging the gap between a hopeless present and a hopeful future, the queen turns “to the gods”: to religious prayer and “rich libation,” a series of traditional offerings made to deities and the dead. Shortly after this scene, the Queen’s libations (milk and honey Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut a
QUEEN: My friends, if one’s experienced in troubles,
One knows that, when a flood of evil comes,
we tend to fear for everything; but when
a god provides an easy voyage, we think
that fortune’s never-ending wind will blow
forever. So now, to me all things are full of the fear
and visions from the gods assail my eyes,
and my ears already ring with cureless songs:
thus consternation terrifies my sense.
Therefore I departed from the palace,
returning here, unaccompanied
by chariots, by pomp and ceremony:
to the father of my son I bring
libations, propitious offerings for the dead.
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Having prepared her libations, the Queen returns to the palace grounds at Sousa, only to find that the Chorus of elders is still gathered in the same place, still moaning and lamenting. Though the Queen admits that she shares the Chorus’s “consternation,” she also takes a more measured view of the disaster. On the one hand, the Queen knows that this tragedy might appear permanent, sighing that “when a flood of evil comes, we tend to for everything.” At the same time, however, the Queen draws a parallel here between the Chorus’s “sorrow” now and the way those same people Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mol
DARIUS: All human beings suffer human troubles;
and many woes arise, some from the sea,
and others from the land, to those who live
a longer span of life.
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After the Ghost of King Darius is summoned from his grave by the Chorus’s chanting, he finds that the very men who summoned him are now tongue-tied, too ashamed of what has befallen Persia to tell their former emperor the truth. To comfort both the Chorus and his beloved widow the Queen, Darius reminds these still-living mortals that “all human beings suffer human troubles.” And if “woe” is an essential part of “life,” as Darius here makes clear that it is, then suffering misfortune is not anything to be ashamed of. On the one hand, Darius’s words show a softer Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium e
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