The Persians

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

LINES 1-245

Reading Check

1. Where is the play set?

2. Who makes up the chorus?

3. Who is Xerxes’s father?

4. Why didn’t the chorus accompany Xerxes to Greece?

5. Who is Atossa?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How did Xerxes cross into Greece? Why does this trouble the chorus?

2. Why are the chorus and Atossa so anxious at the beginning of the play?

3. How does Aeschylus contrast Persian government with Greek government?

4. What was Atossa’s dream?

5. What does the chorus think of Atossa’s dream and the omen she sees? What do they advise Atossa to do?

Paired Resource

“Ancient Persia and the Achaemenid Empire”

• This 15-minute video introduction to the Achaemenid Empire from the World History Encyclopedia offers details on the development of the region and resulting conflicts.
• This information connects with the themes of Contrasting Modes of Leadership and Athenian and Greek Nationalism.
• What role did the Achaemenid Empire play in the ancient Mediterranean?

LINES 246-1077

Reading Check

1. How do the chorus and Atossa find out about the Persian defeat?

2.