A defeated King
One of the most moving images is that of King Xerxes returning home after suffering a crushing defeat. The characters compare the way he looked when he first set out to war in comparison with how he looked when returned home. The image pictured here is a shocking one and the once-powerful king is presented as being a beggar. This shows just how much defeat can affect a person and how these internal changes can also become visible on the outside.
The perfect leader
While Xerxes is described and portrayed as a defeated ruler and a person unfit to stay on the throne, his father, the late King Darius is portrayed as the perfect leader. Darius is painted in the play as a strong and wise man, someone who is not afraid to take the time to think things over. Because of this, even in death, Darius is seen as a much more desirable ruler. The strong image portrayed here also has the purpose of showing just how weak the current leader is and ill-prepared.
The Persian as weak and fearful
When a soldier returns from the battlefield bearing news, he talks about those who were dead, the King and the soldiers who survived. The surviving soldiers are portrayed here as being extremely fearful and weak, refusing to stand by their King's side and running to save their lives. Through this description, the once-powerful army is portrayed as being extremely disorganized and disobedient, refusing to follow their leaders and choosing instead to go on their own.
The battlefield
In most plays that originated in antiquity, the act of going to war and the war itself is usually portrayed as a glorious event in which every man should want to take part. In comparison with the general way in which war was portrayed, in "The Persian" the act of going to war is portrayed as being an extremely traumatic event and a violent one. When the battlefield is described, the glory and bravery are all absent. What is mentioned however is the constant bloodshed and death.
