What historical event does Aeschylus’s Persians portray?

Aeschylus’s tragedy Persians (472 BCE) is unique among surviving ancient Greek plays because it dramatizes recent history rather than mythical events.12

The play portrays the decisive repulse of the Persian forces from Greece in 480 BCE, focusing specifically on the Battle of Salamis. Set in the Persian capital, the narrative follows the reactions of the Persian queen and the eventual return of the defeated and humiliated king, Xerxes. Aeschylus attributes the Persian defeat to a combination of Greek bravery and the gods' punishment of Persian folly for attempting to expand beyond the borders of Asia.12