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Aeschylus

Born

in Eleusis, Attica, Greece

December 12, 0524

Died

December 22, 0455

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry, Theatre

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Aeschylus (525 BC – 456 BC)
Greek Αισχύλος , Ésquilo in Portuguese; Esquilo in Spanish; Eschyle en français; Eschil in romanian; Эсхил in russian.

Aeschylus, an ancient Greek playwright, is often recognized as the father or the founder of tragedy. He is the earliest of the three Greek tragedians whose plays survive extant, the others being Sophocles and Euripides. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in plays to allow for conflict among them; previously, characters interacted only with the chorus. Unfortunately, only seven of an estimated 70 plays by Aeschylus have survived into modern times; one of these plays, Prometheus Bound, is sometimes thought not to be the work of Aeschylus.

At least one of Aeschylus's works wa Aeschylus (525 BC – 456 BC)
Greek Αισχύλος , Ésquilo in Portuguese; Esquilo in Spanish; Eschyle en français; Eschil in romanian; Эсхил in russian.

Aeschylus, an ancient Greek playwright, is often recognized as the father or the founder of tragedy. He is the earliest of the three Greek tragedians whose plays survive extant, the others being Sophocles and Euripides. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in plays to allow for conflict among them; previously, characters interacted only with the chorus. Unfortunately, only seven of an estimated 70 plays by Aeschylus have survived into modern times; one of these plays, Prometheus Bound, is sometimes thought not to be the work of Aeschylus.

At least one of Aeschylus's works was influenced by the Persian invasion of Greece, which took place during his lifetime. His play The Persians remains a good primary source of information about this period in Greek history. The war was so important to Greeks and to Aeschylus himself that, upon his death around 456 BC, his epitaph included a reference to his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon but not to his success as a playwright.

There are no reliable sources for the life of Aeschylus. He was said to have been born in c. 525 in Eleusis, a small town about 27 kilometers northwest of Athens, which is nestled in the fertile valleys of western Attica, though the date is most likely based on counting back forty years from his first victory in the Great Dionysia. His family was both wealthy and well-established; his father Euphorion was a member of the Eupatridae, the ancient nobility of Attica.

As a youth, he worked at a vineyard until, according to the 2nd-century AD geographer Pausanias, the god Dionysus visited him in his sleep and commanded him to turn his attention to the nascent art of tragedy. As soon as he woke from the dream, the young Aeschylus began writing a tragedy, and his first performance took place in 499 BC, when he was only 26 years old. After fifteen years, his skill was great enough to win a prize for his plays at Athens' annual city Dionysia playwriting competition. But in the interim, his dramatic career was interrupted by war. The armies of the Persian Empire, which had already conquered the Greek city-states of Ionia, entered mainland Greece in the hopes of conquering it as well.

In 490 BC, Aeschylus and his brother Cynegeirus fought to defend Athens against Darius's invading Persian army at the Battle of Marathon. Though Athens was victorious, Cynegeirus died in the battle. Aeschylus continued to write plays during the lull between the first and second Persian invasions of Greece, and won his first victory at the city Dionysia in 484 BC. In 480 he was called into military service again, this time against Xerxes' invading forces at the Battle of Salamis. This naval battle holds a prominent place in The Persians, his oldest surviving play, which was performed in 472 BC and won first prize at the Dionysia.

Aeschylus was one of many Greeks who had been initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, a cult to Demeter based in his hometown of Eleusis. As the name implies, members of the cult were supposed to have gained some sort of mystical, secret knowledge. Firm details of the Mysteries' specific rites are sparse, as members were sworn under the penalty of death not to reveal anything about the Mysteries to non-initiates. Nevertheless, according to Aristotle, it was alleged that Aeschylus had placed clues about the secret rites in his seventh tragedy, Prometheus Bound. According to some sources, an angry mob tried to kill Aeschylus on the spot, but he fled the scene. When he stood trial for his offense, Aeschylus pleaded ignorance and was only spared because of his brave service in the Persian Wars.

Aeschylus traveled to Sicily once or twice in the 470s BC, having ...more

Combine Editions
Aeschylus’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 79,443 ratings · 2,668 reviews · 483 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides by Aeschylus, Robert Fagles (Translator) , William Bedell Stanford (Introduction) 4.01 avg rating — 32,605 ratings — published -458 — 358 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Agamemnon (Oresteia, #1) by Aeschylus, Judith Affleck , Philip de May (Editor) 3.83 avg rating — 13,551 ratings — published -458 — 316 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, James Scully (Translator) , C. John Herington (Translator) 3.93 avg rating — 10,137 ratings — published -480 — 274 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prometheus Bound and Other Plays by Aeschylus, Philip Vellacott (Translator) 4.10 avg rating — 5,036 ratings — published -463 — 81 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eumenides (Ορέστεια, #3) by Aeschylus, Alan H. Sommerstein 3.87 avg rating — 2,647 ratings — published -458 — 87 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Persians 3.61 avg rating — 2,475 ratings — published -472 — 140 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Libation Bearers (Ορέστεια, #2) 3.81 avg rating — 1,780 ratings — published -458 — 102 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Seven Against Thebes 3.72 avg rating — 1,640 ratings — published -467 — 121 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Greek Tragedy by Aeschylus, Euripides , Sophocles 4.18 avg rating — 1,003 ratings — published 1988 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Oresteia by Aeschylus, Euripides , Sophocles 4.37 avg rating — 667 ratings — published 2009 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Aeschylus…

Series by Aeschylus

Oresteia (4 books)
by

Aeschylus,

Robert Fagles (Translator)

William Bedell Stanford (Introduction)

3.94 avg rating — 50,579 ratings

Quotes by Aeschylus

“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart
until, in our own despair, against our will,
comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
― Aeschylus

tags: brutal-comforting

505 likes

“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”
― Aeschylus

tags: happiness, inspirational

289 likes

“Wisdom comes through suffering.
Trouble, with its memories of pain,
Drips in our hearts as we try to sleep,
So men against their will
Learn to practice moderation.
Favours come to us from gods.”
― Aeschylus, Agamemnon

tags: favors, gods, memory, moderation, pain, sleep, suffering, wisdom

240 likes

See all Aeschylus's quotes »

Polls

Voting is now open for our themed read for February, Greek Tragedies. Voting will stay open until January 14th, 2018 and our winning book will be announced on January 15th, 2018.

Please note that I could not find a stand alone book for the book "The Trojan Woman" so I had to put a compilation of Euripides plays on the poll, Euripides: Ten Plays. Please know that a vote for this book will just be for "The Trojan Woman".

The Iliad by Homer

9 votes, 37.5%

The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex/Oedipus at Colonus/Antigone by Sophocles

4 votes, 16.7%

The Odessy by Homer

3 votes, 12.5%

Medea by Euripides

3 votes, 12.5%

Agamemnon by Aeschylus

2 votes, 8.3%

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

2 votes, 8.3%

Euripides: Ten Plays by Euripides

1 vote, 4.2%

24 total votes

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