AESCHYLUS
(Unknown. Bust of Aeschylus. Bronze. 20th century. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aeschylusathens.jpg.)
Why would a war hero spend his life writing tragedies?
c. 525 – c. 455 B.C. · Athens
Aeschylus was the first of the great Athenian dramatists. He fought and was wounded at Marathon, and took part in the defense of Greece when the Persians invaded in 480 B.C. He is best known for three trilogies, but only one, the Oresteia, survives complete.
The Oresteia, one surviving trilogy
- Born: Around 525 B.C., the son of Euphorion
- Soldier: Fought and was wounded at Marathon; helped defend Greece against the Persian invasion of 480 B.C.
- Rival: Bested by the younger Sophocles in a drama contest in 468 B.C.
- Died: Around 455 B.C., in Sicily
- Surviving work: The Oresteia complete; of his Oedipus trilogy, only Seven against Thebes
If the gods are good, why do people suffer?
Hover or tap each question Aeschylus explored
- The Divine PowerOne major concern for Aeschylus was the nature of the divine power governing the universe.
- Why Suffering?If the divine power is good, why does man suffer?
- Why Evil?Why is there evil in the world at all?
- Fate and Free WillWhat is the role of fate, and what is the role of free will, in a human life?
- Tragic HeroesAeschylus offered no easy answers. He explored these questions through the lives of tragic heroes such as Orestes.
- A City in ConflictHis Greece was marked by intense political rivalries and conflicts, and his plays took up these issues alongside religious and philosophical ones.
Aeschylus was the first of the great Athenian dramatists and playwrights.
His work both influenced and was influenced by the younger Sophocles, and his questions about divine power, suffering, evil, fate and free will became the enduring questions of tragedy. The Oresteia remains the only complete trilogy of Greek tragedy to survive.
Where to read more about Aeschylus and Greek tragedy.
- 1959The Complete Greek Tragedies: AeschylusGrene, David, and Richmond Lattimore, eds. · University of Chicago Press
- 1984A Commentary on the Complete Greek Tragedies: AeschylusHogan, James C. · University of Chicago Press
- 1997The Cambridge Companion to Greek TragedyEasterling, P. E., ed. · Cambridge University Press
- 2009The Complete Aeschylus, Volume II: Persians and Other PlaysBurian, Peter, and Alan Shapiro, eds. · Oxford University Press
- 2011The Complete Aeschylus, Volume I: The OresteiaBurian, Peter, and Alan Shapiro, eds. · Oxford University Press
- Four Plays of AeschylusE. D. A. Morshead’s translations, free from Project Gutenberg.gutenberg.org
- The Agamemnon of AeschylusThe first play of the Oresteia, in Gilbert Murray’s verse translation.gutenberg.org
- Britannica: AeschylusA biography and overview of his plays.britannica.com
- World History Encyclopedia: AeschylusAn introduction to his life and works by Mark Cartwright.worldhistory.org
(Unknown. Bust of Aeschylus. Bronze. 20th century. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aeschylusathens.jpg.)
A bronze bust from Athens, likely a modern reproduction of an ancient portrait, shows Aeschylus in stern profile with flowing beard, set against a classical backdrop, evoking the playwright's themes of fate and justice in works like The Oresteia.
(Roman copy after Greek original. Herma of Aeschylus. Marble. 2nd century AD. National Archaeological Museum, Naples. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herma_of_Aeschylus,_Klas08.jpg.)
A Roman marble herma from the 2nd century AD, copying a 4th-century BC Greek original, depicts Aeschylus with curly hair and beard, housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, symbolizing the tragedian's enduring legacy in Athenian drama.
(Wikimedia Commons. "File:TragicDrama-Aeschylus.jpg." Engraving, 1896. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TragicDrama-Aeschylus.jpg.)
This detailed engraving from an 18th-century publication captures Aeschylus in a dramatic pose, reflecting his legacy as the creator of complex tragic narratives like The Oresteia.