Aeschylus
Bust of Aeschylus from the Capitoline Museums, Rome
Born	c. 525 BC/524 BC Eleusis
Died	c. 456 BC Sicily
Occupation	Playwright and Soldier

Aeschylus (Greek: Αἰσχύλος, IPA: /ˈɛskələs/ or /ˈiskələs/, 525 BC/524 BC – 456 BC) was an ancient Greek playwright. He is often recognized as the father or the founder of tragedy,^[1][2] and is the earliest of the three Greek tragedians whose plays survive, the others being Sophocles and Euripides. He expanded the number of characters in plays to allow for conflict between them; previously, characters interacted only with the chorus. Unfortunately, no more than seven of the estimated seventy plays written by Aeschylus have survived into modern times. Image File history File linksMetadata Aischylos_Büste. ... Michelangelos design for Capitoline Hill, now home to the Capitoline Museums. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... Eleusis (Game) The cardgame invented by Robert Abbott in 1962, and later popularized in 1977 by Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Games column in Scientific American magazine. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 461 BC 460 BC 459 BC 458 BC 457 BC - 456 BC - 455 BC 454 BC... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Several people or things bear the name Aeschylus: Aeschylus was an Athenian playwright of the 5th century BC, best known for the Oresteia trilogy. ... IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 461 BC 460 BC 459 BC 458 BC 457 BC - 456 BC - 455 BC 454 BC... The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama. ... For other uses, see Play (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Greek tragedian. ... A statue of Euripides. ... The Greek chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and tragikon drama in tragic plays of the ancient Greek theatre. ...

Many of Aeschylus' works were influenced by the Persian invasion of Greece, which took place during his lifetime. His play The Persians remains a quintessential 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. The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC. The term can also refer to the continual warfare of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire against the Parthians and... The Persians (Πέρσαι) is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. ... Combatants Athens, Plataea Persia Commanders Miltiades, Callimachus â€ , Arimnestus Datis â€ ?, Artaphernes Strength 10,000 Athenians, 1,000 Plataeans 20,000 - 100,000 a Casualties 192 Athenians killed, 11 Plataeans killed (Herodotus) 6,400 killed, 7 ships captured (Herodotus) a These are modern consensus estimates. ...

Life

Persian King Darius, whose army fought in the Battle of Marathon

Aeschylus was born in either 524 or 523 BC in Eleusis, a small town about 27 kilometers northwest of Athens, which is nestled in the fertile valleys of western Attica.^[3] His family was both wealthy and well-established; his father Euphorion was a member of the Eupatridae, the ancient nobility of Attica.^[4] 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.^[4] 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.^[4][3] After fifteen years, his skill was great enough to win a prize for his plays at Athens' annual city Dionysia playwriting competition.^[4][5] But in the interim, his dramatic career was interrupted by war. The armies of the Persian Empire, who had already conquered the Greek city-states of Ionia, entered mainland Greece in the hopes of conquering it as well. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Darius (in Persian داريوش (Dah-rii-yoosh)) is a common Persian male name. ... Combatants Athens, Plataea Persia Commanders Miltiades, Callimachus â€ , Arimnestus Datis â€ ?, Artaphernes Strength 10,000 Athenians, 1,000 Plataeans 20,000 - 100,000 a Casualties 192 Athenians killed, 11 Plataeans killed (Herodotus) 6,400 killed, 7 ships captured (Herodotus) a These are modern consensus estimates. ... Eleusis (Game) The cardgame invented by Robert Abbott in 1962, and later popularized in 1977 by Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Games column in Scientific American magazine. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Attica (in Greek: Αττική, Attike; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a periphery (subdivision) in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. ... Eupatridae (Sons of noble fathers or the well-born) refers to the ancient nobility of Attica. ... A common vineyard. ... Pausanias is the name of several ancient people: Pausanias was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. Pausanias of Sparta was King of Sparta from 409 BC-395 BC. Pausanias was the servant/lover who assassinated Philip II of Macedon in 336 BC Pausanias, Greek traveller and geographer of... This article is about the ancient deity. ... The Dionysia was a large religious festival in ancient Athens in honour of the god Dionysus, the central event of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. ... Persia redirects here. ... Location of Ionia Ionia (Greek Ιωνία; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient region of southwestern coastal Anatolia (in present-day Turkey, the region nearest Ä°zmir,) on the Aegean Sea. ...

In 490 BC, Aeschylus and his brother Cynegeirus fought to defend Athens against Darius' invading Persian army at the Battle of Marathon.^[3] The Athenians, though outnumbered, encircled and slaughtered the Persian army. This pivotal defeat ended the first Persian invasion of Greece proper and was celebrated across the city-states of Greece.^[3] Though Athens was victorious, Cynegeirus died in the battle.^[3] 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.^[3] In 480 he was called into military service again, this time against Xerxes' invading forces at the Battle of Salamis.^[3] 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.^[6] Darius (in Persian داريوش (Dah-rii-yoosh)) is a common Persian male name. ... Combatants Athens, Plataea Persia Commanders Miltiades, Callimachus â€ , Arimnestus Datis â€ ?, Artaphernes Strength 10,000 Athenians, 1,000 Plataeans 20,000 - 100,000 a Casualties 192 Athenians killed, 11 Plataeans killed (Herodotus) 6,400 killed, 7 ships captured (Herodotus) a These are modern consensus estimates. ... Xerxes I of Persia (sometimes known as Xerxes the Great, in old Persian, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠[2]) was a king of Persia (reigned 486–465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... For other uses, see Battle of Salamis (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Play (disambiguation). ...

Aeschylus traveled to Sicily once or twice in the 470s BC, having been invited by Hieron, tyrant of Syracuse, a major Greek city on the eastern side of the island.^[3] By 473 BC, after the death of Phrynichus, one of his chief rivals, Aeschylus was the yearly favorite in the Dionysia, winning first prize in nearly every competition.^[3] In 458 BC, he returned to Sicily for the last time, visiting the city of Gela where he died in 456 or 455 BC. As legend has it, an eagle, mistaking the playwright's bald crown for a stone, dropped a tortoise on his head (though some accounts differ, claiming it was a stone dropped by an eagle or vulture that mistook his bald head for the egg of a flightless bird).^[3] This incident may not be as unlikely as it seems, as the Lammergeier is native to the Mediterranean region – a large eagle-like vulture known to drop bones and tortoises on rocks to break them open. Aechylus would continue to be honored by the Athenians, who respected his work so highly that they allowed other playwrights to reproduce his plays as part of the Dionysia rather than presenting original works of their own.^[3] His sons Euphorion and Euæon and his nephew Philocles would follow in his footsteps and become playwrights themselves.^[3] Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Hiero I was the brother of Gelo, and tyrant of Syracuse from 478 to 467 BC. During his reign he greatly increased the power of Syracuse. ... Gela is a city in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. ... Binomial name Gypaetus barbatus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus, is an Old World vulture, the only member of the genus Gypaetus. ...

The inscription on Aeschylus' gravestone may have been written by him, but makes no mention of his theatrical renown, commemorating only his military achievements: For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212...

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Works

Modern picture of the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, where many of Aeschylus' plays were performed

The Greek art of the drama had its roots in religious festivals for the gods, chiefly Dionysus, the god of wine.^[5] During Aeschylus' lifetime, dramatic competitions became part of the City Dionysia in the spring.^[5] The festival began with an opening procession, continued with a competition of boys singing dithyrambs, and culminated in a pair of dramatic competitions.^[8] The first competition, which Aeschylus would have participated in, was for the tragedians, and consisted of three playwrights each presenting three tragic plays followed by a shorter comedic satyr play.^[8] A second competition of five comedic playwrights followed, and the winners of both competitions were chosen by a panel of judges.^[8] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2304 × 1728 pixel, file size: 972 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Theatre of Dionysos, Athens, Greece; seen from the slope of the Acropolis Source: self-made, June 2005 Author: BishkekRocks File links The following... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2304 × 1728 pixel, file size: 972 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Theatre of Dionysos, Athens, Greece; seen from the slope of the Acropolis Source: self-made, June 2005 Author: BishkekRocks File links The following... This article is about the ancient deity. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... The dithyramb was originally an ancient Greek hymn sung to the god Dionysus. ... Papposilenus playing the crotals, theatrical type of the satyr play, Louvre Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of tragicomedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style. ...

Aeschylus entered many of these competitions in his lifetime, and it is estimated that he wrote some 70 to 90 plays.^[9] Only seven tragedies have survived intact: The Persians, Seven against Thebes, The Suppliants, the trilogy known as The Oresteia, consisting of the three tragedies Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides, and Prometheus Bound (whose authorship is disputed). With the exception of this last play -- whose success is uncertain -- all of Aeschylus' extant tragedies are known to have won first prize at the City Dionysia. The Alexandrian Life of Aeschylus indicates that the playwright took the first prize at the City Dionysia thirteen times. This compares favorably with Sophocles' reported eighteen victories (with a substantially larger catalogue of an estimated 120 plays), and dwarfs the five victories of Euripides (with a catalogue of roughly 90 plays). The Persians (Πέρσαι) is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Επτά επί Θήβας The Seven Against Thebes is a mythic narrative that finds its classic statement in the play by Aeschylus (467 BCE) concerning the battle between the Seven led by Polynices and the army of Thebes headed by Eteocles and his supporters, traditional Theban... The Suppliants (Greek Hiketides, also translated as The Suppliant Maidens) was probably first performed sometime after 470 BC. It was once thought to be the earliest play by Aeschylus due to the relatively anachronistic function of the chorus as the protagonist of the drama. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... This article is about a character in Greek mythology. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragedy. ...

One hallmark of Aeschylean dramaturgy appears to have been his tendency to write connected trilogies in which each play serves as a chapter in a continuous dramatic narrative.^[10] The Oresteia is the only wholly extant example of this type of connected trilogy, but there is ample evidence that Aeschylus wrote such trilogies often. In such connected trilogies, the comic satyr play that followed seems to have treated a related mythic topic. For example, the Oresteia's satyr play Proteus treated the story of Menelaus's detour in Egypt on his way home from the Trojan War. Based on the evidence provided by a catalogue of Aeschylean play titles, scholia, and play fragments recorded by later authors, it is assumed that three other of Aeschylus' extant plays were components of connected trilogies: Seven against Thebes being the final play in an Oedipus trilogy, and The Suppliants and Prometheus Bound each being the first play in a Danaid trilogy and Prometheus trilogy, respectively (see below). Scholars have moreover suggested several completely lost trilogies derived from known play titles. A number of these trilogies treated myths surrounding the Trojan War. One -- collectively called the Achilleis and comprising the titles Myrmidons, Nereids and Phrygians (alternately, The Ransoming of Hector) -- recounts Achilles' avenging Patroclus' death at the hands of the Trojan Hector and his subsequent holding of Hector's body for ransom; another trilogy apparently recounts the entry of the Trojan ally Memnon into the war, and his death at the hands of Achilles (Memnon and The Weighing of Souls being two components of the trilogy); The Award of the Arms, The Phrygian Women, and The Salaminian Women suggest a trilogy about the madness and subsequent suicide of the Greek hero Ajax; Aeschylus also seems to have treated Odysseus' return to Ithaca after the war (including his killing of his wife Penelope's suitors and its consequences) with a trilogy consisting of The Soul-raisers, Penelope and The Bone-gatherers. Other suggested trilogies touched on the myths of Jason and the Argonauts, the birth and exploits of Dionysus, and the aftermath (immediate and long-term) of the war portrayed in Seven against Thebes. The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... This article is about Proteus in Greek mythology. ... The fall of Troy, by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769). ... Scholium (tr~bXtoe), the name given to a grammatical, critical and explanatory note, extracted from existing commentaries and inserted on the margin of the manuscript of an ancient author. ... For other uses, see Achilles (disambiguation). ... Ajax, or Aias (Greek: ), was a king of Salamis, and a legendary hero of ancient Greece. ... For other meanings, see Odysseus (disambiguation) Ulysses redirects here. ... The Vatican Penelope: a Roman marble copy of an Early Classical 6th-century Greek work (Vatican Museums) For other uses, see Penelope (disambiguation). ...

The Persians

The earliest of the plays that still exist is The Persians (Persai), performed in 472 BC and based on experiences in Aeschylus' own life, specifically the Battle of Salamis.^[11] It is unique both in its aforementioned importance for historians of the Persian Wars and because the majority of Greek plays of that era concerned stories about the gods rather than stories about humans.^[1] The Persians focuses on the popular Greek theme of hubris by blaming Persia's loss on the overwhelming pride of its king.^[11] It opens with the arrival of a messenger in Susa, the Persian capital, bearing news of the catastrophic Persian defeat at Salamis to Atossa, the mother of the Persian King Xerxes. Atossa then travels to the tomb of Darius, her husband, where his ghost appears to explain the cause of the defeat. It is, he says, the result of Xerxes' hubris in building a bridge across the Hellespont, an action which angered the gods. Xerxes appears at the end of the play, not realizing the cause of his defeat, and the play closes to lamentations by Xerxes and the chorus.^[12] The Persians (Πέρσαι) is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. ... For other uses, see Battle of Salamis (disambiguation). ... Hubris or hybris (Greek ), according to its modern usage, is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence (overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution. ... Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa. ... Atossa or Hutaosa (550 BC-475 BC) was a Queen consort of Persia. ... Xerxes may refer to these Persian kings: Xerxes I, reigned 485–465 BC, also known as Xerxes the Great. ... The Helespont/Dardanelles, a long narrow strait dividing the Balkans (Europe) along the Gallipoli peninsula from Asia Anatolia (Asia Minor). ...

Seven against Thebes

Seven against Thebes (Hepta epi Thebas), which was performed in 467 BC, picks up a contrasting theme, that of fate and the interference of the gods in human affairs.^[11] It also marks the first known appearance in Aeschylus' work of a theme which would continue through his plays, that of the polis (the city) being a vital development of human civilization.^[13] The play tells the story of Eteocles and Polynices, the sons of the shamed King of Thebes, Oedipus. The sons agree to alternate in the throne of the city, but after the first year Eteocles refuses to step down, and Polynices wages war to claim his crown. The brothers go on to kill each other in single combat, and the original ending of the play consisted of lamentations for the dead brothers. An alternate ending added 50 years later, after the success of Sophocles' play Antigone, tells of the fate of Antigone, sister to Eteocles and Polynices.^[12] She defies the order of the new king, Creon, banning anyone from burying Polynices. In response, Creon sentences her to be buried alive, and Antigone commits suicide just before Creon is persuaded to rescind his order. The remainder of the play is an orgy of deaths. Creon is killed by his son, Haemon, who was betrothed to Antigone and who immediately afterwards kills himself. Then Eurydice, Creon's wife, kills herself in mourning. This ending entirely mirrors the plot of Antigone.^[12] This play was the third in a connected Oedpius trilogy; the first two plays were Laius and Oedipus, likely treating those elements of the Oedipus myth detailed most famously in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The concluding satyr play was The Sphinx. Wikisource has original text related to this article: Επτά επί Θήβας The Seven Against Thebes is a mythic narrative that finds its classic statement in the play by Aeschylus (467 BCE) concerning the battle between the Seven led by Polynices and the army of Thebes headed by Eteocles and his supporters, traditional Theban... A polis (πόλις, pronunciation pol-is) plural: poleis (πόλεις) is a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens. ... Eteocles and Polynices, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo In Greek mythology, Eteocles was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. ... In Greek mythology, Polynices was the son of Oedipus and Jocasta. ... Thebes (Demotic Greek: Θήβα — Thíva; Katharevousa: — Thêbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... For other uses, see Oedipus (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Greek tragedian. ... Antigone (play) redirects here. ... For other uses, see Antigone (disambiguation). ... There are two kings in Greek mythology named Creon, or Kreeon (ruler), and one historical person. ... In Greek mythology, Haemon (bloody) (or Haimon) was the son of Creon and Eurydice. ... In Greek Mythology, Eurydice was the wife of Creon, a king of Thebes. ... Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: Oedipus the King Oedipus the King (Greek , Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedipus the Tyrant), also known as Oedipus Rex, is a Greek tragedy, written by Sophocles and first performed ca. ...

The Suppliants

Aeschylus would continue his emphasis on the polis with The Suppliants in 463 BC (Hiketides), which pays tribute to the democratic undercurrents running through Athens in advance of the establishment of a democratic government in 461. In the play, the Danaids, the fifty daughters of Danaus, founder of Argos, flee a forced marriage to their cousins in Egypt. They turn to King Pelasgus of Argos for protection, but Pelasgus refuses until the people of Argos weigh in on the decision, a decidedly democratic move on the part of the king. The people decide that the Danaids deserve protection, and they are allowed within the walls of Argos despite Egyptian protests.^[14] The 1952 publication of Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 2256 fr. 3 confirmed a long-assumed (because of The Suppliants' cliffhanger ending) Danaid trilogy, whose constituent plays are generally agreed to be The Suppliants, The Aegyptids and The Danaids. A plausible reconstruction of the trilogy's last two-thirds runs thus: In The Aegyptids, the Argive-Egyptian war threatened in the first play has transpired. During the course of the war, King Pelasgus has been killed, and Danaus comes to rule Argos. He negotiates a peace settlement with Aegyptus, as a condition of which, his fifty daughters will marry the fifty sons of Aegyptus. Danaus secretly informs his daughters of an oracle predicting that one of his sons-in-law would kill him; he therefore orders the Danaids to murder the Aegyptids on their wedding night. His daughters agree. The Danaids would open the day after the wedding. In short order, it is revealed that forty-nine of the Danaids killed their husbands as ordered; Hypermnestra, however, loved her husband Lynceus, and thus spared his life and helped him to escape. Angered by his daughter's disobedience, Danaus orders her imprisonment and, possibly, her execution. In the trilogy's climax and denouement, Lynceus reveals himself to Danaus, and kills him (thus fulfilling the oracle). He and Hypermnestra will establish a ruling dynasty in Argos. The other forty-nine Danaids are absolved of their murderous crime, and married off to unspecified Argive men. The satyr play following this trilogy was titled Amymone, after one of the Danaids. The Suppliants (Greek Hiketides, also translated as The Suppliant Maidens) is a play by Aeschylus. ... Danaus, or Danaos (sleeper) was a Greek mythological character, twin of Aegyptus and son of Belus, a mythic king of Egypt. ... Danaus, or Danaos (sleeper) was a Greek mythological character, twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Belus, a mythical king of Egypt. ... This article is about the city in Greece. ... In Greek mythology, Pelasgus referred to several different people. ...

The Oresteia

Main article: The Oresteia

The most complete tetralogy of Aeschylus' work that still exists is the Oresteia (458 BC), of which only the satyr play is missing.^[11] In fact, the Oresteia is the only full trilogy of Greek plays by any playwright that modern scholars have uncovered.^[11] The trilogy consists of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers (Choephoroi), and The Eumenides.^[13] Together, these plays tell the bloody story of the family of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four (numerical prefix tetra-) distinct works. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... This article is about a character in Greek mythology. ...

Agamemnon

Agamemnon describes his death at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra, who was angry both at Agamemnon's sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia and at his keeping the Trojan prophetess Cassandra as a concubine. Cassandra enters the palace even though she knows she will be murdered by Clytemnestra as well, knowing that she cannot avoid her gruesome fate. The ending of the play includes a prediction of the return of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who will surely avenge his father.^[13] After the murder (1882 painting) Clytemnestra (or Clytaemestra) ‘‘(Eng. ... 112 Iphigenia is an asteroid. ... For other uses, see Cassandra (disambiguation). ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ...

The Libation Bearers

The Libation Bearers continues the tale, opening with Clytemnestra's account of a nightmare in which she gives birth to a snake. She orders Electra, her daughter, to pour libations on Agamemnon's tomb (with the assistance of libation bearers) in hope of making amends. At the tomb, Electra meets Orestes, who has returned from protective exile in Phocis, and they plan revenge upon Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus together. They enter the palace pretending to bear news of Orestes' death, and when Clytemnestra calls in Aegisthus to share in the news, Orestes kills them both. Immediately, Orestes is beset by the Furies, who avenge patricide and matricide in Greek mythology.^[13] Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... Phocis (Greek, Modern: Φωκίδα/Fokída, Ancient/Katharevousa: Φωκίς/Phokis; named after the Greek mythological personage Phocus) is an ancient district of central Greece and a prefecture of modern Greece located in Sterea Hellas, one of the thirteen peripheries of Greece. ... In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (goat strength, also transliterated as Aegisthos or Aigísthos) was the son of Thyestes and his daughter, Pelopia. ...

The Eumenides

The final play of the trilogy, The Eumenides, addresses the question of Orestes' guilt.^[13] The Furies pursue Orestes from Argos and into the wilderness. Orestes makes his way to the temple of Apollo and begs him to drive the Furies away. Apollo had encouraged Orestes to kill Clytemnestra, and so bears a portion of the guilt of the act. But the Furies belong to the older race of the Titans, and Apollo is unable to drive them away. He sends Orestes to the temple of Athena, with Hermes as a guide. There, the furies track him down and, just before he is to be killed, the goddess Athena, patron of Athens, steps in and declares that a trial is necessary. Apollo argues Orestes' case and, after the jury splits their vote, Athena decides against the Furies. She also renames them the Eumenides, or kindly ones, and declares that thereafter all future hung juries should result in acquittal, since mercy should take precedence over harshness. The Eumenides specifically extols the importance of reason in the development of laws, and, like The Suppliants, lauds the ideals of a democratic Athens.^[14] For other uses, see Athena (disambiguation). ...

Prometheus Bound

In addition to these six works, a seventh tragedy, Prometheus Bound, is uniformly attributed to Aeschylus by ancient authorities. Since the late nineteenth century, however, modern scholarship has increasingly doubted this ascription largely on stylistic grounds. Its production date is also in dispute, with theories ranging from the 480's BC to as late as the 410's.^[3][15] The play consists mostly of static dialogue, as throughout the play Prometheus is bound to a rock as punishment for providing fire to humans. The god Hephaestus, the Titan Oceanus, and the chorus of Oceanids all express sympathy for the Titan's plight. Prometheus meets Io, a fellow victim of Zeus' cruelty; he prophesies for her future travels, and reveals that one of her descendents will eventually free Prometheus. The play closes with Zeus sending Prometheus into the abyss because the Titan refuses to divulge the secret of a potential marriage that could be the Olympian's downfall.^[12] The Prometheus Bound appears to have been the first play in a trilogy called the Prometheia. In the second play, Prometheus Unbound, Heracles frees Prometheus from his chains and kills the eagle that had been sent daily to eat the Titan's perpetually regenerating liver. Perhaps foreshadowing his eventual reconciliation with Prometheus, we learn that Zeus has released the other Titans whom he imprisoned at the conclusion of the Titanomachy. In the trilogy's conclusion, Prometheus the Fire-Bringer, the Titan finally warns Zeus not to lie with the sea nymph Thetis, for she is fated to give birth to a son greater than the father. Not wishing to be overthrown, Zeus marries Thetis off to the mortal Peleus; the product of that union will be Achilles, Greek hero of the Trojan War. After reconciling with Prometheus, Zeus perhaps inaugurates a festival in his honor at Athens. Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragedy. ... For other uses, see Prometheus (disambiguation). ... Hephæstos (pronounced or ; Greek Hēphaistos) was the Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan; he was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. ... Titan may mean: // Titan (mythology), a class of deities who preceded the Olympians in Greek mythology Helios, Greek sun-deity sometimes referred to as Titan (Mahler), nicknamed Titan Titan (satellite), largest satellite of the planet Saturn Titan beetle, the largest beetle in the Amazon rainforest USS Titan (AGOS-15), a... Oceanus, with his wife, Tethys, ruled the seas before Poseidon. ... Chorus may refer to: // choir, a vocal ensemble Greek chorus refrain or chorus of a song, pre-chorus may refer to bridge (music) strophic form or chorus form, in music arrangement chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound; signal processors design to... In Greek and Roman mythology, the Oceanids were the three thousand children of Oceanus and Tethys. ... Look up Io, io in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ... As a noun, Olympian can refer to: One of the Twelve Olympians (see also Greek mythology). ... A trilogy of plays attributed to Aeschylus (there is some doubt on this subject) containing: Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound, and Prometheus Pyrphoros. ... There are two plays named Prometheus Unbound. ... In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy, or War of the Titans (Greek: Τιτανομαχία), was the eleven-year series of battles fought between the two races of deities long before the existence of mankind: the Titans, fighting from Mount Othrys, and the Olympians, who would come to reign on Mount Olympus. ... Prometheus the Fire-Bringer (Greek: Prometheus Pyrphoros) was likely the final play in the Prometheia trilogy traditionally ascribed to the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. ... This article is about the Greek sea nymph. ...

Influence on Greek drama and culture

Mosaic of Orestes, main character in Aeschylus' only surviving trilogy, The Oresteia

When Aeschylus first began writing, the theatre had only just begun to evolve, although earlier playwrights like Thespis had expanded the cast to include an actor who was able to interact with the chorus.^[16] Aeschylus added a second actor, allowing for greater dramatic variety, while the chorus played less important role.^[16] He is sometimes credited with introducing skenographia, or scene-decoration, though Aristotle gives this distinction to Sophocles. Aeschylus is moreover said to have made innovations in costuming -- making the costumes more elaborate and dramatic, and having his actors wear platform boots (cothurni) to make them more visible to the audience. According to later authors, as they walked on stage in the first performance of the Eumenides, the Furies were so frightening in appearance that they caused young children to faint and pregnant women to go into labor. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 628 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1740 × 1660 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 628 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (1740 × 1660 pixel, file size: 2. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... Thespis car, relief of the Giottos Belltower in Florence, Italy, Nino Pisano, 1334-1336 Thespis (1965), bronze sculpture by Robert Cook, commissioned for the opening of the Canberra Theatre Thespis of Icaria (6th century BC) is claimed to be the first person ever to have a man-gina According... The Greek chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and tragikon drama in tragic plays of the ancient Greek theatre. ...

Overall, though, he continued to write within the very strict bounds of Greek drama: his plays were written in verse, no violence could be performed on stage, and the plays had to have a certain remoteness from daily life in Athens, either by relating stories about the gods or by being set, like The Persians, in far-away locales.^[17] Aeschylus' work has a strong moral and religious emphasis.^[17] The Oresteia trilogy particularly concentrated on man's position in the cosmos in relation to the gods, divine law, and divine punishment.^[18] Aeschylus' abiding popularity is perhaps most evident in the praise the comic playwright Aristophanes gives him in The Frogs, produced some half-century after Aeschylus' death. Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , ca. ... Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Frogs Frogs (Βάτραχοι (Bátrachoi)) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. ...

See also

• Asteroid 2876 Aeschylus, which is named for him

2876 Aeschylus is a small main belt asteroid, which was discovered by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels in 1960. ...

Footnotes

August Wilhelm von Schlegel (September 8, 1767 - May 12, 1845), German poet, translator and critic, was born at Hanover, where his father, Johann Adolf Schlegel (1721-1793), was a Lutheran pastor. ...

References

• Bates, Alfred, ed. (1906). The Drama: Its History, Literature, and Influence on Civilization, Vol. 1. London: Historical Publishing Company.
• Buckham, P.W. (1827). The Theater of the Greeks, or the History, Literature, and Criticism of Grecian Drama. Cambridge: W.P. Grant.
• Freeman, Charles (1999). The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0670885150
• Griffith, Mark ed. (1983). Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521270111
• Pomeroy, Sarah B., ET. AL. (1999). Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195097432
• Sommerstein, Alan H. (1996). Aeschylean Tragedy. Bari.
• -- (2002). Greek Drama and Dramatists. London: Routledge Press. ISBN 0415260272
• Thomson, George (1973) Aeschylus and Athens: A Study in the Social Origin of Drama. London: Lawrence and Wishart (4th edition)
• Vellacott, Philip, (1961). Prometheus Bound and Other Plays: Prometheus Bound, Seven Against Thebes, and The Persians. New York:Penguin Classics. ISBN 0140441123

External links

Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Αισχύλος

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Aeschylus

• Wikipedia- Theatre of ancient Greece
• Selected Poems of Aeschylus
• Works by Aeschylus at Project Gutenberg
• Online English Translations of Aeschylus
• Photo of a fragment of The Net-pullers
• Prometheus Bound
• Crane, Gregory. Aeschylus (4). Perseus Encyclopedia.

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