Aeschylus (523 – 456 BC) (Ancient Literature)

 Aeschylus

(523 – 456 BC)

 Aeschylus was an ancient Greek Tragedian.

 He is also the first whose plays still survive; the others such are Sophocles and Euripides.

 He is often described as “The Father of Tragedy”.

 According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the plays to allow conflict among them,whereas characters previously had interacted along with the chorus.

 Only seven of his estimated 70-90 plays survived and there is a longstanding debate regarding one of hisplays “Prometheus Bound”, which some believe to be written by his son Euphorion.

 He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy. His Oresteia is the only ancient example of this form that survives.

 The Persians is the only surviving classical Greek tragedy concerned with contemporary events and useful source of information about its period.

 Oresteia is acclaimed by today’s literary academics.

 The inscription on his graveyard signifies the primary importance of “Belonging to the City”

 His only seven tragedies are survived intact are: “The Persians” (472 BC), “Seven Against Thebes” (407 BC) , “The Suppliants” (463 BC), “Oresteia” trilogy and “Prometheus Bound” (authorship is disputed).

 Oresteia trilogy consists of three tragedies: “Agamemnon”, “The Libation Bearers” and “The Eumenides”, this trilogy tells the bloody story of the family of Agamemnon, King of Argos.

 Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added the Second actor (deuteragonist) to the Greek stage.