Aeschylus

Aeschylus (525 BC—456 BC; Greek: Αισχυλος) was a playwright of ancient Greece.

Works

Aeschylus' work has a strong moral and religious emphasis, concentrating on man's position in the cosmos in relation to the gods, divine law and divine punishment in the Oresteia trilogy. Besides the literary merit of his work, Aeschylus' greatest contribution to the theater was the addition of a second actor to his scenes. Previously, the action took place between a single actor and the Greek chorus. This invention was only attributed to him by later tradition, however.

Related Topics:
Oresteia - Greek chorus

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Aeschylus is known to have written over 70 plays, only six of which remain extant:

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• The Suppliants (490 BC?) (Hiketides)
• The Persians (472 BC) (Persai)
• Seven Against Thebes (467 BC) (Hepta epi Thebas)
• Oresteia (458 BC)
• Agamemnon
• The Libation Bearers (Choephori)
• The Eumenides

In addition, the canon of Aeschylus' plays includes a seventh, Prometheus Bound. Attributed to Aeschylus in antiquity, it is generally considered by modern scholars to be the work of an unknown 4th century BC playwright, quite possibly Ion, Aeschylus' son. Its language is much simpler than that which Aeschylus usually utilises, without nearly as much complex metaphor and imagery, and is closer to Sophocles' style (though it is not at all suggested that Sophocles is its author); its hostility to the figure of Zeus is completely at odds with the religious views of the other six plays.

Related Topics:
Prometheus Bound - Antiquity - 4th century BC - Zeus

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In the early 1990s fragments of another Aeschylean play, which had been mentioned in ancient sources, were discovered in the wrappings of a mummy in Egypt. The play, Achilles, was part of a trilogy about the Trojan War. It had been lost for over 2,000 years.

Related Topics:
1990 - Mummy - Egypt - Achilles - Trojan War

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