Aeschylus

Aeschylus

Who was he?
1. Was the the first of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays can still be read or performed today
  1. Other two tragedians are Sophocles and Euripides
2. Born in 523 BC
  1. Died in 456 BC
    1. Parents?
      1. Father was Euphorion
      2. Mother is unknown
      3. He fathered two children
        Euphorion (named after his father)
        Euaeon
  2. Had two brothers and one sister
    1. Sister was called Philiopatho
    2. Brothers were called Ameinias and Cynaegirus
Wrote Tragedies in Ancient Times
1. Orestaia
  1. Agamemnon
    1. Plot: Agamemnon came back from Trojan War and was killed by the lover of his wife Clytemnestra, Aegisthus
  2. Elektra
  3. Orestes
2. The Persians
  1. Influenced by the Persian invasion of Greece
3. The Suppliants
Influences
1. The Persian War
  1. One of the only poets to concern his tragedies with recent political events
    1. He and his brother fought to defend Greece in the Persian wars
    2. He used his experiences to add drama to his tragedies
His life
1. Born in a small town North West of Athens
  1. Had a wealthy family
    1. Suggests education?
  2. He worked at a vineyard
    1. Pausanius wrote about his story of enlightenment
      1. That the God Dionysus came to him in his sleep and told him to turn to the art of tragedies
      2. OH Good Old Pausanius
Competitions
1. Won
  1. This great playwright won his first victory at the City Dionysia in 484BC
  2. He was said to have won first prize at the City Dionysia 13 times
2. Lost
  1. He lost to other competitors
    1. Such as Sophosles who won over 18 times at the City of Dionysia
His First play
1. Was written when he was only 26 years old
  1. Only 7 of his estimated 70-90 plays survived
  2. His plays were written in verse
    1. Most of which had strong moral, religious and political emphasis
2. The performance first took place in 449BC
  1. This was at the festival of the City Dionysia

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