Book Description:
A text, with introduction and commentary, of Eumenides, the climactic play of the only surviving complete Greek Trilogy, the Oresteia of Aeschylus, and the one most relevant to the Athenian state at the time of its performance.
About the Author:
Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC – c. 456/455 BC) was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays can still be read or performed, the others being Sophocles and Euripides. He is often described as the father of tragedy. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in plays to allow for conflict amongst them, whereas previously characters had interacted only with the chorus. He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy; his Oresteia is the only ancient example of the form to have survived. Only seven of his estimated seventy to ninety plays have survived into modern times. The Persian Wars would play a large role in the playwright's life and career. In 490 BC, Aeschylus and his brother Cynegeirus fought to defend Athens against Darius I's invading Persian army at the Battle of Marathon. In 480, Aeschylus was called into military service again, this time against Xerxes I's invading forces at the Battle of Salamis. In 458 BC, he returned to Sicily for the last time, visiting the city of Gela where he died in 456 or 455 BC. Valerius Maximus wrote that he was killed outside the city by a tortoise dropped by an eagle which had mistook his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. Pliny, in his Naturalis Historię, adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avoid a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.
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