Aeschylus

Aeschylus grew up during a dangerous time when the Athens democracy had to
hold out against both domestic invaders and foreign tyrants after casting off its
tyranny (the absolute power of one man). The initial battles that his city waged
against the Persian invaders included Aeschylus himself. If the later Greek
chroniclers' assertion that Aeschylus, who took part in the Battle of Marathon in
490 BC, when the Athenians first repelled the Persians, was 35 years old is
accurate, then his birthdate would be 525 BC.
The Great Dionysia, Athens' premier dramatic tournament, featured outstanding
performances by Aeschylus. Each year at this festival, three dramatists would
present three tragedies, which might either be unconnected in terms of their order
of events or share a common subject. After this trilogy, there was a satyr play,
which was a fun burlesque. It is known that Aeschylus took part in this
competition, most likely for the first time in 499 BC. In the early years of 484 BC,
he achieved his first triumph in the theater. Years later, in the poetry epitaph he
made for himself, Aeschylus singled out his involvement in this war at Marathon,
where he had fought and probably been wounded. In this conflict, the brother of
Aeschylus perished. Aeschylus once more saw action, taking part in the wars of
Artemisium and Salamis in 480, when the Persians once more invaded Greece. In
his play Persians, the first of his compositions to survive, he responded to the
Persian invasion. This play was created for the competition in the spring of 472 BC
and took home the top honors.
Aeschylus is supposed to have been to Sicily at this time in order to reintroduce
Persians to the court of tyrant Hieron I in Syracuse. Although he is claimed to have
suffered one noteworthy setback at the hands of the novice Sophocles, whose entry
at the Dionysian festival in 468 BC was triumphant over the older poet's entry,
Aeschylus' later career is a record of consistent dramatic success. In the following
year, 467, Aeschylus triumphed with his Oedipus trilogy (of which the third
drama, Seven Against Thebes, survives). Aeschylus returned to Sicily after
finishing the Oresteia trilogy, the best-known of his surviving works, in 458.
Aeschylus passed away in 456 or 455 at Gela (on Sicily's south coast), at the age of
69, according to the chronographers.
About 80 of the roughly 90 plays Aeschylus produced—which included tragedies
and satyr plays—are recognized today. Only seven tragedies have been completely
preserved. One source, possibly based on the official lists, gives Aeschylus 13 first
prizes, or triumphs; considering that sets of four plays rather than individual ones
were judged, this would suggest that more over half of his plays were successful.
Flavius Philostratus, a philosopher, claimed that Aeschylus was referred to as the
"Father of Tragedy." The two sons of Aeschylus also became well-known
tragedians. In 431 BC, Euphorion, one of them, defeated Sophocles and Euripides
to take home the top honor.
Dramatic and literary achievements
Tragic development was significantly influenced by Aeschylus. Before him, Greek
theater could only include one actor (who later came to be regarded as the
protagonist, or first actor) and a chorus that performed a mainly static recitation.
(The chorus was a group of performers that sang, danced, and recited in response
to and commentary on the play's main action.) The performer could switch
between characters by donning different masks and outfits, but he was only
allowed to converse with the chorus. Aeschylus greatly extended the drama's
potential for conversation and dramatic tension by including a second player (the
deuteragonist, or second actor) with whom the first might interact. This also
allowed for greater diversity and freedom in plot design.
Although Aristotle states in his Poetics that Aeschylus "reduced the chorus' role
and made the plot the leading actor," it is likely true that the chorus
predominated in early tragedy. Aeschylus was innovative in a variety of other
ways as well. He was adept at using stage props and equipment, and some of his
works are renowned for their breathtaking scenic effects. As is customary among
Greek dramatists, he also made costumes, taught his choruses their songs and
dances, and most likely performed in most of his own plays.
But only a portion of Aeschylus' accomplishment can be attributed to his formal
improvements. His plays have literary worth that endures due to his magnificent
and captivating lyrical language, complicated story structures, and open
exploration of universal topics. Aeschylus' language exudes power, grandeur, and
emotional intensity in both conversation and choral lyric. His aggressive use of
compound epithets, metaphors, and figurative language is well matched to the
dramatic action rather than being utilized only for ornamentation. Aeschylus is
known for keeping a single picture or collection of images throughout a play;
examples include the ship of state in Seven Against Thebes, the raptors in
Suppliants, and the trap in Agamemnon.
More generally, Aeschylus uses a number of key themes that are frequently
connected to a certain word or set of words across a play or trilogy of plays. For
instance, the Oresteia features a number of recurring themes across the three
acts, including anger, mastery, persuasion, and the contrasts between light and
darkness, dirge and triumphant song. Greek theater was able to take on a more
genuinely aesthetic and intellectual shape because to Aeschylus' use of rigorous
story design and this kind of dramatic orchestration.
The plights, choices, and fates of people are central to Aeschylean tragedy because
they directly affect the fate of the community or state, which in turn has a strong
connection to the gods. Thus, personal, societal, and religious matters are all
intertwined, just as they were in the poet's day in ancient Greece. Aeschylus was
somewhat concerned with theodicy, or the justification of the gods' actions to
humans, but it would be more accurate to say that he sought to illuminate the
essence of divine justice via dramatic struggle. Aeschylus and his Greek
contemporaries thought that because the gods disapproved of human excellence,
they brought infatuation to a man just when he was reaching the pinnacle of his
triumph, precipitating his downfall. Man's infatuated acts were typically those of
pride (hubris) or impiety, for which his demise may be considered as a due reward.
In this system, Zeus, the most powerful deity, served as the protector of a moral
order made up of everlasting justice and divine enmity.
However the wicked are not always punished in their lifetime; justice may be
visited onto their heirs. This heritage of faith in a righteous Zeus and inherited guilt
was passed down to Aeschylus, and it may be seen in several of his plays. The
most straightforward example of this may be seen in Persians, when Xerxes and
his invading Persians are punished for their own transgressions. However, in a play
like Agamemnon, the problems of just punishment and moral responsibility, of
human innocence and guilt, of individual freedom versus evil heredity and divine
compulsion, and of individual freedom versus individual freedom present
contradictions which still confound human intellect.
Finally, Aeschylus believes that human motivations are used by divine justice to
carry out its edicts. The desire for retribution, which was fundamental to the
ancient Greek system of values, is foremost among these motivations. This idea of
retribution or retaliation is prevalent throughout the Oresteia, the only complete
surviving trilogy. Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Aegisthus, and Orestes all had
vengeance on their minds. But crucially, the string of revenge killings that target
Agamemnon and his family are put an end by peace and the rule of law as created
by Athena and the Athenian courts of justice, not by a perfect division of blood
blame or by a continuation of bloodshed.
Aeschylus is practically unparalleled when it comes to producing tragedies that,
despite its ability to show evil and the terror and repercussions of evil, finish in
happiness and peace, such in The Oresteia. Even though Aeschylus lived in a time
when the Greek people still genuinely believed they were surrounded by the gods,
he yet possessed a characteristically Greek aptitude for detached and broad
thought, which allowed him to approach the basic issue of evil with exceptional
honesty and success.
References :
1. Taplin, O., & Podlecki, A. J. (2023, May 12). Aeschylus | Biography, Plays, & Facts.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aeschylus-Greek-

dramatist