Aeschylus's Biography

Aeschylus was born in 525 BC at Eleusis and died in Sicily at Gela in 456 BC.

He is generally regarded as the founder of Greek tragedy. By introducing a second actor, Aeschylus made dialogue and dramatic action possible.

Aeschylus wrote many works including 60-90 plays, of which seven survive. These are The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus Bound, the Suppliants and the Oresteia (a trilogy of Agamemnon, Choephoroe, and Eumenides).

Andre Malraux in "The Voices of Silence" states:

"It is hard for us clearly to realise the gulf between the performance of an Aeschylean tragedy, with the instant Persian threat and Salamis looming across the Bay, and the effect we get from reading it; yet, albeit dimly, we feel the difference. All that remains of Aeschylus is his genius."

Many of Aeschylus's plays focus on destiny, divine will and hubris.

Reputedly, Aeschylus died from being knocked out by a tortoise falling from the sky when dropped by an eagle!

As well as his dramatic accomplishments, Aeschylus's epitaph recorded his role at the battle of Marathon fighting the Persians.