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Aeschylus - Greek Tragedy

Aeschylus

By N.S. Gill, About.com

Aeschylus - Greek Playwright Aeschylus

Aeschylus - Greek Playwright Aeschylus

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Aeschylus was born at Eleusis in Attica in 525/524 and died at Gela in Sicily in 456/55.

The 7 Surviving (out of 90) Tragedies

  • Persians 472
  • Seven Against Thebes 468
  • Suppliant Women 463
  • (Trilogy) 458
    • Agamemnon
    • Libation Bearers
    • Eumenides
  • Prometheus Bound 450-425

Aeschylus Facts and Figures

Dating Suppliant Women is problematic. It was thought to be the earliest, performed in the 490's, but a recently discovered papyrus fragment suggests it was performed at the same festival as a play by Sophocles, whose first victory and performance took place in 468. Because of a reference on the papyrus to an archon, 463 may be the best guess.

We don't know when Prometheus Bound was performed or even if it was really by Aeschylus. [Sallie Goetsch comments, "Prometheus Bound is a pre-skene play, dating to approximately 460 BCE. (I published an article about this in Theatre History Studies 1994 or 1995; unfortunately it's not available online.)"]

Go to Greek Plays for online English translations of Aeschylus' tragedies.

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