Quotes and sayings from Aeschylus

Aeschylus was a Greek dramatist born in 525/524 BC in Eleusis, a small town about 27 kilometers northwest of Athens. He is considered the first of classical Athens’ great dramatists, who raised the emerging art of tragedy to great heights of poetry and theatrical power. Aeschylus grew up in the turbulent period when the Athenian democracy, having thrown off its tyranny, had to prove itself against both self-seeking politicians at home and invaders from abroad. He himself took part in his city’s first struggles against the invading Persians and fought at the battles of Artemisium and Salamis. His responses to the Persian invasion found expression in his play Persians, the earliest of his works to survive. Aeschylus was a notable participant in Athens’ major dramatic competition, the Great Dionysia, which was a part of the festival of Dionysus. Every year at this festival, each of three dramatists would produce three tragedies, which either could be unconnected in plot sequence or could have a connecting theme. This trilogy was followed by a satyr play, which was a kind of lighthearted burlesque. Aeschylus is recorded as having participated in this competition, probably for the first time, in 499 BC. He won his first victory in the theatre in the spring of 484 BC. Aeschylus died in 456/455 BC in Gela, Sicily.