Aeschylus

Aeschylus

Aeschylus, born in 525BC, was the first of Athens' three great tragedian playwrights. In his late 20s Aeschylus began entering plays in the annual drama competition, held during the Festival of Dionysus. He first won in 484BC. The earliest surviving work of Aeschylus is entitled Persians. It won first prize at the competition of 472BC. In all, he won first place victories 11 times before his death in 456BC. Aeschylus' most important contribution to Greek Tragedy was the introdution of a second actor and a reduction in the importance of the chorus. Some of Aeschylus' surviving plays are: Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound, and Seven Against Thebes. His works influenced people like Napoleon, Shelley and Victor Hugo. This mosaic picured here is found on the Greek island of Delos. [AL] {BR}