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Aeschylus and His Tragedies

This document was originally published in The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 1 . ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 53-59. Æschylus, son of Euphorion, a scion of a Eupatrid or noble family, was born at Eleusis 525 B.C., or, as the Greeks reckoned time, in the fourth year of the 63rd Olympiad. His first occupation was in a vineyard, and his reverence for the god of the vine inspired him to follow the bent of his genius and contribute to the spectacles then newly established in honor of Dionysus. In his own words, as related to Pausanias, while still a stripling he was set to watch grapes in the country, and there fell asleep. In his slumbers Dionysus appeared to him and bade him turn his attention to the tragic art. When he awoke he made the attempt, and thus discovered his facility for dramatic composition. His earliest tragedy, composed when he was twenty-six years of age, failed to win the prize, and it was not until fifteen years later that he gained his first tragic victory. Meanwhile he had fought at Marathon, where he had gained some distinction, later taking part in the battles of Artemisium, Salamis and Platæa. As appears from his epitaph, written by himself and inscribed on his monument by the citizens of Gela, Sicily, where he died, he prided himself more on his military services than on his dramatic art.

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