Bust of Aeschylus from the Capitoline Museums, Rome

The youth of Aeschylus and the events of the then Athenian history

Aeschylus, son of Euphorion, was born in Eleusis in 525. Therefore, at the time when his closest predecessor in the development of tragic art, Thespides (Thespis), lived, Aeschylus could only be a child, while the playwrights Hoiril, Pratin and Phrynich were his older contemporaries, with whom he competed. Aeschylus belonged to the ancient aristocratic family of Attica, and among his ancestors he considered one of the ancient kings of this region. His youth coincides with an extremely lively and turbulent period in the life of the Athenian state. After the Athenians overthrew the tyranny of the Pisistratids in 510, a struggle began to establish a new order between two parties - the aristocratic, led by Isagoras, and the democratic, led by Alcmeonides Cleisthenes, who played an important role in the expulsion of Hippias; Some wanted the restoration of the old oligarchy, others - democratic freedom, Cleisthenes, elected to the post of archon, won a victory over the aristocrats and his legislation, in which the democratic elements of Solon's laws were further developed, laid the foundation for Athenian democracy. But the oligarchs found themselves the assistance of the Spartans, whose hegemony in Greece was based mainly on the rule of the aristocracy. The Spartan army, led by Cleomenes, returned Isagoras to Athens; occupying the Acropolis of Athens, he again destroyed democracy and all the institutions of Cleisthenes and expelled 700 citizens. But the indignant people drove out the Spartans, again restored the former institutions and returned Cleisthenes. Then a new danger appeared: Cleomenes, in anger at the Athenians, invaded Attica with the Peloponnesian allies (506 BC); the Boeotians approached from the north, the Chalkidians from the east; but the fellow countrymen of Aeschylus, the Athenians, did not lose their courage; Having decided to defend their freedom to the last extreme, they first went out to meet the Peloponnesians, and when they, divided among themselves, retreated without a fight, the Athenians turned against the Boeotians and Chalcedians and defeated both of them utterly. Young freedom was saved, and the Athenians - a tribe that combined Ionian mobility with rare vigor - confidently went forward along the path of freedom gained by hard work, so that, after a few years, they decided to even oppose the "great king" of Persia, wishing to gain glory for themselves and help your Ionian tribesmen to win freedom.

Aeschylus's participation in the Greco-Persian wars

When Hippias was expelled, Aeschylus was only 15 years old. The internal and external struggle for freedom, which then continued for several years, should have made a deep impression on the young man, especially because the noble family to which he belonged probably did not remain indifferent to this struggle, which, of course, had a decisive influence on character Aeschylus. The Euphorion family stood on the side of Cleisthenes and the people, and young Aeschylus became an ardent supporter of the new direction. If he personally did not take part in the struggle before 500, then soon after that he had the opportunity to prove his patriotism and to defend the freedom of his fatherland. At Marathon, Aeschylus, already a 35-year-old strong warrior, fought bravely and courageously alongside his brother Kinegir. The latter was killed in a battle for Persian ships; when he grabbed one ship by the protrusion of the stern, wanting to hold it, they chopped off his hand with an ax. Aeschylus, covered with wounds, was carried from the battlefield on a stretcher. In this case, he distinguished himself; in a painting depicting a marathon battle and exhibited in an Athenian gallery, in addition to Miltiades and the polemarch Callimachus, Aeschylus was also indicated among the fighting. He himself was proud of his exploits at the Marathon. In the epitaph, which he composed for himself, he is completely silent about his poetic fame - which, however, was quite famous - and only mentions his participation in the marathon battle.

Ten years after this battle, Aeschylus fought bravely again at Artemisia and Salamis, and the next year at Payaei. The Athenian Amenius, who, under Salamis, was the first to enter the battle on his ship and, in general, distinguished himself so much in this battle that all the Greeks unanimously awarded him a reward for bravery, many writers call Aeschylus' brother; but this, it seems, is contradicted by the fact that Amenius, according to Herodotus, came from Pallene, and Aeschylus from Eleusis, Be that as it may, Aeschylus's relatives, like himself, were distinguished by their courage and bravery in battles with the Persians. “To understand the poetry of Aeschylus, it is very important to know that his family became famous for their exploits: to stand at the head of their contemporaries, rising both in their wealth, and in the fame of their kind, in their nobility of origin, and in their habits and social status over the crowd working for the sake of daily food is a rare and important happiness for the poet and for the development of his talent ”(Droysen).

The Greeks characterized the chronological relationship between the three great tragic poets, defining the connection of their life with the great Battle of Salamis; they said that Aeschylus, a 45-year-old man, fought in this battle; that Sophocles, a 15-year-old youth, was the leading figure of the choir at the celebration of this victory, and Euripides was born on the day of it. According to this story, the youngest of them was only 45 years younger than the older; but between their tragedies we see very significant differences both in content and in tone; during this short period great changes took place in the mental life of the Athenian people. Comparing the creations of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, we see a gradual transition from the ideal world of legendary antiquity to new concepts.

Aeschylus is the father of tragedy. Video

The beginning of the dramatic activity of Aeschylus

After the Battle of Marathon, at a time when the Greek nation was proud of the consciousness of its victory and the elimination of the terrible danger, Aeschylus received (for the first time) the first victory award. This was in 485 BC (Ol. 73, 4), when the poet was already 40 years old. The oldest surviving tragedy of Aeschylus - "The Persians" - constituted the second part of the trilogy presented in 472 (Ol. 76, 4); this is the only tragedy with a historical content that has come down to us. The plot was the battle of Salamis; consequently, its content is similar to the tragedy of Phrynechus "The Phoenician" that we have mentioned, for which the author was awarded several years before. It is said that it was the tragedy of Phrynnich that prompted Aeschylus to write the "Persians" trilogy, and that he used the work of his predecessor, without committing plagiarism. In the comedy of Aristophanes "Frogs" (Art. 1298 et seq.) Aeschylus himself says on this occasion that he changed from beautiful to beautiful so that they would not say that he was picking flowers of his poetry in the same meadow as Phrynich.

"Persians" were given in Athens around 472. This tragedy is imbued with enthusiastic pride, which the triumph over the Persians filled the patriot Aeschylus and all Greeks. The drama takes place in the capital of Persia, Susa. The chorus of the Persian nobles glorifies the multitude and bravery of the army, which moved in 480 with the king Xerxes to Greece, but also expresses the fear that this army might be exposed to disasters and that Persia will be saddened by its death. Atossa, the mother of Xerxes, who, in the absence of her son, plays the role of the ruler of the Persian kingdom, tells the chorus that she had a dream that filled her with a sad foreboding. The choir advises her to make a sacrifice to her deceased husband Darius and ask him to save the army. Just then a messenger from Xerxes appears and informs Atosse and the nobles about the battle of Salamis and the destruction of the Persian fleet. His tale - a magnificent description of the battle - constitutes the culmination of this tragedy of Aeschylus:

“When is the white-headed clear Phoebus
The surroundings lit up - as if a hymn
There was a powerful, noisy click in the distance:
They were the Greeks - and loudly
Echoing them, from the rocky shores
Ajax echoed them
And a great fear fell upon the barbarians;
Hope deceived them; enemies
Didn't think to run, but sang a hymn
Majestic, speaking out boldly
To the battle. And the trumpet sound ignited
Hearts by their violent courage; and immediately
Striking the oars, knocking together
On the noisy waves of the sea, they rushed
And soon everyone appeared before us.
Carrying forward right wing
In order, slender, and behind him - the whole fleet
The rest of them; then it was possible
Hear the click: “Forward, sons of Hellas!
Go and rescue from the enemy
Fatherland! Oh save the children
And wives, the dwellings of the grandfather's gods,
Ancestor tombs; the battle will decide everything ",
Then in Persian
Speak rushed to meet them, and hesitate
There was nothing more ... and in a moment
Ship to ship with copper plated bow
Hit: then a Hellenic ship;
He knocked off the tops all on the masts
Phoenician; then grappled
Other ships. At the start of the battle
The army of the Persians defended themselves bravely:
When many ships were shy
In the bay, and give each other help
It was impossible in any way when they collided
Some ships bound with brass
With others, scary, scary crackled
Ships' sides; oars broke;
A Hellenic ships are treacherous
We were completely surrounded, and on our
Heavy blows rained down:
And toppled upside down
Ships; we have not seen the sea:
Everything around was covered with debris
From ships and dead bodies:
And the shores and rocks were also
All covered with the slain ... Then
Your ships were thrown into confusion
Forward, backward, seeking escape in flight.
A Hellenes, as if tuna
Any, or other fish,
Debris from oars, or boards
From the broken ships, they beat ours
And they killed; crying and moaning stood
At sea until the very time
Until the enemies were removed by the darkness of the night ...
Whenever a story about these all
I spent ten days in misfortunes,
Even then I would not have finished. Oh know
That never died in a day
One of so many people! "

The choir, having heard the sad news, expresses fear that the conquered peoples will rise up against the Persians and overthrow their yoke. Atossa sacrifices on her husband's coffin, casting his shadow; is the shadow Daria... Atossa tells her husband about the misfortune that the kingdom has undergone. In response, Darius says that the fault of all the troubles of the Persians is the arrogance of Xerxes. It hastened the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that the Persian army that went to Greece would perish. The gods are angry that the Persians built bridges over the waters of the Hellespont and destroyed the Hellenic temples. Through the mouth of Darius, Aeschylus says that the Persians should not encroach on Hellas and be content with the dominion over Asia, which was given to them from the gods, for people who want to acquire more than they were intended to be punished from above.

The action of the "Persians" continues with the appearance on the stage of an escaped from Greece Xerxes whose royal vestments are torn. The play ends with Xerxes and a chorus of Persian nobles mourning the calamity. Aeschylus thus explains the defeat of the Persians from a moral and religious point of view, as a punishment for the arrogance of their king.

Aeschylus - "Ethneans"

The first tragedy in the Persians trilogy, for which Aeschylus received his first award, was called Phineus; the third is "Glavk". In the latter, Aeschylus glorified the victory (also sung by Pindar in his 1st Pythian ode), which he won at Gimere Hieron together with his brothers over the Carthaginians, almost simultaneously with the Salamis battle. Perhaps this was the reason that Hieron invited Aeschylus to Syracuse. Aeschylus accepted this invitation and once again staged his trilogy "The Persians" on the stage in Syracuse, of course, at the request of Hieron. Several years before that (in 476 BC, Ol. 76, 1) Hieron founded the city of Etna, which during Aeschylus's stay in Sicily was not yet fully completed; in this new city Aeschylus staged his trilogy "The Ethneian Women" - "as an omen of the happy life of the inhabitants of the new city."

How long Aeschylus lived in Sicily, we do not know; but in 468 (Ol. 77: 4) he again appears in Athens. This year he entered into a competition with Sophocles and was defeated by this young poet, who at that time appeared for the first time in front of the people with his works. This event, unpleasant for Aeschylus, was subsequently also exposed as the reason for his removal to Sicily. But we agree with Welker, who says: “For the Athenian and the winner at Marathon, and moreover already in old age, of course, more important reasons were needed to leave his city than the fact that it was not crowned at the festival of Dionysus, which could happen to everyone. " Aeschylus's indifference in this regard is evidenced by the remark of Theophrastus or Chameleon that Aeschylus was so philosophically calm that one day, having suffered an undeserved defeat, he said: "I devote my tragedies to time."

Aeschylus - "The Petitioners" (summary)

Soon after the appearance of The Persians, Aeschylus wrote the tragedy Iketida (Supplices), which is very simple in content, performed by only two actors. (Later, Aeschylus, following the example of Sophocles, brought a third actor onto the stage.) The "Petitioners" were, it seems, the first part of the trilogy, the second part of which was "The Egyptians", and the third - "Danaids"; this explains the nature of the "Petitioners": there is little action in this play, and it is only passive.

The Danaids (daughters of Danaus), who fled from their cousins, the sons of their uncle, Egypt, who wanted to take them as wives by force, seek refuge in Argos and sit down as supplicants praying for protection at the altars in front of the city. The king of Argos, Pelasgus, for some time hesitated between the danger of being attacked by the suitors of Danaides and the fear of incurring the wrath of the gods by refusing to protect those who sat down at the altars. The pleas of the daughters of Danae and the decision of the Argos People's Assembly triumph over his timidity. Pelasgus takes Danaides under the protection of Argos. The grooms, who have gone to the Argos coast, send a messenger demanding that the girls be given to them. The messenger wants to take them away by force. Pelasgus does not allow this. The Messenger leaves, threatening with war. The Danaids, who form the choir, thank the gods of their new fatherland for salvation from the hated suitors.

However, the denouement of the drama is not achieved by this. The Herald's threats at the end of The Supplicants aroused a depressing, alarming foreboding in the audience. It served as a transition to the next part of this dramatic trilogy of Aeschylus - "The Egyptians", where the tragedian, developing the same myth, depicted how the daughters of Danae were forcibly given to the sons of Egypt - and on their wedding night they killed their husbands. Only one of the Danaids, Hypernestr, spared her husband. In the third part of this trilogy of Aeschylus - "Danaides" - disgruntled sisters dressed up the trial of Hypernestra. But he justified her through the intercession of the goddess of love Aphrodite. In ancient times, Hypernestra was considered the progenitor of the family of the Argos kings.

This trilogy of Aeschylus had a character more national than moral; it represented the first appearance of the Danaans, the genus of Perseids and Heraclids in Argos. In "The Petitioners," the songs of the Danaid choir are excellent, which sadly huddle up to the altars, like timid doves threatened by a hawk. The praises of the Argos people, expressed by the Danaids, were, according to Aeschylus's plan, political significance. The Danaids pray to the gods to protect Argos from military disasters, from fire, disease, strife; so that the government always wisely cares about the welfare of the state and protects foreigners, protecting them from offense. It was at this time, around 462, that the Athenians made an alliance with Argos and opened a war against the Persians in Egypt. The tragedy of The Supplicant was staged, probably at the same time as all these events. By creating it, Aeschylus had the goal of cementing the Athenian-Argos friendship.

Aeschylus - "Seven Against Thebes" (summary)

Read also individual articles by Aeschylus "Seven against Thebes" - a summary and Aeschylus "Seven against Thebes" - analysis

The tragedy of Aeschylus "Seven against Thebes" (Έptά ένί Φήβας, Septem Contra Thebas) is now reliably known that it was awarded the first award in 467 (Ol. 78, 1) and constituted the last part of the trilogy, which depicted the events of the myth of Oedipus and the fate of the Theban royal family.

The Theban king Lai, having received a prediction that he would die at the hands of his own son, ordered that the recently born child Oedipus be carried to the mountains and thrown there. But the shepherds saved Oedipus. He ended up in the house of the Corinthian king, who raised him as his own son. When Oedipus matured, he received a prediction that in the future he would kill his father and marry his mother. Considering himself the son of the ruler of Corinth and his wife, the stunned Oedipus fled from his imaginary parents to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy. Wandering around Greece, he killed his true father, Lai, in one accidental road fight. Soon Oedipus helped the city of Thebes to free itself from the monster, the Sphinx, which was atrocities in its area. For this, the Thebans chose Oedipus king and married him to the widow of the recently deceased Laius, Jocasta. So Oedipus, without knowing it, killed his own father and took his mother as his wife. When all this was revealed a few years later, Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself and voluntarily left Thebes into exile.

His two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, began to claim the Theban throne, competing with each other. Oedipus, who lived in the Attic Colon, seeing the cruelty of his own children, cursed both of these brothers. After the death of his father, Eteocles seized power and expelled his brother. In exile, Polyneices married the daughter of the king of Argos, attracted six glorious Hellenic heroes to his side and organized a campaign of the Seven against Thebes with them in order to overthrow Eteocles.

All these events were portrayed in the first two parts of the Aeschylus trilogy: "Lay" and "Oedipus". They have not reached us. The extant third drama "Seven Against Thebes" was extolled by ancient commentators for the warlike spirit of its author, an old fighter at Marathon and Salamis. Aeschylus himself says about himself in the comedy of Aristophanes "The Frogs": "I created a drama full of the spirit of Areev -" Seven Against Thebes "; everyone, seeing her on the stage, was imbued with militancy. "

In the prologue of the tragedy "Seven Against Thebes" Eteocles leads the defense of the city and sends the Scout into the enemy camp. The Theban women, who make up the chorus of the tragedy, are gripped by fear. The returned Scout says that each of the seven gates of Thebes will be attacked by one of the Seven Leaders of the enemy army. Eteocles appoints a special Theban general for the defense of each gate, and at those gates to which his brother Polynices will approach, he decides to command personally. Eteocles expresses a firm determination to fight his brother in order to fulfill the curse to which their common father, Oedipus, subjected him and Polynices. The Theban members of the choir persuade him not to enter into a personal fight with his brother, but Eteocles rejects these persuasions, although he is well aware of the horror of a possible fratricide. The shocked choir sings a mournful song about the curse of the house of Oedipus.

In the next act of this tragedy, Aeschylus, the Messenger reports on the defeat of the Seven and that Eteocles and Polynices killed each other in a personal duel. Their sisters Antigone and Ismene, together with the chorus, mourn the death of the brothers; the impression of crying, intensifies the bitter sarcasm contained in it. The Council of Elders of Thebes decides to bury Eteocles' body with honor and abandon Polynices without burial. Antigone firmly says that she will not allow such sacrilege and will bury the body of Polynices, despite the ban. Part of the choir with Ismene leaves to bury Eteocles, and the other part follows Antigone to mourn Polynices. However, some scholars believe that this ending does not belong to Aeschylus, but is a later insertion based on motives of Sophocles 'Antigone and Euripides' The Phoenicians.

The mutual murder of two brothers forms the core of Seven Against Thebes. According to Aeschylus, it is a consequence of Lai's crime in the first part and the curse of Oedipus in the second. In this tragedy, the third actor appeared on the stage.

"Seven Against Thebes" was performed on stage during the lifetime of the famous Athenian politician Aristides. Plutarch says that when the words were spoken referring to one of the heroes of the drama, Amphiaraus:

He wants to be fair, and not only
To seem so; and in his soul high
Advice ripens wise, good, -

then all the spectators turned their eyes to Aristide in the conviction that he was alone, mainly in front of all others, deserves this praise. Aeschylus, of course, himself in these verses, as well as in the whole characterization of Amphiaraus, had in mind precisely the aristocrat Aristides. His fair, wise and moderate policy pleased Aeschylus, who did not approve of the restless and not always straightforward line of the democrat Themistocles, with her desire to establish the rule of Athens over all Greeks.

Aeschylus - "Prometheus"

Aeschylus's majestic trilogy "Prometheus", which consisted of the tragedies: "Prometheus Abducting Fire" (or "Prometheus the Fire-Carrier"), "Prometheus Chained" and "Prometheus Unchained", was created around 79 Olympiads (464–461 BC. ), although there is another dating - 469 BC. From it, only the second part has come down to us, which requires the participation of a third actor and some machines; in the nature of the verse and in its execution, this tragedy approaches the works of Sophocles and Euripides. In Greek mythology, the image of the mighty titan Prometheus personified the human mind, soul and will. Wanting to improve the fate of people, Prometheus, like themselves, overstepped the boundaries set by the gods to human will.

The plot of "Prometheus" is taken from an ancient myth, in which, as can be seen from the cult of Prometheus in Attica, he was represented as the god of fire. The first mention of Prometheus is contained in the poems of Hesiod. In mythology, Prometheus was considered the son of the Earth, which was sometimes identified with the goddess of justice Themis. Prometheus was a titan. When Zeus reigned on Olympus, the sons of the Earth, the titans, rebelled against this new world ruler, but Prometheus was the only one of them sided with Zeus. However, later, the Olympian gods decided to destroy the human race, and Prometheus, opposing Zeus, saved humanity by bringing him the fire stolen from heaven. By this he aroused the irreconcilable enmity of Zeus.

The first scene of Chained Prometheus depicts the execution of the recalcitrant titan. The executors of the will of Zeus - Power and Strength - lead Prometheus to the end of the world, to gloomy Scythia, and Hephaestus nails him to a rock. Titan endures all this with courage and courage. As Zeus' servants leave, Prometheus pours out his sorrow alone. Hearing his words, the daughters of the Ocean, the nymphs of the Oceanids, who, according to Aeschylus's plan, personify all nature sympathetic to Prometheus, are brought to Scythia on a winged chariot. Oceanids make up the chorus of the Aeschylus tragedy. Prometheus tells them how he had previously helped Zeus and how he later quarreled with him. Oceanid's father, Ocean, flies to the rock of chained Prometheus on a winged griffin. He also takes pity on Prometheus, persuades him to submit to Zeus and thus make peace with him. Prometheus proudly refuses. The ocean flies away, and Prometheus tells the Oceanids about how he taught people to use fire, build houses, create states, gave them the arts of counting and writing, introduced them to cattle breeding, crafts, and navigation. The unfortunate heroine Io also comes to the rock of Prometheus, who aroused the love of Zeus and for this was turned by his wife, the Hero, into a cow. Prometheus prophesies that a great hero will come from Io in the future, who will free him from torment (Hercules).

The time will come when Zeus is haughty
Humiliate ... So let him sit now,
Hoping for your crashing thunder
Threatening with his flaming feather;
This will not save him from trouble,
From a terrible, shameful fall ...

Hearing these words in heaven, Zeus sends Hermes to find out what the oracle's prediction (communicated to Prometheus by his mother) consists, the fulfillment of which threatens the father of the immortals with "an impudent curse who offended the gods for the sake of mortals." Prometheus refuses to answer the question. Hermes threatens him with new executions. “Go, the titan answers him, - go back on your own way, -

I will not give up my gruesome execution
For the happiness of being with Zeus on the parcels;
Better to be a slave to my rock
Than Zeus' servant amiable ...
There is no such torment and there is no that deceit,
How would Zeus persuade me to say
Anything while I'm in chains ...
Let him throw a lightning ray
Let the snow throw the white-winged blizzard
Or shake the earth with a thunderclap
And the whole universe is crumbling around -
He won't make me open with anything,
Who will take away his power and kingdom ...
Throw away the thought, so that in cowardly fear
I bowed under the yoke of tyranny,
And so that the one who I hate so much
Like a woman with her hands up to the sky
Began to beg to save me from execution -
Oh, never! ...

In response, Hermes paints a terrible picture of the execution awaiting him for disobedience to Prometheus:

“... First, your rock
Zeus' wrath will crush with a perun;
Then your wounded body
He will hide deep between the stones;
When will the flow of time be fulfilled
And again you will see the light - then
A fierce eagle will fly to you; greedily
He will tear with his iron beak
Black leftover leftover meat
And your bloody liver will be
An uninvited guest is fed every day -
And you do not wait for the end of your suffering! "

But Prometheus remains adamant. He prefers to die completely, but not give away his secret. Then Hermes advises the Oceanides chorus to retire so as not to suffer from the blows of a terrible thunder. However, the chorus decides to share the fate of Prometheus and curses treason and violence. Hermes departs, and the final, climactic scene of the tragedy ensues. A terrible storm breaks out, Zeus's lightning strikes the rock. Terrible thunderclap; earthquake ... "It is coming true, - says Prometheus, -

Comes true - that word is not empty.
The earth trembles, and the rumble of a drawn-out thunder
All around it roars, and shudders brightly
Fiery convolutions of lightning; snowstorm,
Kicking up dust, twists it in a column
And all the whirlwinds broke free;
It gets in the way, colliding, the sky with the sea,
And this destructive rush
Sent by Zeus, rushes straight,
Furious, terrible - at me!
Oh holy mother earth! Oh ether,
All-encompassing light! - look,
What an insult I endure! ... "

Prometheus and his rock fall into the ground. This is where the drama ends. The main collision of this tragedy of Aeschylus is the clash of the tyrannical power of the gods and Zeus with the proud opposition of free human will.

But Aeschylus always reconciles the struggle of human freedom with the omnipotent laws of fate. Therefore, there is no doubt that Prometheus and Zeus were reconciled with him; this denouement was the content of the third part of the Aeschylus trilogy. In this tragedy that has not come down to us, "Prometheus Freed" (only small excerpts have survived from it), Aeschylus imagines how, many centuries later, Prometheus is subjected to a new execution. He is again chained to the Caucasian rock, and the eagle of Zeus, arriving every day, pecks at his liver, which grows back overnight. The chorus of "Prometheus Set Free" is made up of the protagonist's brothers, titans, who emerged from the bowels of the earth, where they were kept by the Olympic gods. Prometheus tells them about his torment.

But they are already close to the end. Hercules comes to Scythia, kills the eagle with a bow and frees Prometheus. Then Prometheus reveals to Zeus the notorious secret of his possible death. Zeus must refuse the marriage he desired with the goddess Thetis, for he will bring him death. The gods give Thetis for the mortal Peleus (from whom the famous Achilles is born to her). In "Prometheus Liberated", probably, the idea was carried out that Zeus rules the world and the fate of people justly, leads everything to the good of man, although his ways are often incomprehensible, and he often exposes people to suffering. Thus, the playwright reconciled a seemingly cruel divine necessity with a proud and rebellious free will.

Aeschylus and the reform of the Areopagus by Ephialtes and Pericles

Around 460 BC, an important political upheaval took place in Aeschylus's homeland of Athens. From the time of the expulsion of Themistocles (about 471 BC), the primacy passed into the hands of an aristocratic party, and the head of this party, a friend of Aeschylus Kimon, who, thanks to his brilliant military exploits, generosity and friendliness, enjoyed high respect and love of the people, for several years was the only leader of the foreign and domestic policy of the Athenian state. But the Democratic Party gradually gathered strength again and began to undermine Kimon's authority. The soul and leader of this party, unpleasant to Aeschylus, became Pericles, who, however, at first remained in the background and fought through his friends. His goal was to give the popular forces full scope for internal and external activities and, thus, put Athens at the head of all of Greece. With such a goal, the fall of Cimon became necessary, since he opposed any innovation in state affairs, and in relation to Sparta, which the Athenian democrats wanted to humiliate, he demanded moderation and good consent. Pericles and his friends, with the help of various bills favorable to the people, managed to free the masses of the people from the influence of wealthy aristocrats (to whom Aeschylus was also close) and to remove them from Cimon; having achieved this goal, about 460 they turned their forces against the last stronghold of the aristocracy - against the highest court, the Areopagus. One of Pericles' friends, Ephialtes, proposed to take away from the Areopagus the right of wide supervision over state institutions and the life of citizens and leave him only the right of a criminal trial over murderers, on the grounds that the Areopagus is a representative of the special interests of the anti-popular party and for the sake of its benefits hinders the free development state and popular forces. Aeschylus opposed this reform with all his heart.

Aeschylus - "Oresteia"

The struggle for the rights of the Areopagus, waged on both sides with extreme stubbornness, dragged on, for unknown reasons, for several years. Kimon and his friends made every possible effort to save the ancient institution; but Cimon was finally ostracized - and the Areopagus fell. Aeschylus, who saw in these democratic innovations a danger to the state and stood on the side of Cimon, as before on the side of Aristides, also took part in this struggle; he exerted all the forces of his poetic talent to save the last remnant of the glorious past. To convince the people not to destroy the "guardian of laws and good morality" - the Areopagus, Aeschylus wrote the trilogy "Oresteia", which was presented in 458 (Ol. 80, 2). This is the only Aeschylus trilogy that has come down to us in full. It consisted of the tragedies Agamemnon, Choephoros, Eumenides and the satirical drama Proteus. In the third part of this trilogy - in the tragedy "Eumenides" - Aeschylus introduces to the people how the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena, founded the supreme court of the Areopagus for the trial of Orestes, who was seeking protection, the murderer of his mother; this judgment seat, according to the poet, should exist forever, as the supreme council of citizens, and should enjoy the greatest respect, as the pride and bulwark of the country; in the drama of Aeschylus, Athena herself, in front of all the people, agrees with the venerable elders of the Areopagus, warns the people against immoderation and advises them not to remove everything that is best and stronger from the city:

Yes, so that fear is holy, reverent
Always stayed in the soul of fellow citizens;
Otherwise, which mortal is fair?
Maybe if he's reverent
Didn't you cherish the truth in your soul?

The Athenian people crowned the poet with a reward for his art; but Aeschylus did not achieve his main goal - the salvation of the Areopagus. The elder, saddened by this, retired from his fatherland and went to Sicily. This time, Aeschylus settled not in Syracuse, but in calm Gela, where he died three years later in sad exile.

A summary of the work of Aeschylus "Persians"
The action begins on the square in front of the palace in Susa, from where the tomb of Darius is visible, in chorus. The chorus tells that the Persian army went to Hellas, followed by the great kings Amister, Artaphren, Megabat, Astasp, in a word, all Asia took up arms and moved to Greece. It is sung about the strength, invincibility, fearlessness of the army and the fear that the army will fail. In the episode, Atossa, the mother of Xerxes, appears first and asks the choir to tell her what the dreams she had. She dreamed of two smart women, one in a Persian dress and the other in a Dorian headdress, both sisters. One allegedly lives in Hellas, the other in a barbarian country. Once they quarreled and Xerxes, deciding to appease them, harnessed them to the chariot and put a yoke on the necks of both women. Here Xerxes fell, and Darius, his father, stood next to him, grieving. Seeing his father, Xerxes tore his clothes. The chorus explains this dream in this way: if you dreamed of an unkind sign, then pray to the gods, they advise Atossa, so that they bestow good on themselves, their son, the state and friends; to ask Darius to send good to his son and her, and to hide the evil in the darkness of the black depths of the valley. Then, a little consoled, Atossa asks about the distant land, Hellas. The Messenger enters the stage. He talks about the misfortune, about the defeat of the Persians, about the death of the great and powerful kings Artembar, Liley, Arsam, Argest, Arktey, Areus, etc. the Greeks had 300 ships opposite 1000 at Xerxes. some Greek comes to Xerxes and says that as soon as night falls, the Greeks will go far away on ships, saving their lives. Xerxes believed the guile of the Greek and ordered the army to encircle Ayant Island. Coral stood all night and only when the sun shone. Xerxes heard the noise and cries of the Greeks. The Greeks surrounded them and the Persians were defeated. Xerxes had to flee from Salamis island, seeing how the Greek invaded this island, until he destroyed everyone clean. Yes, on the way to the Motherland, they lost people who died of thirst, someone from hunger. some from frost. Only a large part of the army remained, along with Xerxes. This is what the Messenger has to say. Having listened to him, Atossa, stunned and saddened by his news, leaves with the servants, and the Messenger leaves with her.
In the second episode of Atossus, accompanied by the maids, he bears sacrificial offerings and asks the choir to summon the shadow of Darius. Darius's shadow appears. He is frightened by the fear of his wife, who was standing at the grave, by the sorrow and sorrow of those present. Therefore, he asks: What new sadness oppresses the Persians ?. Atossa talks about what happened. The Chorus asks Darius how best to get out of such trouble for the Persian people. Darius advises not to go to war against the Greeks anymore, since the land itself is at the same time with them in battle. Then, having ordered his wife to take out the clothes to her son, who is about to appear all in rags, Darius's shadow disappears.
Xerxes appears in the exodus with a small number of warriors. He is wearing torn clothes that he has ripped off to himself. The chorus pity him and asks where the rest of the soldiers are, where he left them. And he left them on enemy soil and saved only one quiver. Mournful procession through the houses.

Features of the first period of Aeschylus's creativity (tragedy "The Persians")

Brief biography of Aeschylus:

Aeschylus was born around 525 BC. at Eleusis near Athens. Came from a noble family. Aeschylus fought with the Persians at Marathon, at Salamis and at Plataea. He began writing dramatic works early, leaving behind 90 plays. He won dramatic competitions thirteen times. From Athens, Aeschylus left for Sicily for some time at the invitation of the tyrant Hieron, and there, at the court in Syracuse, his tragedy "The Persians" was staged. Aeschylus died in 456. in the city of Gela in Sicily. Of all the works of Aeschylus, only 7 have survived: "Persians", "Seven Against Thebes", "Orestia" (consists of the tragedies "Agamemnon", "Choephoros" and "Eumenides"), "The Petitioner", "Seven Against Thebes", "Prometheus chained "," Beseeching ". Aeschylus is the founder of the Greek tragedy, he first brought into action the second actor, therefore he is often called "the father of tragedy".

A summary of the tragedy of Aeschylus "The Persians"(full text at http://www.lib.ru/POEEAST/ESHIL/eshil_persi.txt

Characters: Choir of Persian Elders. Atossa. Messenger. Shadow of Darius. Xerxes.

the end of the form the beginning of the form The square in front of the palace in Susa. The tomb of Darius is visible. The chorus of the Persian elders sings about the departure of the entire Persian army to Hellas. King Xerxes calls on the elders to protect the Persian land in his absence. The elders doubt the victory of the Persians. The wife of Xerxes is crying, there is no news from the king. Both the infantrymen and the cavalry army went on a campaign. They are led by 4 military leaders-kings: Amister, Artaphren, Megabat (well, almost a megabyte -) and Astasp. The chorus describes all the brave warriors who went to battle against the Greeks, speaks of their bravery, accuracy, etc. The kings of Memphis, Thebes, Lydia, Sardis, Tmola, Babylon also opposed Greece. The elders say that "all of Asia at the call of the king took up arms," ​​but "the power and beauty of the Persian land was taken away by the war." All Persia mourns in their absence. Meanwhile, the Persians arrive in Greece, establish a bridge across the Gella Strait. The vicious Xerxes drives his army by sea and by land. Xerxes "looks with a blue-black gaze of a predatory dragon", he fiercely attacks the Greeks, nothing stops him. The chorus says that the gods and fate commanded the Persians to fight and seize cities. The elders are afraid that Xerxes will lose his army, Susa will become empty, and panic will begin among the people.

The choir leader calls on the elders to gather. They wonder if the Persians will return victory or defeat. Atossa appears "as the radiance of the eyes of a deity", mother of Xerxes. Anxiety gnaws at Atossa, she is afraid that her stupid son has lost all the stolen gold on the way and will return with nothing. He says that the type of money is, of course, not the main thing, but living without money is also not the case. He says directly that "my son, having equipped an army, went to devastate and plunder the Ionian region." Atossa tells the elders about his last dream. She dreamed of two women: one in a Persian dress, the other in a Dorian dress, both of unearthly beauty. One lot appointed to live in Hellas, the other - "in a barbarian country" (as Atossa calls his Persia). She dreams that the two women had a falling out, and her son harnessed both of them to the chariot and put the yoke around his neck. One of the women, rejoicing at the harness, obediently took the bit, the other tore it with her hands and threw off the reins, broke the yoke in half. Xerxes falls to his knees, and above him stands, grieving, his father Darius. Seeing his father, the son begins to frantically tear his clothes and sprinkle ashes on his head. Atossa woke up and went to the altar to sacrifice. At the altar, she sees a hawk devouring an eagle. The elders urge Atossa to pray and make sacrifices so that the shadow of her deceased husband Darius, Xerxes' father, appears to her. Atossa asks the elders where Athens is, and they say that "far away in the land of sunset, where the God of the Sun fades." She does not understand why her son should attack Greece, but the elders explain that then Xerxes would become the king of the whole huge Hellas. Atossa asks about the army, about weapons, about the leaders of the Greeks. The elders say that the Greek army does not serve anyone, is not subject to anyone, there is no single master over them.

A messenger appears. He says that the army of the "barbarians" (Persians) all perished. " 300. Tells how a Greek spy came to Xerxes and reported that the Greeks were retreating. Xerxes, of course, ordered an attack on the Greeks at nightfall. However, the Greeks did not retreat, they sing a solemn song and with "selfless courage" go "into the battle for freedom homeland. ” suffering from hunger and thirst, many die, falling through the ice when crossing the Strimon River.

Atossa leaves to pray. The elders turn to Zeus, curse him for the death of the Persian army. They understand that Persia, after such a defeat, will no longer be able to rule all of Asia.

Atossa makes sacrifices and summons the shadow of her husband Darius. Atossa tells Darius about all the troubles that their foolish son has created. Darius speaks of "God's commandment" according to which Europe belongs to Greece and Asia to Persia. Darius commanded the Persians not to go to war with the Greeks anymore, for with them their very land is Greek. He predicts that only Xerxes will return.

The choir glorifies Darius, talks about all his victories. Xerxes appears in rags. Everyone is crying, grieving, repeating many times "woe to me, woe!" They come to the conclusion that the Greek people are brave. Everyone is crying, tearing off their clothes, sprinkling ashes on their heads. The curtain is closing.

Basic answer:

Lifetime Aeschylus (525-456 BC) coincides with an important period in the history of Athens and all of Greece. During the VI century. the slave system is formalized and approved in the Greek city-states (policies), crafts and trade are developing. Gradually slave-owning democracy is affirmed... In the VI century. BC. in Asia a mighty Persian state is formed which, expanding its limits, captured Greek cities in Asia Minor. Persian King Darius attacks mainland Greece, however, the Greek army wins a significant victory over the Persians in 490. in a battle near Marathon. Class contradictions and internal strife in Greek cities led to the fact that during the invasion of the Persians, part of the Greek states, for example, Thebes and Delphi, submitted to the enemy, while the majority heroically resisted and repelled the invasion, gaining victories at Thermopylae, Artemisia and Salamis in 480, at Plataea and at Mikal in 479. The patriotic upsurge during the struggle for the fatherland and freedom created a special mood, forcing the imagination to work hard, so that all memories of these events are saturated with the pathos of heroism, stories of wonderful exploits. In 472. BC. Aeschylus writes the tragedy "The Persians", which is dedicated to the glorification of the victory at Salamis... She made a great impression on the audience, most of whom were participants in the battle. Individual words and images of this tragedy are designed to influence the impressionability of the audience and arouse patriotic feelings in them. Aeschylus was not only a witness, but also an active participant in these famous events. Therefore, it is quite understandable that all his world outlook and poetic pathos were determined by the events he experienced.

The earliest surviving tragedy of Aeschylus, "The Beseeching", is similar in form to a lyric choral cantata. 50 daughters of king Danaus, together with their father, arrived in the city of Argos, persecuted by fear of the sons of Egypt persecuting them (there is in the form not a country, but a name), brother Danaus. In Argos they seek salvation from the king Pelasgus. In the Iliad, all the decisions of people were prompted by the gods, in the Odyssey, in addition to divine intervention, some independent actions of the heroes are manifested, but nowhere before Aeschylus there is no free choice or struggle for the decision. Aeschylus for the first time depicts the actions of people as a consequence of their own choice.

In 472. Aeschylus came up with a tetralogy, which included the tragedy "The Persians", dedicated to the clash of Hellas with Persia and, in particular, depicting the defeat of the Persians in the naval battle on the island of Salamis in 480. Real historical events, witnessed and participated in by Aeschylus himself, reflected in the drama in mythological terms... The poet explains the defeat of the Persians as divine retribution for the lust for power and the immense pride of the Persian king Xerxes. Aeschylus believes that the gods gave people freedom of choice, but set them a measure of what was permissible. However, people forgot about this and therefore the gods send them as a warning to Ate, who plunges people into madness. Xerxes opposed the established order: he led the Persians to Greece. To administer justice, the gods chose the Greeks and determined Salamis to be the first place of retribution. The tragedy depicts the state of Persia immediately after the defeat of Xerxes at Salamis. Aeschylus moved the events of the drama to the capital of the enemies, the city of Susa. This technique allowed him to continue intensify the dramatization of the action... The old Persian elders act as the choir. The mother of Xerxes Atoss has a strange dream, and she invokes with spells the shadow of her late husband, who foreshadows her the defeat of the Persians, sent by the gods as punishment for Xerxes' insolence. The archaic manner of the author is evidenced by the pile of names unusual for the Greek ear, endless enumerations of states, cities and leaders. The feeling of fear, tense expectation, which permeates the replicas of the queen and the luminary of the choir, turns out to be new. Finally, in torn clothes, exhausted by the long journey, Xerxes appears and bitterly mourns his misfortune.

Except for individual and minor inaccuracies, "Persians" give a correct picture of the state of both fighting sides and are largely the primary source for the history of this period of Greece. However, Aeschylus is not an impassive spectator of these events. First of all, in the tragedy one can see ardent patriotism of the author... Aeschylus justifies this patriotism by a special philosophy of history, according to which by fate and God the Persians are destined to rule in Asia, and the Greeks - in Europe. The Persians had no right to cross the borders of Asia, and since they overstepped, it was their tragic audacity, and the Greeks defended their independence, thanks to their wise "prudence".

The opposition between Greece and Persia is aggravated by Aeschylus also by the opposition of a free people, freely building their own destiny, and the eastern people, worshiping their despot and servilely fulfilling his will, any of his orders. Aeschylus is not limited to general patriotic ideas. In the struggle between the two commanders - Themistocles (in favor of the battle at sea) and Aristides (for the battle on land), Aeschylus supported Aristides. This explains the fact that he moved to the forefront of the land operation on Psittalea under the leadership of Aristide.

This entire philosophical, historical, political and patriotic concept also ends with a religious and moral concept, according to which Xerxes, among other things, is also the destroyer of Greek temples, mocking the Greek gods and heroes, not recognizing anything sacred.

The mythological perception of events did not prevent Aeschylus from correctly identifying the balance of forces in the matter of a person's personal behavior and objective necessity, did not overshadow from him the true meaning of the entire political situation. In the power of the Persians, supported only by fear and violence, Aeschylus opposes the power of the Greeks, which is based on a conscious desire for freedom. Persian elders characterize mortals as follows: "They are not slaves to mortals, they are not subject to anyone." The fate of Xerxes was to serve as a warning to anyone who would risk an attack on Greece.

Compared to the "Beseeching" in "The Persians" the role of the choir has been significantly reduced and the parties of the actors have been increased... But in terms of genre, "Persians" differ little from "Beseeching", it is also an oratorical type of tragedy, where events are given by themselves (they take place behind the scenes), but only thoughts and experiences associated with these events, or when remembering them or in their anticipation and anticipation.

The characters in "The Persians" continue to be immobile and monolithic... Atossa, mother of Xerxes, only expects a catastrophe, and then mourns what happened. The Persian messenger, reporting the defeat of the Persians, acts as a moralist in relation to Xerxes, and Xerxes himself only weeps over his defeat. Thus, the drama of the characters is not represented here in any way.

From the point of view of development, the actions of "Persians" are much more simple than "Pleading". The action here develops in a completely straightforward manner.... The scheme of this development is extremely simple, and it boils down only to the gradual deepening of the situation that was given from the very beginning. First, with a premonition of catastrophe, expressed by the chorus of the Persian elders -> the appearance of Atossa with his dumb sleep -> shock at the arrival of the messenger and his story about Salamis -> the dead father of Xerxes caused by Atossa, Darius openly declares to his wife that her son is a fool and mediocrity, and he is ashamed of him. -> and finally, the shock, justified by a real catastrophe, turns into a continuous sob with the arrival of Xerxes.

The completed idea of ​​the "Persians", containing a grandiose philosophical and historical concept of East and West, is presented in the tragedy in an unusually original way: not by directly describing the Greek victory, but by depicting the suffering and horror of the Persians over their defeat.

This style of "Persians" sharpens their main idea in the sense that here not only the victory of the Greeks over the Persians, already sufficiently punished for their aggressiveness, is glorified, but also preaches the need to stop further persecution of the Persians.

The tragedy is indicative for two reasons: firstly, being an independent play, it contains its problematics in a finished form; secondly, the plot of "The Persians", drawn NOT from mythology, but from recent history, allows us to judge how Aeschylus processed the material in order to make a tragedy out of it.

Summary of the ticket:

Comprehension of suffering as an instrument of divine justice is one of the most important tasks of the "Persians". Aeschylus penetrates deeply into the historical meaning of the Greco-Persian wars: he assesses the heroics of the struggle of the Greek people for their independence and shows in the war with Persia the clash of two systems - Hellenic and Eastern. Aeschylus sees the difference between these systems in the nature of the state structure, in contrast to the eastern monarchy and the Greek polis. There is also an actual political tendency in "Persians". Aeschylus is an opponent of the offensive war in Asia, called for by the aristocratic group in Athens, and stands for peace with Persia. He depicts the Persian people without any hostility, depicting them as a victim of Xerxes' reckless behavior. An interesting approach to the image: it is not the victory and jubilation of the Greek army that is shown, but the defeat and grief of the Persian. Individual characters are shown pale, there is no central figure in the tragedy.

Super short retelling:

"Persians" (472 BC) - one of the first tragedies of Aeschylus. About the battle of Salamis. It depicts the defeat of the Persian army led by Xerxes. The mother of Xerxes Atoss has a terrible dream, the dead father of Xerxes foreshadows the defeat of Persia, the elders, Xerxes, Atoss are crying. The victory of the Greeks is punctuated through the defeat of the Persians. There is no central figure, faded images.

Lisa
32. The image of Prometheus in Hesiod and Aeschylus. The philosophical and symbolic meaning of the image in subsequent centuries of European history (Goethe, Byron, Shelley, Schelling, Hegel, Nietzsche).

In the poem Hesiod "Theogony" the titan Prometheus, the benefactor of mankind, is a clever sly. The gods at first did not like people, but Prometheus helped them to survive. People were supposed to honor the gods by sacrificing part of their food to them. Prometheus arranged a cunning division: he killed the bull, put separately the bones, covered with fat, and the meat, covered with the stomach and skin, and invited Zeus to choose a share for the gods and a share for people. Zeus was deceived, chose bones and from evil decided not to give people fire for cooking meat. Then Prometheus himself stole the fire on Olympus and brought it to people in an empty reed. For this, Zeus punished both him and the people. For men, he created, "on the mountain to men," the first woman, Pandora, and from women, as you know, a lot of bad things came into the world. And Prometheus, as it is said, he chained to a pillar in the east of the earth and sent an eagle every day to peck out his liver. Only many centuries later, Zeus allowed Hercules on his wanderings to shoot this eagle and free Prometheus.

Prometheus is depicted as a deceiver, Hesiod clearly condemns him. The farmer Hesiod does not like artisans and therefore draws Prometheus, the patron saint of the craft, very negatively. Prometheus is a rebel, rebelling against the higher laws of justice, Zeus is just and wise.

Have Aeschylus v "Prometheus Chained" the hero became dignified and lofty: he is not a cunning and a thief, but a wise seer. (The very name "Prometheus" means "Provider"). Prometheus gave people intelligence and speech, inspired them with hope, made them build houses from the cold, explained the movement of heavenly bodies in the change of seasons, taught writing and counting in order to pass on knowledge to descendants, indicated ores for them underground, harnessed bulls to a plow, made carts for earthly roads and ships for sea routes, opened healing herbs for them, taught them to guess.

Prometheus knows the future, he cannot see how people are dying. He decides to do something unprecedented: he steals fire from the forge of Hephaestus and brings it to people in a cane tube. He knows that centuries-old suffering awaits him: Zeus's eagle will peck at his liver. Prometheus knows the secret of the death of Zeus, for this Zeus tortures him. Still, Prometheus is fighting, knowing that the insurmountable cannot be overcome. In the name of love for people, he rebelled against Zeus, deliberately sacrificed himself for the sake of progress. Prometheus is fighting against God.

Prometheus is a philanthropist and fighter against the tyranny of the gods, the embodiment of reason, overcoming the power of nature over people, a symbol of the struggle for the liberation of mankind.

The stories and conversations of Prometheus about the past, about his blessings to people give the image of Prometheus an unusually deep meaning. Conversations with Ocean and Hermes paint us the fortitude and willpower of Prometheus. The scene with Io perpetuates Prometheus as a sage and seer who knows the secrets of life and being, although he cannot use these secrets. Prometheus talks a lot about Io's wanderings, with a lengthy listing of the geographic points through which she passed and still has to go. Prometheus is credited with an extensive geographic scholarship, which was then the last achievement of science.

Oceanid's compassion for Prometheus.

The geological catastrophe at the end of the tragedy demonstrates the powerful will of Prometheus, capable of resisting decisively everything, including all nature and all the gods who command it. Prometheus is a friend and protector of people, a humanist, a progressist, a sufferer for people, and Zeus is a tyrant. The motive for self-sacrifice is central.

Goethe(Enlightenment) is a romantic image of a free hero. Prometheus is an idol, the embodiment of human freedom, reason, self-confidence, maybe even more than God, debunks the gods

The romantic heroic ideal of antiquity was combined with the boundless striving of spontaneous individualism. Revolutionary impulse Byron's "Prometheus": Prometheus is a defeated rebel, he holds back his groans so as not to give cause for laughter (ballad).

The feat of serving humanity in Shelley's "Prometheus Unchained" (1819). Shelley is also a romantic and freedom-loving person.

Nietzsche

Hesiod "Theogony" Prometheus is a clever sly, a thief.

Aeschylus "Prometheus Chained" the hero is a wise seer, friend and protector of people, humanist, progressist, sufferer for people. Zeus is a tyrant.

Goethe- a romantic image of a free hero, the embodiment of human freedom, reason.

Byron "Prometheus" - defeated rebel.

Shelley "Prometheus Unchained" (1819) - feat of service to humanity.

Shilling justifies Prometheus as a criminal and Zeus as a punisher.

Hegel: Prometheus brought people material culture, he is a rebel.

Nietzsche: Prometheus is a superman, has the right to revolt, this makes him stand out, rises due to suffering.

Aeschylus, Aischylos, of the Eleusinian community, 525 456 BC e., Greek tragic poet. Son of Euroforion. Descended from the ancient aristocratic family of Athens. His youth fell on the times of the decline of the Pisistratids and consolidation in Athens ... ... Ancient writers

- (Aeschylus, Αί̀σχύλος). The great Greek dramatist tragedian, son of Euphorion, was born in Attica in the city of Eleusis in 525 BC. Together with his two brothers, he fought in the battles of Marathon, Salamis and Plataea. Defeated in a poetic contest ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

ESCHIL Dictionary-guide to Ancient Greece and Rome, mythology

ESCHIL- (525/4 456 BC) The great Athenian tragedian, author of at least 79 works, of which only 7 have survived: "Persians", "Beseeching", "Seven against Thebes", "Chained Prometheus "And the trilogy" Oresteia ", including the tragedies" Agamemnon ", ... ... List of ancient Greek names

- (c. 525 456) Athenian playwright tragedian Lucky fool a great calamity. It is wise to know not much, but necessary. I will say openly: I hate all gods. Do not raise your voices as you lead the story leisurely. Strict calm Let there be your faces and ... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

- (other Greek. Αἰσχύλος ... Wikipedia

Aeschylus- (Greek Aischylos) (c. 525 456 BC) Greek playwright, nicknamed "the father of tragedy"; came from a noble Eleusinian family, took part in the Greco-Persian wars, died in Sicily. E. wrote approx. 80 tragedies, of which survived ... The ancient world. Reference dictionary.

- (525 456 BC), Greek playwright, the first of the three great Athenian tragedians of the 5th century. BC. Our information about the life of Aeschylus goes back mainly to the biography, preceded by his tragedies in the manuscript of the 11th century. According to these data, Aeschylus was born ... Collier's Encyclopedia

- (Aeschylos) father of European tragedy; genus. in 525, died in 456 BC His homeland was the Attic city of Eleusis, famous for its ancient mysteries, established, according to legend, by the goddess Demeter herself. In these mysteries, under the transparent ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

- (Aischylos) (525 BC, Eleusis - 456 BC, Sicily), ancient Greek playwright. Aeschylus. Greek sculpture. 5 c. BC NS. Roman copy A descendant of an old aristocratic family, a participant in the main battles of the Greco-Persian wars: ... ... Literary encyclopedia

Books

• Ancient tragedy, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles. The collection includes masterpieces of ancient tragedy - the immortal "Persians", "Chained Prometheus", "King Oedipus", "Antigone", "Medea", "Hippolytus" and other works written thousands of years ago, but also ...
• Ancient tragedy, Aeschylus., Sophocles., Euripides. The collection includes masterpieces of ancient tragedy - the immortal "Persians", "Chained Prometheus", "King Oedipus", "Antigone", "Medea", "Hippolytus" and other works written thousands of years ago, but also ...

I am here to fill in the gaps in the field of ancient literature. This time I read the tragedy "Persians" Aeschylus in translation by Apt. The play by the great Greek tragedian was staged in 472 and, as far as I know, is the only one that have come down to us an example of an ancient tragedy on a historical plot(the rest of the Greek tragedies are written on mythological subjects). Another tragedy is notable for the fact that first in the history of world drama it used reception of the appearance of the shadow of the deceased(hello to Hamlet's father!).

Plot... In the slate of Persia, Susa, they learn that their king Xerxes(hello "Three hundred Spartans"!) suffered a crushing defeat from the Greeks. Therefore, Maman Xerxes and the Persians grieve fiercely. Then the surviving Xerxes comes running and they grieve fiercely together. The final: Persians are hysterical on two and a half pages. They do this under the leadership of Xerxes, constantly making remarks that they do not yell enough, are executed and pull their hair out ... This is not a joke! =)

Basic pathos... The Greeks are brave, strong and well done, not like these shameful Persians. Xerxes did not respect the gods, for which he paid. Xerxes destroyed religious buildings in Greece and, worst of all, built pontoon bridge over the Hellespont, that is, he tied the sea with a bridge like a slave. Scoundrel! Could the gods endure such a thing ?! The stump is clear that no.
By the way, about the bridge. This is the very bridge over the depths that According to the legend first swept away by the storm and for which Xerxes commanded to carve the sea... But this historical anecdote is not mentioned in the play, that is, according to the tragedy, the sea gods punish Xerxes for the very arrogant idea of ​​the bridge and the fait accompli of its construction, and not for the legendary flogging! =)

The plot is indeed historical, but elements of mythology are also woven. The play contains all sorts of remembrances deities, description prophetic dream about two women and the Omen with birds of prey at the altar. There is a scene sacrifices to the spirit of the deceased and already briefly mentioned phenomenon shadows of the deceased king Darius... There is a humorous moment here. When the regal ghoul appeared, his wife, Atossa, began to lament like a woman with fear, and he immediately hints to her: hore to chat, let go for a little while, tell me a little!

The quotes I liked:

"But the one who himself aspires to the pit, God will push."

"Their very land is with them in battle."

"Even in the midst of sorrows / Give your soul daily joy, / After all, after death there is no happiness in wealth either."

"The guilt of the ears is the fruit of arrogance, / Blossoming magnificently. Such a bitter harvest."

"Here I am burning bitter bitter gift!" (Interestingly, the Russian translation conveys the design of the phrase in the original?)