Aeschylus (c. 525 - 456 BC)

Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian and is considered the "Father of Tragedy." Only seven plays survived out of an about 100 plays he wrote. Aeschylus expanded the number of actors in a play from one (and the Chorus) to more than one character. This was revolutionary. The Suppliant Maidens The Danaids, daughters of Danaus, flee from a forced marriage to their Egyptian cousins. When the Danaids reach Argos, they ask King Pelasgus to protect them. The Egyptians attempt to retrive the Danaids, but they retreat into Argos. There they are protected from the Egyptians. The Persians At Susa, Persia, Queen Atossa awaits the news of her son King Xerxes who was campaigning against the Greeks. (Opens as a chorus) A messenger arrives to tell the defeat of the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE. Atossa summons the ghost of their dead husband, King Darius. Before Darius leaves, he foretells the defeat of another Persian battle, the Battle of Plataea in 479 BCE, which happens. The Seven Against Thebes Oedipus steps down as king of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, on the understanding that they would alternate the throne every year. But one son doesn't step down and a war ensues. The Seven Against Thebes were: Adrastus, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Hippomedon, Parthenopeus, Polynices, and Tydeus. Prometheus Bound At the beginning, Kratos, Bia, and Hephaestus chain the Titan Prometheus to a mountain in the Caucasus, with Hephaestus alone expressing reluctance and pity, and then departing. Prometheus is being punished not only for stealing fire, but also for thwarting Zeus's plan to obliterate the human race. The Oresteia
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