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AESCHYLUS(525–456 BC), Greek playwright, 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 that preceded his tragedies in the 11th century manuscript. According to these data, Aeschylus was born in 525 BC. in Eleusis, his father was Euphorion, who belonged to the ancient Athenian aristocracy, the Eupatrides. Aeschylus fought the Persians at Marathon (a fact proudly noted in his epitaph) and probably also took part in the Battle of Salamis, since the story of this battle in Persach most likely belongs to an eyewitness. In Aeschylus’s youth, Athens was an unimportant city, but he happened to witness the advancement of his native city to a leading place in the Greek world, which happened after the Greco-Persian wars. Aeschylus first performed in a tragedian competition ca. 500 BC, but he managed to win the first prize only in 484. Aeschylus later took first place at least 13 times. The Athenians thought highly of his works. This can be judged by the fact that after his death, a decree was passed in Athens that anyone wishing to stage Aeschylus’s play would “receive a choir” from the authorities (i.e., would receive permission to resume staging the drama at the Dionysius festival). Aeschylus traveled to Sicily several times and staged his dramas there, and in 476 BC. composed a tragedy Ethnyanki in honor of the founding of Etna by Hieron, then ruler of Syracuse. The legend is that in 468 BC. Aeschylus left Athens because he was outraged by the success of his younger rival Sophocles, most likely apocryphally. Be that as it may, in 467 BC. Aeschylus was already in Athens again to stage his tragedy Seven against Thebes, and in 458 BC. his masterpiece Oresteia, the only Greek trilogy that has come down to us was awarded first prize. Aeschylus died at Gela in Sicily in 456 BC. Like all tragedians before Sophocles, he performed the roles in his dramas himself, but also hired professional actors. It is believed that it was Aeschylus who took an extremely important step in the development of drama by introducing a second actor into the action.

Works.

Aeschylus combined his tragedies into trilogies devoted to a common theme, such as the fate of the Laia family. It is not known whether he was the first to create such unified trilogies, but the use of this particular form opened up wide scope for the poet’s thoughts and became one of the factors that allowed him to achieve perfection. It is believed that Aeschylus was the author of ninety dramas, the titles of 79 are known to us; 13 of them are satyr dramas, which were usually staged as an addition to the trilogy. Although only 7 tragedies have come down to us, their composition was determined as a result of a careful selection made in the last centuries of antiquity, and therefore they can be considered the best or most typical fruits of Aeschylus's poetic gift. Each of these tragedies deserves special mention. Persians, the only extant historical drama in all of Greek literature, describes the defeat of the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC. The tragedy was written eight years after these events, i.e. in 472 BC Regarding the time when the tragedy was staged Prometheus chained no data available. Some scientists consider it to belong to the early period of creativity, others, on the contrary, to the late period. It was probably part of a trilogy dedicated to Prometheus. The myth on which this tragedy is based - the punishment of Prometheus for stealing fire and neglecting the will of Zeus - was developed in the famous poem by Shelley Prometheus Unbound and in many other works. Tragedy Seven against Thebes staged in 467 BC, is an account of the story of the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices. This is the final part of the trilogy, the first two tragedies were dedicated to Laius and his son Oedipus. Tragedy Petitioners tells the story of the fifty daughters of Danaus, who chose to flee Egypt rather than marry their cousins, the sons of Egypt, and took refuge in Argos. Due to the abundance of archaisms, this tragedy has long been considered the earliest surviving work of Aeschylus, but a papyrus fragment published in 1952 allows it to be dated presumably to 463 BC. Trilogy Oresteia was written in 458 BC. and consists of Agamemnon, Hoefor And Eumenides.

Drama technique.

The structure of the plot in Aeschylus remains relatively simple. The main character finds himself in a critical situation, determined by the will of the deities, and this situation, as a rule, does not change until the denouement. Having once settled on a certain course of action, the hero continues to walk along the chosen path, without knowing any doubts. The internal conflict, to which Euripides assigns such an important place, is almost invisible in Aeschylus, so that even Orestes, about to kill his mother at the behest of Apollo, shows only a moment’s hesitation. Several simple episodes build tension and introduce the details leading up to the disaster itself. The choir's songs, intertwined with the episodes, form a majestic background; they convey a direct feeling of the tragic situation, create a mood of anxiety and horror, and sometimes contain an indication of the moral law, which is the hidden spring of action. The fate of the choir is always involved in the tragedy, and the outcome of the drama to a certain extent affects its participants. Thus, Aeschylus uses the chorus as an additional actor, and not simply as a commentator on events.

Aeschylus's characters are outlined in several powerful strokes. Here we should especially highlight Eteocles in Seven against Thebes and Clytemnestra in Agamemnone. Eteocles, a noble and faithful king, who brought death upon himself and his family partly because of his devotion to his fatherland, has been called the first tragic hero of European drama. Clytemnestra has often been compared to Lady Macbeth. This woman, possessed of an iron will and unyielding determination, possessed by a blind rage that prompts her to kill her husband, reigns supreme in all scenes Agamemnon, in which she takes part.

Worldview.

In the theology of Aeschylus, the divine control of the universe also extends to the realm of human morality, that is, if we use the language of myth, Justice is the daughter of Zeus. Therefore, divine powers invariably punish the sins and crimes of people. The action of this force does not boil down to reward for excessive prosperity, as some of Aeschylus’s contemporaries believed: properly used wealth does not at all entail death. However, mortals who are too prosperous are prone to blind delusion, madness, which in turn gives rise to sin or arrogance and ultimately leads to divine punishment and death. The consequences of such a sin are often perceived as hereditary, transmitted within the family in the form of a generational curse, but Aeschylus makes it clear that each generation commits its own sin, thereby bringing into existence the generational curse. At the same time, the punishment sent down by Zeus is by no means a blind and bloodthirsty retribution for sin: a person learns through suffering, so that suffering serves a positive moral task.

Oresteia, a trilogy staged in 458 BC, consists of three tragedies – Agamemnon, Hoephori, Eumenides. This trilogy traces the effect of the curse that befell the family of Atreus, when the son of Pelops Atreus, having quarreled with his brother Thyestes, killed the children of Thyestes and treated their father to a terrible dish made from children. The curse sent by Thyestes on Atreus passed on to Atreus’s son, Agamemnon. Therefore, when Agamemnon, at the head of the Greek army, went to Troy, he decided to sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia, to appease Artemis. His wife Clytemnestra never forgave him for this crime. In his absence, she acquired a lover, Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, with whom she hatched a plan for revenge. Ten years later, Troy fell and the Greeks returned home.

In tragedy Agamemnon the action begins right from this moment, and it unfolds around the killing of the leader of the Greek army by his own wife. When Agamemnon returns home, accompanied by the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, who has become his captive and concubine, Clytemnestra invites him to enter the palace and kills him; Cassandra also shares the fate of Agamemenon. After the murders, Aegisthus appears on the scene and declares that from now on royal power belongs to him and Clytemnestra. The chorus of Argive elders, who remained faithful to Agamemnon, protests in vain and hints at future retribution when Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, grows up.

Tragedy Khoefors(or Victim at the coffin) tells the story of the return of Orestes, who, after the murder of his father, was sent outside Argos. Obeying Apollo's oracle, Orestes secretly returns to avenge his father. With the help of his sister, Electra, he enters the palace and kills Aegisthus and his own mother. After this act, Orestes becomes a victim of the Erinyes, formidable spirits avenging the murder of a relative, and in madness leaves the scene to again seek protection from Apollo.

Tragedy Eumenides is dedicated to the suffering of Orestes, which ultimately ended in his acquittal. Pursued by the Erinyes, the young man comes to Athens and appears here before a specially appointed court (the Areopagus) led by the goddess Athena. Apollo acts as the defender, and the vote cast by Athena decides the case in favor of Orestes, since the people could not come to a final decision. Thus the effect of Atreus’s ancestral curse ends. Erinyes is beside herself with anger at this decision of the Areopagus, but Athena manages to soften them, persuading them to transfer their functions as guardians of justice to Zeus, and themselves to settle in Attica as beneficent spirits of the earth.

Aeschylus (ancient Greek Αἰσχύλος, 525 BC - 456 BC) - ancient Greek playwright, father of European tragedy.

Aeschylus is an outstanding ancient Greek playwright and tragedian, an author who is called the father of Greek and, accordingly, European tragedy. The main source of his biography is a manuscript from the 11th century, in which his works are immediately preceded by a biography.

Aeschylus was born near Athens, in the city of Eleusis. In this Attic city the cult of Demeter was very developed, which played an important role in determining the direction of creative activity. Having witnessed numerous sacraments, young Aeschylus began early to think about the meaning of life, about the relationship between fate and will, about the reward of good and punishment for evil. Aeschylus was the successor of an ancient Athenian aristocratic family. There is also a known fact from his life (Aeschylus himself considered it very significant and was very proud of it) as his participation in the Greco-Persian wars. He took part in the battle of Marathon and, most likely, of Salamis. Aeschylus had the opportunity to witness another important historical process - the promotion of Athens to the most significant positions in Greece.

Aeschylus's first performance in a playwriting competition dates back to around 500 BC. e., but only in 484 BC. e. he got a victory, which he would subsequently win at least 13 times. From 1484 BC e. Aeschylus's ascent to the pinnacle of glory began. Until about 470 BC. e. no one could compete with him.

It is known that several times during his life Aeschylus made trips to Sicily, where he showed performances based on his tragedies. There is a legend that in 486 BC. e. Aeschylus left Athens, unable to bear the brilliant successes of the rising Sophocles, however, most likely, it is not true. In 467 BC. e. Aeschylus attended a production of Seven Against Thebes in Athens.

His Oresteia trilogy in 458 BC. e. received first prize. Soon after this event, Aeschylus left Athens again. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the last period of the tragic man’s life was somewhat overshadowed by not very good relations with his fellow citizens. There is evidence that the playwright was accused of making the sacraments in honor of Demeter public in one of his works. In 456 BC. e. Aeschylus went to Sicily and died there, in the city of Gela. The cause of death, according to legend, was a stone or turtle dropped on his head by an eagle.

Aeschylus is known as the author of about 80 works, of which only 7 have survived to this day; Fragments of varying lengths from other works have also survived. Aeschylus gained a reputation as an outstanding innovator of the theater. In particular, one of the most important steps he took was the introduction of a second actor. Aeschylus's posthumous fame did not fade away also because, by special decree, his plays continued to participate in playwrights' competitions. This same circumstance contributed to better preservation of the tragedies.

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5. The question of Homer’s personality .................................... 93

Chapter IV. The decline of the heroic epic. Didactic epic Chapter V. The simplest forms of lyric poetry Chapter IX. Aeschylus Chapter X. The Time of Sophocles and Euripides Chapter XVI. The flourishing of oratory Chapter XIX. Hellenistic Literature Chapter XXI. The End of Ancient Greek Literature and Early Christian Literature

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3. WORKS OF AESCHYLUS

Of Aeschylus's rich literary heritage, only seven works have survived. Exact chronological dates are known for three: “The Persians” was staged in 472, “Seven Against Thebes” - in 467 and “Oresteia”, consisting of the tragedies “Agamemnon”, “Choephori” and “Eumenides” - in 458 .2
Apart from the “Persians,” all these tragedies were written on mythological subjects, borrowed mainly from the “cyclical” poems, which were often indiscriminately attributed to Homer. Aeschylus, according to the ancients, called his works “crumbs from the great feast of Homer”3.
The tragedy of "The Petitioner" was the first part of the tetralogy,

2 About the newly discovered didascalia, see: Tronsky I.M. Oxyrhynchus didascalia of Aeschylus on the Danaids. VDI, 1957, No. 2, p. 146-159.
3 Athenaeus. Feasting Sophists, VIII, 39, p. 347 E.

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the plot of which is taken from the myth of the Danaids - the fifty daughters of Danaus. It tells how the Danaids, fleeing the persecution of fifty of their cousins, the sons of Aegyptus (Egyptus is the brother of Danaus), who want to marry them, arrive in Argos and, sitting at the altar, beg for protection. The local king Pelasgus invites them to turn to his people and, only having received the consent of the people, accepts them under protection. But as soon as the promise was made, Danaus, from an elevated position, sees the approaching fleet of pursuers. His message horrifies Danaid. The Herald of the sons of Egypt appears and tries to forcibly take them away. But the king takes them under his protection. However, the disturbing foreboding remains, and this serves as preparation for the next part of the tetralogy - for the unfinished tragedy "Egyptians", which presented a forced marriage and the revenge of the Danaids, who kill their husbands on their wedding night - all with the exception of one Hypermester. The content of the third part of the Danaids was the trial of Hypermestra and her acquittal thanks to the intercession of Aphrodite, who declared that if all women began to kill their husbands, the human race would end. Hypermestra becomes the ancestress of the royal family in Argos. The satyr drama "Amimon", also not preserved, was dedicated to the fate of one of the Danaids and was named after her.
The myth underlying this tetralogy reflects that stage in the development of ideas about the family when the consanguineous family, based on the marriage of immediate relatives, gave way to new forms of marital relations associated with the idea of incest. Departing from the myth, the poet introduced into the tragedy the image of an ideal king - Pelasgus.
The tragedy “The Persians,” which is not related in content to other parts of the tetralogy, has a plot from contemporary history of Aeschylus. The action takes place in one of the capitals of Persia - in Susa. The elders of the city, the so-called “faithful”, who make up the choir, gather at the palace and remember how a huge army of Persians went to Greece. The mother of King Xerxes Atossa, who remained as ruler, reports an unkind dream she had. The chorus advises the shadow of her late husband Darius to pray for help and, by the way, characterizes the country and people of Greece for her. At this time, a Messenger appears who talks about the complete defeat of the Persian fleet at Salamis. This story (302-514) forms the central part of the work. After this, the queen performs sacrificial rites at the grave of King Darius and summons his shadow. Darius explains the defeat of the Persians as a punishment of the gods for the excessive arrogance of Xerxes and predicts a new defeat at Plataea. After this, Xerxes himself appears and bemoans his misfortune. The choir joins him, and the tragedy ends with general crying. The poet wonderfully shows the gradual approach of disaster: first - a vague premonition, then - accurate news and, finally, the appearance of Xerxes.
This tragedy has a deeply patriotic character. In contrast to Persia, in which “all are slaves except one,” the Greeks are characterized as a free people: “they serve no one, and

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they are slaves" (242)1. The messenger, telling how the Greeks, despite their small forces, won a victory, says: “The gods guard the city of Pallas.” The queen asks: “So is it possible to ruin Athens?” And the Messenger answers this: “No, their men are reliable guards” (348 ff.). One must imagine at these words the mood of the audience in the theater, which consisted of the majority of participants in these events. Every word of this kind was calculated to arouse a feeling of patriotic pride in the listeners. The whole tragedy as a whole is a triumph of victory. Subsequently, Aristophanes, in the comedy “Frogs” (1026-1029), noted the patriotic significance of this tragedy.
The tragedy “Seven against Thebes” took third place in the tetralogy, which is based on the plot of the myth of Oedipus. These were tragedies: “Laius”, “Oedipus” and “Seven against Thebes”, and finally - the satyr drama “The Sphinx”.
The Theban king Laius, having received a prediction that he would die at the hands of his own son, ordered the killing of the newborn child. However, his order was not carried out. Oedipus, who was brought to the house of the Corinthian king and raised as his son, is predicted that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In horror, he flees from Corinth from his imaginary parents. On the way, he kills Laius in an accidental collision, and after some time he comes to Thebes and frees the city from the monster Sphinx. For this he was elected king and married the widow of the late king Jocasta. It was later discovered that Laius was his father and Jocasta his mother; then Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself. Subsequently, Oedipus, offended by his sons Eteocles and Polyneices, cursed them. After the death of his father, Eteocles seized power and expelled his brother. Polyneices, in exile, gathered six friends and with their troops came to besiege his hometown. The tragedy "Seven against Thebes" begins with a prologue, which presents how Eteocles manages the defense of the city, and he sends a Scout to find out about the direction of the enemy forces. The local women who make up the chorus rush about in horror, but Eteocles stops the panic with strict measures. The central point of the tragedy is the conversation between Eteocles and the Scout, when he reports on the movement of enemy forces: seven leaders are approaching the seven gates of the city with their troops. Eteocles, hearing the characteristics of each of them, immediately appoints the corresponding generals from his side against them. When he learns that his brother Polyneices is coming to the seventh gate, he declares his decision to go against him himself. The women of the choir try in vain to stop him. His decision is irrevocable, and although he is aware of the horror that brother is going against brother and that one of them must fall at the hands of the other, he still does not deviate from his intention. The choir, in deep thought, sings a mournful song about the misfortunes of the house of Oedipus. As soon as the song stops, the Messenger appears, reporting the defeat of the enemies and the death of both brothers. In the final scene, the Herald explains that the council of elders of the city decided to honor the body of Eteocles.

1 Quote based on the translation by V. G. Appelrot (M., 1888).

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combing, and leave Polyneices’ body without burial. Antigone, the sister of the murdered, says that, despite the prohibition, she will bury her brother’s body. The choir is divided into two parts: one leaves with sister Ismene to participate in the burial of Eteocles, the other joins Antigone to mourn Polyneices. However, some scholars suggest that this ending is a later addition, compiled partly from Sophocles’ “Antigone,” where this theme is specially developed, and partly from Euripides’ “Phoenician Women.”
Aeschylus's most famous work is Prometheus Bound. This tragedy was included in the tetralogy along with the tragedies “Prometheus the Liberated”, “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” and some other satyr drama unknown to us. Among scientists there is an opinion that the tragedy “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” occupied the first place in the tetralogy. This opinion is based on the assumption that the content of the tragedy was the bringing of fire to people. However, the name “Fire-Bearer” rather has a cult meaning, therefore, it refers to the establishment of the cult of Prometheus in Attica and constitutes the final part. This tetralogy, apparently, was staged around 469, since we find responses to it in the surviving fragments of Sophocles’ tragedy “Triptolemos,” dating back to 468. The plot of “Prometheus” is taken from an ancient myth, in which, as can be seen from cult of Prometheus in Attica, he was represented as the god of fire. The first mention of the myth about him is contained in the poems of Hesiod. In them he is simply portrayed as a cunning man who deceived Zeus during the first sacrifice and stole fire from the sky, for which he is punished. A later version attributes to him the creation of people from clay figures into which he breathed life.
Aeschylus gave the image of Prometheus a completely new meaning. He has Prometheus - the son of Themis-Earth, one of the Titans. When Zeus reigned over the gods, the titans rebelled against him, but Prometheus helped him. When the gods decided to destroy the human race, Prometheus saved people by bringing them fire stolen from the heavenly altar. By this he incurred the wrath of Zeus.
The first scene of the tragedy “Prometheus Bound” depicts the execution of Prometheus. The executors of the will of Zeus - Power and Strength - bring Prometheus to the ends of the world - to Scythia, and Hephaestus nails him to a rock. The Titan silently endures the execution. When he, left alone, pours out his grief, the daughters of the Ocean, the nymphs Oceanids, fly to his voice on a winged chariot. Through their lips, as if all nature expresses sympathy for the sufferer. Prometheus tells how he helped Zeus and how he angered him. The old Ocean himself flies in on a winged horse, a griffin, and expresses sympathy for Prometheus, but at the same time advises him to reconcile with the ruler of the world. Prometheus resolutely rejects such a proposal, and Ocean flies away. Prometheus tells the Oceanids in detail about his benefits to people: he taught them how to handle fire, set up a home and shelter from cold and heat, unite around the state hearth, taught people the great science of numbers and literacy, taught them to bridle animals, set sails on ships, taught

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crafts, discovered the riches of the earth's bowels, etc. In the next scene, Io appears, who had the misfortune of arousing the love of Zeus and was turned by Hera into a cow. Prometheus, as a prophet, talks about her past wanderings and about the fate awaiting her: from her will come in time that great hero who will free him from torment - an allusion to Hercules. This establishes a connection with the next part of the tetralogy. Prometheus further says that he knows the secret of the death of Zeus and that he alone can save him. When, after this, Hermes appears from the sky and demands, on behalf of Zeus, the disclosure of this secret, Prometheus resolutely refuses, despite the terrible threats of Hermes. The tragedy ends with a storm breaking out and Zeus' lightning striking the rock, and Prometheus falling into the depths of the earth with it. The main content of this tragedy is, therefore, the clash of the power of the tyrant, the bearer of which is represented by Zeus himself, with the fighter and sufferer for the salvation and good of humanity - Prometheus.
The liberation of Prometheus was the plot of another tragedy that has not come down to us, called “Prometheus Liberated.” Only minor fragments have survived from it, and the contents are known in the most general terms. After centuries, Prometheus is subjected to a new execution. He is chained to the Caucasus rock, and the eagle of Zeus, flying to him, pecks at his liver, which grows back overnight. His fellow Titans, freed from imprisonment in the bowels of the earth, gather in the form of a choir to Prometheus, and he tells them about his torment. Finally, Hercules appears, kills the eagle with an arrow and frees Prometheus. Now - perhaps already in the third tragedy, in “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” - Prometheus reveals to Zeus that his intended marriage with Thetis will be disastrous for him, and the gods decide to marry her off to a mortal. Peleus is chosen as such a groom for her, and a cult is established in Attica in honor of Prometheus.
The Oresteia trilogy (Oresteia) is the most mature of Aeschylus' works. It consists of three parts: “Agamemnon”, “Choephora” and “Eumenides”; they were followed by the satyr drama Proteus, which has not reached us. The plot of these works is taken from the poems of the Trojan cycle, namely the legend of the death of King Agamemnon. According to the original version, as can be seen from the Odyssey (I, 35-43; IV, 529-537; XI, 387-389; 409-420; XXIV, 20-22; 97), Agamemnon was killed by his cousin Aegisthus with with the help of his wife Clytemnestra. But Aeschylus accepted the later version of Stesichorus and attributed this murder entirely to Clytemnestra alone. And he moved the scene of action from Mycenae, where it took place before, to Argos.
“Agamemnon” presents the return of the king from Troy and his treacherous murder. The action takes place in front of the Atridian palace in Argos. The guard, who is on the roof of the palace, sees a signal fire at night, by which he learns that Troy has been taken. A choir consisting of local elders gathers at the palace. They remember the beginning of the campaign and are full of bad forebodings. Although the omens promised a successful end, they also foreshadowed many troubles. And the worst thing was that the king, wanting to achieve a fair wind,

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decided to sacrifice his own daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis. Remembering this with horror, the choir prays to the gods for a happy ending. Queen Clytemnestra tells the choir about the news she has received. Soon the Messenger appears and reports the complete victory of the Greeks. The choir, despite the good news, thinks about the curse that Helen brought to both peoples. The next scene shows how Agamemnon arrives on a chariot, accompanied by a captive - the daughter of Priam, the prophetess Cassandra. From his chariot he announces his victory and responds to the choir's welcoming words, promising to put the affairs of the state in order. Clytemnestra greets him with a pompous, flattering speech and orders the slaves to spread a purple carpet before him. Agamemnon at first refuses to step on such luxury, fearing to arouse the envy of the gods, but then he yields to Clytemnestra’s insistence and, taking off his shoes, walks along the carpet to the palace. Cassandra, in a fit of prophetic visions, speaks of crimes that had previously been committed in the house, and finally predicts the imminent death of Agamemnon and her own. When she enters the palace, the choir indulges in sad thoughts and suddenly hears the dying cries of the king. While the elders decide to go to the palace, its interior is revealed, and the audience sees the corpses of the murdered - Agamemnon and Cassandra, and above them, with an ax in his hands, spattered with blood. Clytemnestra proudly announces the murder and explains it as revenge for her daughter Iphigenia, who was killed before the start of the campaign. The chorus is shocked by the crime and blames Clytemnestra. When after this her lover Aegisthus arrives, surrounded by a crowd of bodyguards, the chorus expresses their indignation, and Aegisthus is ready to rush at them with a sword, but Clytemnestra prevents bloodshed with her intervention. The chorus, seeing its powerlessness, expresses only the hope that Orestes is still alive and that when he matures, he will avenge his father.
The second tragedy of this trilogy is called “Choephori,” which means “women carrying funeral libations.” Clytemnestra instructed these women to perform funeral rites at the grave of Agamemnon. The action takes place ten years after the previous tragedy. Agamemnon's son Orestes was in Phocis in the care of the friendly king Strophius and was raised together with his son Pylades, with whom they became inseparable friends. Having reached adulthood, Orestes is aware of his duty to avenge his father, but he is horrified by the thought that for this he must kill his own mother. To resolve his doubts, he turns to the oracle of Apollo. He threatens him with cruel punishment if he does not fulfill his duty. The action of the tragedy begins with Orestes, accompanied by Pylades, coming to the grave of Agamemnon and performing a funeral rite, begging the shadow of his father for help. His sister Electra comes there with the women of the choir. From the song we learn that Clytemnestra had an evil dream that night and, fearing that it foreshadowed some misfortune for her from the shadow of the husband she killed, sent Electra with the women of the choir to make propitiatory sacrifices. Approaching the grave, Electra sees traces

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1 Engels F. On the history of the primitive family. - Marx K., Engels F. Op. 2nd ed., vol. 22, p. 216-217. Compare: Hegel G. F. V. Aesthetics. T. 2. M., 1940, p. 38, words.

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But the vengeance that Orestes carries out at the behest of Apollo and for which he receives an acquittal is included in the circle of generic ideas. God Apollo was revered as the “Father” (Aristotle, “Athensian Polity”, 55, 3), that is, the patron of the “fatherly” family. That is why the tragedy emphasizes that Clytemnestra, having killed Orestes’ father (602) and, moreover, the great commander (625 and 636 ff.), thus committed a crime against the “tribal” patriarchal society, which replaced the former matriarchy. Her crime is subject to the action of blood, family revenge, which becomes the responsibility of Orestes, and the last song of the choir in “Choephors” (1066-1076) indicates the significance of this for the fate of the entire family.
So, Aeschylus processed in this tragedy an ancient myth that reflected the struggle of an obsolete matriarchy with a victorious patriarchy. Of course, this does not mean that the poet himself stood from the point of view of the patriarchal system. For him it was only an “arsenal” in his creative technique.
Recently, significant fragments of their satyr drama by Aeschylus “The Fishermen” (Δικτυολκοί) have been discovered on papyri. Its plot is taken from the myth of Danae and Perseus: fishermen pulled out an ark with a seine, in which Danae and the baby Perseus were thrown into the sea; a chorus of satyrs plays the role of saviors, and old Silenus takes care of Danae. Surviving excerpts from satyr dramas show that Aeschylus was no less a master in this genre than in tragedies.

Prepared according to the edition:

Radzig S.I.
R 15 History of ancient Greek literature: Textbook. - 5th ed. - M.: Higher. school, 1982, 487 p.
© Publishing House "Higher School", 1977.
© Publishing House "Higher School", 1982.

Biography
AESCHYLUS - 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 that preceded his tragedies in the 11th century manuscript. According to these data, Aeschylus was born in 525 BC. in Eleusis, his father was Euphorion, who belonged to the ancient Athenian aristocracy, the Eupatrides. Aeschylus fought the Persians at Marathon (a fact proudly noted in his epitaph) and probably also participated in the Battle of Salamis, since the account of this battle in Persia most likely belongs to an eyewitness. In Aeschylus’s youth, Athens was an unimportant city, but he happened to witness the advancement of his native city to a leading place in the Greek world, which happened after the Greco-Persian wars. Aeschylus first performed in a tragedian competition ca. 500 BC, but he managed to win the first prize only in 484. Aeschylus later took first place at least 13 times. The Athenians thought highly of his works. This can be judged by the fact that after his death, a decree was passed in Athens that anyone wishing to stage Aeschylus’s play would “receive a choir” from the authorities (i.e., would receive permission to resume staging the drama at the Dionysius festival). Aeschylus traveled to Sicily several times and staged his dramas there, and in 476 BC. composed the tragedy of Ethnianka in honor of the founding of Etna by Hieron, then ruler of Syracuse. The legend is that in 468 BC. Aeschylus left Athens because he was outraged by the success of his younger rival Sophocles, most likely apocryphally. Be that as it may, in 467 BC. Aeschylus was already in Athens again to stage his tragedy Seven against Thebes, and in 458 BC. his masterpiece, the Oresteia, the only surviving Greek trilogy, was awarded first prize. Aeschylus died at Gela in Sicily in 456 BC. Like all tragedians before Sophocles, he performed the roles in his dramas himself, but also hired professional actors. It is believed that it was Aeschylus who took an extremely important step in the development of drama by introducing a second actor into the action.

Works.

Aeschylus combined his tragedies into trilogies devoted to a common theme, such as the fate of the Laia family. It is not known whether he was the first to create such unified trilogies, but the use of this particular form opened up wide scope for the poet’s thoughts and became one of the factors that allowed him to achieve perfection. It is believed that Aeschylus was the author of ninety dramas, the titles of 79 are known to us; 13 of them are satyr dramas, which were usually staged as an addition to the trilogy. Although only 7 tragedies have come down to us, their composition was determined as a result of a careful selection made in the last centuries of antiquity, and therefore they can be considered the best or most typical fruits of Aeschylus's poetic gift. Each of these tragedies deserves special mention. The Persians, the only extant historical drama in all of Greek literature, describes the Persian defeat at Salamis in 480 BC. The tragedy was written eight years after these events, i.e. in 472 BC There is no information regarding the time of production of the tragedy Prometheus Bound. Some scientists consider it to belong to the early period of creativity, others, on the contrary, to the late period. It was probably part of the Prometheus trilogy. The myth on which this tragedy is based - the punishment of Prometheus for stealing fire and neglecting the will of Zeus - was developed in Shelley's famous poem Prometheus Unbound and in many other works. The tragedy of the Seven against Thebes, staged in 467 BC, is an account of the story of the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices. This is the final part of the trilogy, the first two tragedies were dedicated to Laius and his son Oedipus. The Tragedy of the Petitioner tells the story of the fifty daughters of Danaus, who chose to flee Egypt rather than marry their cousins, the sons of Egypt, and took refuge in Argos. Due to the abundance of archaisms, this tragedy has long been considered the earliest surviving work of Aeschylus, but a papyrus fragment published in 1952 allows it to be dated presumably to 463 BC. The Oresteia trilogy was written in 458 BC. and consists of Agamemnon, Hoephoros and Eumenides.

Drama technique.

When Aeschylus began writing, tragedy was predominantly a lyrical choral work and, in all likelihood, consisted of choral parts, occasionally interrupted by remarks exchanged between the leader of the chorus (the luminary) and the only actor (however, during the course of the drama he could play several roles). The introduction of a second actor by Aeschylus had a huge impact on the essence of drama, since for the first time it made it possible to use dialogue and convey dramatic conflict without the participation of a chorus. In Petitioners and Persians the choir plays a major role. Petitioners contains only one short episode in which two characters talk on stage; in general, throughout the entire play, the actors communicate only with the choir (which is why this play was considered to be Aeschylus’s earliest tragedy). However, towards the end of his life, Aeschylus learned to easily control two or even three characters at the same time, and although the Oresteia still features long chorus parts, the main action and plot development occurs through dialogue.
The structure of the plot in Aeschylus remains relatively simple. The main character finds himself in a critical situation, determined by the will of the deities, and this situation, as a rule, does not change until the denouement. Having once settled on a certain course of action, the hero continues to walk along the chosen path, without knowing any doubts. The internal conflict, to which Euripides assigns such an important place, is almost invisible in Aeschylus, so that even Orestes, about to kill his mother at the behest of Apollo, shows only a moment’s hesitation. Several simple episodes build tension and introduce the details leading up to the disaster itself. The choir's songs, intertwined with the episodes, form a majestic background; they convey a direct feeling of the tragic situation, create a mood of anxiety and horror, and sometimes contain an indication of the moral law, which is the hidden spring of action. The fate of the choir is always involved in the tragedy, and the outcome of the drama to a certain extent affects its participants. Thus, Aeschylus uses the chorus as an additional actor, and not simply as a commentator on events.
Aeschylus's characters are outlined in several powerful strokes. Special mention should be made here of Eteocles in Seven Against Thebes and Clytemnestra in Agamemnon. Eteocles, a noble and faithful king, who brought death upon himself and his family partly because of his devotion to his fatherland, has been called the first tragic hero of European drama. Clytemnestra has often been compared to Lady Macbeth. This woman, possessed of an iron will and unyielding determination, possessed by a blind rage that prompts her to kill her husband, reigns supreme in all the scenes of Agamemnon in which she takes part.

Worldview.

Aeschylus's greatest achievement was the creation of a deeply thought-out theology. Starting from Greek anthropomorphic polytheism, he came to the idea of a single supreme deity (“Zeus, whoever he may be, if he pleases to be called that”), almost completely devoid of anthropomorphic features. In The Petitioners, Aeschylus refers to Zeus as “the King of kings, the most good and perfect of the divine powers,” and in his last tragedy, the Eumenides, he portrays Zeus as an omniscient and omnipotent deity who united justice and world balance, i.e. functions of a personal deity and the inevitable fulfillment of impersonal fate. It may seem that Prometheus Chained contrasts sharply with this idea of Zeus, since here Zeus is perceived by Prometheus, Io and the chorus as an evil tyrant, powerful, but by no means omniscient, and, moreover, bound by the iron laws of Necessity. However, it should be remembered that Prometheus Bound is only the first of three tragedies on this plot; undoubtedly, in the two subsequent parts, Aeschylus found some kind of solution to the theological problem he raised.
In the theology of Aeschylus, the divine control of the universe also extends to the realm of human morality, that is, if we use the language of myth, Justice is the daughter of Zeus. Therefore, divine powers invariably punish the sins and crimes of people. The action of this force does not boil down to reward for excessive prosperity, as some of Aeschylus’s contemporaries believed: properly used wealth does not at all entail death. However, mortals who are too prosperous are prone to blind delusion, madness, which in turn gives rise to sin or arrogance and ultimately leads to divine punishment and death. The consequences of such a sin are often perceived as hereditary, transmitted within the family in the form of a generational curse, but Aeschylus makes it clear that each generation commits its own sin, thereby bringing into existence the generational curse. At the same time, the punishment sent down by Zeus is by no means a blind and bloodthirsty retribution for sin: a person learns through suffering, so that suffering serves a positive moral task.
The Oresteia, a trilogy staged in 458 BC, consists of three tragedies - Agamemnon, Choephoros, Eumenides. This trilogy traces the effect of the curse that befell the family of Atreus, when the son of Pelops Atreus, having quarreled with his brother Thyestes, killed the children of Thyestes and treated their father to a terrible dish made from children. The curse sent by Thyestes on Atreus passed on to Atreus’s son, Agamemnon. Therefore, when Agamemnon, at the head of the Greek army, went to Troy, he decided to sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia, to appease Artemis. His wife Clytemnestra never forgave him for this crime. In his absence, she acquired a lover, Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, with whom she hatched a plan for revenge. Ten years later, Troy fell and the Greeks returned home.
In the tragedy Agamemnon, the action begins precisely from this moment, and it unfolds around the killing of the leader of the Greek army by his own wife. When Agamemnon returns home, accompanied by the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, who has become his captive and concubine, Clytemnestra invites him to enter the palace and kills him; Cassandra also shares the fate of Agamemenon. After the murders, Aegisthus appears on the scene and declares that from now on royal power belongs to him and Clytemnestra. The chorus of Argive elders, who remained faithful to Agamemnon, protests in vain and hints at future retribution when Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, grows up.
The Tragedy of Hoephora (or the Victim at the Tomb) tells the story of the return of Orestes, who, after the murder of his father, was sent outside Argos. Obeying Apollo's oracle, Orestes secretly returns to avenge his father. With the help of his sister, Electra, he enters the palace and kills Aegisthus and his own mother. After this act, Orestes becomes a victim of the Erinyes, formidable spirits avenging the murder of a relative, and in madness leaves the scene to again seek protection from Apollo.
The tragedy of Eumenides is dedicated to the suffering of Orestes, which ultimately ended in his acquittal. Pursued by the Erinyes, the young man comes to Athens and appears here before a specially appointed court (the Areopagus) led by the goddess Athena. Apollo acts as the defender, and the vote cast by Athena decides the case in favor of Orestes, since the people could not come to a final decision. Thus the effect of Atreus’s ancestral curse ends. Erinyes is beside herself with anger at this decision of the Areopagus, but Athena manages to soften them, persuading them to transfer their functions as guardians of justice to Zeus, and themselves to settle in Attica as beneficent spirits of the earth.

Aeschylus (525 BC - 456 BC) is the first great Greek tragedian to achieve worldwide recognition. It was he who gave Greek tragedy magnificence and a monumental-pathetic style and rightfully earned the name “father of tragedy” back in ancient times. The images he created entered art as an integral part of it.

Biographical information about Aeschylus is not very extensive. He was born in 525 BC. in Eleusis and came from an ancient aristocratic family. He took part in all the main battles of the Greco-Persian wars (Marathon - 490 BC, Salamis - 480 BC, Plataea - 479 BC), and his merits as He placed the citizen and warrior above victories in dramatic competitions, although nothing is known about his participation in state or political life. In 470 - 60s. BC. he was the most popular poet in Athens. Around 472 BC Aeschylus was forced to leave for Sicily, where he lived at the court of the tyrant Hieron. There, at the court in Syracuse, his tragedy "The Persians" was staged. As the reason for this exile, sources put forward either his failure in a poetic competition with the young Sophocles, or the disclosure of the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Aeschylus died after his second arrival in Sicily, in Gela in 495 BC.

Aeschylus wrote 70 tragedies and 20 satyr dramas, but only 7 tragedies written in the last two decades of his life have come down to us: “The Petitioners” (“The Pleaders”), “The Persians”, “Seven Against Thebes”, “Prometheus Bound” and the trilogy "Oresteia", consisting of the tragedies "Agamemnon", "Choephora" and "Eumenides" (the satirical drama "Proteus" has not survived to this day) and more than 400 fragments. Aeschylus's first performance as a playwright dates back to 500 BC. In 484 BC. he achieved his first victory. The tragedies of this early period have not survived. After this, Aeschylus, according to some sources, won the competition 13 times, and according to others - 28. In 468 BC. Sophocles defeated him, but at the end of his life in 458, Aeschylus with the tetralogy “Oresteia” took 1st place. The tragedies of Echilus were resumed even after his death.

Aristotle reports that Aeschylus introduced a second actor onto the stage. He is also credited with introducing luxurious costumes, masks and buskins. Aeschylus wrote coherent trilogies, dedicated either to one plot or to different, but somehow related plots. Each such trilogy ended with a satyr drama, i.e. a drama with the participation of satyrs, interpreting some myth in a very funny way.

From 484 BC to 470 BC is considered the second period of Aeschylus's work. From it two tragedies have come down to us: “The Suppliants” (“Petitioners”) and “The Persians.” The tragedy of "The Petitioner" (mid 490 - 460 BC) is based on an ancient myth about the 50 daughters of Danaus, who are fleeing the persecution of 50 of their cousins, the sons of Egypt (Danaus' brother). This myth serves Aeschylus to affirm barbaric humanity in contrast to barbaric despotism. The tragedy "The Persians" (472 BC) was part of a tetralogy that has not reached us and was dedicated to a real event: the defeat of the Persian fleet at Salamis. This period of Aeschylus's work ends his second journey to Sicily.

The final period of Aeschylus's work begins in 468 BC. e., when he performed on the Athenian stage in a competition against his student Sophocles, who was 30 years younger than his teacher and rival. Sophocles staged the tragedy Triptolemus, Aeschylus staged a trilogy unknown to us. The tragedy of Sophocles delighted the audience; nevertheless, the judges for a long time did not dare to vote against the panhellenic glory of Aeschylus. The archon who led the performance suggested that the then famous commander Cimon and his comrades resolve the dispute, and then they awarded the victory to Sophocles.

In 467 BC. Aeschylus staged his Theban trilogy (Laius, Oedipus, Seven against Thebes and the satyr drama Sphinx), of which only the last tragedy, Seven against Thebes, has survived, in which Aeschylus, following Sophocles, introduces a third actor. The tetralogy was based on the plot of the myth of Oedipus. The central place in the tragedy that has come down to us is occupied by a scene consisting of seven pairs of dialogues between the Scout and Eteocles. The scout reports that seven generals are approaching the seven gates of the city of Thebes. Eteocles assigns a worthy opponent to each general.

Aeschylus's most famous work is Prometheus Bound. Nothing is known about the time of its writing and production. It is possible that the tragedy was also part of the trilogy along with the tragedies “Prometheus Unbound”, “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” and some other satyr drama unknown to us. Among scientists there is an opinion that the tragedy “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” occupied the first place in the tetralogy. This opinion is based on the assumption that the content of the tragedy was the bringing of fire to people. However, the name “Fire-Bearer” rather has a cult meaning, therefore, it refers to the establishment of the cult of Prometheus in Attica and constitutes the final part. This tetralogy was apparently staged around 469 BC, since we find responses to it in the surviving fragments of Sophocles' tragedy Triptolemus, dating back to 468 BC. 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 the myth about him is contained in the poems of Hesiod. In them he is simply portrayed as a cunning man who deceived Zeus during the first sacrifice and stole fire from the sky, for which he is punished. A later version attributes to him the creation of people from clay figures into which he breathed life. The main content of this tragedy is the clash of the power of the tyrant, the bearer of which is represented by Zeus himself, with the fighter and sufferer for the salvation and good of humanity - Prometheus.

The Oresteia trilogy (458 BC) is the most mature of Aeschylus' works. It consists of three parts: "Agamemnon", "Choephora" and "Eumenides"; they were followed by the satyr drama Proteus, which has not reached us. The main idea of this work is the moment of personal determination, a person’s own responsibility for his behavior. The plot of these works is taken from the poems of the Trojan cycle, namely the tale of the death of King Agamemnon. The first tragedy is based on the myth of Agamemnon’s return from Troy and his death.

The second tragedy of this trilogy is called "Choephori", which means "women carrying funeral libations." Clytemnestra instructed these women to perform funeral rites at the grave of Agamemnon. The action takes place ten years after the previous tragedy. In it, Orestes, avenging the death of his father, kills his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. The continuation of this tragedy is the Eumenides. Orestes, driven by the Erinyes, runs to Delphi to the temple of Apollo. Following him there are the Erinyes, who form the chorus in this tragedy. Apollo tells Orestes to go to Athens and there seek justification before the goddess Athena. The action moves to Athens, to the Acropolis. Athena arranges a special court for the trial of Orestes - the Areopagus - and opens the trial. She herself votes for his acquittal and Orestes is acquitted.

Legend has it that Aeschylus died when an eagle dropped either a turtle on his head, mistaking Aeschylus' bald head for a stone, or a stone, mistaking his bald head for an egg.

Bibliography

Tragedies

Suppliers (Petitioners) (mid 490 – 460 BC)
Persians (472 BC)

Seven against Thebes (467 BC)

Film adaptations of works, theatrical productions

Chained Prometheus (Greece, 1929) b. D. Gaziadis
The Persians (Les Perses; The Persians; France, 1961) b. Jean Pra
Agamemnon (Agamemnon; Belgium, 1973) b. Lode Hendricks