Aeschylus, whose biography will be discussed in the review, is considered the creator of Greek, and therefore all-European, tragedy. What is known about him and his work?
The poet's homeland and relatives
According to information from various sources, including Wikipedia, the biography of Aeschylus began in the south-eastern part of Central Greece. He was born in the city of Eleusis in 525 BC. It was famous for its ancient customs, which were established by Demeter herself. At least that's what the legends say.
The direction of Aeschylus's work was associated with the cult of the Eleusinian Demeter. However, Athens became the arena for him. It was in this polis that he became a tragic poet. There was a cult of Dionysus in the city. It is better known as but for the ancient Greeks it personified “Bacchanalian” ecstasy. By drinking wine, the Greeks came to the conclusion that human soul separated from the body. During celebrations in honor of Dionysus, they sang dithyrambs (ecstatic poems). They became the beginning of the tragedy with which the biography of Aeschylus is connected.
The Greek playwright belonged to an aristocratic family. His brother Kinegir was the hero of the Battle of Marathon. Philocles' nephew is a famous author of tragedies of his time. Aeschylus's son was named Euphorion, he also created tragedies.
More is known about the biography of Aeschylus from his work.
Periods of creativity
How did the playwright Aeschylus develop? Biography and creativity can be divided into three periods:
- Youth.
In the work of this period there was a struggle between the Attic dithyrambs and the Peloponnesian tragedy. Aeschylus's poetic activity began during his time in Athens. At this time, at the festivals of Dionysus, preference began to be given to citizen choirs. Aeschylus developed his own style, which was expressed by the gradual introduction of a second actor, the use of Attic drama and playful Peloponnesian satiricon in one work, and the infusion of Homeric heroic epic into the tragedy.
- Reign on the Attic stage.
The period began in 484 BC and lasted fourteen years. At this time two things happened important battles- Salamis and Plataia. Aeschylus took a direct part in both. The fame of the poet even spread to Syracuse. King Hiero founded the city of Etna at the foot of the volcano in 476 BC and invited the poet to the celebration. An example of his creativity is the tragedy “The Persians,” which he staged in Syracuse in 472 BC.
- Maturity.
At this time, Aeschylus had to share his fame on the Athenian stage with his student Sophocles. Playwrights began using three actors in their works. It was in the final period that the poet's technique in drama began to progress.
Drama technique
The Greek author began writing when tragedy was a lyrical choral creation. It consisted of parts of the choir, replicas of the luminary and one actor who could play one or three roles. Aeschylus was the first to introduce the second actor. This allowed the dramatic conflict to be conveyed through dialogue.
Towards the end of his life, the poet learned to manage several characters. The main actions in recent works began to take place through dialogues.
The plot structure remained simple. Main character turns out to be in difficult situation by the will of the deities. This continued until the end. Aeschylus used the chorus not as a commentator on what was happening, but as another actor.
Theology of Aeschylus
In recent works, Zeus appears as an omnipotent deity who combines universal balance and justice.
Aeschylus, short biography which is being considered, in his theology created a divine principle that governs the universe, including the kingdom of human morality. Higher powers punish heroes for their sins and crimes.
According to Aeschylus, wealth does not lead to death in itself. However, rich people are often prone to blind delusion and madness. This leads to sin with presumption, which leads to punishment and death. According to the poet, each subsequent generation creates its own sin. This is how a generational curse arises. The punishment that Zeus sends makes the hero suffer. This is how a person is re-educated. That is, suffering is a positive moral task.
Famous tragedies
Aeschylus, whose biography is connected with Athens, created about ninety tragedies. Five works have survived to this day:
- “The Persians” is based on the historical plot of the devastating defeat of Xerxes the First.
- “The Petitioners” is a mythological story about how fifty Danaid sisters ask for asylum from King Pelasgus and receive it.
- "Seven Against Thebes" - tells the story of the siege of Thebes.
- "Oresteia" - tetralogy.
- “Prometheus Bound” is the most famous work about Prometheus, who was punished by Zeus for giving fire to people.
The myth of Prometheus is one of the most frequently mentioned myths of Ancient Greece in the literature.
It is worth mentioning that this myth refers to the late period mythology of Ancient Greece, called “denial of mythology,” which means that it itself contains doubt in the classical truths of earlier myths - the goodness of the universe, justice and, especially, the immortality of the gods.
The myth-makers themselves began to ponder over the fate of the titan, and how. One of bright examples- tragedy of Aeschylus "Chained Prometheus".
Only the middle part of the unpreserved trilogy of Aeschylus has reached us, telling about the punishment of Prometheus for giving fire and crafts to people, and then for refusing to reveal the secret of the future overthrow of Zeus. We leave Prometheus overthrown in Tartarus.
The main revelation here is the mortality of the Thunderer and his unjust, tyrannical cruelty, which Prometheus opposes.
Prometheus is a god-fighter. Possessing the gift of foresight, he knew for sure that stealing the fire would turn into disaster for him, but he took pity on people, not expecting any protection from them. Although it was a mortal, albeit a demigod, who freed him.
The theft of fire is a symbol of man’s creative struggle with nature, a symbol of civilization (and here the mythological consciousness is already bursting at the seams, because the struggle with the forces of nature and the gods does not fit into it, well, that’s why “denial of mythology”). Prometheus is branded with shame by the gods and minions of Zeus - Strength and Power. Hephaestus sympathizes with him, but chains him to a rock more reliably. The oceanids cry over him, but they don’t forget to mention that it’s not right to take aim at the ruler. Everyone is perplexed as to why he helped the specks of dust.
Here Aeschylus makes an interesting move that was new for that time - he transfers the functions of the main character from the chorus to one character - Prometheus. Thus, doing an unprecedented thing - the generic principle was then stronger than the individual, and to do this - let the hero speak out on his own and separately, when there is no one else on stage (by the way, he also emphasized independence so that the story about the theft of fire does not look like an explanation or asking for pity) was a serious innovation.
But let's return to the hero. Prometheus is confident that he is right, although he is surprised with what cruelty Zeus deals with him, who once helped him gain the throne. He mentions a prophecy fatal to the Almighty of Fates, but does not want to tell anyone what it is, except Io.
She, like Prometheus, became a victim of the tyranny of Zeus; she is also condemned by the Oceanids, albeit passively, mentioning that one should only marry with equals. Io Prometheus says that Zeus himself will give birth to the one who will overthrow him, and only he, Prometheus, knows how to avoid this. And Prometheus speaks about the future suffering of Io herself, and it is no coincidence that it is her descendant who will free him.
The ending of the tragedy makes me glad that the final part of this trilogy was lost, because the reconciliation of Zeus and Prometheus is not at all believable.
CHAPTER IX
AESCHYLUS
1. Aeschylus - “the father of tragedy” and his time. 2. Biography of Aeschylus. 3. Works of Aeschylus. 4. Socio-political and patriotic views of Aeschylus. 5. Religious and moral views of Aeschylus, b. The question of fate and personality in Aeschylus. Tragic irony. 7. Chorus and actors in Aeschylus. The structure of tragedy. 8. Images of Aeschylus’ tragedies. 9. Language of Aeschylus. 10. Assessment of Aeschylus in antiquity and his global significance.
1. AESCHYLUS - “THE FATHER OF TRAGEDY” AND HIS TIME
Tragedy before Aeschylus still contained too few dramatic elements and retained a close connection with lyric poetry from which it arose. It was dominated by choir songs and could not yet reproduce a genuine dramatic conflict. All roles were played by one actor, and therefore a meeting between two characters could never be shown. Only the introduction of a second actor made it possible to dramatize the action. This important change was made by Aeschylus. That is why it is customary to consider him the founder of the tragic genre. V. G. Belinsky called him “the creator of Greek tragedy” 1, and F. Engels called him “the father of tragedy” 2. At the same time, Engels characterizes him as a “pronounced tendentious poet,” but not in in the narrow sense this word, but in the fact that he turned his artistic talent with all his strength and passion to illuminate the essential issues of his time. Aeschylus's work is so permeated with responses to contemporary reality that without familiarity with it it cannot be sufficiently understood and appreciated.
Lifetime Aeschylus(525-456 BC) coincides with a very important period in the history of Athens and all of Greece. During the 6th century. BC e. The slave system took shape and became established in the Greek city-states (polises), and at the same time crafts and trade developed. However, the basis of economic life was agriculture, and the labor of free producers still predominated and “slavery had not yet had time to take over production to any significant extent” 3 . The democratic movement intensified in Athens, and this led in 510 to the overthrow of the tyranny of Hippias Pisistratidas and to serious reforms public order in a democratic spirit, carried out in 408 by Cleisthenes. They were aimed at radically undermining the foundations of the power of large noble families. This is how the Athenian slave-owning democracy began, which then, during the 5th century. had to further strengthen and develop its foundations. However, at the beginning, power actually still remained in the hands of the aristocracy, among which two groups fought: the progressive - trading aristocracy - and the conservative - landowning aristocracy. “... The moral influence,” wrote F. Engels, “the inherited views and way of thinking of the old tribal era lived for a long time in traditions that died out only gradually.” 4. Remnants of the old way of life and the old worldview tenaciously held on, resisting new trends.
Meanwhile, important events were brewing in the East. In the VI century. BC e. A huge and powerful Persian power was created in Asia. Expanding its borders, it also subjugated the Greek cities in Asia Minor. But already at the end of the 6th century. these cities, which had achieved high economic and cultural prosperity, began to be especially acutely burdened by the foreign yoke and in 500 BC. e. rebelled against Persian rule. However, the uprising ended in failure. The Persians managed to brutally punish the rebels, and the instigator of the uprising, the city of Miletus, was destroyed, and its inhabitants were partly killed and partly taken into slavery (494). The news of the destruction of this rich and flourishing city made a grave impression in Greece. Phrynichus, who, under the influence of this event, staged the tragedy “The Taking of Miletus,” which brought tears to the audience, was subjected to a heavy fine by the authorities, and it was forbidden to stage his play again (Herodotus, VI, 21). This shows that the destruction of one of the most prosperous cities of Greece was seen in some quarters as the result of failed Athenian policies, and the reenactment of the event in the theater was regarded as a harsh political criticism. The theater already at this moment, as we see, became an instrument of political propaganda.
After the subjugation of Asia Minor, the Persian king Darius planned to take control of mainland Greece. The first campaign in 492 was unsuccessful, as the Persian fleet was destroyed by a storm. During the second campaign in 490, the Persians, having ravaged the city of Eretria on Euboea, landed in Attica near Marathon, but suffered brutal defeat from the Athenians under the command of Miltiades. However, the failure of Miltiades on the island of Paros prevented the agricultural aristocracy of Athens from further developing their successes. Meanwhile, in Athens, thanks to the discovery of new veins of silver ore in the town of Lavria, there was an economic boom. Themistocles managed to achieve the construction of a large number of new ships using the funds obtained. These ships saved Greece during the new Persian invasion in 480 and 479.
Class contradictions and internal struggle led to the fact that during the invasion of the Persians, part of the Greek states, for example, Thebes, Delphi, the Thessalian cities and some others, submitted to the enemy, while the majority heroically resisted and repelled the invasion, leaving in posterity the memory of their exploits at Thermopylae, Artemisium and Salamis in 480. , at Plataea and Mycale (in Asia Minor) in 479. The Athenians showed especially high patriotism. True, at first the Persian invasion of Attica caused great concern among the population and confusion among the authorities. However, Areopagus 5, an ancient aristocratic institution, heir to the council of elders of the era of the clan system, rose to the occasion. He sought funds, supplied them to the population and organized defense. By this, the Areopagus secured for himself a leading role in the state and a conservative direction in politics for the next twenty years (Aristotle, “The Athenian Polity”, 23).
The struggle for the freedom of the fatherland caused a patriotic upsurge, and therefore all memories of these events, stories about the exploits of heroes and even the help of the gods are permeated with the pathos of heroism. These are, for example, the stories of Herodotus in his “Muses”. Under these conditions, in 476 Aeschylus created his second historical tragedy, “The Phoenicians,” and in 472, the tragedy “The Persians.” Both tragedies were dedicated to the glorification of the victory at Salamis, and one can imagine the impression they made on the spectators, most of whom were participants in the battle. Aeschylus himself was not only a witness, but also an active participant in the famous events of his time. Therefore, it is quite understandable that his entire worldview and poetic pathos were determined by these events.
At the end of his life, Aeschylus had to observe serious changes in both foreign policy and the internal life of the state. Athens became the head of the so-called “Delian maritime union", formed in 477 with the active participation of Aristides. The fleet has reached a large size. Fleet expansion increased specific gravity in the political life of low-income citizens who served on ships. The strengthening of democratic elements allowed Esphialte, who led the slave-owning democrats, to carry out a reform that took away the leading political role from the Areopagus and reduced it to the level of only a judicial institution in religious matters. The struggle between the parties was so fierce that the initiator of the reform, Ephialtes, was killed by political opponents. Aeschylus responded to these events in his last work, The Eumenides, taking the side of the Areopagus. At the same time, the direction of Athens' foreign policy changed. The friction that began in relations with aristocratic Sparta ended with the rupture of the alliance with it and the conclusion of an alliance with Argos in 461 (Thucydides, “History”, 1, 102, 4), which was reflected in the same tragedy of Aeschylus. Now Athenian politicians, having abandoned the tasks of defense against the Persians, turned to offensive and even aggressive plans. In 459 it was organized big hike to Egypt to support the uprising that began there against the power of the Persians. Aeschylus, apparently, disapproved of this risky enterprise, but did not live to see its catastrophic end (approx. 454).
The time we described was the period of the beginning flourishing of Attic culture, which was expressed in the development of production in its various types, crafts - from its lower types down to construction and plastic art, science and poetry. Aeschylus glorified labor in the image of Prometheus, who brought fire to people and was revered as the patron of pottery. The painting of this time is known to us from vases of the so-called “black-figure” style and from early examples of the “red-figure” style. An idea of the sculpture of this time is given by the bronze group of “tyrant killers” - Harmodius and Aristogeiton by Antenor, which was erected in 508, but was taken away by the Persians in 480, and was built to replace it in 478. a new group works of Critias and Nesiots. Monuments of the art of the “pre-Persian” period can serve as numerous statues and fragments of statues found on the Acropolis in the “Persian garbage”, i.e., survivors of the Persian pogrom. The construction of the Temple of Athea on the island of Aegina was dedicated to the glorification of the remarkable victories over the Persians. All these are examples of archaism in Greek art. This may be in equally also attributed to the images of Aeschylus.
2. BIOGRAPHY OF AESCHYLUS
Aeschylus, son of Euphorion, was born in the town of Eleusis near Athens around 525 BC. e. He came from a noble family, which, apparently, was related to the Eleusinian Mysteries. In his early youth he saw the overthrow of the tyranny of Pisistratidas Hippias. Aeschylus's family took an active part in the war with the Persians. His brother Kinegir died from wounds received at Marathon when he tried to take possession of an enemy ship. Another brother, Aminius, commanded the ship that started the battle at the Battle of Salamis 6 . Aeschylus himself fought at Marathon, Salamis and Plataea. He began to write dramatic works early and left behind 72 or rather 90 plays. Thirteen times he emerged victorious in dramatic competitions (the first time in 484). In the middle period of his activity, he met a happy opponent in the person of young Sophocles (468 BC). From Athens, Aeschylus went to Sicily for some time at the invitation of the tyrant Hiero, and there his tragedy “The Persians” was again staged at the court in Syracuse. The tragedy “Etnyanka”, which has not reached us, was written on a local Sicilian theme. At the end of his life, after the successful production of the tetralogy "Orestia" in 458, he moved to the island of Sicily, where he died in 456 in the city of Gela. There he is buried. The gravestone inscription, supposedly composed by him and in any case dating back to his time, reads:
Euphorion's son Aeschylus of Athens this coffin
Gela keeps the remains between the grain fields.
And the Marathon Grove and the Mede 7 long-haired
They can tell everyone about his glorious valor.
What is noteworthy in this inscription is that the author does not mention a word about the literary activity of Aeschylus. As you can see, the fulfillment of patriotic duty on the battlefield covers all other merits of a person - a trait characteristic of public sentiment of this era. This determined Aeschylus’s worldview.
Regarding the relocation of Aeschylus at the end of his life to the island of Sicily, ancient biographers give different explanations. But none of them can be considered satisfactory. The reason most likely must be sought in the political situation of that time. As a supporter of the old pre-reform Areopagus, he could not tolerate the establishment of new orders. A vague hint of this is contained in Aristophanes’ comedy “Frogs” (v. 8-06), which talks about some differences between the poet and the Athenians.
3. WORKS OF AESCHYLUS
From rich literary heritage Only seven works of Aeschylus 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 . 8
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” 9.
The tragedy of “The Petitioner” was the first part of a tetralogy, 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 foreboding remains, and this serves as preparation for the next part of the tetralogy - 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 - 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) is central part works. 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 they are no one’s slaves” (242) 10. 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 death 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. Central location The tragedy is made up of Eteocles' conversation with the Scout, when he reports on the movement of enemy forces: seven leaders with their troops are approaching the seven gates of the city. 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 give Eteocles' body an honorable burial, but 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 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 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.
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, how to build a home and shelter from cold and heat, how to unite around the state hearth, taught people great science numbers and literacy, taught to bridle animals, set sails on ships, taught 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 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, decided to sacrifice to the goddess Artemis own daughter Iphigenia. 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 pompously, 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 imminent death Agamemnon and his 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 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. The Erinyes make an accusation and demand severe punishment for an unprecedented crime - the murder of their mother. Orestes admits his crime, but places the blame on Apollo, since the deed was committed at his command. Apollo confirms this and proves the justice of such revenge, since the father is more important for the family than the mother. Athena, having listened to the explanations of the parties, calls on the judges to cast their votes. She herself casts her vote for acquittal. The votes were divided equally - Orestes was acquitted. Delighted, in gratitude for the acquittal, he takes an oath in the name of his country, Argos, never to take up arms against Athens - a motive containing a clear allusion to the political relations of the time when the tragedy was written - namely, to the recently concluded alliance with Argos. The Erinyes are indignant at the derogation of their rights by this verdict. But Athena reassures them with the promise that in Athens the sanctity of their rights will be even more respected and that in their honor a sanctuary will be erected at the foot of the Areopagus Hill, in which they will be revered under the name of the “merciful” goddesses - the Eumenides. Hence the name of the tragedy.
The meaning of the entire legend about the acquittal of Orestes, the murderer of his mother, is perfectly revealed by F. Engels. This is an image of the struggle between the dying maternal right and the asserting paternal right. “The whole subject of the dispute,” says F. Engels, “is succinctly expressed in the debate taking place between Orestes and Erinyes. Orestes refers to the fact that Clytemnestra committed a double crime, killing her husband and at the same time his father. Why did the Erinyes pursue him, and not pursue her, who was much more guilty? The answer is amazing: “She was not related by blood to the husband she killed.” 11 (Aeschylus, Eumenides, 605. Cf. 653. - S. R.).
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.
4. SOCIO-POLITICAL AND PATRIOTIC VIEWS OF AESCHYLUS
Aeschylus, as mentioned above, belonged to a noble family from Eleusis. And Eleusis was the center of the landowning aristocracy, which during the war with the Persians showed a highly patriotic mood. Aeschylus and his brothers took an active part in the main battles with the Persians. In the tragedy "The Persians", expressing the feelings of the entire people, he depicted a real triumph of victory. The tragedy “Seven against Thebes” is also imbued with the pathos of love for the homeland and for freedom, the hero of which Eteocles is presented as an example of a patriotic ruler who gives his life to save the state. The choir's song is imbued with the same idea (especially 3 04 - 320). It is not for nothing that Aristophanes in “The Frogs” (1021-1027), through the mouth of Aeschylus himself, characterizes these tragedies as “dramas full of Ares” (Ares is the god of war). In “Seven against Thebes,” depicting the scene of the appointment of generals, Aeschylus presented in an idealized form the discussion of candidates for the positions of ten strategists in Athens and, in the person of the pious Amphiaraus, showed the type of perfect commander (592 - 594, 609 ff., 619), like Maltiades and Aristides , their contemporaries. But it is remarkable that in “The Persians,” which tells about the victories over the Persians, the poet does not name any of the leaders of these affairs - neither Themistocles, the leader of the slave-holding democracy, who with his cunning letter prompted Xerxes to rush into the battle, nor the aristocrat Aristides, who destroyed the Persian landing on the islet of Psittalia: victory thus seems to be a matter of the people, not of individuals.
How true patriot, Aeschylus deeply hates any betrayal and, in contrast, shows an example of the dedication of the Oceanid chorus in Prometheus, who, in response to the threats of Hermes, declare their loyalty to Prometheus: “Together with him we want to endure everything that has to be: we have learned to hate traitors, and there is no disease that we despise more than this” (1067-1070). Under the lightning strikes of Zeus, they fall together with Prometheus.
Remembering the recent overthrow of tyranny and seeing the attempts of Hippias, the son of Peisistratus, to regain power with the help of the Persians, Aeschylus in “Chained Prometheus” in the person of Zeus portrayed a disgusting type of all-powerful despot-tyrant. K. Marx noted that such criticism of the heavenly gods is also directed against the earthly gods. 12
The direction of Aeschylus's thoughts is most clearly expressed in the Eumenides, where the Athenian Areopagus is presented in an ideal form. The poet used a myth according to which in ancient times this institution was created by the goddess Athena herself for the trial of Orestes. This tragedy was staged in 458, when not even four years had passed after the reform of Ephialtes, who took away political influence from the Areopagus. Here the speech that Athena makes, inviting the judges to cast their votes (681 - 710), attracts attention. It strongly emphasizes important Areopagus. It is depicted as a shrine that can be the stronghold and salvation of the country (701). “I am establishing this merciful and formidable advice for you, alien to self-interest,” says Athena, “there is a vigilant watch over your sleep” (705 ff.). It is emphasized that such an institution does not exist anywhere else - neither among the Scythians, who were known for justice, nor in the country of Pelops, that is, in Sparta (702 ff.). This description of the activities of the Areopagus can only apply to the pre-reform Areopagus, which was the governing body of the state. In Athena’s speech one can also hear a warning that “the citizens themselves” should not distort the laws by adding mud” (693 ff.). With these words, the poet clearly hints at the recent reform of Ephialtes. Further, Athena adds: “I advise citizens to beware of both anarchy and master’s power (i.e., tyranny)” (696 ff.). Thus, some kind of average, moderate order is proposed. And the Erinyes, who from avengers for the rights of the maternal family turn into goddesses of the “Merciful” - the Eumenides, become guardians of law and order in the state (956 - 967) and must not allow civil strife or bloodshed (976 - 987).
Many allusions to modern events are contained in the tragedies of Aeschylus. In the Eumenides, Orestes puts into his mouth a promise on behalf of the state and people of Argos to be faithful allies of Athens at all times (288 - 291) and even an oath never to raise arms against them under pain of complete collapse (762 - 774). In such reasoning, it is not difficult to see in the form of a prophecy a response to the newly concluded alliance with Argos in 461 after the break with Sparta. In a similar way in Agamemnon we find a condemnation of the recklessly undertaken campaign in Egypt in 459. Similar experiences are transferred to the mythological past: the army went to a distant foreign country; for a long time there is no news about him, and only sometimes urns with the ashes of the dead arrive at their homeland, causing a feeling of bitterness against the perpetrators of the senseless campaign (43 3 - 43 6). The campaign itself, undertaken not in the interests of the state, but for the sake of personal, dynastic goals - resentment due to an unfaithful wife (60-67; 448, 1455 ff.) also causes condemnation from society. The chorus of elders speaks of the severity of the people's indignation (456) and expresses their disapproval even to the face of Agamemnon (799 - 804).
In contrast to the aggressive plans of some politicians, Aeschylus puts forward the ideal of a peaceful and calm life. The poet does not want any conquests, but he himself does not allow the thought of living under the rule of enemies (“Agamemnon”, 471 - 474). Glorifying the patriotism and valor of Eteocles in "Seven against Thebes", Aeschylus expresses a strong condemnation of the aggressive aspirations of such heroes as Capaneus (421 - 446), Tydeus (377 - 394) and even Polyneices, whom the pious Amphiarius accuses of going against the homeland (580-586). It is not difficult to imagine that in these mythological images Aeschylus probably reflected the ambitious plans of some of his contemporaries, who tried to follow in the footsteps of the previous tribal leaders, despite the fact that their strength was undermined by the reform of Cleisthenes. Agamemnon is not devoid of these properties, as noted in the words of the chorus; but the memory of this fades away after the terrible catastrophe that befell him (799 - 804; 1259; 1489, etc.). And he is contrasted with the most disgusting type of tyrant in the person of Aegisthus, a vile coward - “a wolf on the bed of a noble lion” (1259). The despotism of the Persian king is characterized by the fact that he does not give an account of his actions to anyone (“Persians”, 213). The type of ideal ruler who coordinates his decisions with the opinion of the people is shown in the person of Pelasgus in “The Petitioners” (368 ff.). The highest judgment over kings belongs to the people: this is threatened by the chorus in Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (1410 ff. and 1615 ff.).
A brilliant poet, an aristocrat by birth, solving important political issues of our time, created highly artistic images even at the time of the establishment of a democratic system; not yet having resolved the contradictory nature of his views, he saw the basis political force among the people.
As a witness to continuous wars, Aeschylus could not help but see their terrible consequences - the destruction of cities, the beating of residents and all kinds of cruelties to which they were subjected. That is why the songs of the choir in “The Seven” are imbued with such deep realism, where women imagine a terrible picture of a city taken by the enemies (287 - 368). Clytemnestra paints a similar scene, telling the choir the news of the capture of Troy (“Agamemnon”, 320 - 344).
As a son of his age, Aeschylus shares the slave-owning views of his contemporaries and nowhere expresses a protest against slavery as such. However, he could not close his eyes to its terrible essence and, like a sensitive artist, reproduces the plight of the slaves and shows main source slavery - war. An example of this is the fate of Cassandra: yesterday she was still a royal daughter, today she is a slave, and the treatment of the mistress of the house does not promise her anything comforting. Only a choir of elders, wise from life experience, tries with their sympathy to soften the fate awaiting her (“Agamemnon”, 1069-1071). The choir of women in “Seven Against Thebes” imagines such a possibility with horror in the event of the city being captured (PO seq., 363). And in “The Persians,” Aeschylus directly expresses the idea that slavery is inadmissible for free-born Greeks and at the same time recognizes this as quite natural for the Persians as “barbarians,” where all are slaves except one, that is, the king (242, 192 ff. ).
5. RELIGIOUS AND MORAL VIEWS OF AESCHYLUS
The religious question in the worldview of Aeschylus, like that of many of his contemporaries, occupies a very great place; however, his views are very different from those of the majority, and, since he puts them in the mouths of his characters, it is not always possible to accurately determine them. The chorus of the Danaids in the Petitioners, the chorus of women in the Seven Against Thebes, and Orestes in the Choephori and the Eumenides express the beliefs of the middle-class people. But along with such simple-minded faith, in the works of Aeschylus one can also notice features of a critical attitude towards popular views. Like his older contemporaries Xenophanes and Heraclitus, Aeschylus questions the crude tales of mythology and is critical of the actions of the gods. Thus, in the “Eumenides” a dispute is presented between the gods themselves - Apollo and Erinyes, and Apollo even drives the latter out of his temple (179 ff.); in “Choephori” the horror of the fact that the god Apollo orders Orestes to kill his own mother is emphasized, and such a thought seems unacceptable to Orestes (297); in Agamemnon, Cassandra talks about her sufferings sent to her by Apollo because she rejected his love (1202-1212). The same innocent sufferer is Io in Prometheus, a victim of Zeus’s lust and persecution by Hera. The sacrifice of Iphigenia is revealed in all its horror in Agamemnon (205 - 248). The chorus of Erinyes in the Eumenides accuses Zeus of having chained his father Cronus (641). This criticism is especially powerful in Prometheus. Prometheus himself is brought out as the savior and benefactor of the human race, innocently suffering from the cruel tyranny of Zeus. Hermes is depicted here as a lowly servant, obligingly carrying out the vile orders of his master. Power and Strength are endowed with the same traits. Hephaestus, despite his sympathy for Prometheus, turns out to be a submissive executor of the will of Zeus. God Ocean is a cunning courtier, ready for all sorts of compromises. All this gave K. Marx the basis to assert that the gods of Greece were - in a tragic form - mortally wounded in Aeschylus's "Prometheus Bound" 13 For the same reason, some of the modern scientists, including the author of the largest work on the "History of Greek Literature" V. Schmid, they even deny that this tragedy belongs to Aeschylus. However, the inconsistency of such an opinion can be considered completely proven, since a critical attitude towards religious tradition, as we have already indicated, is found in Aeschylus and in his other works. The considerations of these critics regarding language and theatrical technique are just as untenable.
Thus rejecting and criticizing folk beliefs and mythological ideas, Aeschylus still does not go so far as to deny religion. Like the philosophers of his time, he creates a general idea of a deity who combines everything higher properties. For this public representation of the deity, he retains the traditional name of Zeus, although he stipulates that perhaps he should be called something else. This idea is expressed especially remarkably in the song of the choir in Agamemnon (160-166):
Zeus, whoever he is, as long as he is called
It pleases him so, -
And now I dare to contact
With that name to him.
From everything that my mind comprehends,
I don’t know what to compare Zeus with,
If anyone truly desires in vain
Remove burdens from thoughts.
We find a similar place in “The Petitioners” (86-102): “Everything that Zeus plans is being fulfilled. His heart's path is all dark, and to what destination it leads, man cannot understand... From heavenly heights from the thrones of the saints, Zeus accomplishes all deeds with one thought.” And in an excerpt from one unfulfilled tragedy there is the following reasoning: “Zeus is the ether, Zeus is the earth, Zeus is the heavens, Zeus is everything and that which is above this” (fr. 70). In such reasoning, the poet approaches a pantheistic understanding of deity. From this it is clear how much Aeschylus rose above the beliefs of his contemporaries. This is already the destruction of the ordinary religion of the Greeks and their polytheism. It is in this sense that we must understand the above words of K. Marx.
We find the justification for Aeschylus’s views in his moral ideas. Above all else there must be truth. It ensures a person’s success in business (“Seven against Thebes”, 662). Not a single criminal will escape her punishing hand. Alexander-Paris, and with him the entire Trojan people, bear retribution for their crime - for trampling on the great altar of Truth (“Agamemnon”, 381 - 384). Neither power nor wealth can save a criminal. Truth most of all loves modest, poor huts and flees rich palaces. This idea is wonderfully expressed in the song of the choir in Agamemnon (773 - 782). Truth, although sometimes after a long time, triumphs over atrocities - this is how the choir sings in “Choephors” (946 - 952). This Truth is not only moral strength, but also a sense of proportion. Its opponent is “arrogance,” (hybris), which is identified with “insolence” and “offense.” All serious crimes of people come from arrogance. When a person loses his common sense (sophrosyne) or, in the figurative expression of Aeschylus, “like a boy begins to catch a bird in the sky” (“Agamemnon”, 394), he loses his understanding of true reality, he experiences moral blindness (ate), then he decides to do unacceptable things. Even if the gods tolerate them for some time, in the end they cruelly punish the criminal, destroying both him and his entire family. The tragedies of Aeschylus mainly depict such people. The sons of Aegyptus want to forcibly take possession of the Danaids, Polyneices goes against his brother, Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon - and they are all cruelly punished for this. This idea is clearly illustrated by the example of the Persian king Xerxes. The shadow of the old king Darius speaks of him (“Persians”, 744 - 75 1):
Out of ignorance, my young son did all this.
Being mortal, he thought in his foolishness
Surpass the gods and even Poseidon himself.
How come my son’s mind didn’t become clouded here?
(Translation by V. G. Appelrot)
Severe life experience leads to the sad conclusion that knowledge is gained through suffering. The rule applies with strict unwaveringness: “If you do it, you will be executed: that’s the law” (“Agamemnon”, 564; “Choephors”, 313). And therefore, responsibility for the case lies with the culprit. Any murder is the greatest sin: no one can bring blood that has fallen to the ground back to life (“Agamemnon”, 1018 - 1021; “Choephori”, 66 seq.; “Eumenides”, 66 seq.), and sooner or later the culprit awaits retribution.
Sometimes purely folk arguments about the envy of the gods are put into the mouths of the characters, and the gods are presented as a hostile force that seeks to humble every person who rises above the average level. Xerxes was too exalted in the consciousness of his strength and power, did not understand the “envy of the gods” (“Persians”, 362), and so he was cast down from his height. The same thing happened with Agamemnon. The poet colorfully showed this in the scene with the carpet, which Clytemnestra ordered to lay under his feet. He is afraid, by stepping onto the purple, to anger the gods: “the gods must be honored by this,” he says (“Agamemnon,” 922). However, Clytemnestra's cunning flattery forces him to retreat from his original decision, and by this he seems to incur the wrath of the gods. True, Aeschylus still tries to show that the main reason for the anger of the gods is not in the simple arrogance of man caused by wealth and power, but in the wickedness into which man himself falls (“Agamemnon”, 750 - 762; “Persians”, 820 - 828 ).
6. THE QUESTION ABOUT FATE AND PERSONALITY IN AESCHYLUS. TRAGIC IRONY
Issues of religion and morality are closely related to views on the fate and purpose of man. Above (Chapter VIII) we have already said what significance this question had in Greek tragedy. Now let's look at how Aeschylus treated him. He, of course, had to take into account popular opinion and use mythological subjects of traditional content, but the remarkable thing is that, while depicting titanic personalities, he focuses attention on their independent decisions, and thus emphasizes the importance of their free will. This is most clearly shown in the images of Eteocles, Clytemnestra, and also Xerxes.
Regardless of the fate weighing down the entire family of Laius, and even regardless of his father’s curse, Eteocles chooses the solution that seems most suitable to him: the chorus indicates that there would be other people who could be sent against Polyneices (“Seven against Thebes ", 679). But Eteocles rejects this thought and, firm in his determination, goes to his death. Death, he says, is not shameful (683 - 685). He takes full responsibility (5 - 9); he knows his fate (653 - 655; 709 - 711) and acts quite consciously. So rock and free will act simultaneously, but independently of each other. In the same way, Xerxes seems to be deceived by a higher power; but the poet shows that it is not the evil demon and not the envy of the gods that lead Xerxes to disaster, but his own qualities- unreason and arrogance: “young and thinks like a young man” (“Persians”, 782, cf. 744). But even worse is the blasphemous behavior of his troops. The Shadow of Darius speaks about it this way (809 - 814):
The idols shamelessly robbed the gods
And they set their temples on fire;
The altars are broken and in disarray
Idols have been toppled from their foundations.
Having committed evil, they endure evil,
And they are destined to endure some more.
(Translation by V. G. Appelrot)
The Greeks are also guilty of this during the capture of Troy, for which Agamemnon suffers punishment (see below):
Aeschylus put into the mouth of Clytemnestra the argument that, by killing her husband, she acted as an instrument of the demon who directed all affairs in the house of Agamemnon (“Agamemnon”, 1500-1504). This view, apparently, was widespread in some circles of Greek society. However, the chorus decisively exposes her explanation: “Who will bear witness that you are not guilty of this murder?” (1505). Aeschylus, thus, freed himself from the belief that the will of man is bound.
In the arsenal of poetic means that Aeschylus uses, this point of view of the poet plays an interesting role. The so-called “tragic irony” is based on it: the character, striving for his goal, actually ends up with exactly the opposite, since a hidden force leads him to death.
There are especially many such features in Agamemnon. Agamemnon knows that if he steps on the purple carpet, he will arouse the envy of the gods; but, at the insistence of Clytemnestra, she still walks along it and only thinks of protecting herself by taking off her sandals (916 - 949). The herald, having arrived at the palace with the joyful news of the capture of Troy, does not want to darken the joy with a story about the disasters suffered, since this, as it seems to him, can bring misfortune, and yet he cannot resist - he tells, and this seems to bring the fatal denouement closer ( 636 - 680).
This contradictory position of the characters leads to a dual point of view: the character means one thing, but the viewer understands it differently. Clytemnestra turns to Zeus with a prayer for the fulfillment of her desire (973 ff.). Those present see this as concern for Agamemnon's well-being, but she means successfully committing the murder. Cassandra's visions and predictions have the same meaning. Turning to the statue of Apollo, she asks: “Where have you brought me?” The chorus answers: “To the palace of the Atrides” (1085 - 1089). She wants to say that she has been brought to the house of Hades, that is, to death. She smells the smell of a grave from the palace, and the choir naively explains that this is the smell from a slaughtered sacrificial animal (1307-1312), etc. Clytemnestra, trying to paint a picture of the capture of Troy, expresses fear that the victors would not go to extremes in their triumph, which could have a detrimental effect on their fate during their upcoming return journey (341 - 347). And this really happened, as it later becomes clear from the words of the Herald (525 - 528 cf. 620 and 636 - 680). But at the same time, the view expressed here is a condemnation of Clytemnestra’s subsequent actions and a justification of the punishment that will befall her for her crime. And further in “Choephori”, hearing the message about the imaginary death of Orestes, Clytemnestra expresses feigned regret, saying that she is losing a friend in him (695 ff.). And for the viewer this sounds like bitter irony.
Such combinations create a special mood in tragedies, which prepares the viewer for the terrible denouement of the entire action. This also creates the pathos of the tragedy, in which Aeschylus showed himself to be a wonderful master.
7. CHORUS AND ACTORS IN AESCHYLUS. STRUCTURE OF TRAGEDY
Aeschylus began his activity when dramatic technique was at the initial stage of its development. The tragedy was formed from the songs of the choir, and in its works songs occupy a very significant place, although the choir gradually loses its guiding importance. In “The Petitioners” the Danaid choir is the main character. In the Eumenides, the Erinyes chorus represents one of the fighting parties. In "Choephori" the chorus constantly encourages Orestes to act. In Agamemnon, the chorus plays a very special role. Although he is no longer a character here, his songs create the main background against which the entire tragedy develops. A vague premonition of the expected disaster grows with each scene, despite visible signs of prosperity (the signal of victory, the arrival of the Herald and the return of the king), and prepares the viewer for disaster. The psychology of the masses, their vague instinctive feelings, naive faith, hesitation, disagreements on the question of whether to go to the palace to help the king or not (1346-1371) - all this is reproduced with such artistic force that is not found in literature until before Shakespeare.
The introduction of a second actor, as we have already said, significantly changed the character of the drama, making it possible to depict dramatic conflicts directly before the eyes of the audience. The situation changed even more when Aeschylus took advantage of Sophocles' innovations, especially the involvement of a third actor. At the same time, attention in dramatic action moved from the chorus to the characters, i.e. to the actors.
No matter how few works of Aeschylus have survived, the seven tragedies that we have provide material for some observations and conclusions. Of these, four form one group, which can be considered early, since the tragedies included in it are distinguished by their primitive technology; the other consists of the latest tragedies included in the Oresteia trilogy. The early ones require the participation of only two actors 14 ; The Oresteia requires three. Accordingly, we can notice a significant change in the structure of tragedies, in the development of action and in the characteristics of the characters. In addition, the first two - "Persians" and "Petitioners" - do not have a prologue and begin with a choir song.
The structure of early tragedies is extremely simple. The action develops almost only externally. The tragedy presents a series of scenes loosely connected with each other. The characters appear one after another, forming separate scenes. Even in Prometheus, the appearance of the Oceanids, Oceanus and Io does not move the action forward, and only the threats of Hermes prepare the denouement. But the tragedy “Agamemnon” represents an example of gradually increasing drama. Already in the prologue, the Guardian outlines the possibility of a tragic outcome, saying that not all is well in the house, then in scene after scene, in the ambiguous speeches of Clytemnestra, the Herald and Agamemnon himself, and, finally, in the stunning visions and prophecies of Cassandra, the gradual approach of a catastrophe is visible. Here the poet's art reaches its highest development.
In each tragedy of Aeschylus, a significant part is occupied by the stories of the “messengers”. Monologue clearly prevails over dialogue. This reflects the features of that period in the development of drama, when the actor only “answered” the questions of the choir. Even the chorus songs at the beginning of “The Petitioners,” “The Persians,” and “Agamemnon” are descriptive. In "The Persians" the central part is the story of the Messenger, in "The Seven" there are three such stories. Narration also dominates Prometheus. Thus, the action takes place primarily behind the scenes. This is a clear sign of the still weak development of purely dramatic elements in tragedies. Therefore, the technique that Aeschylus resorts to in “Agamemnon” is especially remarkable: Cassandra’s crazy visions reveal to the audience in advance what will soon happen behind the scenes in the palace. At the same time, this scene is designed to attract the attention and sympathy of the audience to Agamemnon, who, by his previous actions, did not seem to deserve it.
Aeschylus usually staged not single works, but four together, making up a consistent whole - a coherent tetralogy, in which the individual parts form, as it were, acts of one big drama. A clear idea of this is given by the only surviving trilogy, The Oresteia, which was joined by the unreleased satyr drama Proteus. The same was the Theban tetralogy, which included the tragedies “Laius”, “Oedipus” and “Seven against Thebes” and the satyr drama “The Sphinx”. The tetralogy about Prometheus was also constructed. The connection between its parts is supported by the fact that the subsequent play shows the fulfillment of hints or predictions contained in the previous ones - in Agamemnon the expectation of revenge on the part of Orestes (1646-1648), in Prometheus Bound a prediction of not only new torments, but also liberation of Prometheus with the arrival of Hercules (770 - 774). In some cases, the poet had the opportunity in a tetralogy to depict the fate of an entire clan - the Pelopids in the Oresteia, the Labdacids in the Theban tetralogy, and in general clans over which, according to legend, fate or a fatal curse weighed down. Thus, the action in individual tragedies remained, as it were, unfinished. It is clear that to fully understand a single such tragedy it is necessary to know the other dramas included in the tetralogy, and we find ourselves in a difficult position when we have only one part of this large whole. This makes it extremely difficult, for example, to understand the main idea of Prometheus.
However, some tetralogies were not connected and consisted of completely independent works, as can be seen from the tetralogy, which included “Phinaeus”, “Persians”, “Glaucus Ponticus” and the Satre drama “Prometheus the Firestarter” - plays from different cycles. Since the time of Sophocles, such a free combination of tragedies has become common, and poets began to treat each work as a completely independent and complete whole.
8. IMAGES OF AESCHYLUS' TRAGEDIES
A typical property of Aeschylus the playwright is that he attaches the main importance to action, not to characters, and only gradually, as dramatic technique grows, does plasticity in the depiction of characters increase. Danaus and Pelasgus in “The Petitioners,” Atossa and Xerxes, and even more so the shadow of Darius in “Persians” are completely abstract images, carriers general idea about royal power, devoid of individuality, which is typical of archaic art. Another stage is represented by the tragedies “Seven against Thebes”, “Prometheus” and “Oresteia”. The peculiarity of these tragedies is that in them the poet’s entire attention is focused exclusively on the main characters, while the secondary ones play a purely service role and are intended only to more clearly show and highlight the main characters.
A distinctive feature of Aeschylus’s images is their well-known generality and at the same time integrity, monolithicity, and the absence of hesitations and contradictions in them. Aeschylus usually depicted strong, majestic, superhuman images, free from internal contradictions. Often the gods themselves are depicted in this way (in “Prometheus” Hephaestus, Hermes, Ocean, Prometheus himself, in “Eumenides” - Apollo, Athena, chorus of Erinyes, etc. (The hero appears with ready-made solution and remains faithful to him to the end. No outside influences can deflect him from one day decision taken, even if he had to die. With such a depiction of character, his development is not visible. An example of this is Eteocles. Having taken power into his own hands, he firmly exercises it, takes decisive measures to protect the fatherland and sends a Scout to accurately find out about the actions of the enemies; he stops the panic that can be heard in the speeches of the women who make up the choir; when the Scout reports on the movement of enemy detachments and their leaders, he, assessing their qualities, appoints the appropriate commanders for his part; all the threads of military plans are concentrated in his hands, he has foreseen everything; this is the ideal commander.
There is no doubt that the image is inspired by the turbulent military experiences of the era of the Greco-Persian Wars. But then Eteocles hears that his brother is coming to the seventh gate; he sees him as a mortal enemy, and this is enough for his decision to mature. The chorus tries to stop him, but nothing can make him change his mind. It is already clearly visible strong personality. He is aware of the horror of this and does not even see hope for successful outcome, but still does not retreat and, as if doomed, goes to fall in single combat. He could freely choose his course of action, but of his own free will, in the name of his goal, he goes to battle. His image has great power of patriotic pathos: he dies himself, but saves the fatherland (“Seven against Thebes”, 10 - 20; 1009-1011).
Aeschylus achieves even greater power in the form of Prometheus. This can best be seen by comparing the image of tragedy with its mythological prototype, for example, in the poems of Hesiod, where he is presented as simply a cunning deceiver. In Aeschylus, this is a titan who saved the human race by stealing fire from the gods for people, although he knew that for this he would suffer a cruel punishment; he taught them social life, giving them the opportunity to gather at a common, state hearth; he invented and created various sciences; he is a brave fighter for truth, alien to compromise and protesting against all violence and despotism; he is a God-fighter who hates all gods, an innovator looking for new ways; in the name of his lofty idea, he is ready to accept the most cruel execution and with full consciousness carries out his great work. Not a thought primitive man, and the high consciousness of people in the 5th century. could bear such an image. This is how the genius of Aeschylus created him, and we now call people of this type titans.
Prometheus was the favorite hero of K. Marx, who in the preface to his dissertation, for the edification of his contemporaries, repeats the atheistic words of Prometheus: “I simply hate all gods” (975). And further he shows the steadfastness of a true philosopher, quoting Prometheus's response to the threats of Hermes (966-96 9):
For your service, know well -
I won't trade my torment.
Yes, it's better to be a servant of the rock,
Than the faithful messenger of Father Zeus.
K. Marx concludes his reasoning with these words: “Prometheus is the noblest saint and martyr in the philosophical calendar” 15.
In Agamemnon, the main character is not Agamemnon, who appears in only one scene - although the whole action is centered around his name - but Clytemnestra. The image of Agamemnon serves only as a background against which both the crime and the image of his murderer Clytemnestra stand out. This king is a “great lion”, tired of the hardships of a long war, but a strong ruler, revered by his loyal subjects, although in the past he gave many reasons for displeasure, especially with a war over a criminal wife - especially since the soothsayer warned about the heavy losses awaiting him (15 6 ff.). But Agamemnon is taught by bitter experience, he knows about many things that happened in his homeland during his absence, for many there must be a reckoning for this (844-850). His image becomes all the greater because he is contrasted as a successor with Aegisthus, a coward who did not have the courage to commit an atrocity with his own hand, but left it to a woman. Aegisthus is only able to boast - “like a rooster before a hen” - this is how the chorus characterizes him (1671). The chorus calls him a woman to his face (1632). Orestes in “Choephori” also calls him a coward, capable only of dishonoring his husband’s bed (304).
To understand the image of Clytemnestra, we must remember that in the epic the murder of Agamemnon was described completely differently. In the Odyssey (I, 35-43; IV, 524-)535; XI, 409) Aegisthus is called the main culprit, and Clytemnestra is only his accomplice. In Aeschylus, Aegisthus appears only after the end of the case and the crime is attributed entirely to Clytemnestra. Therefore, her image is endowed with exceptional power. This is a woman with a mind as strong as her husband’s - this is how the Guardian, and later the elders of the choir, characterize her in the prologue (11; 3 5 1). A woman needs extraordinary firmness and willpower in order to calm the unrest in the state, generated by alarming rumors from the scene of hostilities, in the absence of the king. She must have treachery, hypocrisy and pretense so as not to incur suspicion. She meets Agamemnon with a long, flattering speech to lull his suspicion. And he has reason to suspect something is wrong in the house. He ironically notes that his wife’s speech corresponds in length to the duration of his absence (915 words). The scene in which she persuades Agamemnon to walk on the purple carpet and tries to dispel his vague foreboding and superstitious fear is one of the remarkable examples of Aeschylus's work. But now she achieved her goal. The ambiguous prayer to Zeus sounds ominously in her mouth (973 words):
Zeus, Zeus the Accomplisher, fulfill my prayer!
Worry about what you have to do!
When she then goes out to call Cassandra into the palace, her speech breathes anger and threat. And finally, the murder took place. She appears in front of the audience (probably on a moving platform - “ekkiklem”) with an ax in her hands, spattered with blood, with a bloody stain on her face and stands over the corpses of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Now there is no need for pretense, and she declares with brutal frankness that she has accomplished the task that she had planned for a long time. True, she tries to soften the horror of her crime by claiming that she was taking revenge for her daughter Iphigenia and for her husband’s betrayal with Chryseis and Cassandra. But it is clear that this is not the case. The elders of the choir are shocked by what happened. Clytemnestra's act seems to them inhuman; it seems to them that she is intoxicated from some kind of poisonous potion: at this moment something demonic is visible in her (1481 ff.). But she is already fed up with the shed blood and declares that she is ready to abandon further murders (1568 - 1576), and, indeed, later, when Aegisthus and his bodyguards want to deal with the rebellious elders of the choir, she prevents bloodshed with her intervention and takes Aegisthus to the palace. From the last scene it is clear that she will rule, not he.
In the tragedy there is also a wonderful image of the prophetess Cassandra - the one who received the gift of divination from Apollo, but deceived him by rejecting his love, and was punished by the fact that no one believed her predictions. By the will of the gods, she drags out the miserable life of an outcast beggar and finally ends up as a captive in the house of Agamemnon to find her death here. This image receives a special tragedy due to the fact that the heroine herself knows the fate awaiting her, which evokes even greater compassion from the chorus (1295-1298). Somewhat similar to her in Prometheus I 6, the unfortunate victim of Zeus’s love and Hera’s persecution.
In the other two tragedies of the Oresteia, the images of the characters no longer arouse such interest as those just discussed. Clytemnestra in “Choephori” is no longer the strong and proud woman as before: she suffers, awaiting Orestes’ revenge. The news of her son's death awakens opposite feelings in her - both pity for him and the joy of deliverance from eternal fear (738). But suddenly it turns out that it was not Orestes who died, but Aegisthus who was killed, and a formidable avenger stands before her. The old spirit still awakens in her for a minute; she screams for the ax to be given to her as soon as possible (889). Orestes in the "Choephori" and "Eumenides" acts as an instrument of the deity and therefore somewhat loses his individual features. However, when he sees his mother stretched out on her knees in front of him, revealing the breast that fed him, he shudders and hesitates in his decision. “Pilad, what should I do? Should I spare my mother? - he turns to his faithful friend and companion (890). Pylades reminds him of Apollo's command - he must fulfill his will. According to the requirement of religion, he, as a murderer who carries filth, must leave the country and receive purification somewhere. Shocked by his deed, Orestes orders to show him the clothes with which, like a net, Clytemnestra entangled Agamemnon at the time of the murder and on which traces of the blows inflicted are visible, and he feels his mind begin to cloud. He wants to find an excuse for his action, to calm the voice of his conscience... and sees terrible images of Erinyes. In this state he appears in the next tragedy - in the Eumenides, until he is acquitted at the trial of the Areopagus. This is how the hero’s inner world is shown.
Of the minor persons, few are endowed individual traits. It is interesting, for example, to present the moral insignificance and cowardice of the Ocean in Prometheus (377 - 396). The simple-minded grief of the old Nanny Orestes is full of life when she learns of his imaginary death (743 - 763).
Aristophanes noted Aeschylus's tendency to achieve a special effect by presenting heroes maintaining sullen silence for an entire scene (Frogs, 911 - 913). This is the first scene of Prometheus, the scene with Cassandra in Agamemnon, the scene with Niobe in the recently discovered passage from the tragedy of the same name.
9. LANGUAGE OF AESCHYLUS
Aeschylus, creating amazing titanic images, needed to embody them in the same mighty tongue. As the founder of the genre of drama, which developed on the basis of epic and lyric poetry, he naturally adopted the stylistic traditions of these genres. If a tragedy, which is generally serious in nature, is distinguished by its majesty and solemnity, then the language of Aeschylus has these properties in to the greatest extent. This is especially evident in the choir parts, which use artificial Dorian dialect and express various musical melodies. The dialogical parts continue the tradition of Ionian-Attic iambic poetry, but, while preserving the majesty of antiquity, they make abundant use of Ionisms and all kinds of archaisms. The growth of tragic pathos is skillfully shaded by the transition from calm dialogue to the subtlest lyrical “commos” - lyrical replicas between the actor and the chorus, as, for example, in “Agamemnon” in the scene with Cassandra (1072-1177) and in the crying scenes in “Persians” ", and in "Seven against Thebes". When the dialogue takes on a particularly fast pace, iambic verse is replaced by trochae octameters - tetrameters.
Aeschylus's language is distinguished by its richness and variety of vocabulary. There are many words here that are rare and rarely used, even not found at all in other authors. Noteworthy is the abundance of complex words that combine several roots or begin with two or three prefixes. Such words contain several images at once, which makes it extremely difficult to translate them into another language. In some cases, Aeschylus even tries to individualize the speech of his heroes. Emphasizing the foreign origin of the Danaids, he puts foreign words into their mouths, as well as into the mouth of the Egyptian herald. Especially a lot foreign words in "Persians".
Aeschylus's speech is very emotional, rich in images and metaphors. Some of them run like a leitmotif through the entire tragedy. For example, the motif of a ship carried on a stormy sea is in “Seven Against Thebes”, the motif of a yoke is in “The Persians”, the motif of a beast caught in a net is “Agamemnon”, etc. The capture of Troy by the Greeks is represented as a horse’s gallop , - that wooden horse, in which the Greek leaders were hiding (“Agamemnon”, 825 ff.). Helen's arrival in Troy is likened to the taming of a young lion cub, which, having become an adult, slaughtered its owner's herd (717 - 736). Clytemnestra is called a two-legged lioness who entered into a relationship with a cowardly wolf (1258 ff.). There is also an interesting play on words based on consonances, such as: Helen - “invader” of ships, husbands, cities (helenaus, helandros, heleptolis, “Agamemnon”, 689); Cassandra calls Apollo “the destroyer” (apollyon, “Agamemnon”, 1080 ff.).
These features are typical for the entire style of tragedy. Recently discovered passages from the satyr dramas of Aeschylus showed that in them Aeschylus approached language colloquial speech. Some researchers rejected the attribution of “Prometheus” to Aeschylus, citing peculiarities in the language of this tragedy. However, these differences do not go beyond the range of expressions found in the satyr dramas of Aeschylus. The influence of the comedies of Epicharmus, with which Aeschylus became acquainted during his stay in Sicily around 470, is also possible. But Aristophanes already playfully pointed out the heaviness of Aeschylus’s language, the “bull” expressions, incomprehensible to the audience and cumbersome, like towers (“Frogs”, 924, 1004 ).
10. ASSESSMENT OF AESCHYLUS IN ANCIENTITY AND HIS WORLD SIGNIFICANCE
The revolution made by Aeschylus in the technique of drama and the strength of his talent secured him an outstanding place among the national poets of Greece. Throughout the 5th and 4th centuries. BC e. he retained the significance of an outstanding poet, and his works received exclusive right for re-productions. Aristophanes in the comedy “Frogs” put him in first place among the famous tragedians. He described him as an educator of the people (1471-1473) and a true representative of the generation of marathon fighters (“Acharnians”, 181; “Clouds”, 987). Around 330 BC e., at the suggestion of the orator and politician Lycurgus, a monument to Aeschylus was erected in the rebuilt theater along with other famous playwrights. At the same time, his works were collected in a carefully verified state list. Aeschylus had a strong influence not only on Greek, but also on Roman literature: Ennius, Actius and Seneca were engaged in the processing of his works.
IN new literature the influence of Aeschylus can be seen in many poets - Calderon, Milton, Voltaire, Goethe, Schiller, Shelley, Byron, Leopardi and others. Aeschylus, as is known from Lafargue’s memoirs, was one of K. Marx’s favorite poets. Goethe called “Agamemnon” in a letter to W. Humboldt dated September 1, 1816 “the masterpiece of masterpieces” - “Kunstwerk der Kunstwerke”. “Prometheus” had a particularly strong influence on both Western and our literature, the image of which reigns in world poetry, captivating people of various eras and trends. Michelangelo immortalized his image in the Sistine Chapel. Calderon wrote the drama “The Statue of Prometheus” (1679), Voltaire wrote the drama “Pandora” (1748). Herder wrote the scenes of Prometheus Unbound, and on this basis Liszt created his symphonic poem of the same name. Let us recall Goethe’s dramatic fragment “Prometheus”, lyric poem Byron under the same title and Shelley's Prometheus Unbound.
M.V. Lomonosov addressed the plot of Prometheus in his “Letter on the Benefits of Glass” in 1752, where he wrote:
Others, at least know who could have brought (fire. - S.R.) from heaven,
Imagined Prometheus in your dreams.
A. N. Radishchev in the “Historical Song” (1807) speaks of the feat of Hercules, who “the contempt of Promitheus, who stole the flame from heaven, saving him from an evil execution, killed the corvid that was tormenting his Percy in the Caucasus.” T. G. Shevchenko compares the oppressed people with Prometheus and believes that “truth rises, will rise,” and in the immortality of Prometheus he sees a prototype of the immortality of the people. N.P. Ogarev wrote the poem “Prometheus”, in which he denounces the tyranny of Nicholas I. Karolina Pavlova translated excerpts from “Prometheus”. A.V. Venevitinov tried to translate it, V.G. Belinsky and A.I. Herzen highly valued this image. A. M. Gorky attached great importance to the myth of Prometheus. We can say that Prometheus is the favorite image of all peoples.
In addition, in Russian literature one can indicate translations of scenes from various tragedies of Aeschylus made by A. F. Merzlyakov. A. N. Maikov and Lesya Ukrainka based on “Agamemnon” created: one - a drama, the second - a poem called “Cassandra”.
The images of Aeschylus had a strong influence on R. Wagner. The Russian composer S.I. Taneyev owns the opera “Oresteia”. A. N. Scriabin wrote the symphony “Prometheus”, etc.
The mighty images of Aeschylus, which passed through the entire world history, are still full of vitality and genuine simplicity. They continue to resonate in Soviet fine arts and literature. G.I. Serebryakova called her trilogy about the life of K. Marx “Prometheus” (1963).
Notes
1 Belinsky V. G. About Baratynsky’s poems. - Full. collection cit., vol. 1, p. 322.
2 See: Engels F. Letter to M. Kautskaya dated November 26, 1885 - Marx K., Engels F. Soch. 2nd ed., vol. 36, p. 333.
3. Marx K. Capital. T. 1. - Marx K., Engels F. Soch. 2nd ed., vol. 23, p. 346, approx. 24.
4. Engels F. Origin of the family, private property and state. - Marx K., Engels F. Op. 2nd ed., vol. 21, p. 118.
5. F. Engels speaks about the aristocratic nature of the council of the Areopagus in “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.” - See: Marx K., Engels F. Soch. 2nd ed., vol. 21, p. 105.
6. See: Herodotus. History, vi, 114; VIII, 84; Aeschylus. Persians, 403 - 411.
7. The Greeks often confused the name of the Persians with their neighbors the Medes.
8. About the newly discovered didascalia, see: Tronsky I.M. Oxyrhynchus didascalia of Aeschylus on the Danaids. VDI, 1957, No. 2, p. 146-159.
9. Athenaeus. Feasting Sophists, VIII, 39, p. 347 E.
10. Quote. based on the translation by V. G. Appelrot (M., 1888).
11. 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.
12. See: Marx K., Engels F. From early works. M., 1956, p. 24-25.
13. See: Marx K. Towards a critique of Hegel’s philosophy of law. - Marx K., Engels F. Op. 2nd ed., vol. 1, p. 418.
14. In the tragedy "Seven against Thebes" three actors are required only in the last scene, and in "Prometheus" - in the first. In both cases, this role, while the rule of two actors was still in effect, could be performed with the help of a “parachoregeme,” that is, an additional actor.
15. Marx K., Engels F. From early works, p. 25.
Aeschylus is a playwright of Ancient Greece, the father of European tragedy.
Aeschylus was born in 525 BC in the Attic city of Eleusis. The first youthful period of his work lasted until 484 BC. It was then that he won his first victory. Unfortunately, the tragedies of this period have not survived. However, already at this time his own tragic style could be traced in Aeschylus’s work:
- A second actor was introduced to the first actor, which was supposed to help introduce the action. In the earliest tragedies of Aeschylus that have survived, the role of the second actor is insignificant and most scenes can be played with the participation of one.
- Aeschylus adopted two dramatic forms that had previously been at odds with each other: the serious Attic drama and the playful Peloponnesian satiricon. He introduced a tragic tetralogy, which included three serious dramas and one satirical one, in the form of a conclusion.
- “Homer” was included in the tragedy, that is, the entire ancient heroic epic, the creator of which Homer was considered.
From 484 BC, a new period of Aeschylus’s work begins. He becomes the king of the Attic stage, on which he has no equal. Of the works of this period, “The Persians” and “The Petitioners” have come down to us. The first tells about the defeat of the Persians at Salamis and the disastrous retreat of their troops to Asia. The second plot is quite mythological: the arrival of Danaus and his daughters in Argos and the protection shown to them by the Argives against their cousins, the sons of Egypt, brother Danaus. The composition of these tragedies itself is simple and strict. There is no prologue, the action begins with the introduction of the choir, which “speaks” about the purpose of its appearance. After this, the choir sings a lyrical song, which expresses his anxious feelings about the expected events. Characters a little: in the first tragedy - Queen Atossa, a messenger from the Persian army, the shadow of the late Darius, and in conclusion Xerxes himself. In the second - Danaus, the Argive king Pelasgus and the envoy of the sons of Egypt. They appear on stage one at a time, rarely two. Their conversations are long speeches followed by poetry. In this case, the interlocutors alternate, pronouncing one verse at a time.
This period in the poet’s life was quite stormy. In the life of Athens, this was precisely the period of the Battles of Salamis and Plataea, in which Aeschylus took a direct part. His fame as a poet began to spread everywhere.
Later in the tragedy, a prologue appears, which precedes the entry of the chorus, and the volume of dialogue also increases.
Apparently, at the same time the Prometheus trilogy was staged, of which only the second tragedy has reached us: “Chained Prometheus.” The perspicacious titan, knowing that only in man can Zeus find a savior from the destruction that threatens his kingdom, wants to raise the human race and for this purpose gives him ethereal fire. He kidnapped him from the heavenly heights. Zeus saw this abduction as a violation of the world treaty. As punishment, he chained Prometheus to the rocks of the Caucasus. Prometheus endures all the torment and does not reveal his secret prematurely, knowing that over time Zeus will appreciate his service. This is the only divine tragedy that has come down to us from antiquity.
The last trilogy of Aeschylus to survive in its entirety was his Oresteia. It included “Agamemnon”, “Choephori” and “Eumenides”. These tragedies have an advantage over Prometheus, because in the arena it is not a divine, but a human environment.
Aeschylus, soon after his “Oresteia,” left Athens; he went to Sicily for the third time, where he died in 456 BC in the city of Gela. There are 90 tragedies left from him. The heroes of his trilogies were Achilles, Ayant, Odysseus, Memnon, Adrastus, Perseus, etc.
Aeschylos (about 525, Eleusis, - 456 BC, Sicily) - ancient Greek playwright, the first of the three great Athenian tragedians of the 5th century. BC
Aeschylus came from an old aristocratic family. Participated in the Greco-Persian wars. In 484 he won his first victory in dramatic competitions; Subsequently, he won 12 more times in playwriting competitions.
In antiquity, about 80 dramatic works of Aeschylus were known, only 7 have survived: “The Persians” (472), “Seven against Thebes” (467), the trilogy “Oresteia” (458; “Agamemnon”, “Choephori”, “Eumenides”); There is no consensus on the time of creation of the tragedies “The Petitioners, or the Prayers” and “Chained Prometheus”. Of the remaining tragedies of Aeschylus, fragments have survived, rarely exceeding 5-10 verses; relatively large fragments from the satyr dramas “Drawing the Net” and “Ambassadors, or Isthmians” were published in editions of Egyptian papyri in 1933 and 1941.
The work of Aeschylus dates back to the period of the final establishment of Athenian democracy (1st half of the 5th century BC) and reflects a revaluation of the ideological principles of the tribal system. The hero of his tragedies is a person who is independent in his behavior and responsible for his actions. The essence of the tragic in Aeschylus is revealed most clearly in the Oresteia: the curse of the Atrides that hangs over the house of Agamemnon is carried out only because the members of this house (Agamemnon, Clytemnestra) are themselves guilty of committing grave crimes against divine and human laws. The bloody string of revenge-crimes stops thanks to the intervention of the court of the Athenian Areopagus, whose decision is sanctified by the goddess Athena and symbolizes the victory of democratic statehood over the archaic law of tribal revenge.
The triumph of the principles of patriotism and civil equality over “barbaric” despotism constitutes the main content of “The Persians” and is also reflected in “Seven against Thebes” and “Petitioners”. The humanistic content of Aeschylus's work excludes. is revealed vividly in the tragedy of Prometheus - “the most noble saint and martyr in the philosophical calendar.”
"The Father of Tragedy", Aeschylus was a major innovator in the field of artistic form. Choral and lyrical parts with the participation of actors play the most important dramatic role in his tragedies, whipping up an atmosphere of excitement and anxiety and bringing the action to a climax. By introducing a second actor, Aeschylus significantly increased the role of individual characters, among whom such titanic images as Eteocles, Prometheus, and Clytemnestra stand out. Aeschylus' tragedies were well known in ancient Rome; some of them served as a prototype for the works of Ennius, Actius, and Seneca. The image of Prometheus is widely reflected in the literature and art of modern times.
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 open space 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; of these, 13 are satyr dramas, which were usually staged as an addition to the trilogy. Although only 7 tragedies have reached us, their composition was determined as a result of a careful selection made in last centuries antiquity, and therefore they can be considered the best or most typical fruits of the poetic gift of Aeschylus. Each of these tragedies deserves special mention. The Persians, the only extant historical drama in all of Greek literature, describes the defeat of the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC. Aeschylus The tragedy was written eight years after these events, i.e. in 472 BC Aeschylus There is no data regarding the time of production of the tragedy of Prometheus Chained.
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 famous poem Shelley Prometheus Unbound and in many other works. The tragedy of the Seven against Thebes, staged in 467 BC by Aeschylus, 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 Aeschylus The Oresteia trilogy was written in 458 BC Aeschylus and consists of Agamemnon , Choephoros 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 lines, the main action and plot development occurs through dialogue.
The structure of the plot in Aeschylus remains relatively simple. 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 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. That's why 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 sin are often perceived as hereditary, transmitted within the family in the form generational curse, however, Aeschylus makes it clear that each generation commits its own sin, thereby giving rise to a 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 by Aeschylus, 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' 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 (Areopagus) led by the goddess Athena. Apollo acts as a defender, and the vote cast by Athena decides the case in favor of Orestes, since the people could not come to 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.