Aeschylus

Aeschylus lived from about 525/524 to 456/455 BC, during one of the most decisive periods in ancient Greek history. He was born at Eleusis, at a time when Athens was still strongly influenced by aristocratic families, but during his lifetime the city underwent profound political and military transformation. The reforms of Cleisthenes in the late 6th century BC laid the foundations of Athenian democracy and created a new political environment in which citizens increasingly participated in public life.

His era was marked above all by the Persian Wars. Aeschylus himself fought at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC and probably also took part in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. The conflict between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire had a deep influence on his thought and work. In The Persians, the oldest surviving Greek tragedy, he presented the Persian defeat from the perspective of the defeated themselves.

After the Persian Wars, Athens emerged as a major power in the Greek world. Its political influence, wealth and cultural development increased, while theatre became a central institution of the city’s public and religious life. Tragedies were performed during festivals in honour of Dionysus and provided a space for reflection on questions of power, justice, war, responsibility and divine order.

Aeschylus’ work reflects this transitional age. His tragedies often stage a conflict between the older logic of revenge and blood-feud and a new idea of organized justice and civic order. The Oresteia, in particular, can be read as a symbolic transition from personal vengeance to a society in which justice is administered through institutions.