Aeschylus (525-456 BC) brought a new grandeur and epic sweep to the drama of classical Athens, raising it to the status of high art. In Prometheus Bound the defiant Titan Prometheus is brutally punished by Zeus for daring to improve the state of wretchedness and servitude in which mankind is kept. The Suppliants tells the story of the fifty daughters of Danaus who must flee to escape enforced marriages, while Seven Against Thebes shows the inexorable downfall of the last members of the cursed family of Oedipus. And The Persians, the only Greek tragedy to deal with events from recent Athenian history, depicts the aftermath of the defeat of Persia in the battle of Salamis, with a sympathetic portrayal of its disgraced King Xerxes.
Philip Vellacott's evocative translation is accompanied by an introduction, with individual discussions of the plays, and their sources in history and mythology.
By:
Aeschylus Edited by:
Philip Vellacott Translated by:
Philip Vellacott Imprint: Penguin Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 198mm,
Width: 129mm,
Spine: 9mm
Weight: 123g ISBN:9780140441123 ISBN 10: 0140441123 Pages: 160 Publication Date:02 January 2001 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Prometheus Bound and Other PlaysIntroduction Prometheus Bound The Suppliants Seven Against Thebes The Persians Notes
Aeschylus was born of noble family near Athens in 525 BC. He took part in the Persian Wars, adn his epitahp represents him as fighting at Marathon. He wrote more than seventy plays, of which only seven have survived.