Aeschylus is the father of tragedy, innovation and the evolution of creativity. Tragedy "The Persians", "Prometheus Bound"

Ancient Greek playwright.

Aeschylus was not the first Greek playwright, but is often called the "father of tragedy." Aristotle reports that it was Aeschylus who introduced a second actor into the tragedy (before him, only one actor and a chorus acted on stage), which shortened the parts of the chorus and expanded the dialogue, making it possible to introduce much more larger number characters, since two actors could play several roles at once...

The names have reached us 79 of his works, but we only know the full texts 7 his dram.

“In the 5th century. BC e. Aeschylus, the first of the great playwrights, introduced a second actor into the dramatic ensemble and made his actors the main performers, accordingly reducing the role of the chorus, which nevertheless retained considerable importance for the development of the plot.

His tragedies have no sharp plot moves, surprises or unexpected turns.

Finding inspiration in everything famous myths- like “The Fall of the House of Atrides,” with which this chapter began, Aeschylus presents us with majestic and leisurely magnificent spectacles that resurrect the distant past.

His characters say poetic speeches, speaking in sublime language.

The simplicity of Aeschylus' tragedy cycles is akin to that which distinguishes the medieval mystery cycles.

Everything in them is called by its proper name. The beauty of these works is not in the complexity of metaphors, not in the sophistication of the main idea; it is the embodiment of the clarity of orthodox religious thinking - God is God, and man cannot fool him.

Zeus's retribution falls on the daring, whose pride prompted them to challenge the established order of things. Guilt, like wealth, can be inherited, falling in an endless chain reaction on the children, and then grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the perpetrators. Only the creation of a new, more humane system of justice - which in the Eumenides Aeschylus, the final tragedy of the Oresteia, turns out to be Athenian democracy - it can interrupt this downward spiral and turn the ancient goddesses of endless vengeance into patroness of the city and people, caring for the well-being of Athens.

Aeschylus used ancient legend, to raise topical issues, namely: the resistance of the aristocrats to the loss of their former power in the face of democratic reforms.

The final idea of the cycle: heaven wishes a better fate for people, and therefore all your objections, like those put forward by the Erinyes, are meaningless; although we should fear you and take you into account, you can no longer determine the outcome of everything.

This was the secret path open to Aeschylus and his followers: a sacred, familiar story, whose truth was beyond doubt, whose roots ran deep into the Greek collective consciousness, used by the playwright to speak of the present of the polis.

In many plays, the chorus represents ordinary citizens, the audience, speaking simple truths and gaining new understanding of things as the drama progresses.”

Thomas Cahill, The Greek Heritage: What Western Civilization Owes to the Hellenes, St. Petersburg, Amphora, 2006, pp. 148-149.

Aeschylus:"Since the beginning of time, every famous poet always served people. Orpheus inspired disgust for murder, the Museum solved the prophecies of oracles and taught medicine, Hesiod- agriculture, divine Homer- heroism. And after Homer, I sing the praises of Patroclus with the heart of a lion, so that every citizen strives to be like the great people.”

Quoted from Aristophanes' Frogs, verse 1039.

“Perhaps the oldest example is tragedy Aeschylus"Persians", where the Greek describes the war from the position of the enemies.
Subsequently, this technique was repeatedly used by writers and publicists of a humanistic orientation. Experience shows that it is capable of producing a partial positive result, although it is fraught with danger for the peacemaker himself. Psychologists use it in the treatment of family conflicts: inviting each spouse to anticipate the reproaches that the other party will make against him or her in an individual conversation (everyone strives to look more objective in the eyes of the psychotherapist), in some cases directly leads to resolution conflict situation».

Nazaretyan A.P., Anthropology of violence and the culture of self-organization: essays on evolutionary-historical psychology, M., “Librocom”, 2012, p. 97.

Federal State Educational Institution
higher professional education

"CHELYABINSK STATE ACADEMY OF CULTURE AND ARTS"

INSTITUTE OF CORRESPONDENCE STUDY
Department of Advertising

TEST

In the discipline "Foreign Literature"
on the topic: Aeschylus “father of tragedy”

Completed:
art student gr. 306 MR
Morozkina Ulyana Igorevna
Teacher:
Toropova Olga Vladimirovna

Grade "______________________ _"

"_____" __________________ 20

CHELYABINSK 2011

Chapter 1. Aeschylus and his contribution to the genre of tragedy.
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. 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 the 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 1 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 literary activity Aeschylus. As you can see, the fulfillment of patriotic duty on the battlefield covers all other merits of a person - a feature characteristic of the public sentiment of a given 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,” which talks about some differences between the poet and the Athenians.
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,” and F. Engels called him “the father of tragedy.” At the same time, Engels also characterizes him as a “pronounced tendentious poet,” but not in the narrow sense of the 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 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 leading role. In “The Petitioners” the Danaid choir is the main thing actor. 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 whole 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 source of all conflicts in Aeschylus is a factor independent of either people or gods - fate (Moira), which not only people, but even the gods themselves cannot overcome. The collision of an individual's free will with the intervention of an irresistible factor - fate - is the leitmotif of Aeschylus' tragedies. There is a certain amount of mysticism, mystery and superstition inherent in Aeschylus and easily explained historically.
There is very little information left about what mechanics Aeschylus used during his performances, but it seems that the special effects system of the ancient theater made it possible to work wonders. In one of his now lost works - it was called "Psychostasia" or "Weighing of Souls" - Aeschylus imagined Zeus in the sky, who weighed the fates of Memnon and Achilles on huge scales, while the mothers of both, Eos and Thetis, "floated" in the air next to the scales. How was it possible to lift large weights into the sky and throw them down from a height, to cause during the action, as in Prometheus Bound, lightning, rain and mountain collapses that awed the audience?
It is logical to assume that the Greeks used large cranes, lifting devices, hatches, water and steam drainage systems, as well as all kinds of chemical mixtures, so that fire or clouds appeared at the right moment. Nothing survives that could support this hypothesis. And yet, if the ancients achieved such effects, then they must have had special means and devices for this.
Aeschylus is credited with many other, simpler theatrical innovations. For example, buskins - shoes with high wooden soles, luxurious clothes, as well as improvement of the tragic mask with the help of a special horn to amplify the sound. Psychologically, all these tricks: increasing height and strengthening the sound of the voice - were designed to create an environment befitting the appearance of gods and heroes.
Theater Ancient Greece very different from the theater we were used to beginning of the XXI century. Classical theater is mystical and religious. The performance does not please the audience, but gives a lesson in life, through empathy and compassion, which the viewer is imbued with, cleanses his soul from certain passions.
With the exception of “The Persians,” which were based on real historical events, Aeschylus’ tragedies were always based on epics, myths, and folk legends. These were the Trojan and Theban wars. Aeschylus knew how to restore them to their former glory, to give them grandeur and current meaning. King Pelasgus in The Petitioners discusses the affairs of the state as if he were a Greek of the 5th century BC. The controversial Zeus from Prometheus Bound sometimes uses expressions worthy of the Athenian ruler Peisistratus. Eteocles in the tragedy "Seven against Thebes" gives orders to his army as a strategist - a contemporary of Aeschylus - would do.
He had an amazing ability in a separate, particular case to see not just an episode in a chain of events, but its connection with the spiritual world and with fate itself, which governs people and the Universe. His tragedies have the rare property of always remaining above the triviality of everyday life and even bringing into it something from the Higher reality. In this art the followers will not be able to compare with Aeschylus. They will invariably descend to earth, into the human world. And their gods and heroes will be so similar to ordinary people with their passions and desires that we will hardly be able to recognize them as mysterious inhabitants of another reality. With Aeschylus, everything, absolutely everything, is shrouded in mystery, fanned by the breath of what stands above people.
For a person at the beginning of the 21st century with his way of thinking, this may seem boring and tedious, but we cannot measure by our standards what existed and was valued 2500 years ago. In addition, Aeschylus sought to teach a lesson, and not to entertain, because this was not what the tragedy served. There were other places and circumstances for entertainment, and therefore no one was surprised by their absence in the theater, just as today it does not seem strange to us that no one laughs at a concert of Beethoven's music - we go to the circus to laugh.
Many centuries later, Victor Hugo wrote about Aeschylus: “...it is impossible to approach him without the awe that you experience in the face of something huge and mysterious. It is like a colossal rocky block, steep, devoid of gentle slopes and soft outlines, and at the same time it is filled with special charm, like the flowers of distant, inaccessible lands. Aeschylus is an ancient mystery in human form, a pagan prophet. His works, if they had all reached us, would have been the Greek Bible.”

Chapter 2. The work of Aeschylus. Review.
According to ancient sources, Aeschylus wrote about 90 dramas. The literary fertility of Greek authors characterizes their attitude towards writing, which they considered the most important form of fulfilling civic duty. Only 7 tragedies of Aeschylus have reached us, not counting numerous scattered fragments.
Having read the works of Aeschylus that have come down to us, I was pleasantly surprised at how rich and complex he was literary language that time. The plays written by Aeschylus, both those based on myths and those based on real events, all contained a large number of colorful epithets and comparisons. I read the tragedies according to the chronology of their writing, so I noticed how the style and colorful presentation of the plot changes with each play. With each play, Aeschylus adds more and more dialogue to the characters and assigns less and less role to the chorus.
The first work I read was the tragedy “The Petitioner”. There's almost no action in it. All attention is focused on the chorus, which is the main character. "The Petitioners" is the first part of the trilogy about the Danaids, which is based on ancient myth about the daughters of Danae.
The Libyan king Danaus had 50 daughters, and his brother Egypt had 50 sons. The latter wished to marry their cousins and forced Danae and Danaid to agree. But on their wedding night, the Danaids, except for one, stabbed their husbands to death.
In the tragedy, I was delighted by the very presentation of this work. Although the characters in the drama did not speak in the usual manner for us, the thoughts they expressed were more than understandable. If we summarize this work without relying on critical articles written earlier by different authors, but expressing only our opinion, we can say that Aeschylus touched upon in this tragedy all those pressing problems that may have existed in his time, but they are just as relevant now . Aeschylus touched upon a very sensitive topic, in my opinion, about the defenselessness of women in front of lustful and thirsty men for power and wealth. Just like the Danaids, women of our time are defenseless against brute male physical force, and many are powerless before forced marriage (many religions of our time promote this type of marriage). In the tragedy of Aeschylus, the public (residents of the city of Argos) came to the defense of Danaids; in our time this is the law. In those days people feared the gods, in our time people fear the law. The drama is very rich in comparisons and beautiful presentation, which cannot but delight:
Reverently all the rulers in common
Honor their altar. Dove
Sit down in a flock - it is afraid of hawks,
Winged too, but drinking their own blood.
Is the bird that hunts birds clean?
So is the rapist really pure, who decided
Kidnap her father's daughter? Who dares
For this, the guilty ones will go to Hades.
After all, even there, I heard, over the villains
Zeus of the underworld administers his final judgment.
The character of the ruler of the city of Argos, King Pelasgus, aroused my respect as a wise ruler. He faced the difficult choice of protecting defenseless girls or dooming his city to an inevitable war with the sons of Egypt (Danaus’s brother), the same men overwhelmed by the thirst to get their own sisters as wives. The king does not respond with consent to all Danaid’s entreaties to make decisions alone, but leaves the decision on the future fate of the city and Danaid to his people. I regard this gesture as an act of democracy and service to my people. Which cannot but command respect. After all, be that as it may, it will be those same people who will fight the Egyptians, and who else but them will make the choice.
In the tragedy there is a clear praise of the piety and chastity of women. The author repeatedly emphasizes that this marriage is not to the liking of the Danaids due to the immorality of this act.
Choir
I would never know the power of a man's hand,
Shares of the wife-slave. Stars guiding light
Helped me avoid a wedding, escape from bonds
A vile marriage. You, remembering the gods, judge,
Remembering the holy truth.
…
Danai
After all, your age makes men dizzy,
And it’s not easy, I know, to preserve the delicate fruit!
Yes, all living things strive for youth -
And man, and bird, and stray beast.
Cyprus, foreshadowing the time of maturity,
Doesn’t want the fetus to be stolen before it’s due,
But any passerby, meeting a girl
Beautiful, inviting arrows of eyes into her
Ready to pierce, possessed by one desire.
So let the shame, fleeing from which
We plowed the expanses of the sea in agony,
We'll be missed here! We won't bring joy
To your enemies!
These quotes prove that people of this time were obsessed with the same passions, desires and feelings as people of our time. The same human qualities were valued that are valued to this day, although they are so rare in our time, unlike in days gone by.
The second tragedy I read from the works of the great tragedian Aeschylus was the “Persians” trilogy. This work did not evoke such strong feelings in me, unlike the work I read earlier. This is explained by the fact that the drama “The Persians” touches on the issue of war, which is quite alien to me as a woman. The drama is based on real events wars between the Persians and Hellas. In my opinion, the work is piled up with the names of people of that time and the names of cities, which is very difficult for a person who is far from that time and events to perceive. The course of the battles is narrated down to the smallest detail, which is also very difficult to perceive. The very idea of the death of an entire empire because of a ruler overwhelmed by pride and the desire to become famous is very interesting. Xerxes the young ruler, of course, did not want the death of his friends, his invincible army. But the drama clearly shows what happens when you are not aware of your actions. What happens to people who follow only their interests and desires. It’s a pity for Xerxes, suffering from pangs of conscience and repentance, saturated with bitterness for what he had done and longing for his friends, but even more pity are those soldiers who believed him and followed him and doomed themselves to death, even more pity are those families who were left without children , fathers of husbands, without breadwinners and simply loved ones. With his rash act, Xerxes destroyed at once everything that had been built over centuries by his father Darius and his grandfathers and great-grandfathers. This work, undoubtedly, can serve as an instructive one to show how destructive one of the sins mentioned in the Bible, namely pride, can be.
The mythological perception of events did not prevent Aeschylus from correctly establishing the balance of forces both in the matter of personal human behavior and objective necessity, and in assessing the political situation. Aeschylus contrasts the military power of the Persians with the love of freedom of the Greeks, about whom the Persian elders say:
“They are not slaves to mortals, they are not subject to anyone.”
The ill-fated fate of Xerxes, who wished to turn the sea into dry land and chain the Hellespont, should have served as a warning to anyone who would encroach on free Hellas. In the tragedy "The Persians" the role of the chorus has already been significantly reduced in comparison with "The Petitioners", the role of the actor has been increased, but the actor has not yet become the main carrier of the action.
The next one on the list of works I read was the tragedy “Seven Against Thebes.” The plot of the tragedy is taken from the Theban cycle of myths. Once upon a time, King Lai committed a crime, and the gods predicted his death at the hands of his son. He ordered the slave to kill the newborn baby, but he took pity and handed the child over to another slave. The boy was adopted by the Corinthian king and queen and named Oedipus. When Oedipus grew up, God predicted to him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Considering himself the son of a Corinthian couple, Oedipus left Corinth and went wandering. On the way, he met Lai and killed him. Then he came to Thebes, saved the city from the monster Sphinx, and the grateful Thebans gave him the dowager queen as his wife. Oedipus became king of Thebes. From his marriage to Jocasta, he had daughters Antigone and Yemene and sons Eteocles and Polyneices. When Oedipus learned of his involuntary crimes, he blinded himself and cursed the children. After their death, the sons quarreled among themselves. Polynices fled from Thebes, gathered an army and approached the city gates. This begins the tragedy, the last in the trilogy about Laius and Oedipus.
It also contains too many names and descriptions of side events, which, in a “cocktail” with difficult-to-perceive eloquence of presentation, did not allow me to understand this work after reading it once. It was not possible to understand what was happening right away, but story line, in my opinion, worthy of admiration.
This work addresses the issue family relations and the fate of fate. Fate is something that even divine power cannot protect from. In the era of Aeschylus, the gods were loved and revered, despite their not always just actions; the curses sent to people were so numerous and incomprehensible that they questioned the justice of the gods and their adequacy. I was outraged by the tragedy, how sometimes unfair and merciless fate is towards children who are responsible for the sins of their parents. How terrible it is when a person is deprived of choice, and if there is still a choice, it is only illusory - between death and shame. This is exactly the choice that fate prepared for the sons of the criminal ruler Lai. Cursed by their own father for his own sins, they are forced to choose between fratricide or shame. If we consider that in the time of Aeschylus there were no compromises in conflicts and issues were resolved only by war, and only courage and strength were revered, then the choice for the brothers was made by the time in which they lived. The meek obedience of the will to the gods and the inability to change what was once predicted by someone causes me, to say the least, indignation.
The most famous of all surviving tragedies of Aeschylus, “Chained Prometheus” - part of the trilogy about Prometheus that has not reached us - sounds like a hymn to reason and justice.
In the tragedy “Prometheus Bound”, Aeschylus also raises the question of fate and its inevitability. In the dialogues of Prometheus with other heroes, the author more than once emphasizes that everything has already been predetermined, everyone has their own fate, and it will definitely come true, that no one, not even the gods, can change it, that everyone will experience as much suffering as was destined for him by fate. This work mentions the Danaids, about whom Aeschylus spoke in the play “The Petitioners,” thereby the author once again emphasizes that the fate of fate is omnipotent, and no one can hide from it. In the time of Aeschylus, ancestors were highly revered. Everyone knew their family from the very beginning, which undoubtedly leaves its mark on the works of the tragedian. In the narrative, he often mentions ancestors and talks about the family ties that connect certain heroes, which is not typical for the works of our time. It was easier for me to read works based on myths than those that Aeschylus wrote based on real events, because this work not burdened by numerous names and titles.
Prometheus, as the hero of this drama, is very sympathetic to me. I admire his love for people, for which he had to pay bitterly, but despite this, he still gave people what he considered necessary (fire, art, medicine). Aeschylus in all his plays presents Zeus as a cruel and fearless, selfish ruler who was blinded by his power and impunity. While reading the works of Aeschylus about Zeus, I formed a negative point of view, which was strengthened in this tragedy “Prometheus Bound”. Io is very sorry for the girl who, against her will, became the betrothed bride of Zeus, and who is forced to suffer from the wrath of Zeus’ wife Hera. With Prometheus's story about the fate of Io (that Io will give birth to a son from Zeus, who will be the progenitor of the hero who will overthrow Zeus and destroy him), the author once again emphasizes the inevitability of retribution, from which even Zeus cannot escape. But still, everyone is given a choice in this life, which Prometheus immediately mentions, saying that only he can save Zeus if he lets him go. But the choice was made by Prometheus in chains, and the time will come when Zeus will bitterly pay for his wrong choice.
Let Zeus be arrogant and proud of happiness now, -
Will come to terms soon! He wants to celebrate the wedding
Disastrous. Will tear power out of hands and into dust
The wedding will throw you off the throne. So it will come true
Kron's spell. Collapsed from the primeval
He cursed the throne and his son forever and ever.
How to avoid death, none of the gods
He won't be able to tell Zeus. Only me alone.
I know where salvation is. So let it reign
Proud of the thunder from above! Let it reign
Shaking a fiery arrow in your hand!
No, lightning won't help. He will crumble to dust
A shameful and monstrous crash.
He will give birth to his own rival on the mountain,
The most invincible, wonderful fighter!
He will find fire more fatal than lightning,
And the roar is more deafening than the thunder of thunderstorms.
Bridling the sea, stunning the earth,
The trident of Poseidon will crush into splinters.
And Zeus will tremble in fear. And he will know
That becoming a slave is not the same as being a ruler.
Prometheus's steadfastness in his convictions and the fortitude of his spirit are commendable. Despite his suffering, he has the strength to feel sorry for the poor girl Io, and sarcastically humiliate and mock Hermes, who came to Prometheus as a messenger of Zeus.

Are you mocking me as if I were a boy?
.......
Prometheus

You are annoying in vain: the deaf shaft hits the shore.
Don’t let it cross your mind that I will become
Out of fear of Zeus, a timid woman
And I will cry in front of the one I hate,
And wring your hands like a woman, -
Just let him take off the chains! That won't happen!
The tragedy of Aeschylus is still archaic in its composition. There is almost no action in it, it is replaced by a story about events. The hero crucified on the rock is motionless; he only monologues or talks with those who come to him.

The final work I read was the Oresteia trilogy - this is the only trilogy that has survived to this day in its entirety. The trilogy consists of parts “Agamemnon”, “Choephora”, “Euminids”. The plot of this trilogy is based on the myth about the descendants of Atreus, who are cursed for the crime of their ancestor. The series of deaths and revenges seems never to stop; Once upon a time, King Atreus, wanting to take revenge on his brother for seducing his wife, kills his children and feeds him their meat. Such an act brings with it other crimes that have no end. Aeschylus was not satisfied with the old religious interpretation of the myth, and he put new content into it. Shortly before the production of The Oresteia, the young rival of Aeschylus, the poet Sophocles, introduced a third actor into the tragedy. Aeschylus in The Oresteia took advantage of Sophocles' innovation, which allowed him to complicate the action and focus on the images of the main characters.
In my opinion, this trilogy once again confirms the idea of the inevitability of fate and punishment for committing atrocities. Reading the trilogy, the expression “an eye for an eye” comes to mind, since the murders committed in the work and the retribution for them are taken for granted. The whole work looks like one global vendetta. Atreus kills the children of Thyestes because he seduced his wife, Thyestes's son Aegisthus, who escaped, intoxicated with revenge for his father, further seduces the wife of Agamemnon (son of Atreus) Clytemnestra and persuades her to kill Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, in turn, has her own reasons to kill her husband - Agamemnon killed their daughter Iphigenia (made a sacrifice to the gods), and Agamemnon’s surviving son Orestes, avenging his father, years later, killed his mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus.
In the first part of the trilogy, the main character is Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon. Intoxicated with revenge for her murdered daughter, she waited for Agamemnon for ten for long years, just to kill him. Clytemnestra can be understood - she is a mother. I feel sorry for her, because her fate is difficult and unenviable. She had been waiting for years for the hour when she could take revenge on her husband for the murder of their child, entered into a criminal conspiracy with the enemy’s son Aegisthus, and in fear that his revenge would know no bounds, she hid her son Orestes from him. Could the mother have imagined that love for her father would prevail over love for her mother and Orestes would be able to kill her in revenge for his father? Unhappy woman, she only wanted peace. In the tragedy, Aeschylus more than once emphasized that no crime goes unpunished, one way or another, one will have to answer for what was done. Having killed his mother, Orestes did not remain unavenged; he was pursued by the goddess of vengeance Erinyes themselves, driving him crazy. It is surprising that the instigators of many crimes are one or another god. Which once again leads to doubt about the fairness of the judgments of such gods and their adequacy. The motives for such actions are not clear, why shed blood again and again, is it not better to stop bloody feuds and not set brother against brother, son against mother, and so on. The idea of fate in Aeschylus is very pronounced, and the fates of the actors are truly tragic.
Reading the works of Aeschylus, I received great pleasure. I liked everything and the manner of writing, his colorful epithets, comparisons and the whole manner of presentation, the monumental and majestic images of his main characters. The pathos of the style is also contributed to by the original poetic images, richness of vocabulary, internal rhymes, various sound associations. Very interesting, albeit overly tragic, stories made me worry about the characters and complain about how unkind fate was to innocent people. Using the example of these works, one can see how strongly the time in which he lived affects the writer’s work, how clearly the problems of the era are reflected in the destinies and actions of the heroes of the dramas.
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 the works of other famous writers and critics, such as A. N. Radishchev, K. Marx, G.I. Serebryakov, M.V. Lomonosov and others.
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. He is still revered to this day; Aeschylus’s work is truly immortal.

Bibliography.

Greek tragedy

Contract No. 90808909

1 The Greeks often confused the name of the Persians with their neighbors the Medes.

In the 7th - 8th centuries. BC, the cult of Dionysus, the god of the productive forces of nature, fertility and wine, is widespread. The cult of Dionysus was rich in carnival-type rituals. A number of traditions were dedicated to Dionysus, and the emergence of all genres of Greek drama, based on ritual magic games, is associated with them. The staging of tragedies at festivals dedicated to Dionysus became official at the end of the 8th century BC during the era of tyranny.

Tyranny arose in the struggle of the people against the power of the tribal nobility; tyrants ruled the state, naturally, they relied on artisans, traders and farmers. Wanting to ensure popular support for the government, the tyrants confirmed the cult of Dionysus, popular among farmers. Under the Athenian tyrant Lysistrata, the cult of Dionysus became a state cult, and the holiday of the “Great Dionysius” was established. The production of tragedies was introduced in Athens in 534. All ancient Greek theaters were built according to the same type: under open air and along the hillsides.

First stone theater was built in Athens and accommodated from 17,000 to 30,000 people. The round platform was called the orchestra; even further away is the skena, the room in which the actors changed clothes. At first there were no decorations in the theater. By the middle of the 5th century. BC. Pieces of canvas began to be leaned against the façade of the sketches, painted conventionally: “Trees meant the forest, the dolphin meant the sea, the river god meant the river.” Only men and only free citizens could perform in the Greek theater. The actors enjoyed a certain respect and performed in masks. One actor could, changing masks, play male and female roles.

Almost no biographical information has been preserved about Aeschylus. It is known that he was born in the town of Eleusis near Athens, that he came from a noble family, that his father owned vineyards, and that his family took an active part in the war with the Persians. Aeschylus himself, judging by the epitaph he composed for himself, valued himself more as a participant in the battle of Marathon than as a poet.

We also know that he is around 470 BC. was in Sicily, where his tragedy “The Persians” was staged a second time, and that in 458 BC. he left again for Sicily. He died and was buried there.

One of the reasons for Aeschylus’s departure, according to ancient biographers, is the resentment of his contemporaries, who began to give preference to the work of his younger contemporary, Sophocles.

The ancients already called Aeschylus “the father of tragedy,” although he was not the first author of tragedy. The Greeks considered Thespis, who lived in the second half of the 4th century, to be the founder of the tragic genre. BC. and, in the words of Horace, “carrying tragedy in a chariot.” Apparently Thespil was transporting costumes, masks, etc. from village to village. He was the first reformer of tragedy, since he introduced an actor who answered the chorus, and, changing masks, played the roles of all the characters in the drama. We also know other names of tragic poets who lived before Aeschylus, but they did not make significant changes to the structure of the drama.

Aeschylus was the second reformer of tragedy. His plays are closely related to, and sometimes directly dedicated to, current problems modernity, and his connection with the cult of Dionysus was concentrated in satyr drama. Aeschylus turned a primitive cantata into dramatic work by limiting the role of the chorus and introducing a second actor into the action. Those improvements that were introduced by subsequent poets were only quantitative in nature and could not significantly change the structure of the drama created by Aeschylus.

The introduction of a second actor created the opportunity to portray a conflict, a dramatic struggle. It is possible that it was Aeschylus who came up with the idea of the trilogy, i.e. the development of one plot in three tragedies, which made it possible to more fully reveal this plot.

Aeschylus can be called the poet of the formation of democracy. Firstly, the beginning of his work coincides with the time of the struggle against tyranny, the establishment of democratic order in Athens and the gradual victory of democratic principles in all spheres public life. Secondly, Aeschylus was a supporter of democracy, a participant in the war with the Persians, an active participant in the public life of his city, and in tragedies he defended the new order and the moral norms corresponding to them. Of the 90 tragedies and satyr dramas he created, 7 have reached us in full, and in all of them we find a thoughtful defense of democratic principles.

The most archaic tragedy of Aeschylus is “The Prayers”: more than half of its text is occupied by choral parts.

An adherent of the new order, Aeschylus appears here as a defender of paternal law and the principles of a democratic state. He rejects not only the custom of blood feud, but also the religious purification of shed blood, depicted earlier in the poem of Stesichorus, a lyric poet of the 7th - 6th centuries BC, who owns one of the adaptations of the myth of Orestes.

The pre-Olympic gods and the old principles of life are not rejected in the tragedy: a cult is established in honor of the Erinyes in Athens, but they will now be revered under the name of Eumenides, benevolent goddesses, givers of fertility.

Thus, reconciling the old aristocratic principles with the new, democratic ones, Aeschylus calls on his fellow citizens to a reasonable settlement of contradictions, to mutual concessions for the sake of preserving civil peace. In the tragedy there are repeated calls for harmony and warnings against civil strife. For example, Athena:

“May abundance be here forever

Fruits of the earth, let the gardens grow richly,

And let the human race multiply. And just let

The seed of the daring and arrogant perishes.

As a farmer, I would like to weed

A weed so that it does not choke the noble color.”

(Art. 908-913: translated by S. Apta)

Athena (Erinyam):

“So don’t harm my land, not this

Bloody feuds, intoxicating the youths

Intoxicated by the intoxicating intoxication of rabies. my people

Don't set it on fire like roosters so that there won't be

Internecine wars in the country. Let the citizens

They do not harbor insolent enmity towards each other.”

(Art. 860-865; translated by S. Apta)

If the aristocrats were not content with the honors bestowed upon them, but sought to preserve all their previous privileges, the establishment of a democratic polis would not have been possible to achieve " little blood"how it really happened; Having accepted the new order on certain conditions, the aristocrats acted wisely, like the Erinyes, who agreed to perform new functions and renounced their claims.

Aeschylus reduced the role of the choir and paid more attention stage action, than it was before him, nevertheless, choral parts occupy a significant place in his tragedies, which is especially noticeable when comparing his dramas with the works of subsequent tragic poets. Artistic technique Aeschylus is commonly called “silent sorrow.” This technique was already noted by Aristophanes in “Frogs”: the hero of Aeschylus is silent for a long time, while other characters talk about him or his silence in order to draw the viewer’s attention to him.

According to ancient philologists, the scenes of silence of Niobe at the grave of her children, and Achilles at the body of Patroclus, in the tragedies of Aeschylus “Niobe” and “The Myrmidons” that have not reached us, were especially long.

In this tragedy, Aeschylus protests against the violence from which the daughters of Danae are fleeing, contrasts Athenian freedom with Eastern despotism and develops an ideal ruler who does not take serious steps without the consent of the people.

The myth of the humane titan Prometheus, who stole fire for people from Zeus, is the basis of the tragedy “Chained Prometheus” (one of the later works of Aeschylus).

Prometheus, chained to a rock by order of Zeus as punishment for stealing fire, utters angry accusatory speeches addressed to the gods and especially Zeus. However, one should not see in this a conscious criticism of religion on the part of Aeschylus: the myth of Prometheus is used by the poet to pose current socio-ethical problems. Memories of tyranny were still fresh in Athens, and in Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus warns his fellow citizens against the return of tyranny. The face of Zeus depicts a typical tyrant; Prometheus personifies the pathos of freedom and humanism hostile to tyranny.

The latest work of Aeschylus is the trilogy “Oresteia” (458) - the only trilogy that has completely come down to us from Greek drama. Its plot is based on the myth about the fate of the Argive king Agamemnon, over whose family a hereditary curse hung. The idea of divine retribution, reaching not only the criminal, but also his descendants, who in turn are doomed to commit a crime, has taken root since the time of the tribal system, which conceived the clan as a single whole.

Returning victorious from the Trojan War, Agamemnus was killed by his wife Clytemnestra on the very first day. The trilogy is named after Agamemnon's son, Orestes, who kills his mother to avenge his father's death. The first part of the trilogy: “Agamemnon” tells about the return of Agamemnon, about the feigned joy of Clytemnestra, who arranges a solemn meeting for him; about his murder.

In the second part (“Choephors”), the children of Agamemnon take revenge for the death of their father. Obeying the will of Apollo, and inspired by his sister Electra and friend Pylades, Orestes kills Clytemnestra. Immediately after this, Orestes begins to be pursued by the ancient goddess of revenge, Erypnia, who, obviously, personifies the torment of Orestes' conscience - the matricide.

The murder of a mother in ancient society was considered the most serious, irredeemable crime, while the murder of a husband can be expiated: after all, the husband is not blood relative wives. This is why the Erinyes defend Clytemnestra and demand the punishment of Orestes.

Apollo and Athena, the “new gods” who here personify the principle of citizenship, adhere to a different point of view. Apollo, in his speech at the trial, accuses Clytemnestra of killing a man, which in his opinion is much more terrible than killing a woman, even a mother.

Key Concepts

Cult of Dionysus, great Dionysias, ancient tragedy, ancient theatre, orchestra, skena, katurnas, “Aeschylus the Father of Tragedy”, “Chained Prometheus”, “Oresteia”, “silent sorrow”.

Literature

1. I.M. Tronsky: History of ancient literature. M. 1998
2. V.N. Yarkho: Aeschylus and problems ancient Greek tragedy.
3. Aeschylus “Chained Prometheus.”
4. Aeschylus “Oresteia”
5. D. Kalistov " Ancient theater" L. 1970

From the tragedy of the 5th century. The works of the three most significant representatives of the genre have been preserved - Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Each of these names marks a historical stage in the development of the Attic tragedy, which consistently reflected three stages in the history of Athenian democracy.

Aeschylus, the poet of the era of the formation of the Athenian state and the Greco-Persian wars, is the founder of ancient tragedy in its established forms, the true “father of tragedy” creative genius of enormous realistic power, revealing with the help of mythological images the historical content of the great revolution of which he was a contemporary - the emergence of a democratic state from a tribal society.

Biographical information about Aeschylus, as well as about the vast majority of ancient writers in general, is very scarce. He was born in 525/4 in Eleusis and came from a noble landowning family. In his youth, he witnessed the overthrow of tyranny in Athens, the establishment of a democratic system and the successful struggle of the Athenian people against the intervention of aristocratic communities. was a supporter of a democratic state. This group played a significant role in Athens during the first decades of the 5th century. Aeschylus took a personal part in the fight against the Persians; the outcome of the war strengthened his conviction in the superiority of the democratic freedom of Athens over the monarchical principle underlying Persian despotism (the tragedy of “The Persians”). was a "pronounced tendentious poet." Further democratization of the Athenian political system in the 60s. V century Aeschylus already causes concern for the fate of Athens (the Oresteia trilogy). Aeschylus died in the Sicilian city of Gela in 456/5.

even adheres to the ancient idea of hereditary clan responsibility: the guilt of the ancestor falls on the descendants, entangles them with its fatal consequences and leads to inevitable death. On the other hand, the gods of Aeschylus become guardians of the legal foundations of the new state system; Aeschylus depicts how divine retribution is introduced into the natural course of things. The relationship between divine influence and the conscious behavior of people, the meaning of the paths and goals of this influence, the question of its justice and goodness constitute the main problematic of Aeschylus, which he develops in the depiction of human fate and human suffering.

Heroic tales serve as material for Aeschylus. He himself called his tragedies “crumbs from the great feasts of Homer,” meaning, of course, not only the Iliad and the Odyssey, but the entire set of epic poems attributed to Homer. “Aeschylus was the first to increase the number of actors from one to two, reduce the chorus parts and give primacy to the dialogue.” In other words, tragedy ceased to be a cantata, one of the branches of mimetic choral lyricism, and began to turn into drama. In pre-Aeschylean tragedy, the story of a single actor about what was happening behind the stage and his dialogue with the luminary served only as a pretext for the lyrical outpourings of the chorus. Thanks to the introduction of a second actor, it became possible to enhance the dramatic action by contrasting the contending forces with each other, and to characterize one character by his reaction to the messages or actions of another. Ancient scholars counted 90 dramatic works (tragedies and satyr dramas) in the literary heritage of Aeschylus; Only seven tragedies have been preserved in their entirety, including one complete trilogy. Of the surviving plays, the earliest is “Petitioners” (“Pleading”). Very typical of the early type of tragedy are “The Persians,” staged in 472 and part of a trilogy that was not connected by a thematic unity. This tragedy is significant for two reasons: firstly, being an independent play, it contains its problems in a complete form; secondly, the plot of "The Persians", drawn not from mythology, but from recent history, allows us to judge how Aeschylus processed the material in order to make a tragedy out of it

“Seven Against Thebes” is the first Greek tragedy known to us in which the actor’s parts decisively prevail over the choral part, and, at the same time, the first tragedy in which a vivid image of the hero is given. There are no other images in the play; the second actor was used" for the role of the messenger. The beginning of the tragedy is no longer the performance of the choir.” and the acting scene, prologue.

The most important topic is devoted to the problem of the tragic fate of the family. later work Aeschylus, "Oresteia" (458), the only complete trilogy that has come down to us. Already in its dramatic structure, “The Oresteia” is much more complex than previous tragedies: it uses a third actor, introduced by Aeschylus’s young rival Sophocles, and a new stage arrangement - with a backdrop depicting a palace, and with a proscenium...

tragedy “Chained Prometheus” The old myths, already known to us from Hesiod, about the change of generations of gods and people, about Prometheus, who stole fire from the sky for people, receive a new development from Aeschylus. Prometheus, one of the titans, that is, representatives of the “older generation” of gods, is a friend of humanity. In the fight between Zeus and the Titans, Prometheus took part on the side of Zeus; but when Zeus, after defeating the Titans, set out to destroy the human race and replace it with a new generation, Prometheus opposed this. He brought heavenly fire to people and awakened them to conscious life.

Writing and arithmetic, crafts and sciences - all these are Prometheus’ gifts to people. Aeschylus thus abandons the idea of a former “golden age” and the subsequent deterioration of human conditions. For the services rendered to people, he is doomed to suffer. The prologue of the tragedy depicts how the blacksmith god Hephaestus, by order of Zeus, chains Prometheus to a rock; Hephaestus is accompanied by two allegorical figures - Power and Violence. Zeus opposes Prometheus only with brute force. All nature sympathizes with the suffering of Prometheus; when at the end of the tragedy Zeus, irritated by the inflexibility of Prometheus, sends a storm and Prometheus, along with the rock, falls into the underworld, the chorus of nymphs Oceanids (daughters of the Ocean) is ready to share his fate with him. In Marx's words, "the confession of Prometheus:

In truth, I hate all gods

eat her [i.e. e. philosophy] its own recognition, its own saying, directed against all heavenly and earthly gods.”

The surviving tragedies make it possible to outline three stages in the work of Aeschylus, which at the same time are stages in the formation of tragedy as a dramatic genre. The early plays (“Suppliants”, “Persians”) are characterized by a predominance of choral parts, little use of a second actor, poor development of dialogue, and abstract images. The middle period includes such works as “Seven Against Thebes” and “Prometheus Bound”. Here a central image of the hero appears, characterized by several main features; the dialogue gets more developed, prologues are created; The images of episodic figures (“Prometheus”) also become clearer. The third stage is represented by the Oresteia, with its more complex composition, increasing drama, numerous secondary characters and the use of three actors.

Question No. 12. Aeschylus. Ideological and artistic features of creativity. In Aeschylus, elements of the traditional worldview are closely intertwined with attitudes generated by democratic statehood. He believes in the real existence of divine forces that influence man and often insidiously lay snares for him. Aeschylus even adheres to the ancient idea of hereditary clan responsibility: the guilt of the ancestor falls on the descendants, entangles them with its fatal consequences and leads to inevitable death. Heroic tales serve as material for Aeschylus. He himself called his tragedies “crumbs from the great feasts of Homer,” meaning, of course, not only the Iliad and the Odyssey, but the entire set of epic poems attributed to “Homer,” i.e., the “cycle” The fate of the hero or heroic Aeschylus most often portrays the clan in three successive tragedies that make up a plot-wise and ideologically integral trilogy; it is followed by a satyr drama based on a plot from the same mythological cycle to which the trilogy belonged. However, borrowing plots from the epic, Aeschylus not only dramatizes the legends, but also reinterprets them and imbues them with his own problems. From the tragedies of Aeschylus it is clear that the poet was a supporter of a democratic state, although he belonged to a conservative group within democracy. Ancient scholars counted 90 dramatic works (tragedies and satyr dramas) in the literary heritage of Aeschylus; Only seven tragedies have been preserved in their entirety, including one complete trilogy. In addition, 72 plays are known to us by their titles, from which it is usually clear what mythological material was developed in the play; their fragments, however, are few in number and small in size.

Aeschylus is one of the greatest poet-playwrights of the ancient Greek era, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., the “father” of tragedy, the founder of the genre of trilogy and tetralogy, who introduced changes to the concept theatrical arts. His work The Persians is a source of knowledge in the field of ancient history, being the only surviving example of a classical Greek play related to modern events.

"Father" of tragedy Aeschylus

Books containing the poet’s works are still in demand by readers, his plays are successfully shown on theater venues all over the world.

Fate

Aeschylus was born around 525 BC. e. in the Greek city of Eleusis (Elefsis), located 20 km from Athens, in the fertile valleys of western Attica. According to historians, his father Euphorion belonged to the class of aristocrats - eupatrides, and the family was noble and rich.

In his youth, Aeschylus worked in the vineyards. According to legend, one day he dreamed of the god of winemaking, who told the youth to pay attention to the emerging art of tragedy. Having woken up, the poet created his first work, which he performed in 499 BC. e. And in 484 BC. e. he won the first victory in the competition of playwrights at the festival of Dionysia.

The city of Eleusis (Elefsis), where Aeschylus was born

In 490 BC. e., at the height of the Greco-Persian conflicts, Aeschylus was called to military service. Together with his brother Kinegir, the poet defended Athens from the Persian invasion led by Darius I at the Battle of Marathon. Then, 10 years later, he participated in the naval battle of Salamis, which occupies one of the central places in the tragedy of the Persians, and the land battle of Plataea.

Aeschylus was one of the chosen Greeks initiated into the secrets of the cult, which were forbidden to be divulged on pain of death. The poet participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries, rituals reflecting the connection between life and death, implying physical and spiritual purification.

There are many blank spots in the biography of Aeschylus, but there is information that the poet in the 470s BC. e. visited the island of Sicily twice at the invitation of the local tyrant Hiero I.

During the 3rd visit in 456 or 455 BC. e. great playwright died. The exact cause of Aeschylus' death is unknown. Biographers claim that the poet was killed by a turtle dropped on his head by an eagle or a vulture. Predatory bird mistook the bald head for a stone on which she was about to split the reptile’s shell.

Dramaturgy

The heyday of Aeschylus's creativity occurred at a time when literary competitions, held during the festivals of Dionysia, were popular in Greece. The festival began with a procession, followed by a competition of young men singing dithyrambs; at the end, 3 playwrights presented their creations to the jury: drama, comedy and satire. The author of the Oresteia participated in many of these competitions, for which he created from 70 to 90 plays. The literary duel between Aeschylus and Euripides is described in the comedy “Frogs”.

The playwright developed his own literary style and techniques. He brought a second actor onto the stage and created a tragic dialogue between two characters, invented the genre of trilogy and tetralogy, in which he combined dramatic and satirical works, abandoned Delphic poetry, replacing it with traditional Homeric epic and modern historical subjects.

To date, 7 tragedies of the great Greek have survived: “The Persians”, “The Petitioners”, “Seven Against Thebes”, the “Oresteia” trilogy, consisting of the plays “Agamemnon”, “Choephors”, “Eumenides”, and “Chained”, the authorship of which remains in question. Fragments of some of the playwright's other plays have been preserved in quotations; they continue to be found during excavations on Egyptian papyri.

Aeschylus received first prize at the Dionysian festivals 13 times; it is known that all surviving works were awarded the highest award.

The earliest unlost work of Aeschylus is the tragedy "The Persians", written around 472 BC. e. The play is based on the poet's personal military experience, including his participation in the Battle of Salamis. The playwright created a unique creation, which was based on mythological story, but the real historical event which happened before the eyes of contemporaries. The play was part of a tetralogy that included the lost works Glaucus, Phineus and Prometheus the Firemaker, all of which were united by the theme of divine retribution.

The tragedy begins with the news of the defeat of the Persians in a naval battle, which the envoy conveyed to Atossa, the king's mother. A woman goes to the tomb of her husband Darius, where the ghost of the ruler predicts new suffering native people and explains that the cause of the death of the army was the self-confidence and arrogance of Xerxes, which aroused the wrath of the gods. The culprit of the Persian defeat appears at the end of the play, which ends with the lamentation of the choir and the defeated king.

The tragedy "Seven Against Thebes" was first performed in 467 BC. e. It is the final part of an extant trilogy based on Theban mythology. The work is based on the themes of the intervention of gods in human affairs and the idea of the decisive role of the polis (city) in the development of human civilization.

The play tells the story of the brothers Eteocles and Polyneices, heirs of the Theban king, who entered into an agreement to reign in turns, but did not share the throne and killed each other. The original ending of the play consisted of the choir lamenting the death of the rulers, but 50 years after the first performance it was changed. IN new version the daughter of Oedipus, performs a lament, and then rebels against the decree banning the burial of the fratricide.

The theme of the polis continued to develop in Aeschylus’s tragedy “The Petitioner,” which is part of a lost tetralogy. In this play, the poet demonstrated a positive attitude towards the democratic trends characteristic of Athens at that time.

A 5th century amphora with a fragment of Aeschylus's tragedy "The Petitioner"

The plot centers on the escape of the 50 Danaids, daughters of the founder of Argos, from a forced marriage with their cousins Egyptiads. They seek refuge with the local ruler, Pelags, who cannot make a decision without consulting the people. At the end of the play, people agree to help the petitioners and give them shelter in the city.

The remaining plays in the trilogy, presumably called The Danaids, described the events of the myth about the 50 daughters of King Danaus who killed 49 of their husbands on their wedding night.

The only trilogy of Aeschylus that has survived in its entirety is the Oresteia, created in 458 BC. e. and consisting of the plays "Agamemnon", "Choephori" and "Eumenides". Telling bloody history family of the Argive king, the poet departs from the democratic positions proclaimed in previous works and exalts the power of the Areopagus and the justice of the law.

Amphora with a fragment of Aeschylus' tragedy "Oresteia"

The first tragedy of the trilogy describes the return of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon after his victory in Trojan War. His wife Clytemnestra is angry that the ruler, for the sake of glory, sacrificed his own daughter to the gods and kept her as a concubine. The prophetess predicts the murder of Agamemnon and her own death at the hands of her offended wife. At the end of the play, the king's son, Orestes, appears, considering it his duty to avenge the murder of his father.

"Choephori" continues the narrative begun in "Agamemnon". The king's heir, together with his sister Electra, come up with a plan for revenge on Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Then the choir talks about nightmare queen who gives birth to a snake. To atone for her guilt before her husband, the ruler orders a libation to be held at the grave of Agamemnon, but accepts death at the hands of Orestes. IN last scene The mother's killer is surrounded by furies, avengers of those responsible for the death of relatives.

In the final play of the Oresteia, Agamemnon's son seeks redemption for crime committed, appears before the court of Athena, who frees him from the persecution of the furies, who from evil avengers are reborn into good-natured accompanying people and are called eumenides.

The last surviving play of Aeschylus, the tragedy Prometheus Bound, is part of the Prometheus trilogy. From the late 19th century, scholars began to doubt the authorship of the Greek playwright on stylistic grounds. The work consists of static scenes illustrating the myth of the theft of fire.

Bibliography

472 BC – “Persians”
470s or 463 BC - “Petitioners”
467 BC - "Seven against Thebes"
458 BC – “Oresteia” (trilogy)
"Agamemnon"
"Hoefors"
"Eumenides"
450-40s or 415 BC – “Prometheus Bound”