Aeschylus
was born in Eleusis, a Greek town near Athens, in 525 B.C. He
first of the great Greek tragedians, preceding both Sophocles and Euripides,
credited with inventing tragic drama. Prior to , plays were
primitive, consisting
of a single actor and a chorus offering commentary. In his works, he added a
"second
actor" (often more than one) thus creating endless new dramatic
possibilities. He lived
until 456 B.C., fighting in the wars against Persia, and attaining great
acclaim in the world
of the Athenian theater.
Aeschylus wrote nearly ninety plays; however, only seven have survived to
the
modern era, including such famous works as Prometheus Bound and The Seven
Against
Thebes. ...
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return of
Agamemnon's son, Orestes, who kills his mother and avenges his father.
Orestes is
pursued by the Furies in punishment for his matricide, and finally finds
refuge in Athens,
where the god Athena relieves him of his persecution.
The events of Agamemnon take place against a backdrop that would have been
familiar to an Athenian audience. Agamemnon is returning from his victory at
Troy, which
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has been besieged for ten years by Greek armies attempting to recover Helen,
Agamemnon's brother's wife, stolen treacherously by the Trojan Prince, Paris.
(The events
of the Trojan War are recounted in Homer's Iliad.) The play's tragic events
occur as a
result of the crimes committed by Agamemnon's family. His father, Atreus,
murdered and
cooked the children of his own brother, Thyestes, and served them to him;
Clytemnestra's
lover, Aegisthus (Thyestes's only surviving son), seeks revenge for that
crime. Meanwhile,
Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to ...
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Her assembly, courts, and other features mimicked those of Athens. Something
to note is
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whether or not these events had any influence over Aeschylus’ decision to
move the locale
of the entire myth from Mycenae(the Homeric version of the epic) to Argos!
In response to these democratic reforms, other political groups attacked
the
reforms. Ephialtes, the original leader of the quasi-democratic faction, was
assassinated;
his position was taken by Pericles. This can be paralleled to Aeschylus’
theme in
Agamemnon. He emphasizes integrity and prestige of King of Argos(like
Ephialtes).
Furthermore, Clytemnestra can be referred to as Pericles, who ...
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Aeschylus. (2005, February 6). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Aeschylus/21807
"Aeschylus." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 6 Feb. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Aeschylus/21807>
"Aeschylus." Essayworld.com. February 6, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Aeschylus/21807.
"Aeschylus." Essayworld.com. February 6, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Aeschylus/21807.
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