ÆSCHYLUS,
The earliest of the Greek dramatists, was born at Eleusis in Attica, 525 B. C. He distinguished himself in the battles of Marathon, Salamis and Platæa. Æschylus has been called the father of Grecian tragedy, as he was the first to give rules to the dialogue, and define the duties of the chorus; he also planned the dress of the actors, the scenery and the whole mechanism of the stage. Æschylus wrote sixty-six dramas, in thirteen of which he obtained the victory over all his competitors. He was at length defeated by a younger rival, Sophocles. He retired the same year to the court of Hiero, king of Syracuse, and some writers attribute this step to the mortification felt by the poet on this occasion. Others say that he was accused as guilty of profanity in exhibiting on the stage certain things connected with the Eleusinian mysteries. The people were about to stone him, when he was saved by the presence of mind of his brother Aminias. The latter had won much glory in the Persian war, and now, while interceding for his brother he dexterously dropped his mantle so as to expose the stump of the arm he had lost at Salamis. The silent appeal was not without its effect on the impulsive Athenians, and Æschylus was pardoned. He deemed it prudent, however, to retire to Sicily, where he was kindly entertained by Hiero. His death is said to have occurred in a very extraordinary manner.
As he slept in the fields, an eagle which was flying over him with a tortoise in his claws, mistook the bald head of the poet for a stone. The bird dropped the tortoise for the purpose of breaking the shell, and he was killed by the blow, thus verifying a prophecy that his death would come from on high.
Of the dramas written by Æschylus, but seven remain. Of these, the most admired is the “Prometheus Chained.” The subject is the punishment of Prometheus on Mount Caucasus; the scenery is grand and terrific, and all the persons of the drama are divinities.