Persians. Seven against Thebes. Suppliants. Prometheus Bound (Loeb Classical Library 145)

Four unconnected but unforgettable plays from ancient Athens’ first great tragedian. Aeschylus (ca. 525-456 BC), the dramatist who made Athenian tragedy one of the world’s great art forms, witnessed the establishment of democracy at Athens, fought against the Persians at Marathon and probably also at Salamis, and had one of his productions sponsored by the young Pericles.He was twice invited to visit Sicily, and it was there that he died.At Athens he competed for the tragic prize at the City Dionysia about nineteen times between circa 499 and 458, and won it on thirteen occasions; in his later years he was probably victorious almost every time he put on a production, though Sophocles beat him at least once. Of his total of about eighty plays, seven survive complete.The first volume of this new Loeb Classical Library edition contains fresh texts and translations by Alan H.Sommerstein of Persians (472), on the recent war, the only surviving Greek historical drama; Seven against Thebes (4