Aeschylus: “father of tragedy.” THEM. Tronsky. History of ancient literature: Tragedy Who is called the father of tragedy and why

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, a 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tragedy” Aeschylus is a creative genius of enormous realistic power, revealing with the help of mythological images the historical content of the great revolution of which he was a contemporary - the emergence of a democratic state from tribal society.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 problem of the tragic fate of the family is also devoted to the latest work of Aeschylus, “Oresteia” (458), the only trilogy that has come down to us in its entirety. 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 choral parts, little use of the second actor and poor development of dialogue, 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 drama of satires 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.

SUMMARY OF “CHAINED PROMETHEUS” BY AESCHYLUS:

The action takes place on the edge of the earth, in distant Scythia, among the wild mountains - maybe this is the Caucasus. Two demons, Power and Violence, introduce Prometheus onto the stage; the fire god Hephaestus must chain him to a mountain rock. Hephaestus feels sorry for his comrade, but he must obey fate and the will of Zeus: “You were sympathetic to people beyond measure.” Prometheus's arms, shoulders, and legs are shackled, and an iron wedge is driven into his chest. Prometheus is silent. The job is done, the executioners leave, the authorities say contemptuously: “You are a Provider, here are the providences of how to save yourself!”

Only when left alone does Prometheus begin to speak. He addresses the sky and the sun, the earth and the sea: “Look what I, O God, suffer from God's hands! And all this for the fact that he stole fire for people and opened the way for them to a life worthy of a person.

A chorus of nymphs appears - Oceanids. These are the daughters of Ocean, another titan, they heard the roar and clang of Promethean shackles in their distant seas. “Oh, it would be better for me to languish in Tartarus than to writhe here in front of everyone! - exclaims Prometheus. “But this is not forever: Zeus will not achieve anything from me by force and will come to ask me for his secret humbly and affectionately.” - “Why is he executing you?” - “For mercy towards people, for he himself is merciless.” Behind the Oceanids comes their father Ocean: he once fought against the Olympians along with the rest of the Titans, but he resigned himself, submitted, was forgiven and is peacefully splashing around all corners of the world. Let Prometheus also humble himself, otherwise he will not escape even worse punishment: Zeus is vengeful! Prometheus contemptuously rejects his advice: “Don’t worry about me, take care of yourself: lest Zeus punish you for sympathizing with the criminal!” The ocean leaves, the Oceanids sing a compassionate song, remembering in it Prometheus’ brother Atlas, who is also suffering on the western end of the world, supporting the copper firmament with its shoulders.

Prometheus tells the chorus how much good he has done for people. They were foolish, like children - he gave them intelligence and speech. They were languishing with worries - he inspired them with hope. They lived in caves, afraid of every night and every winter - he forced them to build houses against the cold, explained the movement of the heavenly bodies in the changing seasons, taught them writing and counting in order to pass on knowledge to their descendants. It was he who pointed out for them the ores underground, harnessed their oxen to the plow, made carts for earthly roads and ships for sea routes. They were dying of disease - he discovered healing herbs for them. They did not understand the prophetic signs of the gods and nature - he taught them to guess by bird cries, and by sacrificial fire, and by the entrails of sacrificial animals. “Truly you were a savior for people,” says the chorus, “how come you didn’t save yourself?” “Fate is stronger than me,” Prometheus answers. “And stronger than Zeus?” - “And stronger than Zeus.” - “What fate is destined for Zeus?” - “Don’t ask: this is my great secret.” The choir sings a mournful song.

The future suddenly bursts into these memories of the past. Zeus’s beloved Princess Io, transformed into a cow, runs onto the stage. (At the theater it was an actor in a horned mask.) Zeus turned her into a cow to hide her from the jealousy of his wife, the goddess Hera. Hera guessed about this and demanded a cow as a gift, and then sent a terrible gadfly to her, who drove the unfortunate woman around the world. So she ended up, exhausted by pain to the point of madness, at the Promethean Mountains. Titan, “the protector and intercessor of man,” takes pity on her; he tells her what further wanderings await her across Europe and Asia, through heat and cold, among savages and monsters, until she reaches Egypt. And in Egypt she will give birth to a son from Zeus, and the descendant of this son in the twelfth generation will be Hercules, an archer who will come here to save Prometheus - at least against the will of Zeus. “What if Zeus doesn’t allow it?” - “Then Zeus will die.” - “Who will destroy him?” - “Himself, having conceived an unreasonable marriage.” - "Which?" - “I won’t say a word more.” Here the conversation ends: Io again feels the sting of the gadfly, again falls into madness and rushes away in despair. The Oceanid Choir sings: “Let the lust of the gods blow us away: their love is terrible and dangerous.”

It is said about the past, it is said about the future; Now the terrible present is coming. Here comes the servant and messenger of Zeus - the god Hermes. Prometheus despises him as a hanger-on for the Olympian masters. “What did you say about the fate of Zeus, about the unreasonable marriage, about the impending death? Confess, otherwise you will suffer bitterly!” - “It is better to suffer than to serve as a servant, like you; and I am immortal, I saw the fall of Uranus, the fall of Cronus, I will also see the fall of Zeus.” - “Beware: you will be in underground Tartarus, where the Titans are tormented, and then you will stand here with a wound in your side, and an eagle will peck at your liver.” - “I knew all this in advance; let the gods rage, I hate them! Hermes disappears - and indeed Prometheus exclaims: “The earth really trembled all around, / And lightning curled, and thunder roared ... / O Heaven, O holy mother, Earth, / Look: I suffer innocently!” This is the end of the tragedy.

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

Aeschylus, a 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 “father of tragedy.” With the help of mythological images, he revealed the historical revolution that he witnessed - the emergence of a democratic state from a tribal society. Aeschylus combines a traditional worldview with new attitudes. He sincerely believes in the existence of divine forces that influence man and often insidiously lay snares for him. The gods of Aesichil become the guardians of the legal foundations of the new state system, and he strongly emphasizes the point of personal responsibility of a person for his freely chosen behavior. The material for it is heroic tales. He often depicts the fate of the hero in three successive tragedies that make up a whole trilogy. He reinterprets the tales, permeating them with his own problems. He was the first to increase the number of actors from one to two, reduce the chorus parts and give primacy to the dialogue. Thanks to him, tragedy began to turn from the field of mimetic choral lyrics into drama.

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

Writing and arithmetic, crafts and sciences - all these are gifts of Prometheus. In his work, Aeschylus abandons ideas about a certain former “golden age” and the subsequent deterioration of human life. He will take the opposite point of view: human life did not deteriorate, but improved, rising from a beast-like state to a rational one. Prometheus is the mythological giver of the blessings of reason in Aeschylus.

For the services rendered to people, Prometheus is doomed to torment. 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 Prometheus’s intransigence, sends a storm and Prometheus, along with the rock, falls into the underworld, the chorus of Oceanid nymphs (daughters of the Ocean) is ready to share his fate with him. The new ruler of the gods in “Prometheus Bound” is given the features of the Greek “tyrant”: he is ungrateful, cruel and vengeful. The cruelty of Zeus is further emphasized by the episode in which another of his victims, the mad Io, Zeus's lover, is pursued by the jealous wrath of Hera. In a number of vivid pictures, Aeschylus depicts the baseness and servility of the gods who humbled themselves before Zeus and the love of freedom of Prometheus, who prefers his torment to servile service with Zeus, despite all persuasion and threats.

The image of Prometheus, a lover of humanity and a fighter against the tyranny of the gods, the embodiment of reason overcoming the power of nature over people, created by Aeschylus, became a symbol of the struggle for the liberation of mankind. The myth of Prometheus was subsequently repeatedly developed by poets of modern times. In the New Literature one can highlight the works of Goethe, Byron and Shelley (the drama “Prometheus Unbound”).

Aeschylos (c. 525, Eleusis, - 456 BC, Sicily), ancient Greek. playwright. He came from an old aristocratic family. Participated in the Greco-Persian wars. In 484 he won his first dramatic victory. competitions; Subsequently, he won 12 more times in playwright competitions. In antiquity it was known approx. 80 dramatic prod. E., only 7 have survived: “The Persians” (472), “Seven against Thebes” (467), the trilogy “Oresteia” (458; “Agamemnon”, “Choephori”, “Eumenides”); There is no consensus on the time of creation of the tragedies “The Petitioners, or the Prayers” and “Chained Prometheus”. Of the remaining tragedies of E., excerpts have survived, rarely exceeding 5-10 verses; relatively large fragments from the satyr dramas "Drawing the Net" and "Ambassadors, or Isthmians" publ. in Egyptian publications. papyri in 1933 and 1941. E.’s work dates back to the period of the end of the establishment of Athenian democracy (1st half of the 5th century BC) and reflects a revaluation of the worldview. principles of the tribal system. The hero of his tragedies is a person who is independent in his behavior and responsible for his actions. The essence of the tragic in E. is revealed most clearly in the “Oresteia”: the curse of the Atrides that hangs over the house of Agamemnon is carried out only because the members of this house (Agamemnon, Clytemnestra) are themselves guilty of committing grave crimes against divine and human laws. The bloody string of revenge-crimes stops thanks to the intervention of the court of the Athenian Areopagus, whose decision is sanctified by the goddess Athena and symbolizes the victory of democracy. statehood over archaic the law of ancestral revenge. The triumph of the principles of patriotism and citizenship. equality of rights over “barbaric” despotism is the basis. the content of "Persians" is also reflected in "Seven against Thebes" and "Petitioners". Humanistic the content of E.'s creativity is revealed with exceptional, vividness in the tragedy of Prometheus - “the most noble saint and martyr in the philosophical calendar” (Marx K., see Marx K. and Engels F., From early works, 1956, p. 25).

“The Father of Tragedy,” E. was a major innovator in the field of art and form. Choral and lyric. Parts with the participation of actors play the most important dramatic role in his tragedies. role, whipping up an atmosphere of excitement and anxiety and bringing the action to a climax. With the introduction of a second actor, E. significantly increased the role of the individual characters, among whom such titans stand out. images like Eteocles, Prometheus, Clytemnestra. E.'s tragedies were well known in Ancient Rome; some of them served as a prototype for production. Ennia, Actium, Seneca. The image of Prometheus is widely reflected in the literature and art of modern times.

V. N. Yarkho.

Materials from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia were used. In 30 t. Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. Ed. 3rd. T. 29. Chagan - Aix-les-Bains. – M., Soviet Encyclopedia. – 1978.

The further development of the tragic genre is associated with names of three great Athenian poets: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. The time of their life can be judged by the fact that in 480 BC. e. Aeschylus apparently took part in the Battle of Salamis, Sophocles sang in the choir of young men at the celebration of this victory, and Euripides, according to legend, was allegedly born at this time.

Aeschylus, the “father of tragedy,” as Engels calls him, came from a noble family. His Political Views were distinguished by conservatism. Of the 90 tragedies written by Aeschylus, according to the ancients, only 7 have survived to this day. Despite the mythological subjects used in these tragedies, Aeschylus responds to the most pressing issues of his time. Thus, the main theme of Aeschylus’s trilogy “Oresteia”, consisting of tragedies: “Agamemnon”, “Choephori” and “Eumenides”, is the struggle between the dying maternal and the victorious paternal right. The content of this trilogy is as follows. Clytemnestra, together with her beloved Aegisthus, kills her husband Agamemnon, who returned after the capture of Troy. In revenge for the death of his father, Orestes kills his mother and her lover. For this he is persecuted by the goddesses of revenge, the snake-haired Erinnyes. Guardians ancient beginnings matriarchy, they do not consider Clytemnestra guilty, for “the husband she killed was a stranger by blood.” On the side of Orestes are the new gods - Apollo and Athena, who have trampled upon the “tablet of ancient truths.” But Athena manages to “bend the wild goddesses to their unyielding wrath.” The Areopagus established by her justifies Orestes. Having turned into the good Eumenides, Erinnyes remain in Athens - they become their patron goddesses. The author also put a covenant into the mouth of Athena, expressing his own political views:

Guard the city as vigilantly, citizens, from anarchy as from autocracy.

In the tragedy “Chained Prometheus,” Aeschylus gives the image of a courageous fighter against the gods, for the happiness of mankind. The image of Prometheus then, for many centuries, inspired progressives in the fight against reaction. The tragedy "The Persians", written not on a mythological, but on a current historical plot, reflects the triumph of the Athenians, who won a historical victory in the fight against Persia, and contains detailed description Battle of Salamis.

The tragedies of Aeschylus were written in the techniques of semi-epic choral lyrics, but in this area Aeschylus proved himself to be an innovator. In the old tragedy the main character was the chorus, which entered into dialogue with a single actor; Aeschylus was the first to present two actors at the same time and thereby created an acting dialogue independent of the choir, which then began to quickly develop at the expense of the choral part. Subsequent development theatrical arts happened, however, so quickly that the Athenians of the late 5th century. BC e. Aeschylus, in comparison with Sophocles and especially Euripides, seemed to be a poet of the distant past. Thus, in Aristophanes’ comedy “Frogs” he personifies a heroic, but already irretrievably past time.

The World History. Volume II. M., 1956, p. 94-95.

"Father of Tragedy"

Aeschylus (525-456 BC). The oldest Greek playwright, who is called the “father of tragedy,” was born in the city of Eleusis in the family of a noble large landowner. Participated as a heavily armed warrior in the battles with the Persians at Marathon and Salamis. In 500 BC. staged his play for the first time and since then has won playwright competitions 13 times. Twice, for some unknown reason, he left Athens to join the tyrant Hieron in Sicily, where he died.

Aeschylus wrote about 90 plays - although only 7 of them have come down to us. In some works, he talks about real events and characters ("Persians"), but more often they contain characters mythical heroes, which does not mean that they are far from reality. On the contrary, it becomes possible to talk about the eternal, about the highest manifestations of human feelings and thoughts.

Opposes the power of rock, fate, the will of the gods free man who does not lose his dignity even in mortal danger. Aeschylus saw the humiliation and disgrace of man in the fact that the power of usury and money was established. He glorified the tenacity of people fighting for justice, for freedom, for their homeland. In the tragedy "Persians" there is a call:

Forward, sons of Hellas, rush into battle! Free the altars of your native gods, your children and wives. After all, the battle is for everything!

A true hymn to greatness creative personality, ready to endure torment for the good of people - Aeschylus’s tragedy “Prometheus Bound”. The main character accomplishes a feat, knowing that it is not honors that await him, but troubles:

After all, before I myself Foresaw everything that was to come, and there are no Unexpected disasters for me. I must bear my fate easily: Necessity cannot be overcome. But it’s hard to remain silent and talk about my fate. After all, I, the unfortunate one, suffer for doing good to mortals. I stole the divine flame... "

“Not only did Prometheus bring natural fire to people, but also the light of knowledge, because -

Previously people

We looked and did not see and, hearing,

Haven't heard, in some sleepy dreams

They were dragging out life...

Prometheus taught people arts and crafts, the science of numbers and literacy, invented ships, and for all this he was severely punished by Zeus. The king of the gods is presented by Aeschylus as a despot, alien to sympathy and justice. Prometheus boldly denounces him:

As soon as he sat on his father’s throne, he immediately began to distribute honor and power among the new gods, and forgot about the unfortunate mortals. And even more: he decided to destroy the entire human race and plant a new one. And no one rose up for poor mortals, But I dared...

In response to the proposal - the order of Hermes to inform Zeus about who will overthrow him, Prometheus, who has the gift of prophecy, responds proudly:

Oh, how pompous and proud it sounds

All this speech of the servant, the gods.

Do you think the new kings

Why should you bliss forever in strongholds?

But didn't I see how from Olympus

Two tyrants have fallen? And I will see

How the third, now ruling, will fall -

A most shameful and swift fall.

Indeed, gods are not warriors, and with the decline of Greece, Zeus gave way to Jupiter, and even later, all the ancient deities were “overthrown” by Christianity. No matter how people imagine the unknown heavenly and earthly rulers, the main thing that justifies their existence is self-esteem, spiritual freedom and creative daring. One of the first to say this was Aeschylus.

Balandin R.K. One Hundred Great Geniuses / R.K. Balandin. - M.: Veche, 2012.

The first tragedian

Aeschylus (525–456 BC), Greek playwright, first of the three great Athenian tragedians of the 5th century. BC. Our information about the life of Aeschylus goes back mainly to the biography that preceded his tragedies in the 11th century manuscript. According to these data, Aeschylus was born in 525 BC. in Eleusis, his father was Euphorion, who belonged to the ancient Athenian aristocracy, the Eupatrides. Aeschylus fought the Persians at Marathon (a fact proudly noted in his epitaph) and probably also participated in the Battle of Salamis, since the account of this battle in Persia most likely belongs to an eyewitness. In Aeschylus's youth, Athens was an unimportant city, but he happened to witness the nomination hometown to a leading position in Greek world, what happened after the Greco-Persian wars. Aeschylus first performed in a tragedian competition ca. 500 BC, but he managed to win the first prize only in 484. Aeschylus later took first place at least 13 times. The Athenians thought highly of his works. This can be judged by the fact that after his death, a decree was passed in Athens that anyone wishing to stage Aeschylus’s play would “receive a choir” from the authorities (i.e., would receive permission to resume staging the drama at the Dionysius festival). Aeschylus traveled to Sicily several times and staged his dramas there, and in 476 BC. composed the tragedy of Ethnianka in honor of the founding of Etna by Hieron, then ruler of Syracuse. The legend is that in 468 BC. Aeschylus left Athens because he was outraged by the success of his younger rival Sophocles, most likely apocryphally. Be that as it may, in 467 BC. Aeschylus was already in Athens again to stage his tragedy Seven against Thebes, and in 458 BC. his masterpiece, the Oresteia, the only surviving Greek trilogy, was awarded first prize. Aeschylus died at Gela in Sicily in 456 BC. Like all tragedians before Sophocles, he performed the roles in his dramas himself, but also hired professional actors. It is believed that it was Aeschylus who took an extremely important step in the development of drama by introducing a second actor into the action.

Works. Aeschylus combined his tragedies into trilogies devoted to a common theme, such as the fate of the Laia family. It is not known whether he was the first to create such unified trilogies, but the use of this particular form opened up wide scope for the poet’s thoughts and became one of the factors that allowed him to achieve perfection. It is believed that Aeschylus was the author of ninety dramas, the titles of 79 are known to us; 13 of them are satyr dramas, which were usually staged as an addition to the trilogy. Although only 7 tragedies have reached us, their composition was determined as a result of a careful selection made in last centuries antiquity, and therefore they can be considered the best or most typical fruits poetic gift Aeschylus. Each of these tragedies deserves special mention. The Persians, the only extant historical drama in all of Greek literature, describes the Persian defeat at Salamis in 480 BC. The tragedy was written eight years after these events, i.e. in 472 BC There is no information regarding the time of production of the tragedy Prometheus Bound. Some scientists consider it to belong to the early period of creativity, others, on the contrary, to the late period. It was probably part of the Prometheus trilogy. The myth on which this tragedy is based - the punishment of Prometheus for stealing fire and neglecting the will of Zeus - was developed in famous poem Shelley Prometheus Unbound and in many other works. The tragedy of the Seven against Thebes, staged in 467 BC, is an account of the story of the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices. This is the final part of the trilogy, the first two tragedies were dedicated to Laius and his son Oedipus. The Tragedy of the Petitioner tells the story of the fifty daughters of Danaus, who chose to flee Egypt rather than marry their cousins, sons of Egypt, and took refuge in Argos. Due to the abundance of archaisms, this tragedy for a long time was considered the earliest surviving work of Aeschylus, but a papyrus fragment published in 1952 allows it to be dated presumably to 463 BC. The Oresteia trilogy was written in 458 BC. and consists of Agamemnon, Hoephoros and Eumenides.

Drama technique. When Aeschylus began writing, tragedy was predominantly a lyrical choral work and, in all likelihood, consisted of choral parts, occasionally interrupted by remarks exchanged between the leader of the chorus (the luminary) and the only actor (however, during the course of the drama he could play several roles). The introduction of a second actor by Aeschylus had a huge impact on the essence of drama, since for the first time it made it possible to use dialogue and convey dramatic conflict without the participation of a chorus. In Petitioners and Persians the choir plays a major role. Petitioners contains only one short episode in which two characters talk on stage; in general, throughout the entire play, the actors communicate only with the choir (which is why this play was considered to be Aeschylus’s earliest tragedy). However, towards the end of his life, Aeschylus learned to easily control two or even three characters at the same time, and although the Oresteia still features long chorus parts, the main action and plot development occurs through dialogue.

The structure of the plot in Aeschylus remains relatively simple. The main character finds himself in a critical situation, determined by the will of the deities, and this situation, as a rule, does not change until the denouement. Having once settled on a certain course of action, the hero continues to walk along the chosen path, without knowing any doubts. Internal conflict, to which Euripides assigns such an important place, is almost unnoticeable in Aeschylus, so that even Orestes, about to kill his mother at the behest of Apollo, shows only a moment’s hesitation. Several simple episodes build tension and introduce the details leading up to the disaster itself. The choir's songs, intertwined with the episodes, form a majestic background; they convey a direct feeling of the tragic situation, create a mood of anxiety and horror, and sometimes contain an indication of the moral law, which is the hidden spring of action. The fate of the choir is always involved in the tragedy, and the outcome of the drama to a certain extent affects its participants. Thus, Aeschylus uses the chorus as an additional actor, and not simply as a commentator on events.

Aeschylus's characters are outlined in several powerful strokes. Special mention should be made here of Eteocles in Seven Against Thebes and Clytemnestra in Agamemnon. Eteocles, a noble and faithful king, who brought death upon himself and his family partly because of his devotion to his fatherland, was called the first tragic hero European drama. Clytemnestra has often been compared to Lady Macbeth. This woman, possessed of an iron will and unyielding determination, possessed by a blind rage that prompts her to kill her husband, reigns supreme in all the scenes of Agamemnon in which she takes part.

Worldview. Greatest achievement Aeschylus was the creation of a deeply thought-out theology. Starting from Greek anthropomorphic polytheism, he came to the idea of ​​a single supreme deity (“Zeus, whoever he may be, if he pleases to be called that”), almost completely devoid of anthropomorphic features. In The Petitioners, Aeschylus refers to Zeus as “the King of kings, the most good and perfect of the divine powers,” and in his last tragedy, the Eumenides, he portrays Zeus as an omniscient and omnipotent deity who united justice and world balance, i.e. functions of a personal deity and the inevitable fulfillment of impersonal fate. It may seem that Prometheus Chained contrasts sharply with this idea of ​​Zeus, since here Zeus is perceived by Prometheus, Io and the chorus as an evil tyrant, powerful, but by no means omniscient, and, moreover, bound by the iron laws of Necessity. However, it should be remembered that Prometheus Bound is only the first of three tragedies on this plot; undoubtedly, in the two subsequent parts, Aeschylus found some kind of solution to the theological problem he raised.

In the theology of Aeschylus, the divine control of the universe also extends to the realm of human morality, i.e., if we use the language of myth, Justice is the daughter of Zeus. Therefore, divine powers invariably punish the sins and crimes of people. The action of this force does not boil down to reward for excessive prosperity, as some of Aeschylus’s contemporaries believed: properly used wealth does not at all entail death. However, mortals who are too prosperous are prone to blind delusion, madness, which in turn gives rise to sin or arrogance and ultimately leads to divine punishment and death. The consequences of such a sin are often perceived as hereditary, transmitted within the family in the form of a generational curse, but Aeschylus makes it clear that each generation commits its own sin, thereby bringing into existence the generational curse. At the same time, the punishment sent down by Zeus is by no means a blind and bloodthirsty retribution for sin: a person learns through suffering, so that suffering serves a positive moral task.

The Oresteia, a trilogy staged in 458 BC, consists of three tragedies - Agamemnon, Choephoros, Eumenides. This trilogy traces the effect of the curse that befell the family of Atreus, when the son of Pelops Atreus, having quarreled with his brother Thyestes, killed the children of Thyestes and treated their father to a terrible dish made from children. The curse sent by Thyestes on Atreus passed on to Atreus’s son, Agamemnon. Therefore, when Agamemnon, at the head of the Greek army, went to Troy, he decided to sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia, to appease Artemis. His wife Clytemnestra never forgave him for this crime. In his absence, she acquired a lover, Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, with whom she hatched a plan for revenge. Ten years later, Troy fell and the Greeks returned home.

In the tragedy Agamemnon, the action begins precisely from this moment, and it unfolds around the killing of the leader of the Greek army by his own wife. When Agamemnon returns home, accompanied by the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, who has become his captive and concubine, Clytemnestra invites him to enter the palace and kills him; Cassandra also shares the fate of Agamemenon. After the murders, Aegisthus appears on the scene and declares that from now on royal power belongs to him and Clytemnestra. The chorus of Argive elders, who remained faithful to Agamemnon, protests in vain and hints at future retribution when Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, grows up.

The Tragedy of Hoephora (or the Victim at the Tomb) tells the story of the return of Orestes, who, after the murder of his father, was sent outside Argos. Obeying Apollo's oracle, Orestes secretly returns to avenge his father. With the help of his sister, Electra, he enters the palace and kills Aegisthus and his own mother. After this act, Orestes becomes a victim of the Erinyes, formidable spirits avenging the murder of a relative, and in madness leaves the scene to again seek protection from Apollo.

The tragedy of Eumenides is dedicated to the suffering of Orestes, which ultimately ended in his acquittal. Pursued by the Erinyes, the young man comes to Athens and appears here before a specially appointed court (the Areopagus) led by the goddess Athena. Apollo acts as the defender, and the vote cast by Athena decides the case in favor of Orestes, since the people could not come to a final decision. Thus the effect of Atreus’s ancestral curse ends. Erinyes is beside herself with anger at this decision of the Areopagus, but Athena manages to soften them, persuading them to transfer their functions as guardians of justice to Zeus, and themselves to settle in Attica as beneficent spirits of the earth.

Materials from the encyclopedia "The World Around Us" were used.

Essays:

Works: Aeschyli septem quae supersunt tragoediae, ed. D. Page, Oxf., 1972;

In Russian lane - Tragedies, trans. S. Apta, M., 1971.

Aeschylus. Tragedies. M., 1978

Aeschylus. Tragedies. M., 1989

Literature:

Zelinsky F.F. Aeschylus. Feature article. Pg., 1918

Language and literature of the ancient world (to the 2500th anniversary of Aeschylus). L., 1977

I r x about V.N.. Aeschylus, M., 1958;

Yarkho V.N. The dramaturgy of Aeschylus and some problems of ancient Greek tragedy. M., 1978

Radzig S.S., History ancient Greek literature, 4th ed., M., 1977;

L e s k u A., Die tragische Dichtung der Hellenen, 3 Aufl., Gott., 1972;

Wege zu Aischylos, hrsg. von H. Hommel, Bd 1 - 2, Darmstadt, 1974.

52
4. General character of the poems ........................... 56
5. The main images of the poems ........................... 61
6. Features of the epic style ...................... 67
7. Language and verse of poems ........................... 74
8. Nationality and national significance of Homer’s poems ............ 76

Chapter III. Homeric Question Chapter V. The simplest forms of lyric poetry Chapter IX. Aeschylus Chapter X. The Time of Sophocles and Euripides Chapter XVI. The flourishing of oratory Chapter XIX. Hellenistic Literature Chapter XXI. The end of ancient Greek literature and early Christian literature

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CHAPTER IX
AESCHYLUS

1. Aeschylus - “the father of tragedy” and his time. 2. Biography of Aeschylus. 3. Works of Aeschylus. 4. Socio-political and patriotic views of Aeschylus. 5. Religious and moral views of Aeschylus, b. The question of fate and personality in Aeschylus. Tragic irony. 7. Chorus and actors in Aeschylus. The structure of tragedy. 8. Images of Aeschylus’ tragedies. 9. Language of Aeschylus. 10. Assessment of Aeschylus in antiquity and his global significance.

1. AESCHYLUS - “THE FATHER OF TRAGEDY” AND HIS TIME

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 Greek tragedy"1, and F. Engels - “the father of tragedy"2. 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. The work of Aeschylus is so permeated with responses to contemporary action.

1 Belinsky V. G. About Baratynsky’s poems. - Full. collection cit., vol. 1, p. 322.
2 See: Engels F. Letter to M. Kautskaya dated November 26, 1885 - Marx K., Engels F. Op. 2nd ed., vol. 36, p. 333.

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activity that without familiarity with it cannot be sufficiently understood and appreciated.
The life of Aeschylus (525-456 BC) coincides with a very important period in the history of Athens and all of Greece. During the 6th century. BC e. The slave system took shape and became established in the Greek city-states (polises), and at the same time crafts and trade developed. However, the basis of economic life was agriculture, and the labor of free producers still predominated and “slavery had not yet had time to take over production to any significant extent”1. The democratic movement intensified in Athens, and this led in 510 to the overthrow of the tyranny of Hippias Pisistratidas and to serious reforms public order in a democratic spirit, carried out in 408 by Cleisthenes. They were aimed at radically undermining the foundations of the power of large noble families. This is how the Athenian slave-owning democracy began, which then, during the 5th century. had to further strengthen and develop its foundations. However, at the beginning, power actually still remained in the hands of the aristocracy, among which two groups fought: the progressive - trading aristocracy - and the conservative - landowning aristocracy. “...The moral influence,” wrote F. Engels, “the inherited views and way of thinking of the old tribal era lived for a long time in traditions that died out only gradually”2. Remnants of the old way of life and the old worldview held on tenaciously, resisting new trends.
Meanwhile important events were brewing in the East. In the VI century. BC e. A huge and powerful Persian power was created in Asia. Expanding its borders, it also subjugated the Greek cities in Asia Minor. But already at the end of the 6th century. these cities, which had achieved high economic and cultural prosperity, began to be especially acutely burdened by the foreign yoke and in 500 BC. e. rebelled against Persian rule. However, the uprising ended in failure. The Persians managed to brutally punish the rebels, and the instigator of the uprising, the city of Miletus, was destroyed, and its inhabitants were partly killed and partly taken into slavery (494). The news of the destruction of this rich and flourishing city made a grave impression in Greece. Phrynichus, who, under the influence of this event, staged the tragedy “The Taking of Miletus,” which brought tears to the audience, was subjected to a heavy fine by the authorities, and it was forbidden to stage his play again (Herodotus, VI, 21). This shows that the destruction of one of the most prosperous cities of Greece was seen in some quarters as the result of failed Athenian policies, and the reenactment of the event in the theater was regarded as a harsh political criticism. The theater already at this moment, as we see, became an instrument of political propaganda.

1 Marx K. Capital. T. 1.-Marx K., Engels F. Works. 2nd ed., vol. 23, p. 346, approx. 24.
2 Engels F. Origin of the family, private property and states. - Marx K., Engels F. Op. 2nd ed., vol. 21, p. 118.

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After the subjugation of Asia Minor, the Persian king Darius planned to take control of mainland Greece. The first campaign in 492 was unsuccessful, as the Persian fleet was destroyed by a storm. During the second campaign in 490, the Persians, having ravaged the city of Eretria on Euboea, landed in Attica near Marathon, but suffered a severe defeat from the Athenians under the command of Miltiades. However, the failure of Miltiades on the island of Paros prevented the agricultural aristocracy of Athens from further developing their successes. Meanwhile, in Athens, thanks to the discovery of new veins of silver ore in the town of Lavria, there was an economic boom. Themistocles managed to achieve the construction of a large number of new ships using the funds obtained. These ships saved Greece during the new Persian invasion in 480 and 479.
Class contradictions and internal struggle led to the fact that during the Persian invasion, part of the Greek states, for example Thebes, Delphi, the Thessalian cities and some others, submitted to the enemy, while the majority heroically resisted and repelled the invasion, leaving in posterity the memory of their exploits at Thermopylae, Artemisium and Salamis in 480, at Plataea and Mycale (in Asia Minor) in 479. The Athenians showed especially high patriotism. True, at first the Persian invasion of Attica caused great concern among the population and confusion among the authorities. However, the Areopagus,1 an ancient aristocratic institution, the heir to the council of elders from the era of the clan system, rose to the occasion. He sought funds, supplied them to the population and organized defense. By this, the Areopagus secured for himself a leading role in the state and a conservative direction in politics for the next twenty years (Aristotle, “The Athenian Polity”, 23).
The struggle for the freedom of the fatherland caused a patriotic upsurge, and therefore all memories of these events, stories about the exploits of heroes and even the help of the gods are permeated with the pathos of heroism. These are, for example, the stories of Herodotus in his “Muses”. Under these conditions, in 476 Aeschylus created his second historical tragedy, “The Phoenicians,” and in 472, the tragedy “The Persians.” Both tragedies were dedicated to the glorification of the victory at Salamis, and one can imagine the impression they made on the spectators, most of whom were participants in the battle. Aeschylus himself was not only a witness, but also an active participant in the famous events of his time. Therefore, it is quite understandable that his entire worldview and poetic pathos were determined by these events.
At the end of his life, Aeschylus had to observe serious changes in both foreign policy and the internal life of the state. Athens became the head of the so-called “Delian Maritime League,” formed in 477 with the active participation of Aristides. The fleet has reached a large size. Expansion of the fleet increased the share

1 F. Engels speaks about the aristocratic nature of the council of the Areopagus in “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.” - See: Marx K., Engels F. Soch. 2nd ed., vol. 21, p. 105.

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V political life poor citizens who served on ships. The strengthening of democratic elements allowed Esphialte, who led the slave-owning democrats, to carry out a reform that took away the leading political role from the Areopagus and reduced it to the level of only a judicial institution in religious matters. The struggle between the parties was so fierce that the initiator of the reform, Ephialtes, was killed by political opponents. Aeschylus responded to these events in his last work, The Eumenides, taking the side of the Areopagus. At the same time, the direction changed and foreign policy Athens. The friction that began in relations with aristocratic Sparta ended with the rupture of the alliance with it and the conclusion of an alliance with Argos in 461 (Thucydides, History, 1, 102, 4), which was reflected in the same tragedy of Aeschylus. Now Athenian politicians, having abandoned the tasks of defense against the Persians, turned to offensive and even aggressive plans. In 459, a large campaign was organized in Egypt to support the uprising that had begun there against the power of the Persians. Aeschylus, apparently, disapproved of this risky enterprise, but did not live to see its catastrophic end (ca. 454).
The time we described was the period of the beginning flourishing of Attic culture, which was expressed in the development of production in its various types, crafts - from its lower types down to construction and plastic art, science and poetry. Aeschylus glorified labor in the image of Prometheus, who brought fire to people and was revered as the patron of pottery. The painting of this time is known to us from vases of the so-called “black-figure” style and from early examples of the “red-figure” style. The sculpture of this time is illustrated by the bronze group of “tyrant killers” - Harmodius and Aristogeiton by Antenor, which was erected in 508, but was taken away by the Persians in 480, and was built to replace it in 478. a new group works of Critias and Nesiots. Monuments of the art of the “pre-Persian” period can serve as numerous statues and fragments of statues found on the Acropolis in the “Persian garbage”, i.e., survivors of the Persian pogrom. The construction of the Temple of Athea on the island of Aegina was dedicated to the glorification of the remarkable victories over the Persians. All these are examples of archaism in Greek art. This can be equally applied to the images of Aeschylus.

Prepared according to the edition:

Radzig S.I.
R 15 History of ancient Greek literature: Textbook. - 5th ed. - M.: Higher. school, 1982, 487 p.
© Publishing house " graduate School", 1977.
© Publishing House "Higher School", 1982.
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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 noble family, which apparently had something to do with 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 guiding importance. In “The Petitioners” the Danaid choir is the main character. 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.
The theater of Ancient Greece was very different from the theater we are 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 "Persians", which were based on real historical events, Aeschylus' tragedies were always based on epic, myths, folk legends. These were the Trojan and Theban wars. Aeschylus knew how to restore them to their former shine, give them greatness and actual 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 ancient secret, who took 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 the ancient myth about the daughters of Danaus.
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 the real events of the war 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, who suffered 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 the storyline, in my opinion, is worthy of admiration.
This work touches on the issue of family relationships and 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 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.

See: Herodotus. History, vi, 114; VIII, 84; Aeschylus. Persians, 403 - 411.
Belinsky V.G. About Baratynsky's poems. - Full. collection cit., vol. 1, p. 322.
See: Engels F. Letter to M. Kautskaya dated November 26, 1885 - Marx K., Engels F. Soch. 2nd ed., vol. 36, p. 333.
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides. Tragedies. / Per. D. Merezhkovsky, entry. Art. and note. A.V. Uspenskaya. - M.: Lomonosov, 2009. - 474 p.
Zelinsky F.F. Aeschylus. Feature article. Pg., 1918
Yarkho V.N. Dramaturgy of Aeschylus and some problems ancient Greek tragedy. M., 1978
Language and literature of the ancient world (to the 2500th anniversary of Aeschylus). L., 1977
Aeschylus. Tragedies. M., 1989
Losev A.F. “Ancient Literature” http://antique-lit.niv.ru/ antique-lit/losev/index.htm
Sergei Ivanovich Radzig “History of Ancient Greek Literature.” Textbook. - 5th ed. - M.: Higher. school, 1982.
Shevchenko L.I. "Ancient Greek Literature".

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