Expert: Irulan Serena - 6/15/2006

Question
Subject: Ancient Greek History.In “The Praise Singer” (page 96-97) Mary Renault seems to say that Athens was sacked and burned by the Medes when Aeschylus was 10 years old and Simonides was 40. That would be about 515 BC.  As far as I’ve been able to find, Athens was first sacked and burned by the Persians just before the battle of Salamis in 480 BC.  What am I missing? Also, Can you refer me to works of history or historical fiction that would fill in details of the life of Aeschylus?

Answer
Hello Glenn,



You did not miss anything on historical fact, however, be aware that many authors, Renault included, use a technique called "literary license”  which is used to change historical facts to suit the purpose of the author in order to enhance the plot of their work.


Sites for Aeschylus:

Aeschylus and His Tragedies
Biography of ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus and analysis of his poetic qualities.
www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/aeschylus001.html
 
Aeschylus
A biography of the Greek dramatist Aeschylus and collection of related links.
www.theatredatabase.com/ancient/aeschylus_001.html
 
Aeschylus (c. 525-456 BC)
Biography of Greek playwright Aeschylus, plus links to all of his works currently in print.
www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc3.htm

Aeschylus Collection at Bartleby.com
Includes brief biography, etexts of the Orestian trilogy and "Prometheus Bound" from the Harvard Classics...
www.bartleby.com/people/Aeschylu.html

The Internet Classics Archive | Works by Aeschylus
List of works by Aeschylus, part of the Internet Classics Archive.classics.mit.edu/Browse/browse-Aeschylus.html
The Internet Classics Archive | Agamemnon by Aeschylus
<!--quoteTitle> by Aeschylus, part of the Internet Classics Archive.
classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/agamemnon.html

Great Books Index - Aeschylus
Aeschylus - Great Books Index. ... Discusses four plays by Aeschylus: the Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, Eumenides) and Prometheus Bound. ...
books.mirror.org/gb.aeschylus.html  

Aeschylus Quotes - The Quotations Page
Aeschylus; It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish. [info] • [add] • [mail]. Aeschylus; Death is better, a milder fate than tyranny. ...
www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Aeschylus/  

AESCHYLUS
Aeschylus fought for Athens at Marathon (490 BC), helping defeat invading Persia. ... Before Aeschylus, tragedies had a single actor, who could only respond ...
www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/ people_n2/persons1_n2/aeschylus.html