Aeschylus

Born around 525/524 BC in Eleusis near Athens, Aeschylus became the earliest of the three great tragedians of classical Greece whose work still survives. Ancient sources and modern reference works credit him with raising tragedy to a new level of scale and seriousness, and he is often associated with expanding the form by using a second actor, which made more complex dramatic action possible.

He lived through a turbulent and formative period in Athenian history and is said to have fought in the Persian Wars, including the Battle of Marathon. His plays often carry the weight of those experiences, especially The Persians, which is remarkable for dramatizing a recent historical event rather than distant myth.

Only seven of his plays survive, but they include some of the most important works in ancient literature, especially the Oresteia trilogy. He died around 456/455 BC in Gela, Sicily, yet his influence lasted far beyond his lifetime: later tragedians built on foundations he helped lay, and his work remains central to the history of theater.