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Four Plays of Aeschylus Kindle Edition

by Aeschylus (Author), E. D. A. (Edmund Doidge Anderson) Morshead (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 82 ratings
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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
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  1. Print length
    151 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    December 18, 2012
  5. File size
    408 KB
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  7. Word Wise
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AQM8M5C
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (December 18, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 18, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 408 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 151 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 82 ratings

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Aeschylus

Aeschylus

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Aeschylus (/ˈiːskᵻləs/ or /ˈɛskᵻləs/; Greek: Αἰσχύλος Aiskhulos; Ancient Greek: [ai̯s.kʰý.los]; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is also the first whose plays still survive; the others are Sophocles and Euripides. He is often described as the father of tragedy: critics and scholars' knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in theater to allow conflict among them, whereas characters previously had interacted only with the chorus.

Only seven of his estimated seventy to ninety plays have survived, and there is a longstanding debate regarding his authorship of one of these plays, Prometheus Bound, which some believe his son Euphorion actually wrote. Fragments of some other plays have survived in quotes and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyrus, often giving us surprising insights into his work. He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy; his Oresteia is the only ancient example of the form to have survived. At least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians' second invasion of Greece (480-479 BC). This work, The Persians, is the only surviving classical Greek tragedy concerned with contemporary events (very few of that kind were ever written), and a useful source of information about its period. The significance of war in Ancient Greek culture was so great that Aeschylus' epitaph commemorates his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon while making no mention of his success as a playwright. Despite this, Aeschylus' work – particularly the Oresteia – is acclaimed by today's literary academics.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Unknown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
82 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Great Faulkner's Ghost
5.0 out of 5 stars Good translation and readable text
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2015
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This translation has a slight King James bible twang to it, but is overall fluid and rhythmic is a good way. The introductory essay by the translator is actually quite engaging, and also sheds much light on the plays themselves and their context. Well-above average for a "free" kindle book.
3 people found this helpful
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Andrea
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018
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The quotes are what sets this book apart from other Greek plays! Dramatic, but a good read!
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rebel_scum
3.0 out of 5 stars Archaic translation of Greek classics of varying quality
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2017
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The good news is that this Kindle version comes with a nice introduction. The translation itself, however, reads like it was written 300 years ago. I don’t know who did the translation (that’s one common problem with Kindle books) but there were some words I looked up that weren’t even in my dictionary. I don’t mind a Victorian translation from the Victorian era, for example, in fact, I think that is a plus. In this case, however, translation from an ancient Greek work, something a little more modern would have been preferred. Anyway, on to the plays themselves

The Suppliant Women
Danaus and his daughters flee Egypt, as their cousins want to force them to marry them. They plead for asylum at Argos. They spend a good deal of time trying to convince the king and other people of Argos to grant them asylum, and protect them from their cousins who will undoubtedly pursue them. This is pretty good, though it take a lot of time for not much to happen.

The Persians
This is the story of the Athenian’s victory over Xerxes and the Persians. Again, this is a pretty good story if you go into it with the right mind set, but this story only retells of the battle that has already happened. There were a couple of good quotes here that I highlighted.

Seven Against Thebes
This is the story of Oedipus’ two sons at war with each other, one in possession of the city of Thebes and the other one besieging it. This one was rather disappointing. Most of the story consist of the spy telling Eteocles who was to attack each of the seven gates, then Eteocles responding by saying who he was going to have defend each gate. The attackers are all arrogant and the defenders all noble, apparently. The chorus of feaful females does get a bit annoying after a while. Things get a bit better at the very end with the arrival of Antigone, but overall I found this story a bit boring.

Prometheus
In my 21st century American opinion, this was by far the best of the bunch. As with the other stories, not much actually happens here, but anyone with an interest in Greek mythology can learn some of the travails of Prometheus and Io. My interest in Greek mythology made this one interesting, though the apparent ancient Greek obsession with predestination does get a bit annoying after a while.

Conclusion: If you're interested in ancient Greek drama, then give this a read, but if you want a page turner, then this probably isn't the best choice.
2 people found this helpful
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latte
5.0 out of 5 stars Four Plays of Aeschylus
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2013
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The works are classics, naturally. This Kindle edition is very well done and, in all honesty, how can anyone seriously complain about a free book?
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Avery Gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't beat the price!
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2013
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Again, being able to have tons of classics, including these important theatre masterpieces from ancient Greece, right at the tips of your fingers on your Kindle - Well it's why I love mine!
3 people found this helpful
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Adam
4.0 out of 5 stars The Four Plays of Aeschylus
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2013
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An eyewitness account that could only be given by a man, and a playwright at that, who actually fought in perhaps the most significant battle in the history of Western Civilization, the battle of Salamis.
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Andreea
3.0 out of 5 stars Four Plays of Aeschylus
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2016
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Though I’ve already written a review in Romanian for Prometheus Bound, it would have been strange if I didn’t write something about the entire volume that includes four of Aeschylus’ tragedies: The Suppliant Maidens, The Persians, The Seven Against Thebes and Prometheus Bound.

What you need to know about Aeschylus is that he is one of the three emblematic figures of Greek tragedy along with Sophocles and Euripides. It is said that Aeschylus wrote around one hundred plays during his lifetime, but only seven survived the test of time, four of which I’ve mentioned above, while the other three form the Oresteia Trilogy.

Aeschylus is also known for introducing the second actor on the stage. He progressively decreased the role of the chorus and he shifted the focus from the lyricism of the composition, to the dialog – an important change that gives the tragedy its dramatic characteristics we all recognize even today. For his artistic achievements, Aeschylus is also called the Father of Tragedy and he is praised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his famous work, Poetics.

The Suppliant Maidens (Ἱκέτιδες) is the earliest play of Aeschylus’ that survived to the present day, but it is less known in contrast with his other works. I actually read this one last, because the subject didn’t appeal to me that much and I found the play pretty mediocre in theme and ‘action’. The subject has its roots in Greek mythology and it is about the story of Danaus’ daughters who flee from Egypt to Argos, in order to avoid their incestuous marriages to the sons of Aegyptus, who were their cousins.

The maidens (escorted by their father) find shelter in Argos, hoping not to be captured by their suitors. In order to help the newcomers, Pelasgus (the King of Argos) asks his people to vote and their decision is crucial for the maidens’ destinies. Though the other two parts of the trilogy are lost, there are some scarce references to what happens to the maidens in Prometheus Bound and in one of Horace’s Odes.

E. D. A. Moreshead wrote about The Persians (Πέρσαι) that it “was brought out in 472 B.C., eight years after the sea-fight of Salamis which it commemorates” (p. 5), a play that had a great significance for those who fought against the Persian Empire in the Battles of Termopilæ, Marathon, Salamis and Plataea. The Persians might be the second play of a trilogy “standing between the Phineus and the Glaucus” (Idem.), Phineus being a prophet like Tiresias, who foreshadowed the conflict that is depicted in The Persians. I won’t spoil your read, but I will only add that, through this play, Aeschylus sends a patriotic message to his fellow Athenians and he revives their past victories against the Persians or the triumph of civilisation against barbarism, as Ovidiu Drîmba notes in his study about the history of theatre.

The Seven Against Thebes (Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ Θήβας) depicts the siege of Thebes along with the cruel fate of the two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, who were cursed by their father, the late King Oedipus, for not taking care of their blind father and for their selfishness and thirst for power. From my point of view, the most lyrical and heartbreaking parts of the play are those recited by the Chorus of Maidens, who depict the terrific battle scenes and lift helpless and desperate prayers to the gods to protect the city and not let it fall in the hands of their enemy. The irony is that the name Thebes doesn’t appear anywhere in the text, but Cadmea or Cadmus. The one that gave the play the name we all know was actually Aristophanes, who referred to it in his comedy Frogs as “the Seven against Thebes, a drama instinct with War, which anyone who beheld must have yearned to be a warrior” (p. 6).

In Prometheus Bound (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης), Titan Prometheus is punished by Zeus for creating the first humans, for stealing the Sacred Fire from Mt. Olympus and for giving it to the earthlings to start the process of civilisation. Though Prometheus is bound to a rock on Mt. Elbrus and Zeus uses various types of torture to make the titan repent, Prometheus stands tall and doesn’t have any reason to be ashamed or to apologize for what he has done. He has the power to predict the future and that future will not be a bright one for Mighty Zeus. Prometheus is not afraid of Zeus because he is an immortal; therefore, all he has to do is to endure all the torture until his saviour will fulfil the prophecy. Unfortunately for us, the second and third plays of the promethean trilogy are lost, but we can find out who the saviour is by reading the Greek myths.

Overall, the plays were very interesting, due to their unique structure, well-known characters from history and myths, but the language was pretty old and sometimes difficult to understand – a factor that made the reading too slow for my liking. I’m sure that I would have enjoyed this volume a little more if the writing had been a bit more modern, but this is a matter of taste.

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Top reviews from other countries

Mike Pettitt
5.0 out of 5 stars Book includes: The Suppliant Maidens, The Persians, The Seven Against Thebes, and Prometheus Bound
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2019
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No contents are provided on the product page, so I thought I'd write here which plays are included:

The Suppliant Maidens
The Persians
The Seven Against Thebes
Prometheus Bound
10 people found this helpful
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Ian C.M.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good for any kindle library
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2013
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A classic that is good to have to hand. Saves taking up physical shelf space and is easier to track down than to find in second-hand bookshops tho' it cannot match the sight or smell of old binding and printing
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MilkyLata
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2017
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Kindle version is very high quality with all of the main functions working well, worth it!
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TwistedF8
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2017
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Just read it and learn something
2 people found this helpful
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Dawn Johnson
2.0 out of 5 stars It may be free but it would help if anywhere ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2017
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It may be free but it would help if anywhere in the online page stated which plays were in it! I needed one in particular and had to download to discover - no, it's not in this one. I may read these at some point but a contents list on the sale page might help.
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