Aeschylus was born in 525 B.C., probably in Eleusis, just outside Athens. Few details are known of his childhood, but Aeschylus entered his first dramatic competition, the Dionysia, in 500-501 B.C. He enjoyed his first real success as a playwright in 484 B.C., but Aeschylus was more than a dramatist; he was also a soldier, having fought in several of the battles that marked the wars between Athens and Persia. The relative peace that followed these battles allowed Aeschylus time to focus on his plays.

The first of his tragedies appears to have been performed around 500 B.C. Aeschylus presented his tragedies as trilogies, each grouping having a common theme. The drama trilogy was then followed by a satyr drama, a comedy involving a mythological hero. Aeschylus is credited with introducing the second actor into Greek drama and with reducing the size of the chorus...