Aeschylus depicts the violence and suffering humans experience in the rawest way and exposes man's most primitive fears. In this he is ruthless.
I wish more plays had survived. I would read everything by him.

Sommerstein's translation of these 4 plays is very accurate and true to the greek but still manages to convey Aeschylus' poetry quite decently. Also highly readable. The notes are ample and very helpful, the intoductions are only of interest for academics.

Aeschylus' drama is evidently first in Greek tragedy, with its quality reduced by the constraints placed on plays. With only two characters in dialogue and high language, Aeschylus is harder to follow and enjoy. Nevertheless, the stories themselves are largely good. The Persians deals with the vice of hubris, but the story is very thin and the themes are not too complex. Similar with Seven Against Thebes, while missing the other two plays in the trilogy make it harder to judge, the depth only really materialises at the end. The Suppliants is too difficult to judge without the aid of the trilogy. The best of the four plays is certainly Prometheus Bound (which is worrying as we are not sure if Aeschylus wrote it), with a provokingly impious treatment of Zeus' justice. Again the greatest tragedy is that we don't have the sequels, nevertheless the play holds well on its own unlike the previous two.

First, an outline of each play:

- The Persians: Performed a few years after the failed attack of the Persians, led by King Xerxes, against Athens, this play of lamentation starts with a chorus of old men of Susa and Queen Atossa, mother of Xerxes and wife of the deceased King Darius, discussing their ill premonitions about the war. A messenger then reveals that the army was defeated. Darius' ghost appears and denounces his son, before Xerxes appears and, together with the old men, concludes with a song of lamentation. This play is less of a tragedy and more of a lamentation, and may have been a patriotic play through which the Athenian audience celebrated their victory by watching the sorrow of the Persians.

- Seven Against Thebes: Eteocles, king of Thebes, is preparing to defend the city against Polynices, his twin brother, who is bringing an army to fight for the throne that the brothers were supposed to share. A curse lies on them – Oedipus, their father, had previously cursed them to divide their inheritance by the sword. Seven men are assigned to defend Thebes' seven gates from the seven men of the enemy who will be attacking them. The battle itself is not shown. Eteocles and Polynices kill each other, and the play ends with their sisters, Antigone and Ismenes, mourning them. This play won first prize, and was the third in a quartet of plays, the first two titled Laius and Oedipus, and the fourth a satyr-play titled Sphinx. Much of the end of the play is suspected to have been altered from the original, and the ending with Antigone and Immense may have been re-written 50 years after its original performance due to the popularity of Sophocles' Theban plays.

- Suppliants: Danaus and his fifty daughters arrive in Argos, fleeing from Danaus' brother Aegyptus and his fifty sons who want to forcefully marry Danaus' daughters. In Argos, they plead to the Greek gods and then to Argos' king. The people of Argos agree to protect the Danaids, and when the captain of Aegyptus' son arrives, the king protects them and the women of Argos invite them into their city. This was the first play in a trilogy, the subsequent of which would probably have portrayed the rest of the Danaids' story. As such it ends on a note of suspense.

- Prometheus Bound: Prometheus, a titan (the original rulers of the world before the gods dethroned them) who helped Zeus, has been punished by Zeus for giving intelligence and fire to human beings. The play starts with Prometheus being shackled by Hephaestus, the gods' blacksmith, on Zeus' instructions. He laments to Ocean's daughters. Io, who is being tormented by a gadfly sent by Hera, appears, and Prometheus, with his powers of foresight, tells her her fate. Hermes arrives, demanding that Prometheus tell him the secret that only Prometheus knows, which Prometheus says will lead to Zeus' downfall. Prometheus refuses to reveal the secret, and Hermes tells him his sentence, which is that Zeus' eagle will eat his liver every day for eternity. The authorship of this play is questioned, as is whether it was accompanied by other plays or not.

This book is prefaced by an introduction by the editor J. Michael Walton and the translators Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish. The introduction is excellent. It explains the background to the plays, considerations to take note of regarding the performance of the plays in Ancient Greece compared to our reading of the plays, notes on Aeschylus' style, controversies regarding the authenticity of certain parts of the plays, and their own takes on the controversies.

I like these translations. They are verse translations, and the translators keep things pithy, expressing concepts and images in just a few words. I suspect that some details have been lost, but every word is carefully chosen and important.

One thing that keeps coming up is how much has been lost through the millennia. The plays were each part of a collection of plays that were performed together, and because the accompanying plays have been lost, none of the stories, except for The Persians, are complete. This is particularly obvious in Suppliants and Prometheus Bound, which were both the first in a trilogy (or suspected trilogy, in the case of Prometheus Bound), and hence end unresolved. Alterations to the plays, in particular Seven Against Thebes, have also been debated and give the translators obvious trouble, while affecting our understanding and interpretation of the plays.

Taking each play as presented, it is clear that the modern readers' experience of the plays is very different from the original Athenian audience's experience. The only other classical Greek plays I have read are a few of Euripides'. Compared to Euripides' plays, Aeschylus' plays feature the chorus more prominently. There's more song and dance. In this version, the translators try to translate the phonetic sounds of songs literally, and there's plenty of "O-ee", "Toto-ee", "E! E!" and so on. The plots and character development don't move much and some of the dialogue is a little wooden, which is why I have given this three stars only, but I am aware that my enjoyment is tempered by being unable to experience the frenzy of noise and colours and physical movement that must have characterised portions of the plays, like in the women of Thebes' panicky pleas to the gods in Seven Against Thebes, or in the Danaids' fearful confusion in Prometheus Bound.

A collection of Aeschylus’s four other plays (other as in besides the Orestia trilogy).

The Persians: Seems mostly of historical interest, as Aeschylus was apparently at the battle of Salamis. The play tells of the Persians learning of their defeat. I feel like a modern analogous play would have far more gloating.

Seven against Thebes: Part of Aeschylus’s four plays covering the Oedipus story, the others are lost. Interesting, this covers the part of the story not told by Sophocles. A large part of it consists of the so-called shield scene where each of the seven are described and matched up with someone from the city. The end of the play was altered to match Sophocles’s Antigone.

Prometheus Bound: Some believe this was written by someone else, perhaps Aeschylus’s son. This finds Prometheus punished for helping humans after Zeus determined to destroy them. While some of the play is about Prometheus, and the knowledge he has that will save him, a large part is about Io’s future, which relates to The Supplicants.

The Supplicants: Although part of a different tetraology, the story here is summarized in Prometheus Bound. In this play the Chorus (i.e. the supplicants) are the protagonist, looking to avoid a forced marriage. This is the middle play, so the eventually climax (the woman are forced to marry, and all but one end up killing their husbands) happens off screen. There’s some interesting ideas here. They seek the help of Argos, but helping them could mean Argos entering into a war. And though it is only spelled out through inference, Argos ends up being ruled as a tyrant by the end.

All of these pale compared to the Orestia, but perhaps that’s unfair since none contain their companion pieces. I have to admit after reading most (especially The Persians) I felt like nothing happened. It’s not appropriate, but the convention seems to mostly invert “Show, don’t Tell” that predominates writing standards now.

I definitely think The Supplicants was my favorite, despite it being the middle play.

I continue on with my quest to read all of the Greek plays in roughly chronological order. I've chosen to read, when possible, the editios published by the University of Chicago. I like the translations, and very much enjoy the brief introduction to each play included.

Aeschylus is not my favorite, but I especially found The Persians and The Suppliant Miadens interesting. i cannot imagine what it msut have been like to have a chorus of 50 women in Suppliant. I also truly wish that others plays in the various trilogies had not been lost.

These are 4 plays by the father of Greek tragedy, and are interesting both as early examples of the dramatic art (the use of the Chorus for example) and as celebrations of Greek culture and traditions.

I had only read The Persians before and that has a real historical background against which Aeschylus explores his themes of tyranny and divine justice. It is a very powerful drama full of anguish and despair. Prometheus Unbound is probably the most famous of Aeschylus’ plays, but it is the middle part of a trilogy and suffers because the two other parts have been lost. Nevertheless, the clash between the gods and mortals is a compelling one. Seven Against Thebes was the least memorable and didn’t even have the same ‘feel’ as the others.

A surprise favourite for me was The Suppliant Maidens where I liked the way the language unfolded. The maidens are fleeing from forced marriage in Egypt and seek shelter in Greece, and within this simple concept Aeschylus explores the tradition of such marriages, the descent of the maidens in a divine line from Io and Zeus, and the ethics of the Greek people who must decide whether to shelter the maidens. It’s simple but really well done.

Tempi di rilettura.

Prometeo incatenato e I sette contro Tebe.

Tanta tanta roba.

Some have compared Prometheus to Jesus Christ. Certainly the opening scene of Aeschylus's play, with Prometheus splayed upon a rock as he is bound by Hephaestus, invites the comparison. I would not go so far and see the interplay between the Greek gods to be the relevant context for this scene. Played out at the "world's limit" in a bleak setting the drama portrays Prometheus suffering punishment for making humans "intelligent and masters of their minds". (line 444)

Prometheus' crime is not the only reason for his punishment for the chorus tells us that there is a war going on between the "Old" gods (Olympians) and the new generation of Gods. Zeus is seeking to maintain his primacy while Prometheus and his brothers are the dangerous new gods on the block. Atlas is suffering as well carrying the weight of the whole world on his back. The scales are not even - their is nothing like fairness or justice in this world. Prometheus is doomed even as he is visited by Io who is also suffering due to Hera's jealous rage over Zeus's attentions.

Being a god does not seem to lead to a completely pleasant life - there is strife and anger at every turn even for the most powerful. The winners in this play seem to be humans who do not have to relinquish the gifts endowed them by Prometheus. However, even these can be seen as a two-edged sword for our ancestors who had to endure hardships of many kinds in the struggle of living in the world. Prometheus cries out "O sky that circling brings light to all, you see how unjustly I suffer!" (lines 1091-2) Could that be our own cry even today?

It's a shame three of these four plays are all part one of separate trilogies of which the other parts have been lost. This makes the plays seem somewhat dull and incomplete, but are certainly not terrible. They are simply lacking in when it comes to plot. If you compare them to the first play in the one trilogy of Aeschylus which is still intact (Oresteia), it is similarly slow-moving and would be fairly dull if taken by itself. The other two plays in Oresteia develop the story gradually and the final play finishes quite brilliantly.

What is known of the Prometheus series seems like it ends in a similar fashion to Oresteia, reconciling the polarized perspectives of deities at odds with each other via the intriguing actions of a mediating third-party. Less is known of The Suppliants and Seven Against Thebes, but like the Orestes trilogy they also deal with strife and violent crime between family members. Each of the three stories with this theme construct a scenario where the violent clash between family members cannot be escaped and the ability to willingly step away from tragedy is of minimal importance against the greater theme of their bitterly inevitable fate.

Because these trilogies remain only in their opening fragments and due to the playwright's style of gradually developing plots, it's difficult to give the same high praise as to the Oresteia, which remains to us in full.

I find the ancient Greeks to be a fascinating bunch. I'm slowly learning about their culture and beliefs, their love of wine and the olive, and of discourse and philosophy. They loved competition; the Panhellenic Games -- boxing, wrestling, foot races, etc., the genesis of the Olympic Games today -- was a staple of their society which managed to bring together the city-states of Hellas. This love of the contest also extended into the realm of the drama. The Greek citizen enjoyed watching plays come alive in the open-aired theatres. The playwrights vied for the honor of having their play chosen as the best.

This work provides four of Aeschylus' work that have survived. Each of these plays were originally parts of a trilogy and unfortunately those works were lost to time, and so what we have left are these unfinished stories. The only trilogy that we have in completion is the Oresteia, which I plan to read at some point.

Here is a quick review of each play:

The Suppliant Maidens: A short play about maidens who have taken flight from Egypt to prevent being forcefully married to their cousins. They arrive in Argos and beg the the king of the city to give them refuge. I wasn't blown away but its important to note that this is 1 part of a lost trilogy so who knows what the rest of the play was like. 2/5 stars.

The Persians: Another short drama written in the point of view of the Persians after their loss at Salamis. In the introduction it says that plays humanizing the enemy were unthought of in ancient Greece. I enjoyed it because the melancholy and lamentations come through very well. You feel for the losers of the war. 3/5 stars.

Seven Against Thebes: Oedipus's son Eteocles, who is now king of Thebes, protects the city against an attack from his brother Polynices and six other great warriors. I enjoyed the writing in this one; very poetic. It's a cool addition to the three Theben plays by Sophocles. Fate wasn't kind to poor Oedipus. 4/5 stars.

Prometheus Bound: The story of Prometheus is my favorite of Greek myths and I was not disappointed with this one. The language was beautiful. Prometheus is wise and defiant. Hermes is an asshole but Prometheus lays down a lyrical smackdown. I loved it. I would've loved to see how this one ended. 5/5 stars.

These four plays (all of which are the only surviving parts of trilogies) are suggestive, spare, and varied, and "Prometheus Bound" is likely my favorite ancient Greek tragedy. I'll take this over the Oresteia.

A very readable translation of 4 of Aeschylus' plays. The earliest extant Greek dramas that we have. Much less "action" here than in later Greek drama. Sophocles was just beginning to present plays in the last days of this playwright.
Allan Sommerstein chooses to present long declarations by main characters as blocks of prose, rather than in Greek tragedy's metre and feet. He is the translator, editor and commentator of the complete plays of Aeschylus in a scholarly edition for Harvard. This is a more readable, less scholarly, edition of that work, edited for the "amateur".
Great Notes, but little on textual anomalies. Further Reading could use an update.
The best part is at the end of each play he gives a synopsis of what we know of the other 3 plays in the 4 play presentation this play was part of that year. Including the existing bits and pieces of text for those other 3 plays that have been found.
He often references commentary by the early mythologists (and Hesiod is referred to often), but the British version of annotation is a bit quirky for those of us in the US (last name of editor/author and year of publication only). But filling in that background information from early sources for the reader is very helpful.
His cries of amazement and horror by the characters are great - as he says, they are next to impossible to translate.
And at one point he runs down the 13 generations between Io and Heracles - which makes me feel not so bad when I can't remember who is related to whom in all of the Greek tragedies that we have available to us to this day.
Readable, useful, informative edition. Read along side the Deborah Roberts' Hackett translation, which is a bit more scholarly in its Intro and textual commentary.
5 out of 5.