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Aeschylus, I, Persians. Seven against Thebes. Suppliants. Prometheus Bound (Loeb Classical Library) Hardcover – January 31, 2009

by Aeschylus (Author), Alan H. Sommerstein (Translator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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Four unconnected but unforgettable plays from ancient Athens’ first great tragedian.

Aeschylus (ca. 525–456 BC), the dramatist who made Athenian tragedy one of the world’s great art forms, witnessed the establishment of democracy at Athens, fought against the Persians at Marathon and probably also at Salamis, and had one of his productions sponsored by the young Pericles. He was twice invited to visit Sicily, and it was there that he died. At Athens he competed for the tragic prize at the City Dionysia about nineteen times between circa 499 and 458, and won it on thirteen occasions; in his later years he was probably victorious almost every time he put on a production, though Sophocles beat him at least once.

Of his total of about eighty plays, seven survive complete. The first volume of this new Loeb Classical Library edition contains fresh texts and translations by Alan H. Sommerstein of Persians (472), on the recent war, the only surviving Greek historical drama; Seven against Thebes (467), the third play of a trilogy, on the conflict between Oedipus’ sons which ends when they kill each other; Suppliants, the first or second play of a trilogy, on the successful appeal by the daughters of Danaus to the king and people of Argos for protection against a forced marriage to their cousins (whom they will later murder, all but one); and Prometheus Bound (of disputed authenticity), on the terrible punishment of Prometheus for giving fire to humans in defiance of Zeus (with whom he will later be reconciled after preventing his overthrow). The second volume contains the complete Oresteia trilogy (458), comprising Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, and Eumenides, presenting the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, the revenge taken by their son Orestes, the pursuit of Orestes by his mother’s avenging Furies, his trial and acquittal at Athens, Athena’s pacification of the Furies, and the blessings they both invoke upon the Athenian people.

This edition’s third volume offers all the major fragments of lost Aeschylean plays, with brief headnotes explaining what is known, or can be plausibly inferred, about their content, and bibliographies of recent studies.

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  1. Print length
    624 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    January 31, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1.1 x 6.37 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0674996275
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0674996274
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Alan Sommerstein’s three-volume Aeschylus… is in many respects the best critical edition of this playwright available in any format. Sommerstein’s authority as a linguist and expert in Aeschylean drama is second to none, and he has provided an up-to-date and carefully constituted text for the seven surviving plays, plus all of the fragmentary remains that are at least one line long. Important manuscript variants and modern conjectures are scrupulously recorded (making the page a little cluttered, but clear enough); and in addition he has provided copious notes, fuller and more numerous than is normal for a Loeb, on matters of myth, geography, history and interpretation.”―Mark Griffith, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Alan H. Sommerstein is Professor of Greek, University of Nottingham.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; Revised ed. edition (January 31, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 624 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674996275
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674996274
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1.1 x 6.37 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 30 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.

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4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Jason Copping
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful plays
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024
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I really enjoyed the plays. I enjoyed the characters expressing their feelings. Has the original Greek text.
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Richard I. Pervo
5.0 out of 5 stars better than ever
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2015
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This illustrates transformation of the Loeb Library. the new editions offer good critical texts and helpful introductions, as well as readable translations. I recall reading the old Smyth (whose Greek grammar is still in use and after whom classics library at Harvard named) Prometheus Bound in bed in the fall of 1962. In the spirit of the time the artificial and archaic Greek was rendered into artificial and archaic English. Although i wished to use English to gloss Greek words, the opposite was often true. Still love the P.V., if not by Aeschylus. This edition enhances one's reading of that great old poet with his solemn diction.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very informing on subject.
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2019
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Very interesting book on early history. Enjoyed reading it.
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Mary Jane Rutkowski
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2019
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On time & just what I needed:-)
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Dave_42
5.0 out of 5 stars History And Literature
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2009
How does one approach reviewing Aeschylus or any of the classics? One is dealing with a work which is thousands of years old and in and of itself a piece of history. Add to that problem that for most of us, there is no choice but to read translations of the work, rather than the original. In addition, there are only a few works remaining from only three sources (unless the authorship has been incorrectly given), so one is left to compare Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, and given that Aeschylus was writing much earlier than the others the comparison would be rather difficult given the changes that Aeschylus made to Greek Theatre. What one can discuss is how readable the translations are, and the supporting material.

Aeschylus I, number 145 in the Loeb Classical Library contains four of Aeschylus' plays: "Persians", "Seven Against Thebes", "Suppliants", and "Prometheus Bound". The edition I have read is the 2008 publication which was edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. In the preface, Mr. Sommerstein discusses the state of the Aeschylus volumes prior to this publication and what he attempts to accomplish with this new translation and publication of the plays. This is followed by a superb introduction which discusses Aeschylus, his life, his works, Greek Theatre, and what happened to the plays in history to bring them to the point they are now at. This is followed by the standard Bibliography, Sigla, and Abbreviations which one expects from a Loeb edition, and that brings us to the plays themselves.

Each of the plays is preceded by a section detailing the specifics of the play. When it was believed to be first performed, whether it won the Dionysia competition, what parts of the play may be suspect, what is believed to be the other plays in the production and what is known about those plays. The footnotes in the translations of the plays themselves are also quite extensive, as information about the decisions made in the translation are covered as well as more information to better help understand any unspoken meanings that Aeschylus may have been trying to convey. The translations themselves are excellent. I have read a few translations of some of these plays, and Mr. Sommerstein has done an outstanding job of helping the reader understand the play.

"Persians" opens with the council of Susa (i.e. the chorus) unsure of the fate of their army and concerned because so many men went to war so far away. They are joined by the Queen Mother, Atossa who is also concerned, because of a dream she had. News of the disaster arrives by messenger, and all are distraught. Atossa asks the chorus to summon the ghost of Darius, who at first is completely unaware of what has occurred, and then curses the hubris of his son Xerxes who led his vast army to this disaster, and then prophesizes the defeat at Plataea. Eventually Xerxes himself arrives in rags and laments the defeat and what it means to Persia.

"Seven Against Thebes" begins after Thebes has been under siege for a time, and on a day when it has been prophesized (by Teiresias) that the city will be assaulted on that very day. A scout arrives and gives Eteocles a description of what has happened outside the city and then leaves to gather more information. Eteocles comments on what he has been told and leaves to oversee the defenses. The Theben maidens arrive (i.e. The Chorus) and describe the fear and terror felt inside the city. Eteocles returns and tries to shame the women into being silent and thus not spread any more fear, they agree and Eteocles once again leaves to inspect the defenses. The Chorus continues to comment until the scout returns and Eteocles rushes back to talk to him. The scout describes each of the seven captains who are assaulting the seven gates, finishing with Polyneices Eteocles discusses how each will be dealt with, and when he learns that is brother is at the seventh gate, he decides to go there to face his brother himself. The Chorus is left alone as both the scout and Eteocles have left the stage. The scout returns and we learn that Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other. The ending is a bit uncertain as it appears that Atigone and Ismene were added to the play for a later production. However, there is a dispute over what to do with the bodies of the two brothers.

"Suppliants" is about the Danaids who are fleeing a forced marriage and make a plea to King Pelasgus of Argos to protect them. He lets the Argive people make the decision, which is to help the Danaids. An Egyptian herald arrives to try to force the Danaids to return for the marriage, but King Pelasgus threatens the herald and pushes the Danaids to go within the walls of Argos for protection. For me, this was the most difficult play to follow, there was not much in the way of action, and significant sections of it are missing or were added in which makes it all the more difficult.

"Prometheus Bound" is the last of the plays in this volume, and along with "Persians" is the most enjoyable one to read. Some question whether Aeschylus actually wrote the play, but regardless it is an interesting one. The play opens with Prometheus being escorted to the wrong to which he will be bound by Power (Kratos), Violence (Bia), and Hephaestus, the smith. Violence never utters a word, nor does Prometheus himself during this initial period, but Power mocks Prometheus and Hephaestus is empathetic to Prometheus's position. Power pushes Hephaestus until the job is done, and then the three leave Prometheus alone. For the remainder of the play Prometheus is chained to the rock, lamenting his position, and talking to those who come to see him, such as the daughters of Oceanus (Chorus), Oceanus, Io, and at the end Hermes. The play pits the tyranny of Zeus against Prometheus and his (Prometheus's) love for man.

This is an excellent edition of the Loeb library, and the new translations of Aeschylus are quite good. One could argue that any edition of classic works deserves five stars, but in this case it is really earned.
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A. J. Sutter
4.0 out of 5 stars Translation a bit dry (3.5 stars)
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2011
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I'm basing this review mainly on "The Suppliants," which I found to be a disappointment. Prof. Sommerstein's (AHS's) home page says he's especially fond of fragments, and "The Suppliants" along with the rest of Aeschylus gives him plenty to chew on in that regard. He's produced the first comprehensive new edition of the entire Aeschylean corpus in the 70+ years since H.W. Smyth's old Loeb: Denys Page's 1973 OCT doesn't include the fragments, but AHS gives them a volume of their own. While Loeb policy is not to include a full textual-critical apparatus, the Greek text in this volume contains considerably more of one than in most other Loeb volumes. Textual criticism, rather than translating tragedy, though, does seem to be AHS's strong point, judging by the right-hand pages. His translations of the spoken (non-choral) passages are prose; the whole comes across without much tension, and in fact some tedium. Nor is AHS much interested in the political aspects of the play, which provides some evidence about the history of Athenian democracy (including the first known, albeit punning, use of the word "demokratia" itself). That topic comes up only in the last paragraph of his introduction, which is otherwise devoted to the play's date of composition and how the work fits into Aeschylus's (fragmentary, of course) Danaid Trilogy. On the plus side, in addition to the new Greek text, AHS includes numerous explanatory footnotes that explain references in the translation. But although this volume may have been edited by a great technical scholar of Greek drama, you'll need to look elsewhere if you want to get some poetry from the English rendering (cf., e.g., Janet Lembke's version in the Oxford Aeschylus II).
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Douglas Yates
5.0 out of 5 stars Best coat polcket edition with original Greek
Reviewed in France on June 6, 2017
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These are the very best versions of the classics, if you like to have the original Greek text to the left for consultation. They are easy to carry with you, easy to read, because of their size, and fit in your raincoat pocket when you go outside.
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吉岡信雄
5.0 out of 5 stars 期待通り。
Reviewed in Japan on September 5, 2018
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ｷﾞﾘｼｱ悲劇の原著と英訳を併記したＬｏｅｂ Classical Library の本は原著を正しく理解するのに最も役に立つ本である。
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