Aeschylus' Tragedies

Aeschylus' tragedies belong to the dramatic culture of fifth-century BCE Athens, where plays were performed at religious festivals. The Oresteia follows a royal family's cycle of vengeance toward a public hearing and a new settlement of competing claims to justice. The Persians turns to the aftermath of a historical war, presenting defeat from the perspective of the Persian court. Across these works, solemn choral passages and concentrated dramatic confrontations connect individual actions with obligations to kin, community, and the gods. Their treatment of responsibility gives suffering a public dimension: a ruler's choice can reach far beyond the person who makes it.