Greek Tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

Authors of Greek Tragedy

Aeschylus

Aeschylus, born in Eleusis to an aristocratic family, lived between 525 and 456 BC. He actively participated in significant battles, including the Battle of Marathon and Salamis, against the Persians. His contributions to the Greek victory earned him honor and recognition. His life coincided with the consolidation of Athenian hegemony in Greece.

Aeschylus’s complete works, including “Prometheus Bound” and the Oresteia trilogy (which explores the myth of Agamemnon’s murder), have survived. His plays are characterized by:

  • Increased number of actors (two)
  • The chorus as a fundamental element (12 choreutai), slowing down the action
  • Extensive use of trilogies to develop a theme
  • Spectacular theatrical staging with machinery, such as flying gods
  • Deep religious feeling and concern for perennial human problems
  • Central theme of justice and its relation to hubris, leading to punishment and the need for prudence
  • Elevated and formal language, distinct from everyday speech, with a unique blend of Greek and foreign words

Sophocles

Sophocles, from a wealthy family, lived during the “Age of Pericles” and the Peloponnesian War, which marked the end of Athenian dominance in Greece. He actively participated in Athenian public life and was venerated as a hero after his death.

His complete works, including “Antigone,” “Oedipus Rex,” and “Electra,” have survived. The central theme of his plays revolves around the myth of Oedipus. Key features of his work include:

  • Increased number of actors to four
  • Introduction of triangular dialogue involving three actors
  • Complex and carefully crafted arguments
  • Increased number of chorus members to 15, but with decreased importance
  • Shift away from trilogies
  • Focus on creating well-developed characters with distinct personalities
  • Idealized portrayal of women with equal dignity to men
  • Characters who endure intense pain with resignation
  • Less ornate language compared to Aeschylus, with reduced use of epic adjectives, resulting in a more natural and accessible style

Euripides

Euripides, born in central Attica, lived between 484 and 406 BC. He did not participate in Athenian political life and spent his later years in seclusion with few friends. He was invited by the Macedonian king, where he eventually died. Euripides was Sophocles’s main rival, and despite limited success during his lifetime, he became the most admired Greek playwright during the Hellenistic period.

Eighteen of his works have survived, including “Medea,” “Orestes,” “Electra,” “The Bacchae,” and the satyr play “Cyclops.” His subject matter is diverse, covering almost every mythical cycle. Key features of his works include:

  • Well-defined prologue, often independent from the rest of the play, serving to inform the audience and sometimes foreshadow the ending
  • Further decreased importance of the chorus
  • Frequent use of deus ex machina
  • Mastery in character creation, portraying complex and contradictory individuals rather than archetypes
  • Emphasis on psychological realism and emotional expression, often bordering on pathos
  • Greater role for women
  • Critical and rational approach to traditional myths and divinity
  • Themes of death and fortune
  • Natural and smooth language with colloquialisms