Born in Eleusis, he served in the army, was wounded at Marathon (490BC) and probably fought at Salamis (480). His plays include: The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus Bound, SUppliants and the Oresteia, which comprises three plays about the murder of Agamemnon and its consequences and was his last great success on the Athenian stage (458)., Aeschylus (525-456 BC) The father of Greek tragic drama, usually considered the first great writer in the Western theatrical tradition. Only seven plays, of over 70 known titles, are extant. These are The Persians (472 BC), Seven Against Thebes (469 BC), Prometheus Bound (c. 460 BC), The Suppliant Women (c. 460 BC), and the Oresteia trilogy (458 BC), comprising Agamemnon , Choephoroi , and Eumenides . He also wrote numerous satyr plays, which have only survived in fragmentary form.

Aeschylus's work is powerful and operatic, using majestic but often innovative language. His attitude to Greek society and religion was generally conservative, although he boldly depicted the sufferings of men and woman when moral systems, and the gods themselves, are in conflict. Legend says he was killed by a tortoise dropped by an eagle (to break the shell) on his bald head (mistaken for a stone). His tombstone makes no mention of his literary works, referring only to his service at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC).