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Aeschylus

Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian from Eleusis, widely regarded as the father of tragedy for elevating the nascent dramatic form through poetic innovation and structural advancements in fifth-century BC Athens. Born into a prominent family as the son of Euphorion, he participated in the Persian Wars, fighting at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC where his brother Cynegeirus perished, experiences that informed the historical realism in plays like The Persians. Credited by Aristotle with introducing a second actor to the stage—reducing the chorus's dominance and emphasizing conflict between characters—Aeschylus transformed tragedy from choral lyricism to dialogic action, producing over 80 plays of which seven survive intact, including the sole extant trilogy, the Oresteia (458 BCE). His works, performed at the Dionysia festival where he secured 13 first-place victories starting with his debut win in 484 BC, explore themes of justice, divine retribution, and human hubris through grand, mythic narratives drawn from Trojan War cycles and other legends.

Seven against Thebes

Seven against Thebes (Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ Θήβας, Septem contra Thebas) is the third and only surviving play of a trilogy by Aeschylus, produced at the City Dionysia in 467 BC, which explored the generational curse originating from Oedipus and culminated in the siege of Thebes by seven Argive champions led by Polynices against his brother Eteocles. The preceding plays, Laius and Oedipus, are lost, as is the accompanying satyr play Sphinx, but the trilogy as a whole secured first prize in the competition. The drama centers on the inexorable fulfillment of Oedipus' curse that his sons would divide their inheritance with iron—interpreting their mutual fratricide—amid the defense of Thebes, emphasizing themes of inherited doom and the clash between divine predestination and human resolve.