Editing Aeschylus (section)

==Life==
[[File:General view of sanctuary of Demeter and Kore and the Telesterion (Initiation Hall), center for the Eleusinian Mysteries, Eleusis (8191841684).jpg|thumb|275x275px|Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore of [[Eleusis]], Aeschylus' hometown]]
Aeschylus was born around 525&nbsp;BC in [[Eleusis]], a small town about {{convert|27|km|mi}} northwest of [[Athens]], in the fertile valleys of western [[Attica]].{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}} Some scholars argue that the date of Aeschylus's birth may be based on counting back 40 years from his first victory in the [[Great Dionysia]].<ref>Grene, David, and Richmond Lattimore, eds. The Complete Greek Tragedies: Vol. 1, Aeschylus. University of Chicago Press, 1959.</ref> His family was wealthy and well established. His father, Euphorion, was said to be a member of the [[Eupatridae]], the ancient nobility of Attica,<ref name="Bates">{{harvnb |Bates |1906 |pp=53–59}}</ref><ref name=EB1911>{{harvnb |Sidgwick |1911 |p=272}}</ref> but this might be a fiction invented by the ancients to account for the grandeur of Aeschylus' plays.<ref>S. Saïd, ''Eschylean tragedy'', 217</ref>

As a youth, Aeschylus worked at a vineyard until, according to the 2nd-century AD geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], the god [[Dionysus]] visited him in his sleep and commanded him to turn his attention to the nascent art of tragedy.<ref name=Bates/> As soon as he woke, he began to write a tragedy, and his first performance took place in 499&nbsp;BC, when he was 26 years old.{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}}<ref name=Bates/> He won his first victory at the Dionysia in 484&nbsp;BC.<ref name=Bates/><ref name="F241">{{harvnb |Freeman |1999 |p=241}}</ref>

In 510 BC, when Aeschylus was 15 years old, [[Cleomenes I]] expelled the sons of [[Peisistratos|Peisistratus]] from Athens, and [[Cleisthenes]] came to power. Cleisthenes' reforms included a system of registration that emphasized the importance of the [[deme]] over family tradition. In the last decade of the 6th century, Aeschylus and his family were living in the deme of Eleusis.<ref name="Kopff 1997 pp.1-472">Kopff 1997 pp. 1–472</ref>

The [[Persian Wars]] played a large role in Aeschylus' life and career. In 490&nbsp;BC, he and his brother [[Cynegeirus]] fought to defend Athens against the invading army of [[Darius I of Persia]] at the [[Battle of Marathon]].{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}} The Athenians emerged triumphant, and the victory was celebrated across the city-states of Greece.{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}} Cynegeirus was killed while trying to prevent a Persian ship retreating from the shore, for which his countrymen extolled him as a hero.{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}}<ref name="Kopff 1997 pp.1-472"/>

In 480 BC, Aeschylus was called into military service again, together with his younger brother [[Ameinias of Athens|Ameinias]], against [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes&nbsp;I]]'s invading forces at the [[Battle of Salamis]]. Aeschylus also fought at the [[Battle of Plataea]] in 479 BC.<ref>{{Cite book
|url=https://topostext.org/work/229#4|access-date=2023-02-23
| title = Anonymous Life of Aeschylus
| chapter= § 4
| translator = S. Burges Watson
| series = Living Poets
| publisher=Durham
| year =2014
| quote = They say that he was noble and that he participated in the battle of '''Marathon''' together with his brother, '''Cynegirus''', and in the naval battle at '''Salamis''' with the youngest of his brothers, '''Ameinias''', and in the infantry battle at '''Plataea'''.}} (emphasis in original)</ref> [[Ion of Chios]] was a witness for Aeschylus' war record and his contribution in Salamis.<ref name="Kopff 1997 pp.1-472" /> Salamis holds a prominent place in ''The Persians'', his oldest surviving play, which was performed in 472 BC and won first prize at the Dionysia.<ref name="S34">{{harvnb |Sommerstein |2010 |p=34}}</ref>

Aeschylus was one of many Greeks who were initiated into the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], an ancient cult of [[Demeter]] based in his home town of Eleusis.<ref>{{harvnb |Martin |2000 |loc=§10.1}}</ref> According to [[Aristotle]], Aeschylus was accused of [[asebeia]] (impiety) for revealing some of the cult's secrets on stage.<ref>''[[Nicomachean Ethics]]'' 1111a8–10.</ref><ref>Filonik, J. (2013). Athenian impiety trials: a reappraisal. Dike-Rivista di Storia del Diritto Greco ed Ellenistico, 16, page 23.</ref><ref name=EB1911/>

Other sources claim that an angry mob tried to kill Aeschylus on the spot but he fled the scene. [[Heracleides of Pontus]] asserts that the audience tried to stone Aeschylus. Aeschylus took refuge at the altar in the orchestra of the Theater of Dionysus. He pleaded ignorance at his trial. He was acquitted, with the jury sympathetic to the military service of him and his brothers during the Persian Wars. According to the 2nd-century AD author Aelian, Aeschylus' younger brother Ameinias helped to acquit Aeschylus by showing the jury the stump of the hand he had lost at Salamis, where he was voted bravest warrior. The truth is that the award for bravery at Salamis went not to Aeschylus' brother but to Ameinias of Pallene.<ref name="Kopff 1997 pp.1-472" />

Aeschylus travelled to [[Sicily]] once or twice in the 470s&nbsp;BC, having been invited by [[Hiero&nbsp;I of Syracuse|Hiero I]], tyrant of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], a major Greek city on the eastern side of the island. He produced ''The Women of Aetna'' during one of these trips (in honor of the city founded by Hieron), and restaged his ''Persians''.{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}} By 473&nbsp;BC, after the death of [[Phrynichus (tragic poet)|Phrynichus]], one of his chief rivals, Aeschylus was the yearly favorite in the Dionysia, winning first prize in nearly every competition.{{sfn|Sommerstein|2010}} In 472&nbsp;BC, Aeschylus staged the production that included the ''Persians'', with [[Pericles]] serving as ''[[choregos]]''.<ref name="Kopff 1997 pp.1-472"/>