The founder of Greek tragedy as it existed in its greatness. He
introduced a second actor upon the scene, and gave dramatic interest to
his act, by rendering dialogue the most important element in the play.
He improved the masks and dresses of the actors, and raised the
character of the choral dances. The scenes painted under his direction
were, it is said, the first in which the idea of perspective was
maintained. Sublimity and magnificence characterize the style of his
tragedies, in which the action and plot, with an unparalleled simplicity
of structure, move on, in commanding and stern strength, to their
catastrophe; supported by grand imagery, with diction wrested to the
height of energy and solemn passion. The characters drawn by Æschylus
are as lofty as the language which they speak. We almost yearn for the
simple voice of Nature as we listen to the sustained thunder-tone of
this great master. His mind seems ever attuned for discourse with the
Gods; yet in the “Prometheus,” though dealing with a demigod, he
describes with awful power, human suffering and human passion in its
saddest and most thrilling aspect. The family of Æschylus were
remarkable for their valour, and he himself fought bravely at Marathon
and Salamis. He was an actor in his own plays.
[From the marble in Stanza dei Filosofi, of the Capitoline Museum, at
Rome.]