Product Description
Greek dramatist Aeschylus (525-456 BC) is called the creator of the art of tragedy in the Western tradition. Author of "The Persians," "Seven Against Thebes," "The Suppliants," "Oresteia," and "Prometheus Bound." A historical, biographical, and literary study. Hermes series on classical authors. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Aeschylus’ Persians is not only the first surviving Greek drama. It is also the only tragedy to take for its subject historical rather than mythical events: the repulse of the army of Xerxes at Salamis in 480 B.C. It has frequently been mined for information on the tactics of Salamis or the Greeks’ knowledge of Persian names or institutions, but it also has a broader value, one that has not often been realised. What does it tell us about Greek representations of Persia, or of the Athenians’ self-image? What can we glean from it of the politics of early fifth-century Athens, or of the Athenians’ conception of their empire? How, if at all, can such questions be approached without doing violence to the Persians as a drama? What are the implications of the play for the nature of tragedy? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fascinating and thoughtfully insightful analysis
The Emptiness Of Asia by Thomas Harrison (Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of St. Andrews) is a literary study of Aeschylus' "Persai" alongside Herodotus' "Histories", which will provide the reader with comprehensive understanding what actually happened at the battle of Salamis and afterwards. A scholarly dissection of political and ideological motivating factors underpinning "Persai" in the context of the times, The Emptiness Of Asia is a fascinating and thoughtfully insightful analysis -- and a welcome addition to Hellenic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Intellegent, clear and lucid...
For those who love Herodotus, this book will help you understand the various arguments surrounding Herodotus' treatment of religion in the ancient world.Rather than getting bogged down in the minutiae of the many, many discussions about this subject, he instead refocuses the discussion away from bickering about minor details or even some broader elements (The Liar School beware!) and instead moves the arguments back to the middle ground, dismissing much of the controversies about Herodotus as beside the point.

Get this and be enlightened! ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Greek drama (Tragedy); Mythology, Greek; Aeschylus; Greek drama; English drama; Seven against Thebes (Greek mythology); Prometheus (Greek deity); Danaus (Greek mythology); Antigone (Greek mythology); Io (Greek mythology); Hephaestus (Greek deity); Greece; Drama / Ancient, Classical ... Read more

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PROMETHEUS Think not that I for pride and stubbornness Am silent: rather is my heart the prey Of gnawing thoughts, both for the past, and now Seeing myself by vengeance buffeted. For to these younger Gods their precedence Who severally determined if not I? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Prometheus Bound:Captivating
Title:Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, translated by James Scully and C. John Herington

Pages:117 total.The play itself consists of about 54 pages.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:A year or two.

Days spent reading it:1 day.

Why I read it:I actually liked the Greek tragedies we read in High School.I also think that Prometheus is an interesting character, so I thought this play might be interesting.

Brief review:
I really liked this play.In the beginning of the story Prometheus is bound by Hephaistos to a rock to serve as his punishment for giving mankind fire.Prometheus has a number of conversations with people as they wander by in their travels.These make up the major movements of the play.

The themes of his conversations include:Suffering, usurping power, tyranny, human culture, hope, civil disobedience, restoration, fate, brute force vs. cunning thought, and a host of other themes.

Some interesting elements about Prometheus in Greek mythology:

Prometheus is the god who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humanity.Fire seems to also include self awareness and human culture, because that's what else Prometheus claims to have given to mankind.Prometheus also claims mankind once foresaw their own deaths, but that he overcame their visions by giving them the gift of hope.

Prometheus Bound is apparently a part of a trilogy.We only have scraps from what was perhaps the sequel, Prometheus Unbound.It is a shame that we will never see the full story arch that Aeschylus prepared for Prometheus.

I enjoyed this short play.If you enjoy Greek drama, this is a must read.If you do not appreciate Greek drama, this one will probably not warm your hearts to it.Further, I appreciated the notes and introduction to this play as well.I read them after I read the play, and felt like they enhanced my experience of reading instead of bogging it down.This was one play I am glad I got the chance to read for myself.

Favorite quote:It's easy enough for the bystander, who's not bogged down in sorrow, to advise and warn the one who suffers.Myself, I knew all this and knew it all along.Still, I meant to be wrong.I knew what I was doing.Helping humankind I helped myself to misery.

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word:Captivating.

Formatting errors.
Though I do not doubt the literary quality of this great piece of literature, in this ebook, the formatting and proofreading quality (wast for waste...) is horribly distracting and is frankly terribly annoying.

Review of Greek Text and Commentary Edition
If you are a student of Classical Greek looking to read your first tragedy in the original, I think that this edition of Prometheus Bound would make an excellent choice for many reasons. First of all, the play itself is one of the best of all the extant tragedies. Although there is virtually no action in the play, the playwright (most definitely not Aeschylus in spite of the attribution) mangaes to maintain interest by creating an unbelievably vivid sense of location -- here the craggy wasteland at the end of the earth -- as well as by bringing Prometheus to life with lines and speeches -- particularly his first speech -- whichh achieve the level of grandeur required by the stark and primal mythic moment enacted onstage.
The Greek used by the playwright is somewhat stiff and archaic-sounding when compared to that of Sophocles, but rather than being a defect, it is actually perfectly suited to the hard, stony character of the place and the person at the centre of the play.

In addition to being beautifully written, the play is of interest to a modern reader by virtue of the fact that in it you find addressed one of burning themes of contemproary thought: the nature of technology. I for one was quite fascinated by the very Greek, very un-modern treatment of the issue of technology. The play underscored for me the importance of avoiding an overly melodramatic thinking about technology (i.e., technology is all evil vs. technology is all good) to something more ambiguous, more tragic, as it were.

In addition to high literary quality and contemporary interest, the play makes for a good first leap into the Greek of tragedy because of the relative simplicity of the language. Overall, sentences are simpler in structure than those found in the plays of Sophocles or Aeschylus. The vocabulary didn't feel quite as dense as that in other tragedies and there did not seem to me to be as many 'odd' usages of words or as much syntactical fuzziness as is to be found in the other top-quality tragedies. Also, the play is well-preserved, so there is no plodding through hoeplessly mangled choral odes such as one finds in Agamemnon or The Bakhai. It was as easy to read if not easier than any play of Euripides.

The commentary serves its function admirably. It provides suitable help to learners that enables them to better make sense of the text. Unfortunately, the Cambridge series is somehwat uneven in the quality of its commentaries in this regard of the Greek sentences being read. For example, the commentary for Sophocles' Oedipus Rex in this series is woefully deficient in assisting the student understand the Greek.

Overall an excellent purchase for someone new to Greek tragedy or to more seasoned readers seeking to refresh their acquaintance with this beautiful play.

About the Heritage Press Edition in Slipcase
This review is concerns the Heritage Press edition of 1966.

Housed in a matte, pumpkin-colored slipcase. Black machine-tooled cloth with gold details with a sewn binding.

Preface and translation of the Aeschylus by Rex Warner. End Note by Mrs. Shelley. 161 pp on ivory paper with 16 full page Farleigh illustrations.

An understated yet impressive design.

Another Quality Piece of Work from Heritage
This review is concerns the Heritage Press edition of 1966.

Housed in a matte, pumpkin-colored slipcase. Black machine-tooled cloth with gold details with a sewn binding.

Preface and translation of the Aeschylus by Rex Warner. End Note by Mrs. Shelley. 161 pp on ivory paper with 16 full page Farleigh illustrations.

An understated yet impressive design.
... Read more

Product Description
Contents:AgamemnonThe ChoephoriEumenidesThe PersiansPrometheus BoundThe Seven Against ThebesThe Suppliants ... Read more

Product Description
edited with an introduction, translation and commentary by A J Podlecki The play's title figure has long held a central place in the 'libertarian' stream of Western culture, but controversies continue to swirl about the work and its hero. What are we to make of Prometheus's extravagant claims? Was he, as he insists, the only force that stood between the human race and extinction? Can Zeus really have been as misanthropic as his adversary paints him? Are we, in short, to think of Prometheus as a genuine hero, or merely as a megalomaniac rebel without sufficient cause? As for the play itself, the present editor, flying in the face of current orthodoxy, takes the view that the case against Aeschylean authorship has not been established. But this lingering doubt should do nothing to diminish its stature as a masterpiece of ancient Greek dramaturgy. ... Read more

Product Description
The Persae is the oldest of surviving plays and its subject matter is unique in ancient drama, since it is concerned with a recent historical event, the defeat of the Persians at Salamis; yet before the publication of this work in 1960, there had been no edition suitable for university students and scholars. This major edition - the first to be attempted on such a scale - incorporated much material that former editions had neglected, including a number of textual suggestions and elucidations. In his introduction, Dr Broadhead assesses the Persae as a work of dramatic art, considers how far Aeschylus' patriotism has coloured his presentation of the tragedy, discusses the possibility that the play is part of a tetralogy, and reviews the evidence for a Sicilian text. He also explains the principles followed in establishing the text, which is accompanied by select critical notes. There is a full-scale commentary, which takes account of the scholarship that was current when this volume was first published. The appendices form an important supplement, and include a conspectus of metres; notes on spirit raising, the tragic kommos, and Persian names; and an account of the battle of Salamis. ... Read more

Product Description
A new, accurate, and readable translation of four of Aeschylus' plays: Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Suppliants, and Prometheus Bound. It is based upon the most authoritative recent edition of the Greek text and particular care is taken with the many lyric passages. A lengthy introduction sets the plays in their original context, and includes short appreciative essays on them. The explanatory notes treat dramatic issues, structure and form, and theatrical aspects, as well as details of content and language. Major difficulties in the texts themselves, which affect general interpretation, are briefly discussed. The volume as a whole should provide an informative, reliable, and suggestive basis for study and enjoyment. ... Read more

Product Description

Aeschylus (ca. 525–456 BCE), the dramatist who made Athenian tragedy one of the world’s great art forms, witnessed the establishment of democracy at Athens and fought against the Persians at Marathon. He won the tragic prize at the City Dionysia thirteen times between ca. 499 and 458, and in his later years was probably victorious almost every time he put on a production, though Sophocles beat him at least once.

Of his total of about eighty plays, seven survive complete. The third volume of this edition collects all the major fragments of lost Aeschylean plays.

Customer Reviews (1)

The Closest we can get to the Master!
This new Loeb edition is newly translated (in 2008) by classisist Alan Sommerstein.

Sommerstein does a great job of presenting all the fragments, without the out of date language of the old Loeb editions and gives all the historical data pertaining to each of them.

77 lost plays are discussed with their known summaries and fragments attributed to them.And as with all Loeb editions it includes the original Greek text on the facing page.

Headings include:

-Preface
-Introduction
-Abbreviations
-ATTRIBUTED FRAGMENTS (77 PLAYS)
-Unattributed Fragments
-Probable Aeschylean Papyrus Fragments
-Doubtfully Ascribed Fragments
-Concordance
-Index

This is the only compilation that deals with the complete fragments and summaries of the lost plays of Aeschylus...bringing us ever closer to secret world of that Master of Masters of the Ancient World!An amazing Loeb edition! ... Read more

Product Description

Aeschylus (ca. 525–456 BCE), author of the first tragedies existing in European literature, was an Athenian born at Eleusis. He served at Marathon against Darius in 490, and again during Xerxes' invasion, 480–479. Between 478 and 467 he visited Sicily, there composing by request Women of Aetna. At Athens he competed in production of plays more than twenty times, and was rewarded on at least thirteen occasions, becoming dominant between 500 and 458 through the splendour of his language and his dramatic conceptions and technique.

Of his total of 80–90 plays seven survive complete. The Persians (472), the only surviving Greek historical drama, presents the failure of Xerxes to conquer Greece. Seven against Thebes (467) was the second play of its trilogy of related plays on the evil fate of the Theban House. Polyneices tries to regain Thebes from his brother Eteocles; both are killed. In Suppliant Maidens, the first in a trilogy, the daughters of Danaus arrive with him at Argos, whose King and people save them from the wooing of the sons of their uncle Aegyptus. In Prometheus Bound, first or second play of its trilogy about Prometheus, he is nailed to a crag, by order of Zeus, for stealing fire from heaven for men. Defiant after visitors' sympathy and despite advice, he descends in lightning and thunder to Hell. The Oresteia (458), on the House of Atreus, is the only Greek trilogy surviving complete. In Agamemnon, the King returns from Troy, and is murdered by his wife Clytaemnestra. In Libation-Bearers, Orestes with his sister avenges their father Agamemnon's death by counter-murder. In Eumenides, Orestes, harassed by avenging Furies, is arraigned by them at Athens for matricide. Tried by a court set up by Athena, he is absolved, but the Furies are pacified.

We publish in Volume I four plays; and in Volume II the Oresteia and some fragments of lost plays.

Customer Reviews (2)

A solid Greek text with English, but not a very readable translation.
This book's primary virtue is that it makes a good Greek text available in compact form with a useable English translation side-by-side. That's very handy for students of the Greek. People who are more interested in experiencing the play in English should seek out a more recent translation, such as that of Lattimore. The Smyth translation is very scholarly and very 19th century; most modern readers find it accurate, but stilted.

Classic Drama at its Best
As the inventor of tragedy, Aeschylus gives us a masterful example of classic Greek tragedy in the Oresteia. His famous trilogy is offered in the original Greek, side by side with Herbert Weir Smyth's inspiring English translation. With earthy metaphors and a storm of emotion, this volume cannot fail to excite. ... Read more

Product Description
AeschylusPersians is the earliest extant Greek tragedy and sole surviving historical tragedy. It tells the story of the defeat of the Persian king Xerxes and his return in rags to Persia to face the condemnation of his elders. The first product of the Western imagination to represent the causes and limits of imperialist conquest, the play is unflinching in its depiction of the horrors of a defeated invasion and the glory of a successful defence. But it is not merely a paean to Western freedom, democracy, courage and technological supremacy; it is a meditation on the tendency of wealth, power and success to take on a momentum of their own and to push societies to the brink of ruin. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more