Four Plays of Aeschylus

Refuge at Argos, the aftermath of a naval defeat, and a threatened citadel give this collection its range of human and public conflict. E. D. A. Morshead translates four dramas by Aeschylus into English verse: The Suppliant Maidens, The Persians, The Seven Against Thebes, and Prometheus Bound. The introduction places the plays within the ancient practice of presenting linked dramas and explains their relationship to larger sequences.

In The Suppliant Maidens, the daughters of Danaus seek sanctuary after fleeing Egypt to escape a forced marriage. Their appeal raises a question for the king and people of Argos. The Persians brings the cost of war into the voices of Xerxes and a grieving chorus, whose exchanges turn political defeat into shared lament. Readers interested in Greek drama can compare the public decisions, appeals to divine power, and choral verse that shape these works, with the translator's introduction supplying historical and literary context.