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. Aeschylus is a towering figure in western literature, the first of the great Greek playwrights, a dramatist whose work still has the power to inspire and terrify readers and theatre-goers alike. The four plays in this volume demonstrate the full range and depth of Aeschylus's genius. Persians is the only surviving tragedy to draw on contemporary history, the Greeks' extraordinary victory over Persia in 480 BC. In Seven Against Thebes, a royal family is cursed with self-destruction, in a remorseless tragedy that anticipates the grandeur of the later Oresteia. Suppliants portrays the wretched plight of the daughters of Danaus, fleeing from enforced marriage. And in the hugely influential Prometheus Bound, Prometheus is relentlessly persecuted by Zeus for benefitting mankind in defiance of the god. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.