The commencement of this
tragedy is somewhat languid, but as the play proceeds
all is movement und feeling.
tragedy is somewhat languid, but as the play proceeds
all is movement und feeling.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
This celebrated cause, after having been
delaved for some time in consequence of the troubles
attendant on the death of Philip, was at last brought
to a hearing. Ability and eloquence was displayed on
both sides, but the palm was won by Demosthenes;
and his rival, being found guilty of having brought an
unjust accusation, was obliged to undergo the punish-
ment he had intended for Ctesiphon, and was banished
from his country. It is stated by Photius (Biblioth. ,
vol. 2. p. 493, erf. Bckker), that . Eschines, when ho
lefc Athens, was followed and assisted by Demosthe-
nes, and that, upon the latter's offering him consolation,
he replied, "How shall I be able to bear my exile
from a city, in which I leave behind me enemies more
generous than it is possible to find friends in any other! "
Plutarch, however, ascribes this very answer to De-
mosthenes, when his opponents made arsimilar offer to
him as he was departing from Athens into exile, . Es-
diines retired to Asia with the intention of presenting
himself before Alexander; but the death of that mon-
arch compelled him to change his views, and take up
lis residence at Rhodes. Here he opened a school of
eloquence, ami commenced his lectures by reading the
two orations which had been the occasion of his banish-
ment. His hearers loudly applauded his own speech;
but when he came to that of Demosthenes, they were
thrown into transports of admiration. "What would
you have said," exclaimed . Eschines, according to the
common account, "had you heard Demosthenes him-
self pronounce this oration! " The statement of Pho-
thu, however, is different from this, and certainly more
probable. The auditors of . Eschines at Rhodes ex-
? ? pressed, as he informs us, their surprise that a man of
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? vESCHYLUS.
jESCHYLUS.
and the Arundel Marbles. ) Pausanias (1, 14) records
a story of his boy hood, professedly on the authority of
the poet himself, that, having fallen asleep while watch-
ing the clusters of grapes in a vineyard, Bacchus ap-
peared to him, and bade him tum his attention to tragic
composition. This account, if true, shows that his
mind was, at a very early period, enthusiastically
struck with the exhibitions of the infant drama. An
impression like this, acting upon his fervid imagination,
would naturally produce such a dream as is described.
To this same origin must, no doubt, be traced the
common account relative to . fEschylus, that he was
accustomed to write under the influence of wine; and
in confirmation of which Lucian (Demosth. Encom. --
ed. Bip. --vol. 9, p. 144) cites the authority of Callis-
thenes, and AthcntBus (10, 33) that of Chameleon.
The inspiration of Bacchus, in such a case, can mean
nothing more than the true inspiration of poetry.
(Mohnike, Litt. der Gr. und Rom. , vol. 1, p. 359. )
At the age of twenty-five, -Eschylus made his first
public attempt as a tragic author, in the 70th Olympiad,
B. C. 499. (Suid. in klax---Clinton's Fasti Hellcn-
ici, p. 21, '2iled. ) The next notice which we have of
him is in the third year of the 72d Olympiad, B. C. 490,
when, along with his two celebrated brothers Cyneegi-
rus and Aminias, he was graced at Marathon with the
praises due to pre-eminent bravery, being then in his
35th year. (Marm. Arund. , No. 49. --\it. Anonym. )
Six years after that memorable battle, he gained his
first tragic victory. Four years after this was fought
the battle of Salamis, in which . Esrhylus took part
with his brother Aminias, to whose extraordinary valour
the upiorela were decreed. (Herod. , 8, 93. ? --Mlian,
Var. Hist. , 5, 19. ) In the following year he served in
the Athenian troops at Platsja. Eight years afterward
{. Argument, ad Pers. ) he gained the prize with a te-
tralogy, composed of the Persa, the Phineus, ,the
Glaucus Potnienns, and the Prometheus Ignifcr, a
satyric drama (or, to give their Greek titles, the lltp-
aai, Qivevc, TXaiiKoc Jlorvievc, and Tlpo/indeic nvpipo-
poc). The latter part of the poet's life is involved in
much obscurity. (Compare Blomjuld, ad Pers. Praf. ,
p. xxii. --Id. ad Arg. in Agamem. , p. xix. et xx. --Bockh,
de Grac. Trag. Princtp. , c. 4, seqq. ) That he quitted
Athens and died in Sicily, is agreed on all hands, but
the time and cause of his departure are points of
doubt and conjecture. It seems that . Eschylus had
laid himself open to a charge of profanation, by too
boldly introducing on the stage something connected
with the mysteries. According to Clemens Alcxan-
drinus, he was tried and acquitted of the charge (Iv
'Apeiifi rrdyip npiBelc, ovruc d<peia0n, iiridci$ac:, aiiTuv
pa) /ie/ivnfiivov. --Clem. Alex. , Strom. , 2. ) The more
romantic narrative of ^Elian (Var. Hist. , 5, 19) informs
os, that the Athenians stood ready to stone him to
death, when his brother Aminias, who interceded for
him, dexterously dropped his robe and showed the stump
of his own arm lost at the battle of Salamis. This act of
fraternal affection and presence of mind had the desired
effect on the quick and impulsive temper of the Athe-
nians, and . . Eschylus was pardoned. But the peril
which he had encountered, the dread of a multitude
ever merciless in their superstitions, indignation at the
treatment which he had received, joined, in all likeli-
hood, to feelings of vexation and jealousy at witnessing
the preference occasionally given to young and aspi-
ring rivals, were motives sufficiently powerful to induce
? ? the proud-spirited poet to abandon his native city, and
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
AESCHYLUS.
marinl character, which was also so contrived as to
give power aud distinctness to the voice. He paid
great attention to the choral dances, and invented sev-
eral figure-dances himself. Among his other improve-
ment^ is mentioned the introduction of a practice,
which subsequently became established as a Axed and
essential rule, the removal of all deeds of bloodshed
and murder from tVio public view (Philostr. , Vit.
ApoUon. , 6, 11), a rule only violated on one occasion,
namely, by Sophocles in his play of the Ajax. In
short, so many and so important were the alterations
and additions of -? schy lus, that he was considered by
the Athenians as the 'jFalher of Tragedy (Philostr. , I.
<<. ), and, as a mark of" distinguished honour paid to
Jus merits, they passed a decree, after his death, that
a chorus should be allowed to any poet who chose to
re-exhibit the dramas of -Eschylus. (Philostr. , I. e. )
Aristophanes alludes to this custom of re-exhibiting
the plays of ^Eschylus in the opening of the Acharni-
ans (r. 9. se/]q). Quintilian, however (10, 1), assigns
a very different reason for this practice, and makes it
to have been adopted for the purpose of presenting
these dramas^jn a more correct form than that in which
they were left by the author himself. What authority-
be had for such an assertion, does not now appear.
In philosophical sentiments, . Eschylus is said to have
been a Pythagorean. < Cic. , Tnse. Duip. , 2. 9. ) In his
extant dramas the tenets of this sect may occasionally
be traced; as, deep veneration in what concerns the
gods (Agamem. , 371), high regard for the sanctity of
an oath and the nuptial bond (Eumen. , 217), the im-
mortality of the soul (Chocph. , 321), the origin of
names from imposition and not from nature (Agamem. ,
682 Prom. Vtncl. , 84, 742), the importance of num-
bers (Prom. Vinci. , 468), the science of physiognomy
(Aa-aa-m. , 797), the sacred character of suppliants
isZpo'. 351. -- Eumen. , 233), &c. . Eschylus, ob-
serves Schlegel (Dram. Xi/. ,p. 135, M717), must be con-
sider? I as the creator of tragedy; it sprang forth from
his head in complete armour, like Minerva from the brain
of Jove. He clothed it as became its dignity, and not
onlv instructed the chorus in the song and the dance,
but'came forward himself as an actor. (Athcnteus, 1.
22 ) He sketches characters with a few bold and
powerful strokes. His plots are extremely simple.
He had not yet arrived at the art of splitting an action
into parts numerous and rich, and distributing their
complication and denouement into well-proportioned
step* Hence in his writings there often arises a ces-
sation of action, which he makes us feel still more by
his unreasonably long choruses. But, on the other
hand, all his poetry displays a lofty and grave disposi-
tion No soft emotions, but terror alone remains in
him the head of Medusa is held up before the petrified
spectators. His method of considering destiny is ex-
tremely harsh; it hovers over mortals in all its gloomy
magnificence. The buskin of . Eschylus has, as it
were, the weight of brass; on it none but gigantic
forms stalk before us. It almost seems to cost him
an effort to paint mere men; he frequently brings gods
in the sta^e, particularly the Titans, those ancient
deitiei who'shailow forth the dark primeval powers of
nature and who had long been driven into Tartarus,
beneath a world governed in tranquillity. In con-
formity with the standard of his dramatis persona? , he
jerks to swell out the language which they employ to
? colossal size; hence there arise rugged compound
? ? words, an over-multitude of epithets, and often an ex-
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
^SCULAPIUS.
<<n the events which preceded it, viz. , the " Laius," the
"CEdipus," and the "Sphinx. " Some critics, how-
ever, make the last to have been a satyric drama.
--3. Tlipaai (" The Persians"). This piece is so
called because the chorus is composed of aged Per-
sians. The subject is purely an historical one: it is
the defeat of the naval armament of Xerxes. This
play was performed eight years after the battle of Sal-
amis, and it has been considered by some a defect
that so recent an event should have been represented
on the stage. But, as Racine has remarked in the
preface to Bajazet, distance of place supplies the want
of distance of time. The scene is laid at Susa, be-
fore the ancient structure appropriated to the great
council of state, and near the tomb of Darius. The
shade of this monarch comes forth from the sepulchre,
for the purpose of counselling Xerxes to cease from
the war against a people whom the gods protect. The
piece contains great beauties; every instant the trouble
of the Persians increases, and the interest augments.
By some it has been supposed to have been written
witu a political i ;tent, the poet endeavouring, by an
animated description of the pernicious effects of an
obstinate pride, and by filling the spectators with a
malignant compassion for the vanquished Xerxes, in-
diicctly disposing them to break off the war which
The'mistocIcK wished to prolong. -- 4. 'Ayaftt/ivuv
(" Agamemnon"). This prince, returning from the
siege of Troy with his female captive Cassandra, is as-
sassinated by Clytemnestra and . . Egisthus. The part
of Cassandra, who predicts the woes that are about to
fall upon the house of Agamemnon, forms the chief
interest of the piece, and is one of the finest that has
ever been conceived.
The commencement of this
tragedy is somewhat languid, but as the play proceeds
all is movement und feeling. -- 5. Xorjitiopot (" The
Choephorae"). This drama is so entitled, because the
chorus, composed of female Trojan captives, slaves of
Clytemnestra, are charged with the office of bringing
the liquor for making libations at the tomb of Agamem-
non (xmh a liliation, and tyipu, tobring). The subject of
the piece is Orestes avenging the death of Agamemnon
on Clytemnestra and her paramour. When this horri-
ble deed has been accomplished, the parricide is deliv-
ered over to the Furies, who disturb his reason.
"The spirit of . Eschylus," observes Potter, "shines
through this tragedy; but a certain softening of grief
hangs over it, and gives it an air of solemn magnifi-
cence. " The characters of Orestes and Eleclra arc
finely supported. --6. F. i/ieviiec (" The Eumenides,"
or "Furies"). This play derives its name from the
circumstance of the chorus being composed of Furies
who pursue Orestes. The latter pleads his cause be-
fore the Areopagus, and is acquitted by the vote of
Minerva. This drama is remarkable for its violation
of the unity of place, the scene being first laid at Del-
phi and afterward at Athens. Muller has written a
very able work on the scope and character of this pro-
duction, in which he discusses incidentally some of
the most important points connected with the Greek
drama. As regards the object which the poet had in
view when composing the piece, he considers it to be
a political one. /Eschylus was a zealous partisan of
Aristides, and opponent of Themistoclcs, and evident
symptoms of this partiality arc to be found in some of
his plays. As an Athenian citizen and patriot, the
poet on every occasion recommends to his countrymen
? ? temperance and moderation in their enjoyment of dem-
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? -ESCULAPIUS
. ESCULAPIUS.
Information respecting the unfaithfulness of Coronis,
from a raven, and the angry deity is said by Apollodo-
rus to have changed the colour of the raven from white
to black, as a punishment for his unwelcome onicious-
ne&s. As Coronis, in Greek, signifies a crow, hence
another table arose that . Esculapius had sprung from
an egg of that bird, under the figure of a serpent. The
first of the accounts given by Pausanias makes the
birthplace of . Esculapius to have been on the borders
of the Epidaurian territory; the second lays the scene
tnThessaly; the third inMessenia. -Esculapius was
placed, at an early age, under tho care of the centaur
Chiron. Being of a quick and lively genius, he made
-. 1:1 progress as soon to become not only a great phy-
sician, but at length to be reckoned the god and invent-
or of medicine, though the Greeks, not very careful of
consistency in the history of those early ages, gave to
Apis, son of Phoroneus, the glory of having invented
the healing art. -E. soulapius accompanied Jason in
his expedition to Colchis, and in his medical capacity-
was of great service to the Argonauts. He married
Epione, whom some call Lampetia, by whom he had
two sons, Machaon and Jpodalirius, and four daughters,
Hygiea, -Egle, Panacea, and Iaso, of whom Hygiea,
goddess of health, was themost celebrated. In the fab-
uloos traditions . if ant iiju ity, . Esculapius is said to have
restored many to life. According to Apollodorus (3,
10, 3), he received front* Minerva the blood that flow-
ed from the veins of -Medusa, and with that which pro-
ceeded from the veins on tho left, he operated to the
destruction of men, whilo he used that which was ob-
tained from the veins on the right for the benefit of
his fellow-creatures. (Compare Heyne, ad Ajxdlod. ,
I. e. ) With this last he brought back to the light of
dav Capaneus and Lycurgus, according to some, or
Eriphvle and Hippolytus according to others, or, as
other ancient authorities state, Hymemeus, and Glau-
? M the son of Minos. Jupiter, alarmed at this, and
tearing, savs Apollodorus, lest men, being put in pos-
itiii j:i of the means of triumphing over death, might
cease to render honour to the gods, struck-Esculapius
with thunder. The common account makes this to
have been done on the complaint of Pluto. Apollo,
enra red at the loss of his son, destroyed the Cyclopes
who h^d forged the thunderbolts of Jove, for which
? -T? :. ? :? ' the monarch of the skies was about to hurl
him into Tartarus, but, on the supplication of l. atona,
banished him for a season from Ulympus, and compel-
led him to serve with a mortal (rid. Admetus and
Amphrvsus). Thus far we have traced the Greek ac-
counts respecting; . /Esculapius. If. however, a careful
inquiry be instituted, the result will be a decided con-
viction that the legend of . "Esculapius is one of Orient-
al orhrin. According to Sanchoniathoa, . /Esculapius
was the same with the Phoenician Esmun, the son of
Svdyk called " the just," and the brother of tho seven
Cahiri. 'Hanchon. , Frnp. , ap. Euscb. , Prap. Evang. ,
p. 33 Cory'* Ancient Fragments, p. 13. ) Hence
the meaning of Esmun, which signifies >>' the eighth. "
(Compare the Schmoun, or Mendcs, of Egypt. ) The
seven < '-abiri are the seven planets; and, in the Egyp-
tian mvtholosrv, Phtha is added to them as tho eighth.
Phtha and . Esculapius. then, arc identical, and the lat-
ter yfce the former, though added to tho number of the
becomes in a mysterious sense their parent and
gaid? (Crcuzer's Symbolik, vol. 2, p. 285 and 336. )
In Esmun--Esculapius. then, we have a solar deity,
? ? personified in his beauty and his weakness, for he is
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? ^ESCULAPIUS.
jESE
temple at Epidaurus for the purpose of sleeping there-
in, and recovering health by the means which the god
of health would indicate in a dream to the invalids.
(Compare Sprengcl, Gesch. dcr Median. , vol. 1, p. 107.
seqq. ) The ancient . Esculapius, introduced at an
early period into the religion of Samothrace, appeared
at first in Greece under a form closely assimilated to
that of the vase-gods, dwarfs, or pigmies, that were
accustomed to be enveloped in garments, and to which
was attributed a magic influence. (Crcuzer's Sym-
bolik, par Guigniaut, vol. 2, p. 310, seqq. ) In these
mysterious idols, the richness of hidden meaning was
as great as the mode of decking the exterior was whim-
sical. The spirit of the old Pelasgic belief would
seem, however, to have been continually employed in
decomposing, as it were, this body of ideas united in
one particular symbol, and in individualizing each for
itself. It was thus that, by degrees, there arose round
the god of medicine a cortege of genii, of both sexes,
regarded either as his wives, or as his sons and daugh-
ters, or even as his grandchildren. In the sculptured
representations of . Esculapius, to which the develop-
ment of Grecian art had subsequently given birth, we
find the figure of Jove, a little modified, becoming the
model of this deity. And yet, though the Grecian
perception of the beautiful led them to deviate, in gen-
eral, from the grosser representations of the Pelasgic
worship, we find them, in the present case, still re-
taining an attachment for the ancient, and, at the same
time, more significant and mysterious images. Hence,
by the side of the new deity is placed one of his per-
sonified attributes, under the figure of an enveloped
dwarf. In every quarter, where the Asclepiades (rid.
that article) taught the principles of the healing art, or
cured diseases in the temples of their master and re-
puted father, . /Esculapius and his good genii were cel-
ebrated as saving divinities, on votive tablets, inscrip-
tions, medals, and gems. The Romans, too, in the
year of their city 461, in order to be delivered from a
pestilence, sent a solemn embassy to Epidaurus to ob-
tain the sacred serpent nourished at that place in the
temple of. 1 Esculapius. A temple was likewise erect-
ed to this deity on an island in the Tiber, where the
sacred reptile had disappeared among the reeds. (Val.
Max. , 1, 8,2. ) Not content with this, however, they
resolved to have also a family of Asclepiades, and they
pretended to have found it in the house of Acilius. --
The principal and most ancient temples of . Eseulapi-
us ('XoKAn^'uta), were those at Titano in Sicyonia
(Pausan. ,2,,11); atTricca inThessaly (Strabo,438);
at Tithorea in Phocis, where ho was revered under the
name of Archegctes (Pausan. , 10, 32); at Epidaurus
(Pausan. , 2, 26); in the island of Cos (Strabo, 657);
at Megalopolis (Pausan. , 8, 32); at Cyllene in Elis
(Pausan. , 6, 26); and at Pergamus in Asia Minor
(Pausan. , 2, 26). Among all these temples, that of
Epidaurus was at first the most celebrated, for it was
from this city that the worship of . Esculapius was car-
ried into Sicyonia, and also to Pergamus and Cyllene.
(Pausan. , 2, 10. ) It appears, however, that the tem-
ple of Cos became in time the most famous of all, since
the Epidaurians, on one occasion, sent deputies thither.
{Pausan. , 3, 23. ) At a more recent period, ^Egea, in
Cilicia, could boast of a temple of . Esculapius which
was held in high repute. It was here that Apollonius
of Tyana practised many of his impostures. (Philostr. ,
VU. Apollon. , 1, 7. ) Constantinc destroyed this tem-
? ? ple in his zeal for Christianity. (Euseb. , Vit. Con-
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? ^ESOPUS.
their firm adherence to the Roman power during the
war with Hannibal. It was subsequently recolonized
by Augustus and rs'ero (Front. , de Col. ), but Strabo
(239 and 249) makes it a very inconsiderable place,
having suffered _ materially in the Marsic war. The
modern Isernia is supposed to represent -Esernia.
-Esio*. Vid. Supplement.
-fisox, son of Cretheus and Tyro. He succeed-
ed h'u father in the kingdom of lolchos, but was de-
throned by his half-brother Pelias. . . "Eson became the
father, by Alciniede, of the celebrated Jason, the lead-
er of tha Argonauts. Through fear of the usurper,
Jason was intrusted to the care of the centaur Chiron,
and brought up at a distance from the court of Pelias.
On his arriving at manhood, however, he came to Iol-
chos. according to one account, to claim his inherit-
ance; but, according to another, he was invited by Pe-
lias to attend a sacrifice to Neptune on the seashore.
The result of the interview, whatever may have been
the cause of it, was an order from Pelias to go in quest
of the golden fleece. ( Vid. Jason. ) During the ab-
sence of Jason on this well-known expedition, the tyr-
anny of Pelias, according to one version of the story,
drove . ? son and Alcimcues to self-destruction; an act
of cruelty, to which he was prompted by intelligence
having been received that all the Argonauts had perish-
ed, and by a consequent wish on his part to make him-
self doubly secure, by destroying the parents of Jason.
He put to death also their remaining child. (Apollod. ,
I, 9, 16, seqq. Dtod. Sic , 4,50. --tfygin. , 24. ) Ovid,
however, gives quite a different account of the latter
days -of vEson. According to the poet {Met. , 7, 297,
? '-? ',';)? Jason, on his return with Medea, found his
father . ? son still alive, but enfeebled by age; and the
Colehian enchantress, by drawing the blood from his
veins and then rilling them with the juices of certain
herbs which she had gathered for the purpose, restored
him to a manhood of forty years. The daughters of
Pelias having entreated Medea to perforin the same
operation on their aged father, she embraced this op-
portunity of avenging the wrongs inflicted on Jason
and his parents by the death of the usurper. {Vid.
Pelias. )
-? sovidk9, a patronymic of Jason, as being de-
scended from . -Eson
Jvsofus, I. a celebrated fabulist, who is supposed
to have flourished about 620 B. C.
delaved for some time in consequence of the troubles
attendant on the death of Philip, was at last brought
to a hearing. Ability and eloquence was displayed on
both sides, but the palm was won by Demosthenes;
and his rival, being found guilty of having brought an
unjust accusation, was obliged to undergo the punish-
ment he had intended for Ctesiphon, and was banished
from his country. It is stated by Photius (Biblioth. ,
vol. 2. p. 493, erf. Bckker), that . Eschines, when ho
lefc Athens, was followed and assisted by Demosthe-
nes, and that, upon the latter's offering him consolation,
he replied, "How shall I be able to bear my exile
from a city, in which I leave behind me enemies more
generous than it is possible to find friends in any other! "
Plutarch, however, ascribes this very answer to De-
mosthenes, when his opponents made arsimilar offer to
him as he was departing from Athens into exile, . Es-
diines retired to Asia with the intention of presenting
himself before Alexander; but the death of that mon-
arch compelled him to change his views, and take up
lis residence at Rhodes. Here he opened a school of
eloquence, ami commenced his lectures by reading the
two orations which had been the occasion of his banish-
ment. His hearers loudly applauded his own speech;
but when he came to that of Demosthenes, they were
thrown into transports of admiration. "What would
you have said," exclaimed . Eschines, according to the
common account, "had you heard Demosthenes him-
self pronounce this oration! " The statement of Pho-
thu, however, is different from this, and certainly more
probable. The auditors of . Eschines at Rhodes ex-
? ? pressed, as he informs us, their surprise that a man of
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? vESCHYLUS.
jESCHYLUS.
and the Arundel Marbles. ) Pausanias (1, 14) records
a story of his boy hood, professedly on the authority of
the poet himself, that, having fallen asleep while watch-
ing the clusters of grapes in a vineyard, Bacchus ap-
peared to him, and bade him tum his attention to tragic
composition. This account, if true, shows that his
mind was, at a very early period, enthusiastically
struck with the exhibitions of the infant drama. An
impression like this, acting upon his fervid imagination,
would naturally produce such a dream as is described.
To this same origin must, no doubt, be traced the
common account relative to . fEschylus, that he was
accustomed to write under the influence of wine; and
in confirmation of which Lucian (Demosth. Encom. --
ed. Bip. --vol. 9, p. 144) cites the authority of Callis-
thenes, and AthcntBus (10, 33) that of Chameleon.
The inspiration of Bacchus, in such a case, can mean
nothing more than the true inspiration of poetry.
(Mohnike, Litt. der Gr. und Rom. , vol. 1, p. 359. )
At the age of twenty-five, -Eschylus made his first
public attempt as a tragic author, in the 70th Olympiad,
B. C. 499. (Suid. in klax---Clinton's Fasti Hellcn-
ici, p. 21, '2iled. ) The next notice which we have of
him is in the third year of the 72d Olympiad, B. C. 490,
when, along with his two celebrated brothers Cyneegi-
rus and Aminias, he was graced at Marathon with the
praises due to pre-eminent bravery, being then in his
35th year. (Marm. Arund. , No. 49. --\it. Anonym. )
Six years after that memorable battle, he gained his
first tragic victory. Four years after this was fought
the battle of Salamis, in which . Esrhylus took part
with his brother Aminias, to whose extraordinary valour
the upiorela were decreed. (Herod. , 8, 93. ? --Mlian,
Var. Hist. , 5, 19. ) In the following year he served in
the Athenian troops at Platsja. Eight years afterward
{. Argument, ad Pers. ) he gained the prize with a te-
tralogy, composed of the Persa, the Phineus, ,the
Glaucus Potnienns, and the Prometheus Ignifcr, a
satyric drama (or, to give their Greek titles, the lltp-
aai, Qivevc, TXaiiKoc Jlorvievc, and Tlpo/indeic nvpipo-
poc). The latter part of the poet's life is involved in
much obscurity. (Compare Blomjuld, ad Pers. Praf. ,
p. xxii. --Id. ad Arg. in Agamem. , p. xix. et xx. --Bockh,
de Grac. Trag. Princtp. , c. 4, seqq. ) That he quitted
Athens and died in Sicily, is agreed on all hands, but
the time and cause of his departure are points of
doubt and conjecture. It seems that . Eschylus had
laid himself open to a charge of profanation, by too
boldly introducing on the stage something connected
with the mysteries. According to Clemens Alcxan-
drinus, he was tried and acquitted of the charge (Iv
'Apeiifi rrdyip npiBelc, ovruc d<peia0n, iiridci$ac:, aiiTuv
pa) /ie/ivnfiivov. --Clem. Alex. , Strom. , 2. ) The more
romantic narrative of ^Elian (Var. Hist. , 5, 19) informs
os, that the Athenians stood ready to stone him to
death, when his brother Aminias, who interceded for
him, dexterously dropped his robe and showed the stump
of his own arm lost at the battle of Salamis. This act of
fraternal affection and presence of mind had the desired
effect on the quick and impulsive temper of the Athe-
nians, and . . Eschylus was pardoned. But the peril
which he had encountered, the dread of a multitude
ever merciless in their superstitions, indignation at the
treatment which he had received, joined, in all likeli-
hood, to feelings of vexation and jealousy at witnessing
the preference occasionally given to young and aspi-
ring rivals, were motives sufficiently powerful to induce
? ? the proud-spirited poet to abandon his native city, and
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
AESCHYLUS.
marinl character, which was also so contrived as to
give power aud distinctness to the voice. He paid
great attention to the choral dances, and invented sev-
eral figure-dances himself. Among his other improve-
ment^ is mentioned the introduction of a practice,
which subsequently became established as a Axed and
essential rule, the removal of all deeds of bloodshed
and murder from tVio public view (Philostr. , Vit.
ApoUon. , 6, 11), a rule only violated on one occasion,
namely, by Sophocles in his play of the Ajax. In
short, so many and so important were the alterations
and additions of -? schy lus, that he was considered by
the Athenians as the 'jFalher of Tragedy (Philostr. , I.
<<. ), and, as a mark of" distinguished honour paid to
Jus merits, they passed a decree, after his death, that
a chorus should be allowed to any poet who chose to
re-exhibit the dramas of -Eschylus. (Philostr. , I. e. )
Aristophanes alludes to this custom of re-exhibiting
the plays of ^Eschylus in the opening of the Acharni-
ans (r. 9. se/]q). Quintilian, however (10, 1), assigns
a very different reason for this practice, and makes it
to have been adopted for the purpose of presenting
these dramas^jn a more correct form than that in which
they were left by the author himself. What authority-
be had for such an assertion, does not now appear.
In philosophical sentiments, . Eschylus is said to have
been a Pythagorean. < Cic. , Tnse. Duip. , 2. 9. ) In his
extant dramas the tenets of this sect may occasionally
be traced; as, deep veneration in what concerns the
gods (Agamem. , 371), high regard for the sanctity of
an oath and the nuptial bond (Eumen. , 217), the im-
mortality of the soul (Chocph. , 321), the origin of
names from imposition and not from nature (Agamem. ,
682 Prom. Vtncl. , 84, 742), the importance of num-
bers (Prom. Vinci. , 468), the science of physiognomy
(Aa-aa-m. , 797), the sacred character of suppliants
isZpo'. 351. -- Eumen. , 233), &c. . Eschylus, ob-
serves Schlegel (Dram. Xi/. ,p. 135, M717), must be con-
sider? I as the creator of tragedy; it sprang forth from
his head in complete armour, like Minerva from the brain
of Jove. He clothed it as became its dignity, and not
onlv instructed the chorus in the song and the dance,
but'came forward himself as an actor. (Athcnteus, 1.
22 ) He sketches characters with a few bold and
powerful strokes. His plots are extremely simple.
He had not yet arrived at the art of splitting an action
into parts numerous and rich, and distributing their
complication and denouement into well-proportioned
step* Hence in his writings there often arises a ces-
sation of action, which he makes us feel still more by
his unreasonably long choruses. But, on the other
hand, all his poetry displays a lofty and grave disposi-
tion No soft emotions, but terror alone remains in
him the head of Medusa is held up before the petrified
spectators. His method of considering destiny is ex-
tremely harsh; it hovers over mortals in all its gloomy
magnificence. The buskin of . Eschylus has, as it
were, the weight of brass; on it none but gigantic
forms stalk before us. It almost seems to cost him
an effort to paint mere men; he frequently brings gods
in the sta^e, particularly the Titans, those ancient
deitiei who'shailow forth the dark primeval powers of
nature and who had long been driven into Tartarus,
beneath a world governed in tranquillity. In con-
formity with the standard of his dramatis persona? , he
jerks to swell out the language which they employ to
? colossal size; hence there arise rugged compound
? ? words, an over-multitude of epithets, and often an ex-
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? ^ESCHYLUS.
^SCULAPIUS.
<<n the events which preceded it, viz. , the " Laius," the
"CEdipus," and the "Sphinx. " Some critics, how-
ever, make the last to have been a satyric drama.
--3. Tlipaai (" The Persians"). This piece is so
called because the chorus is composed of aged Per-
sians. The subject is purely an historical one: it is
the defeat of the naval armament of Xerxes. This
play was performed eight years after the battle of Sal-
amis, and it has been considered by some a defect
that so recent an event should have been represented
on the stage. But, as Racine has remarked in the
preface to Bajazet, distance of place supplies the want
of distance of time. The scene is laid at Susa, be-
fore the ancient structure appropriated to the great
council of state, and near the tomb of Darius. The
shade of this monarch comes forth from the sepulchre,
for the purpose of counselling Xerxes to cease from
the war against a people whom the gods protect. The
piece contains great beauties; every instant the trouble
of the Persians increases, and the interest augments.
By some it has been supposed to have been written
witu a political i ;tent, the poet endeavouring, by an
animated description of the pernicious effects of an
obstinate pride, and by filling the spectators with a
malignant compassion for the vanquished Xerxes, in-
diicctly disposing them to break off the war which
The'mistocIcK wished to prolong. -- 4. 'Ayaftt/ivuv
(" Agamemnon"). This prince, returning from the
siege of Troy with his female captive Cassandra, is as-
sassinated by Clytemnestra and . . Egisthus. The part
of Cassandra, who predicts the woes that are about to
fall upon the house of Agamemnon, forms the chief
interest of the piece, and is one of the finest that has
ever been conceived.
The commencement of this
tragedy is somewhat languid, but as the play proceeds
all is movement und feeling. -- 5. Xorjitiopot (" The
Choephorae"). This drama is so entitled, because the
chorus, composed of female Trojan captives, slaves of
Clytemnestra, are charged with the office of bringing
the liquor for making libations at the tomb of Agamem-
non (xmh a liliation, and tyipu, tobring). The subject of
the piece is Orestes avenging the death of Agamemnon
on Clytemnestra and her paramour. When this horri-
ble deed has been accomplished, the parricide is deliv-
ered over to the Furies, who disturb his reason.
"The spirit of . Eschylus," observes Potter, "shines
through this tragedy; but a certain softening of grief
hangs over it, and gives it an air of solemn magnifi-
cence. " The characters of Orestes and Eleclra arc
finely supported. --6. F. i/ieviiec (" The Eumenides,"
or "Furies"). This play derives its name from the
circumstance of the chorus being composed of Furies
who pursue Orestes. The latter pleads his cause be-
fore the Areopagus, and is acquitted by the vote of
Minerva. This drama is remarkable for its violation
of the unity of place, the scene being first laid at Del-
phi and afterward at Athens. Muller has written a
very able work on the scope and character of this pro-
duction, in which he discusses incidentally some of
the most important points connected with the Greek
drama. As regards the object which the poet had in
view when composing the piece, he considers it to be
a political one. /Eschylus was a zealous partisan of
Aristides, and opponent of Themistoclcs, and evident
symptoms of this partiality arc to be found in some of
his plays. As an Athenian citizen and patriot, the
poet on every occasion recommends to his countrymen
? ? temperance and moderation in their enjoyment of dem-
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? -ESCULAPIUS
. ESCULAPIUS.
Information respecting the unfaithfulness of Coronis,
from a raven, and the angry deity is said by Apollodo-
rus to have changed the colour of the raven from white
to black, as a punishment for his unwelcome onicious-
ne&s. As Coronis, in Greek, signifies a crow, hence
another table arose that . Esculapius had sprung from
an egg of that bird, under the figure of a serpent. The
first of the accounts given by Pausanias makes the
birthplace of . Esculapius to have been on the borders
of the Epidaurian territory; the second lays the scene
tnThessaly; the third inMessenia. -Esculapius was
placed, at an early age, under tho care of the centaur
Chiron. Being of a quick and lively genius, he made
-. 1:1 progress as soon to become not only a great phy-
sician, but at length to be reckoned the god and invent-
or of medicine, though the Greeks, not very careful of
consistency in the history of those early ages, gave to
Apis, son of Phoroneus, the glory of having invented
the healing art. -E. soulapius accompanied Jason in
his expedition to Colchis, and in his medical capacity-
was of great service to the Argonauts. He married
Epione, whom some call Lampetia, by whom he had
two sons, Machaon and Jpodalirius, and four daughters,
Hygiea, -Egle, Panacea, and Iaso, of whom Hygiea,
goddess of health, was themost celebrated. In the fab-
uloos traditions . if ant iiju ity, . Esculapius is said to have
restored many to life. According to Apollodorus (3,
10, 3), he received front* Minerva the blood that flow-
ed from the veins of -Medusa, and with that which pro-
ceeded from the veins on tho left, he operated to the
destruction of men, whilo he used that which was ob-
tained from the veins on the right for the benefit of
his fellow-creatures. (Compare Heyne, ad Ajxdlod. ,
I. e. ) With this last he brought back to the light of
dav Capaneus and Lycurgus, according to some, or
Eriphvle and Hippolytus according to others, or, as
other ancient authorities state, Hymemeus, and Glau-
? M the son of Minos. Jupiter, alarmed at this, and
tearing, savs Apollodorus, lest men, being put in pos-
itiii j:i of the means of triumphing over death, might
cease to render honour to the gods, struck-Esculapius
with thunder. The common account makes this to
have been done on the complaint of Pluto. Apollo,
enra red at the loss of his son, destroyed the Cyclopes
who h^d forged the thunderbolts of Jove, for which
? -T? :. ? :? ' the monarch of the skies was about to hurl
him into Tartarus, but, on the supplication of l. atona,
banished him for a season from Ulympus, and compel-
led him to serve with a mortal (rid. Admetus and
Amphrvsus). Thus far we have traced the Greek ac-
counts respecting; . /Esculapius. If. however, a careful
inquiry be instituted, the result will be a decided con-
viction that the legend of . "Esculapius is one of Orient-
al orhrin. According to Sanchoniathoa, . /Esculapius
was the same with the Phoenician Esmun, the son of
Svdyk called " the just," and the brother of tho seven
Cahiri. 'Hanchon. , Frnp. , ap. Euscb. , Prap. Evang. ,
p. 33 Cory'* Ancient Fragments, p. 13. ) Hence
the meaning of Esmun, which signifies >>' the eighth. "
(Compare the Schmoun, or Mendcs, of Egypt. ) The
seven < '-abiri are the seven planets; and, in the Egyp-
tian mvtholosrv, Phtha is added to them as tho eighth.
Phtha and . Esculapius. then, arc identical, and the lat-
ter yfce the former, though added to tho number of the
becomes in a mysterious sense their parent and
gaid? (Crcuzer's Symbolik, vol. 2, p. 285 and 336. )
In Esmun--Esculapius. then, we have a solar deity,
? ? personified in his beauty and his weakness, for he is
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? ^ESCULAPIUS.
jESE
temple at Epidaurus for the purpose of sleeping there-
in, and recovering health by the means which the god
of health would indicate in a dream to the invalids.
(Compare Sprengcl, Gesch. dcr Median. , vol. 1, p. 107.
seqq. ) The ancient . Esculapius, introduced at an
early period into the religion of Samothrace, appeared
at first in Greece under a form closely assimilated to
that of the vase-gods, dwarfs, or pigmies, that were
accustomed to be enveloped in garments, and to which
was attributed a magic influence. (Crcuzer's Sym-
bolik, par Guigniaut, vol. 2, p. 310, seqq. ) In these
mysterious idols, the richness of hidden meaning was
as great as the mode of decking the exterior was whim-
sical. The spirit of the old Pelasgic belief would
seem, however, to have been continually employed in
decomposing, as it were, this body of ideas united in
one particular symbol, and in individualizing each for
itself. It was thus that, by degrees, there arose round
the god of medicine a cortege of genii, of both sexes,
regarded either as his wives, or as his sons and daugh-
ters, or even as his grandchildren. In the sculptured
representations of . Esculapius, to which the develop-
ment of Grecian art had subsequently given birth, we
find the figure of Jove, a little modified, becoming the
model of this deity. And yet, though the Grecian
perception of the beautiful led them to deviate, in gen-
eral, from the grosser representations of the Pelasgic
worship, we find them, in the present case, still re-
taining an attachment for the ancient, and, at the same
time, more significant and mysterious images. Hence,
by the side of the new deity is placed one of his per-
sonified attributes, under the figure of an enveloped
dwarf. In every quarter, where the Asclepiades (rid.
that article) taught the principles of the healing art, or
cured diseases in the temples of their master and re-
puted father, . /Esculapius and his good genii were cel-
ebrated as saving divinities, on votive tablets, inscrip-
tions, medals, and gems. The Romans, too, in the
year of their city 461, in order to be delivered from a
pestilence, sent a solemn embassy to Epidaurus to ob-
tain the sacred serpent nourished at that place in the
temple of. 1 Esculapius. A temple was likewise erect-
ed to this deity on an island in the Tiber, where the
sacred reptile had disappeared among the reeds. (Val.
Max. , 1, 8,2. ) Not content with this, however, they
resolved to have also a family of Asclepiades, and they
pretended to have found it in the house of Acilius. --
The principal and most ancient temples of . Eseulapi-
us ('XoKAn^'uta), were those at Titano in Sicyonia
(Pausan. ,2,,11); atTricca inThessaly (Strabo,438);
at Tithorea in Phocis, where ho was revered under the
name of Archegctes (Pausan. , 10, 32); at Epidaurus
(Pausan. , 2, 26); in the island of Cos (Strabo, 657);
at Megalopolis (Pausan. , 8, 32); at Cyllene in Elis
(Pausan. , 6, 26); and at Pergamus in Asia Minor
(Pausan. , 2, 26). Among all these temples, that of
Epidaurus was at first the most celebrated, for it was
from this city that the worship of . Esculapius was car-
ried into Sicyonia, and also to Pergamus and Cyllene.
(Pausan. , 2, 10. ) It appears, however, that the tem-
ple of Cos became in time the most famous of all, since
the Epidaurians, on one occasion, sent deputies thither.
{Pausan. , 3, 23. ) At a more recent period, ^Egea, in
Cilicia, could boast of a temple of . Esculapius which
was held in high repute. It was here that Apollonius
of Tyana practised many of his impostures. (Philostr. ,
VU. Apollon. , 1, 7. ) Constantinc destroyed this tem-
? ? ple in his zeal for Christianity. (Euseb. , Vit. Con-
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? ^ESOPUS.
their firm adherence to the Roman power during the
war with Hannibal. It was subsequently recolonized
by Augustus and rs'ero (Front. , de Col. ), but Strabo
(239 and 249) makes it a very inconsiderable place,
having suffered _ materially in the Marsic war. The
modern Isernia is supposed to represent -Esernia.
-Esio*. Vid. Supplement.
-fisox, son of Cretheus and Tyro. He succeed-
ed h'u father in the kingdom of lolchos, but was de-
throned by his half-brother Pelias. . . "Eson became the
father, by Alciniede, of the celebrated Jason, the lead-
er of tha Argonauts. Through fear of the usurper,
Jason was intrusted to the care of the centaur Chiron,
and brought up at a distance from the court of Pelias.
On his arriving at manhood, however, he came to Iol-
chos. according to one account, to claim his inherit-
ance; but, according to another, he was invited by Pe-
lias to attend a sacrifice to Neptune on the seashore.
The result of the interview, whatever may have been
the cause of it, was an order from Pelias to go in quest
of the golden fleece. ( Vid. Jason. ) During the ab-
sence of Jason on this well-known expedition, the tyr-
anny of Pelias, according to one version of the story,
drove . ? son and Alcimcues to self-destruction; an act
of cruelty, to which he was prompted by intelligence
having been received that all the Argonauts had perish-
ed, and by a consequent wish on his part to make him-
self doubly secure, by destroying the parents of Jason.
He put to death also their remaining child. (Apollod. ,
I, 9, 16, seqq. Dtod. Sic , 4,50. --tfygin. , 24. ) Ovid,
however, gives quite a different account of the latter
days -of vEson. According to the poet {Met. , 7, 297,
? '-? ',';)? Jason, on his return with Medea, found his
father . ? son still alive, but enfeebled by age; and the
Colehian enchantress, by drawing the blood from his
veins and then rilling them with the juices of certain
herbs which she had gathered for the purpose, restored
him to a manhood of forty years. The daughters of
Pelias having entreated Medea to perforin the same
operation on their aged father, she embraced this op-
portunity of avenging the wrongs inflicted on Jason
and his parents by the death of the usurper. {Vid.
Pelias. )
-? sovidk9, a patronymic of Jason, as being de-
scended from . -Eson
Jvsofus, I. a celebrated fabulist, who is supposed
to have flourished about 620 B. C.
