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A review by lux13
Prometheus Bound and Other Plays by Aeschylus
3.0
The 3 star rating is for the translation and this particular edition . Not necessarily for the plays themselves .
Prometheus bound - I love that this explored Gods in a different light . What do we call Gods ? Especially when they do more harm than good . Prometheus has always been a figure cloaked in mystery and misery for me and this somehow added to his enigma . Io's has one of the saddest stories ever even by Ancient Greek standard . Her opening speech was particularly powerful and heart wrenchingly beautiful .
Suppliants - Definitely a play that is different in tone than the other ones . I found it ironic that the Danaids are asking mainly for the help of Zeus FROM rapists . The suffering he and Hera caused Io ( Their ancestor ) was just too raw in my mind . Anyway , this was interesting . The way Pelasgus handled everything was fun to witness .
Seven against Thebes - Possibly my favorite from this collection . This was so moving and beautiful . The way the events unfolded mirrored the way they did in Oedipus the king . The way Aeschylus questioned the idea of free will in myths was in contrast to Sophocles . And Antigone and Ismene's mourning was beautifully rendered . The way the chorus split away at the end !! I fell for this play tbh.
Persians - This was unique . Instead of a myth or a legend , actual history is the main focus here . I loved the little parts where Athens is praised . We can actually see the author trying to please the group of Athenians sitting in front of him . As a whole , this was informative and enjoyable .
Thoughts on the collection - I didn't really like this edition because the notes were lacking in content . I also didn't enjoy the writing that much . So I'm going to try out different editions and translations .
Prometheus bound - I love that this explored Gods in a different light . What do we call Gods ? Especially when they do more harm than good . Prometheus has always been a figure cloaked in mystery and misery for me and this somehow added to his enigma . Io's has one of the saddest stories ever even by Ancient Greek standard . Her opening speech was particularly powerful and heart wrenchingly beautiful .
Suppliants - Definitely a play that is different in tone than the other ones . I found it ironic that the Danaids are asking mainly for the help of Zeus FROM rapists . The suffering he and Hera caused Io ( Their ancestor ) was just too raw in my mind . Anyway , this was interesting . The way Pelasgus handled everything was fun to witness .
Seven against Thebes - Possibly my favorite from this collection . This was so moving and beautiful . The way the events unfolded mirrored the way they did in Oedipus the king . The way Aeschylus questioned the idea of free will in myths was in contrast to Sophocles . And Antigone and Ismene's mourning was beautifully rendered . The way the chorus split away at the end !! I fell for this play tbh.
Persians - This was unique . Instead of a myth or a legend , actual history is the main focus here . I loved the little parts where Athens is praised . We can actually see the author trying to please the group of Athenians sitting in front of him . As a whole , this was informative and enjoyable .
Thoughts on the collection - I didn't really like this edition because the notes were lacking in content . I also didn't enjoy the writing that much . So I'm going to try out different editions and translations .