Aeschylus

Aeschylus (c. 525–456 BC) was the earliest of the three great tragic poets of Athens whose plays survive. Born at Eleusis, he fought against the Persians at Marathon and probably at Salamis, and his epitaph recalled his soldiering rather than his plays. He is said to have added a second actor to the stage, making true dramatic dialogue possible, and he won first prize at the City Dionysia many times. Seven of his tragedies survive, among them The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus Bound, whose authorship is debated, and the Oresteia trilogy. He died at Gela in Sicily.