Ten Times Aeschylus Trivia Quiz

Answer: "The Oresteia" by Aeschylus

The trilogy (three tragedies plus a lighter satyr drama) was a typical form of presentation for the Greek dramatists. The plays were supposed to form a cycle and be related to each other as far as the plot goes, but, especially in later drama (cf. Euripides) it wasn't always true.

Answer: All the answers are true

While in the majority of his dramas Aeschylus presents Zeus as a supreme, wise and perfect king of gods and men, in "Prometheus Unbound" the lord of Olympus resembles rather a tyrant ruler, with no mercy and no respect for others, whether gods or men.

This discrepancy between normal Aeschylean treatment of the god and his portrayal in "Prometheus" is a source of constant scholarly debate, leading some specialists into believing that "Prometheus" isn't in fact a genuine work of Aeschylus!

Answer: The Danaids

The Danaids, daughters of king Danaos, run away from unwanted marriages with their cousins, the sons of Aegyptos. In Aeschylus' play we see them seeking refuge in Argos. They did not succeed and soon, forced to marry, all but one murdered their husbands on the wedding night.

The Nymphs are lesser deities of nature; the Heliades are unhappy sisters of Phaeton; and the Amazons would rather fight than be suppliant and seek help!

Answer: Xerxes

Darius is the character that actually appears on stage, but it is his son Xerxes who leads the doomed expedition. Cambyses was a Persian king and successor to Cyrus the Great. Sosthanes is one of the Persian commanders mentioned in the prologue.

Answer: sons of Oedipus

Eteocles and Polynices, the sons of Oedipus, killed each other over the right to reign in Thebes. The conflict about Polynices' burial is well-known from Sophocles' "Antigone"; Antigone, as far as the myth goes, had no sons; Creon had only one son, Haemon; Danaos had 50 daughters, the Danaids.

Answer: Together with her lover Aegisthus she murders him

Clytemnestra, even though she's furious because of Iphigenia and even though Cassandra is hysterically scared of her, keeps a straight face - at least until her husband goes to take a bath... It is in the bathroom that he is brutally murdered by his "loving" wife and her lover and his own cousin, Aegisthus.

Answer: She sees the lock of his hair put on their father's grave

The recognition scene (anagnorismos) from "Libation Bearers", with Electra seeing a lock of her brother's hair on the grave of Agamemnon and thus guessing that Orestes must have returned, was both admired and criticised by ancient writers. Its paraphrasis one can find in Euripides' "Electra": the title character sees the same signs but dismisses them as improbable and illogical (Couldn't siblings have different hair colours?, she comments soberly).

Answer: All the answers are true

The main topic of "Eumenides" is the problem of Orestes' guilt and the conflict between old (Erinyes) and new (Apollo, Athena) gods. In the end, the old goddesses get defeated, but, at the same time, appeased: given a new name, The Kindly Ones, they are about to be venerated specially in Athens. Peace among men is mirrored by peace among gods.

Answer: In "The Persians", when the spirit of king Darius is summoned by his widow and elders

This famous scene in "The Persians" is the only spirit-summoning scene in the remaining dramas of Aeschylus. In "Libation Bearers" Electra and Orestes pray to their father. In "Agamemnon" Cassandra does foretell his doom, but she is very much alive then. In "Seven", the curse was already on the brothers when the war was starting.

Answer: Yes

Aristophanes disliked Euripides and made him a chief object of his satire in "Frogs". Conversely, the serious and grandiose Aeschylus was presented as the master of stage, worthy of being resurrected and brought back to Athens to teach his compatriots with his plays.