Aeschylus, (525 BC/524 BC – 456 BC/455 BC) was a Greek playwright of the 6th century B.C.  Known as the founder of tragedy, he was the earliest of three Greek tragedians whose plays survive, the others being Sophocles and Euripides.

Many of Aeschylus' works were influenced by the Persian invasion of Greece, which took place during his lifetime. The war was so important to Greeks and to Aeschylus himself that, upon his death around 456 BC, his epitaph included a reference to his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon but not to his success as a playwright