Aeschylus
Monarch Notes
01-01-1963
The Suppliant Maidens (circa 490 B.C.)
Background:
The Suppliant Maidens is generally considered to be the earliest extant
Greek drama, and is commonly thought to have been first produced in about 490
B.C. A recently discovered papyrus seems to indicate, however, that this play
was not produced until after 470. If this is correct, then it would appear
that Aeschylus wrote the play about twenty years before he staged it, for the
style of The Suppliant Maidens is quite archaic compared to that of The
Persians, which was produced in 472. Irrespective of which play was produced
first, it seems apparent that The Suppliant Maidens remains the oldest
surviving Greek ...