5th century BCE Athens was blessed with three great tragedians: Aeschylus, Euripides (c. 484 - 407 BCE), and Sophocles (c. 496 - c. 406 BCE). The senior of the three, Aeschylus was born in Eleusis in c. 525 BCE. Aeschylus' father was Euphorion, and ancient sources claim the family belonged to the aristocracy. Living through the Persian wars, Aeschylus almost certainly participated in such famous and decisive battles as Marathon and Salamis. His brother Kynegeiros was killed in the former battle and his other sibling Ameinias fought at the latter. Aeschylus' epitaph, said to have been self-penned, stated nothing of his success as a playwright but only that he had fought at Marathon. These experiences and the transformation of Athens' political structure as it embarked on the road to democracy greatly influenced the playwrights' work.
