Some of you may recognize the name Aeschylus. He was a famous Greek playwright and philosopher around 500 BC. I was recently reminded of the impact he’s had on Western civilization while watching the Jack Ryan TV series (the one starring John Krasinski). During the third or fourth season, I was amazed when characters Jack Ryan and James Greer briefly discussed a quote from Aeschylus while they ate at a European diner. Both of these fictional characters are well educated, but neither had a degree in philosophy or creative writing: Jack Ryan earned a doctorate in economics while James Greer was a career Navy man.
So why Aeschylus? Well, for one thing Aeschylus wrote a lot; his work was influential, highly acclaimed, and won many awards in ancient Greece and Egypt. Around 500 BC, this poet, playwright, and philosopher wrote 70 to 90 plays and is considered the father of Greek tragedy.
I’ve always been interested in the Greek gods, especially since I wrote and published my story “Selene’s Replacement” (part of the Mirrored Realities anthology). My research led me to ancient authors who wrote about these godly figures, including Homer, Sophocles, Hesiod, Aeschylus, and Virgil. Corporate work pulled me away from research for a few years, but now I have time to dig into the legends of Hermes and Prometheus.
Study about the latter led me to a famous play about Prometheus written by Aeschylus. The original tale was written as three separate plays (Aeschylus invented the three-part form). The first play, Prometheus Bound, is the only part of his trilogy to survive intact. Even more striking, this famous play is one of only seven of the author’s numerous plays to survive abundant Mediterranean wars and the ravages of time.
And now, this ancient play is available worldwide on the Internet. Many authors, including Percy Shelley and Henry Thoreau, have taken a stab at translating Prometheus Bound into English. Three prominent translations have been narrated and are available as downloads on LibriVox. Will wonders never cease…
Okay, why am I writing about this? To remind authors that audio versions of our writing are the wave of the future, including nearly everything ever penned. Although Americans on the whole don’t read as much as we did sixty – even forty – years ago, a quarter of all Americans listened to one or more audiobooks in 2021. In addition, fifty percent of Americans have listened to at least one audiobook in their lifetime. Meanwhile, some ardent listeners (like myself) have over 1,500 audiobooks on an external drive.
I recommend that all authors consider the audiobook option for their published stories and books, especially since so many users now have both fiction and nonfiction audio files loaded onto their cellphones. That’s a huge prospective audience.
Back to Aeschylus, these are some online references for Prometheus Bound:
- About Prometheus Bound: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_Bound
- Prometheus Bound play in English text: https://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/aeschylus/prometheusboundhtml.html
- LibriVox recordings of works by Aeschylus: https://librivox.org/author/478?primary_key=478
Write on!
Ann
