Page:The Tragic Drama of the Greeks (1896).djvu/74

60 a portrait of Aeschylus on the following grounds. It is admittedly the work of the fifth century; it represents a bald man of thoughtful aspect, thus corresponding with the ancient descriptions; and it bears a general resemblance to the figure of Aeschylus in the gem. These reasons, no doubt, give a certain plausibility to the identification, but are manifestly far from conclusive.



Aeschylus, if we consider the variety and significance of the work which he accomplished, appears to have been one of the greatest poetic geniuses that the world has ever seen. The influence which he exercised upon the growth of Greek tragedy was so powerful and decisive, that he was often regarded as its