Mind-Benders of Greek & Roman History
Before he was a playwright, Aeschylus fought the Persians
Athens' first great tragedian began as a soldier. Aeschylus fought at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE — where his own brother Cynegeirus was killed — and, by tradition, again at the sea-battle of Salamis in 480 BCE. His self-composed epitaph boasts only of his valor at Marathon and says nothing at all about the plays that made him famous.
How we know
Aeschylus c. 525–456 BCE; Marathon 490 BCE (brother Cynegeirus died there, Herodotus 6.114); Salamis 480 BCE by the ancient Life of Aeschylus; the epitaph names only Marathon.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.