The Corner

The New Great Book

Drama buffs who’ve had their fill of the Oresteia will welcome a brand-new play from Aeschylus. Okay, it’s not “brand new” and parts are adapted–but it’s going to be performed for the first time in more than 2,000 years. The ancient Greek tragedian is credited with the innovation of introducing a second actor to the stage (“Hmmm, how can we make this dialogue more interesting?”). He wrote as many as 90 plays in his liftime. Only 7 have survived. This new one, about Achilles, would make it 8. Interesting fact: The new play wouldn’t exist but for a mummy.

John J. Miller, the national correspondent for National Review and host of its Great Books podcast, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.
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