ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to put Seven in its historical military context in order to find out not only what historical events and particular military practices could have influenced the narrative but also how it can possibly contribute to the understanding of what is usually labelled 'siege warfare'. The Aegean had a long experience of siege warfare and was no stranger to patterns of invasion, assault and destruction of urban centres. This experience was made up of the combination of two cultural systems: the Greek and the Eastern military traditions, interacting in a complex and hardly straightforward process. Aeschylus lived during the crucial decades of Athens' rise to hegemony in Greece and had personal experience both of the greatest battles of his time and of the frequent threats the Athenians had to face. He was an outstanding intellectual, reflecting on the great challenges and questions of human life, and he was particularly sensitive to the sufferings inherent in human experience.