Aeschylus after the death of Phrynichus, one of his chief rivals, Aeschylus was the yearly favorite in the Dionysia, winning first prize in nearly every competition. In 472 BC, Aeschylus staged the production that included the "Persians", with Pericles serving as "choregos". In 458 BC, he returned to Sicily for the last time, visiting the city of Gela where he died in 456 or 455 BC. Valerius Maximus wrote that he was killed outside the city by a tortoise dropped by an eagle (possibly a lammergeier or Cinereous vulture, which do feed on tortoises by dropping them on hard objects) which
Aeschylus had mistaken his bald head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. Pliny, in his "Naturalis Historiæ", adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avoid a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object. But this story may be legendary and due to a misunderstanding of the iconography on Aeschylus's tomb. Aeschylus's work was so respected by the Athenians that after his death, his were the only tragedies allowed to be restaged in subsequent competitions. His sons Euphorion and Euæon and his nephew Philocles also became playwrights. The inscription on Aeschylus's gravestone makes