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 entered many of these competitions in his lifetime, and various ancient sources attribute between seventy and ninety plays to him. Only seven tragedies have survived intact: "The Persians", "Seven against Thebes", "The Suppliants", the trilogy known as "The Oresteia", consisting of the three tragedies "Agamemnon", "The Libation Bearers" and "The Eumenides", together with "Prometheus Bound" (whose authorship is disputed). With the exception of this last play – the success of which is uncertain – all of Aeschylus's extant tragedies are known to have won first prize at the City Dionysia. The Alexandrian "Life of Aeschylus" claims that he won the