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Ever heard of the playwright Aeschylus
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No? Well, he's one of the most important playwrights of all time, but wait until you hear how the scribe died
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Playwright Aeschylus, I'm pronouncing that correctly, is famous for being the father of Greek tragedy
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His plays were the first to have a main actor interact with a secondary actor, laying the groundwork for much of today's dramatic work
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Speaking of tragedy, he was killed by a turtle. That's right, a turtle. A regular one, not even a ninja one
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How did it happen? Well, it was the legend. Legend? Legend tells it. Aeschylus was soul-searching outside when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head
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That'll teach you to look inward and contemplate life's complexities. Apparently, the eagle confused Aeschylus's bald head for a flat rock
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which the eagle thought would shatter the turtle's shell so the eagle could gobble him up for dinner
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Instead, it killed a famous playwright. He was killed instantly while the dumb eagle went on to live an otherwise bland life
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Maybe. It's actually probably awesome to be an eagle. And the turtle? He was the first turtle ever to reach terminal velocity
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Perhaps the greatest irony is that Aeschylus was purposely spending his time outdoors
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According to Pliny, the elder, another popular author of the time, Aeschylus had a prophecy that he'd be killed by a falling object indoors
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Or did he back the wrong horse? That's the story of how one of the most famous people in ancient history died
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Be safe out there. Watch out for falling turtles
