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 which had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile.[17] 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.
[17] But this story may be legendary and due to a misunderstanding of the iconography on Aeschylus's tomb.
[18]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.
[9] His sons Euphorion and Euæon and his nephew Philocles also became playwrights.
[9]
The inscription on Aeschylus's gravestone makes no mention of his
theatrical renown, commemorating only his military achievements: