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The Oresteia: Agamemnon; The Libation…
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The Oresteia: Agamemnon; The Libation Bearers; The Eumenides (Penguin Classics) (edition 1984)

by Aeschylus, W. B. Stanford (Editor), Robert Fagles (Translator)

Series: The Oresteia

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10,16068709 (3.99)172
One of the founding documents of Western culture and the only surviving ancient Greek trilogy, the Oresteia of Aeschylus is one of the great tragedies of all time. The three plays of the Oresteia portray the bloody events that follow the victorious return of King Agamemnon from the Trojan War, at the start of which he had sacrificed his daughter Iphigeneia to secure divine favor. After Iphi-geneia's mother, Clytemnestra, kills her husband in revenge, she in turn is murdered by their son Orestes with his sister Electra's encouragement. Orestes is pursued by the Furies and put on trial, his fate decided by the goddess Athena. Far more than the story of murder and ven-geance in the royal house of Atreus, the Oresteia serves as a dramatic parable of the evolution of justice and civilization that is still powerful after 2,500 years. The trilogy is presented here in George Thomson's classic translation, renowned for its fidelity to the rhythms and richness of the original Greek.… (more)
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Title:The Oresteia: Agamemnon; The Libation Bearers; The Eumenides (Penguin Classics)
Authors:Aeschylus
Other authors:W. B. Stanford (Editor), Robert Fagles (Translator)
Info:Penguin Classics (1984), Paperback, 336 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:Literature - Greek

Work Information

The Oresteia: Agamemnon / The Libation Bearers / The Eumenides by Aeschylus (Author)

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» See also 172 mentions

English (63)  Spanish (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Finnish (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (68)
Showing 1-5 of 63 (next | show all)
I enjoyed reading these plays, and imagining how they would be staged. The theme of revenge vs. justice is still a timely one today, and I thought the layers of old gods vs. new gods, and to a lesser extent, gender politics, added psychological depth to the story.

I can imagine the characters as actual people, with their messy motivations and emotions. Clytemnestra, left alone for over a decade as her husband is off at Troy, her oldest daughter killed by this same man. I honestly can't really blame her for wanting to kill Agamemnon herself, especially since he tricked both of them by saying he had found a husband for Iphigenia in order to get his daughter to come to where he was. To then turn a celebration into a murder is really evil. But "an eye for an eye" really does just cause an endless trail of tragedy.

It's fascinating to see the Furies turned into some kind of auxiliary for the Fates. I wonder why Aeschylus did that, or if that was already an accepted mythology that he capitalized on. It contains aspects of karma for me, the idea that these beings who demand payment for crimes should morph into beings who deal out destiny. So interesting. ( )
  TheGalaxyGirl | Mar 21, 2024 |
Compelling meditations on vengeance and justice, intermixed with visions of destiny and gender. Also highly lyrical. ( )
  JasonMehmel | Feb 9, 2024 |
I found this cycle of plays to be quite profound for what it has to say about breaking a cycle of violence and revenge. The exploration of what justice is can also be seen as the plays progress. I think this is a classic that I will be revisiting again. ( )
  psalva | Apr 20, 2022 |
For class we were supposed to only read part 1, "Agamemnon", which leaves off at a weird cliffhanger, so I read the rest and the story made more sense. These plays, unlike other Greek trilogies, don't work as standalone pieces at all; reading all of them in quick succession at least resolved the story but it was so so boring. From my non-academic perspective the main reason to read Greek tragedy is because they're metal as hell (Medea!) and while the Oresteia had moments of being metal while the family's caught in a Godfather-like cycle of retribution, the resolution is just... a courtroom scene. I understand what the story is saying with this, but it was very anticlimactic after all that! On top of everything this was very misogynist (especially when compared to later plays like Medea) and I'm honestly getting sick of reading men writing about men.
I guess Meineck's translation was pretty good, it was pretty easy to read, but for whatever reason the footnotes at the bottom of each page didn't correspond with any in-text superscript or asterisk or other markers! This was a very stupid publishing decision! ( )
  jooniper | Sep 10, 2021 |
This tragedy takes place after the fall of Troy. The main characters are Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, queen and king of Argos, respectively. Orestes is their son. Agamemnon is killed by Clytemnestra and Clytemnestra by her son, Orestes. This play examines the difference between justice and revenge. Quite frankly, there were just more characters in this play than I wanted to process. Also at 208 pages, it is longer than most of this type of work. The chorus played a very major role in the advancement of this story. ( )
  Tess_W | Jun 14, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 63 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (271 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
AeschylusAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Albini, UmbertoIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Allman, SylviaIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Altena, HermanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Aryton, MichaelIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ayres, RosalindNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Østbye, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Baldick, RobertEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Battezzato, LuigiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bolognese, DonIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Boutens, P.C.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brandes, PeterIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Burian, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Canfora, LucianoPrefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cantarella, RaffaeleTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cardó, CarlesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Collard, ChristopherTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Corrigan, Robert WilloughbyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
d'Hane-Scheltema, M.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Del Corno, DarioIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Di Benedetto, VincenzoIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Doniger, WendyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Droysen, Johann GustavTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Due, Otto SteenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ebener, DietrichTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Eichman, RichardFrontispiecesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fagles, RobertEditor and Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Foley, Helene P.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Foxworth, BoNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
García Valdés, ManuelaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gerbrandy, PietAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Grene, DavidEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hughes, TedTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Koolschijn, GerardTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lattimore, RichmondTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lattimore, RichmondEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Levi, PeterIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lowell, RobertTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Medda, EnricoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Morshead, E. D. A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Murray, GilbertTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nash-Williams, A. H.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
O'Flaherty, Wendy DonigerTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Padel, RuthIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Palli Bonet, JulioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pattoni, Maria PiaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Perea Morales, BernardoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pontani, Filippo MariaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Preece, LaurenceIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Purl, LindaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Radice, BettyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Raphael, ElaineIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Raphael, FredericTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ricci, DomenicoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Roche, PaulTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Salvatierra, FernandoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Savino, EzioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Seaford, RichardIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shapiro, H. A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Simonsuuri, KirstiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Slavitt, David R.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sommerstein, Alan H.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stanford, W.B.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stanford, William BedellEditor and Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stern, ErnstIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stoneman, RichardConsultant Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Thomson, George DerwentTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Traverso, LeoneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Untersteiner, MarioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vaara, ElinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Valgimigli, ManaraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vallacott, PhilipTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vanderpool Jr., EugenePhotographersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vellacott, PhilipTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vellacott, Philip HumphreyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vollmoeller, Karl GustavTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vos, ErikTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Walton, J. MichaelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Warner, RexTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wilson, AdrianDesignersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Young, DouglasTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Zilliacus, EmilTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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I ask the gods some respite from the weariness/ of this watchtime measured by years I lie awake/ elbowed upon the Atreidaes' roof dogwise to mark/ the grand processionals of all the stars of night/ burdened with winter and again with heat for men,/ dynasties in their shining blazoned on the air,/ these stars, upon their wane and when the rest arise. (tr. Lattimore 1953)
Watchman:  
Dear gods, set me free from all the pain,
the long watch I keep, one whole year awake..
propped on my arms, crouched on the roofs of Atreus
like a dog.

[tr. Fagles 1984]
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This LT Work is the complete Oresteia trilogy of plays by Aeschylus, including:

Agamemnon,
Choephori (a/k/a, The Libation Bearers), and
Eumenides (a/k/a, The Furies).

Please do not combine this trilogy with any of the individual plays, or with any other collection. Specifically, do not combine this work with any edition that also includes Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound. Thank you.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

One of the founding documents of Western culture and the only surviving ancient Greek trilogy, the Oresteia of Aeschylus is one of the great tragedies of all time. The three plays of the Oresteia portray the bloody events that follow the victorious return of King Agamemnon from the Trojan War, at the start of which he had sacrificed his daughter Iphigeneia to secure divine favor. After Iphi-geneia's mother, Clytemnestra, kills her husband in revenge, she in turn is murdered by their son Orestes with his sister Electra's encouragement. Orestes is pursued by the Furies and put on trial, his fate decided by the goddess Athena. Far more than the story of murder and ven-geance in the royal house of Atreus, the Oresteia serves as a dramatic parable of the evolution of justice and civilization that is still powerful after 2,500 years. The trilogy is presented here in George Thomson's classic translation, renowned for its fidelity to the rhythms and richness of the original Greek.

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Translations of the extant plays of Aeschylus.
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Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0140443339, 0140440674

 

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