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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)
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. ( )
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! ( )
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. ( )
This will probably be my one and only book review regarding a Classical author. The 'Agamemnon' contains probably the finest first page in all literature (Shakespeare included). As the the rest of the trilogy - breathtaking stuff.
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]
Quotations
Last words
So as the eagles wheeled at the crossroads, Calchas clashed out the great good blessing mixed with doom for the halls of kings, and singing with our fate we cry, cry for the death, but good win out in glory in the end.
The Eumenides: The Women of the City: All-seeing Zeus and Fate embrace, down they come to urge our union on - Cry, cry, in triumph, carry on the dancing on and on! [tr. Flagles 1984]
The Eumenides (Chorus: There shall be peace forever between these people of Pallas and their guests. Zeus the all seeing met with Destiny to confirm it. Singing all follow our footsteps. Exeunt omnes, in procession. [tr. R. Lattimore 1953]
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.
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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