Aeschylus The Oresteia

The primary text, On the Murder of Eratosthenes, chronicles the speech of Euphiletus, an Athenian man, in his defense for killing Eratosthenes of Oe in Attica, after discovering him in an act of adultery with his wife. The speech begins by providing an early narration of the marriage of Euphiletus and his wife. According to Euphiletus, he kept a watchful eye on his wife, until he gradually relinquished control having gained trust in her--a fatal flaw. Whilst attending his mother’s funeral with his wife (one of the few public events attended by Athenian women), she is glimpsed by Eratosthenes; who then seduces her, and continues out his affair with her. After several suspicious events, Euphiletus, finally confronts a servant-girl who after being threatened reveals the affair. Having learned of Eratosthenes presence in his home one night, Euphiletus slips out of his house, collects his friends, and returns home, where he murders Euphiletus. Overall, Euphiletus’ testimony is an insightful document that not only illuminates Athenian law, but also the inner workings of private Greek life, and the lives of those often forgotten--women.

Similar to The Aeneid, The Oresteia also demonstrates characters caving into their emotions. Clytemnestra, the Queen of Argos, lacks the power to prevent her daughter being used as a sacrificial lamb to the gods. The misery she felt when her husband, Agamemnon, sacrificed their daughter was immense. So immense that it led her to murder, for she thought that

Another way that transformation is shown in the trilogy is the way that it goes from chaos to harmony. In the beginning of the story, everything is hectic and does not settle down until the very end of the play. Not only is the country of Greece in turmoil because of the civil war, but also the family of King Agamemnon is full of chaos and disorder. Although in the beginning it looks like the chaos will not settle down, by the end, there is peace. Because in the end, Orestes is set free and acquitted of the crime, the reader is left with a feeling of calmness. Everything is settled and there is a sense of harmony, both in the city of Athens and in within the characters.

Considered one of the greatest dramas of all time, Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King follows the tragic life of Oedipus, king of Thebes. Considered a Satyr play, the Oedipus trilogy is perhaps the most famous of Sophocles’ plays. Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy that was first performed somewhere around 429 BC in Athens, Greece. Originally, the Greeks referred to the play as simply “Oedipus,” as that was what Aristotle referred to it as in the Poetics. Perhaps what makes this play so memorable, is Sophocles’ uses of the tragic hero as the main theme. Sophocles uses characterization and conflict to portray Oedipus as an Aristotelian tragic hero.

Throughout the text, many references are made to a similar situation in the house of Agamemnon. This man, a friend of Odysseus, was killed by his wife and her lover, later to be avenged by his son, Orestes, who killed this same lover. Fatherhood has a powerful effect here as it does with Telemachus; Athena explains, “Haven’t you heard how Orestes won glory throughout the world when he killed

Orestes’ father, Agamemnon, is suffered for the truth of the prophecy, the child is the price: if he kills his child, his country will win the war. Due to this prophecy, Agamemnon is tortured and agonizing between his two important roles: father of his family and father of the country. If he chooses his family and doesn’t kill his child, they will lose the war. All people in the country will be tortured as slaves and colonists. However, if he chooses the win, the peace and the pleasant from a family will not exist anymore. His family will be demolished. Eventually, in the middle of the story, he decides to kill Iphigenia. Agamemnon chooses his country, his subjects, and the win, not his family’s peace. He makes Iphigenia drink three solutions including the pills which make her die. “I feel like I’ve done something so wrong that my whole life, my family, nothing will be able to- the worst mistake. I got it wrong. It was wrong. It was wrong” (Aeschylus, 56.) This demonstrates how he is suffered by the truth that he killed his daughter. His choice, even

Agamemnon is the first book in the Orestiean Trilogy written by the famous Greek tragedy writer, Aeschylus. Agamemnon is a story of justice and revenge. The story takes place in a city called Argos. It starts with Agamemnon, the king of Argos, away at the Trojan War. The city is eagerly awaiting the news of their king’s welfare and the outcome of the war. Watchmen are posted in the city, watching for the beacon that would report the capture of Troy and Agamemnon’s return. Beacons are set up from Troy to Argos; when one beacon is lit, the next one will be lit, until the last. The play starts when a palace watchman discovers the beacon and tells Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, the good news.

Through the three plays of The Oresteia, we are exposed to many opposing forces of power. Elements such as darkness, light, fate, patriarchy, and justice are intertwined to make up Aeschylus’ tragic tale, however all of these elements are directed by one central force: balance. The word balance itself suggests a state of equilibrium or a stable environment. Balance is often looked at as a scale; if one side of the scale is overpowering the other, then it creates a state of disorder, irregularity, and even chaos. Aeschylus meddles with the scales of balance but, in the end, reinforces the equipoise of power. I would argue that, not only does The Oresteia include balance as a critical underlying theme and is strategically used in determining the outcome of the play, but that the role of Athena is vital in creating this balance.

The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus. It was originally performed at the Dionysia Festival in Athens where it won the first prize in 458 B.C. The play wants to reveal the idea of justice. Men and women are in conflict. This situation leads Clytemnestra to become not a wife and mother (which were the only appropriate roles for respectable women in ancient Greece), but a tyrant. Clytemnestra in ancient Greek, was the wife of Agamemnon. She is one of the main characters in the play and I can say that it is the most interesting one. By “interesting” I don’t mean that is a likable character because she is considered a murderer but it is important to analyze the reasons

Agamemnon was stabbed to death by the vengeful tag-team. Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, unleashed vengeance upon his mother and her lover. Agamemnon’s family is a foil for Odysseus’ family life. Odysseus’ family loves him very dearly and has done no wrong as he was away. Penelope, unlike Clytemnestra, stays loyal to Odysseus and even creates an ingenious plan to keep the suitors off her back. Telemachos on the other hand has to deal with the suitors who are trying to marry his mother and have been dishonoring his father, Odysseus, eating their fill since they sat their butts on the stools they deem as weapons. Telemachos can’t even stand up to the suitors as Agamemnon’s son took revenge on the people who killed his father. This shows how Telemachos should be as a son and will soon be as he grows up to be more like his father. Menelaos had a long homecoming due to the gods, just as Odysseus had. Menelaos angered the Egyptian gods, due to the lack of knowledge of Egyptian customs. He was able to get home with all of his crew, unlike Odysseus, who was a lone survivor. Although Menelaos had an easier homecoming than Odysseus, he did not have a faithful wife, just like Agamemnon. Helen was the reason for the Trojan War; for Menelaos it was not easy to forgive an unfaithful wife to that degree. He cannot rejoin the present as easily due to all that was lost in Troy, destined to be full of grief for

The Eumenides describes a distraught Orestes who is being terrorized by the Furies for killing his mother, Clytemnestra, while avenging his father's death. Apollo suggests for Orestes to flee to Athens to avoid the Furies. The Furies follow him to Athens where Athena, the goddess of wisdom, holds a trial to determine if Orestes should be killed for his actions against his own family. After a group of Athenians cannot decide, Athena has the final say, sparing Orestes life and renaming the Furies to the Eumenides, or "kindly ones" (Aeschylus, The Eumenides lines 1:1047). The trial scene is now referred to as the "Vote of Athena", as never before in Greek myth has a courtroom-like trial taken place.

Odysseus, the king of Ithaca from the Odyssey, has been lost on a journey after the Trojan war. His quick-thinking results in him wronging Poseidon, losing his men, and committing adulty. The most important aspect of his journey is that his is not being able to return to his kingdom. Although Athena admires his wits and heroism and even has the desire to help him return, he still runs into many troubles on his adventure. Because of him not home, his household is held captive under the suitors’ rule. The suitors mistreat it completely by eating and drinking their supplies, sleeping with the maids, and plotting to take over the kingdom. Odysseus hears and experiences the mishap when returning to Ithaca undercover as a homeless man. The disloyalty displayed by the suitors not only made Odysseus furious, but made him desire vengeance. Odysseus’ rage, in book XXII, drove him to relentlessly murder all the unfaithful suitors and maids solely for their disloyalty.1

Suddenly, Aigisthos ruled covering Agamemnon's state. Although in the end, Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, appeared to revenge for his father and killed Aigisthos together with their mother. Menelaos and Helen were celebrating the separate marriage of their son and daughter. Telemachos and Peisistratos arrived at the court of Menelaos and Helen where they were welcomed. At dawn, Menelaos questioned why Telemachos occurred to Lacedaimon.

And jurors all in silence recognize this court / Which I ordain today in Perpetuity / That now and always justice may be well discerned" (571-574). This quote exemplifies the importance of justice in society. It displays how justice must always be recognized in a matter of life or death. Within the trial, Orestes says that it was Apollo's oracle that commanded him to kill his mother. Ultimately, justice prevails, for Orestes is acquitted. One can conclude that it would not be just to punish Orestes because he was advised by Apollo to kill his mother.

In the first play, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon to retaliate for the sacrifice he made of their daughter, Iphigenia. Clytemnestra did this out of revenge, since the code of getting even demanded that someone’s murder must be avenged by their close blood relative. This called for torment at the hands of the Furies, who were female divinities of a terrible frightening aspect, that came upon anyone who murdered a close blood relative. In the second play, The Libation Bearers, Orestes kills Clytemnestra to avenge the murder of Agamemnon. This act is still maintaining the revenge principle, but it is committed primarily at the instigation of Apollo. Apollo takes center-stage in the third play, The Furies, to argue in defense of Orestes in a trial supervised by Athena. This ultimately leads to the end of revenge killing and the establishment of a new order of justice based on the laws of the