The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

Greek tragedies Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...

written by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (; grc-gre, Κλυταιμνήστρα, ''Klytaimnḗstrā'', ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the twin sister of Helen of Troy. In Aeschylus' '' Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by E ...

, the murder of Clytemnestra by

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...

, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the

House of Atreus In Greek mythology, Atreus ( , ; from ἀ-, "no" and τρέω, "tremble", "fearless", gr, Ἀτρεύς ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus), Hippodamia, and the father of Agamem ...

and the pacification of the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

. The trilogy—consisting of ''

'' (), '' The Libation Bearers'' (), and ''

The Eumenides The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of t ...

'' ()—also shows how the

Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house th ...

interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

theatre trilogy, the ''Oresteia'' won first prize at the

Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the sec ...

festival in 458 BCE. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

and

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, as well as the transition from personal

vendetta Vendetta may refer to: * Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight Film * ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke * ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes * ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), a ...

to organized

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

. ''Oresteia'' originally included a

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is stro ...

, ''

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...

'' (), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of ''Proteus'' has been lost.

''Agamemnon''

''Agamemnon'' (, ''Agamémnōn'') is the first of the three plays within the ''Oresteia'' trilogy. It details the homecoming of

, King of

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...

, from the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

. After ten years of warfare, Troy had fallen and all of Greece could lay claim to victory. Waiting at home for Agamemnon is his wife, Queen

, who has been planning his murder. She desires his death to avenge the sacrifice of her daughter

Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...

, to exterminate the only thing hindering her from commandeering the crown, and to finally be able to publicly embrace her long-time lover

Aegisthus Aegisthus (; grc, Αἴγισθος; also transliterated as Aigisthos, ) was a figure in Greek mythology. Aegisthus is known from two primary sources: the first is Homer's '' Odyssey'', believed to have been first written down by Homer at th ...

. The play opens to a watchman looking down and over the sea, reporting that he has been lying restless "like a dog" for a year, waiting to see some sort of signal confirming a Greek victory in

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

. He laments the fortunes of the house, but promises to keep silent: "A huge ox has stepped onto my tongue." The watchman sees a light far off in the distance—a bonfire signaling Troy's fall—and is overjoyed at the victory and hopes for the hasty return of his King, as the house has "wallowed" in his absence. Clytemnestra is introduced to the audience and she declares that there will be celebrations and sacrifices throughout the city as Agamemnon and his army return. Upon the return of Agamemnon, his wife laments in full view of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

how horrible the wait for her husband, and King, has been. After her soliloquy, Clytemnestra pleads with and persuades Agamemnon to walk on the robes laid out for him. This is a very ominous moment in the play as loyalties and motives are questioned. The King's new concubine,

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be believe ...

, is now introduced and this immediately spawns hatred from the queen, Clytemnestra. Cassandra is ordered out of her chariot and to the altar where, once she is alone, she is heard crying out insane prophecies to Apollo about the death of Agamemnon and her own shared fate. Inside the house a cry is heard; Agamemnon has been stabbed in the bathtub. The chorus separate from one another and ramble to themselves, proving their cowardice, when another final cry is heard. When the doors are finally opened, Clytemnestra is seen standing over the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytemnestra describes the murder in detail to the chorus, showing no sign of remorse or regret. Suddenly the exiled lover of Clytemnestra, Aegisthus, bursts into the palace to take his place next to her. Aegisthus proudly states that he devised the plan to murder Agamemnon and claim revenge for his father (the father of Aegisthus, Thyestes, was tricked into eating two of his sons by his brother Atreus, the father of Agamemnon). Clytemnestra claims that she and Aegisthus now have all the power and they re-enter the palace with the doors closing behind them. Aeschylus’ Agamemnon differs from many other Greek tragedies in the way that it does not have a clear hero. When first reading the play, one might assume that Agamemnon is a noble hero returning from war who is murdered by his wife. Upon first examination, Agamemnon is the hero of the tragedy and Clytemnestra is the villain. However, Aeschylus’ version of Agamemnon does not highlight either Agamemnon or Clytemnestra as the hero or villain. Instead, he makes the couple complex and complicated because both have honorable and evil qualities. Agamemnon is an esteemed veteran of the Trojan War and is admired by many. However, it is made clear that many do not approve of the way he sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia, to start the Trojan War. It is also clear that many citizens resent Agamemnon because they lost their sons and husbands in the war he began. Additionally, Clytemnestra is seen as evil for murdering her husband as soon as he returns from war, but in one way she is just trying to avenge her daughter, who Agamemnon murdered. Both Agamemnon and Clytemnestra exhibit qualities that make them much more complex, realistic, and complicated than one-dimensional heroes and villains. Therefore, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon is compelling because it does not exhibit simple characters with one trait, but instead gives us a complicated set of characters that cannot be forced into one category of heroic or villainous characteristics.

''The Libation Bearers''

In ''The Libation Bearers'' (, ''Choēphóroi'')—the second play of Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'' trilogy—many years after the murder of

, his son

returns to

with his cousin Pylades to exact vengeance on

, as an order from

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, for killing Agamemnon. Upon arriving, Orestes reunites with his sister Electra at Agamemnon's grave, while she was there bringing libations to Agamemnon in an attempt to stop Clytemnestra's bad dreams. Shortly after the reunion, both Orestes and Electra, influenced by the Chorus, come up with a plan to kill both Clytemnestra and

. Orestes then heads to the palace door where he is unexpectedly greeted by Clytemnestra. In his response to her he pretends he is a stranger and tells Clytemnestra that he (Orestes) is dead, causing her to send for Aegisthus. Unrecognized, Orestes is then able to enter the palace where he then kills Aegisthus, who was without a guard due to the intervention of the Chorus in relaying Clytemnestra's message. Clytemnestra then enters the room. Orestes hesitates to kill her, but Pylades reminds him of Apollo's orders, and he eventually follows through. Consequently, after committing the matricide, Orestes is now the target of the

Furies The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes the ...

' merciless wrath and has no choice but to flee from the palace.

''The Eumenides''

The final play of the ''Oresteia'', called ''The Eumenides'' (, ''Eumenídes''), illustrates how the sequence of events in the trilogy ends up in the development of social order or a proper judicial system in Athenian society. In this play,

is hunted and tormented by the

, a trio of goddesses known to be the instruments of justice, who are also referred to as the "Gracious Ones" (''Eumenides''). They relentlessly pursue Orestes for the killing of his mother. Through the intervention of

, Orestes is able to escape them for a brief moment while they are asleep and head to Athens under the protection of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

. Seeing the Furies asleep,

's ghost comes to wake them up to obtain justice on her son Orestes for killing her. After waking up, the Furies hunt Orestes again and when they find him, Orestes pleads to the goddess

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

for help. She responds by setting up a trial for him in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

on the

Areopagus The Areopagus () is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" ( grc, Ἄρειος Πάγο� ...

. This trial is made up of a group of twelve Athenian citizens and is supervised by Athena. Here Orestes is used as a trial dummy by Athena to set-up the first courtroom trial. He is also the object of the Furies, Apollo, and Athena. After the trial comes to an end, the votes are tied. Athena casts the deciding vote and determines that Orestes will not be killed. This does not sit well with the Furies but Athena eventually persuades them to accept the decision; instead of violently retaliating against wrongdoers, become a constructive force of vigilance in Athens. She then changes their names from the Furies to "the Eumenides" which means "the Gracious Ones". Athena then ultimately rules that all trials must henceforth be settled in court rather than being carried out personally.

''Proteus''

''Proteus'' (, ''Prōteus''), the satyr play which originally followed the first three plays of ''The Oresteia'', is lost except for a two-line fragment preserved by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

. It is widely believed to have been based on the story told in Book IV of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'', where Menelaus, Agamemnon's brother, tries to return home from Troy and finds himself on an island off Egypt, "whither he seems to have been carried by the storm described in ''Agam.674''". The title character, "the deathless Egyptian

", the Old Man of the Sea, is described in Homer as having been visited by Menelaus seeking to learn his future. Proteus tells Menelaus of the death of Agamemnon at the hands of Aegisthus and the fates of

Ajax the Lesser Ajax ( grc, Αἴας ''Aias'' means "of the earth".) was a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris. He was called the "lesser" or "Locrian" Ajax, to distinguish him from Ajax the Great, son of Telamon. He was the leader ...

and

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...

at sea. Proteus is compelled to tell Menelaus how to reach home from the island of Pharos: The only extant fragment that has been definitively attributed to ''Proteus'' was translated by Herbert Weir Smyth: In 2002,

Theatre Kingston Theatre Kingston is a theatre company located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1990 as Theatre Beyond by Paul Gelineau, the company became The People's Theatre Kingston in 1992 and had two more Artistic Directors under that name—Kathryn ...

mounted a production of ''The Oresteia'' and included a new reconstruction of ''Proteus'' based on the episode in ''The Odyssey'' and loosely arranged according to the structure of extant satyr plays.

Analysis of themes

Justice through retaliation

Retaliation is seen in the ''Oresteia'' as a slippery slope, occurring after the actions of one character to another. In the first play ''Agamemnon'', it is mentioned how to shift the wind for his voyage to Troy,

had to sacrifice his innocent daughter

. This then caused

pain and eventually anger which resulted in her plotting revenge on

. She found a new lover

and when

returned to

from the

, Clytemnestra killed him by stabbing him in the bathtub and would eventually inherit his throne. The death of Agamemnon thus sparks anger in

and Electra and this causes them to plot the death of their mother Clytemnestra in the next play ''Libation Bearers'', which would be considered matricide. Through much pressure from Electra and his cousin

Pylades In Greek mythology, Pylades (; Ancient Greek: Πυλάδης) was a Phocian prince as the son of King Strophius and Anaxibia who is the daughter of Atreus and sister of Agamemnon and Menelaus. He is mostly known for his relationship with his cou ...

, Orestes eventually kills his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus in "The Libation Bearers". Now after committing the matricide,

is being hunted down by the Furies in the third play "The Eumenides", who wish to exact vengeance on him for this crime. And even after he gets away from them Clytemnestra's spirit comes back to rally them again so that they can kill Orestes and obtain vengeance for her. However this cycle of non-stop retaliation comes to a stop near the end of ''The Eumenides'' when

decides to introduce a new legal system for dealing out justice.

Justice through the law

This part of the theme of 'justice' in ''The Oresteia'' is seen really only in ''The Eumenides'', however its presence still marks the shift in themes. After

begged

for deliverance from 'the

,' she granted him his request in the form of a trial. It is important that Athena did not just forgive Orestes and forbid the Furies from chasing him, she intended to put him to a trial and find a just answer to the question regarding his innocence. This is the first example of proper litigation in the trilogy and illuminates the change from emotional retaliation to civilized decisions regarding alleged crimes. Instead of allowing the Furies to torture

, she decided that she would have both the Furies and Orestes plead their case before she decided on the verdict. In addition,

set up the ground rules for how the verdict would be decided so that everything would be dealt with fairly. By Athena creating this blueprint the future of revenge-killings and the merciless hunting of the Furies would be eliminated from Greece. Once the trial concluded, Athena proclaimed the innocence of Orestes and he was set free from the Furies. The cycle of murder and revenge had come to an end while the foundation for future litigation had been laid. Aeschylus, through his jury trial, was able to create and maintain a social commentary about the limitations of revenge crimes and reiterate the importance of trials. ''The Oresteia'', as a whole, stands as a representation of the evolution of justice in Ancient Greece.

Revenge

The theme of revenge plays a large role in the ''Oresteia''. It is easily seen as a principal motivator of the actions of almost all of the characters. It all starts in ''Agamemnon'' with Clytemnestra, who murders her husband, Agamemnon, in order to obtain vengeance for his sacrificing of their daughter, Iphigenia. The death of Cassandra, the princess of Troy, taken captive by Agamemnon in order to fill a place as a concubine, can also be seen as an act of revenge for taking another woman as well as the life of Iphigenia. Later on, in ''The Libation Bearers'', Orestes and Electra, siblings as well as the other children of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, plot to kill their mother and succeed in doing so due to their desire to avenge their father's death. ''The Eumenides'' is the last play in which the Furies, who are in fact the goddesses of vengeance, seek to take revenge on Orestes for the murder of his mother. It is also in this part of the trilogy that it is discovered that the god Apollo played a part in the act of vengeance toward Clytemnestra through Orestes. The cycle of revenge seems to be broken when Orestes is not killed by the Furies, but is instead allowed to be set free and deemed innocent by the goddess Athena. The entirety of the play's plot depends on the theme of revenge, as it is the cause of almost all of the effects within the play.

Relation to the Curse of the House of Atreus

The House of Atreus began with

Tantalus Tantalus ( grc, Τάνταλος ) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the wate ...

, son of Zeus, who murdered his son,

Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the O ...

, and attempted to feed him to the gods. The gods, however, were not tricked and banished Tantalus to the Underworld and brought his son back to life. Later in life Pelops and his family line were cursed by

Myrtilus In Greek mythology, Myrtilus (Ancient Greek: Μυρτίλος) was a divine hero and son of Hermes. His mother is said variously to be the Amazon Myrto;Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 1.752 Phaethusa, daughter of Danaus; or a nymph ...

, a son of Hermes, catalyzing the curse of the House of Atreus. Pelops had two children, Atreus and

Thyestes In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olym ...

, who are said to have killed their half-brother Chrysippus, and were therefore banished. Thyestes and

Aerope In Greek mythology, Aerope (Ancient Greek: Ἀερόπη) was a Cretan princess as the daughter of Catreus, king of Crete. She was the sister to Clymene, Apemosyne and Althaemenes. Aerope's father Catreus gave her to Nauplius, to be drowned, or ...

, Atreus’ wife, were found out to be having an affair, and in an act of vengeance, Atreus murdered his brother's sons, cooked them, and then fed them to Thyestes. Thyestes had a son with his daughter and named him Aegisthus, who went on to kill Atreus. Atreus’ children were

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

, and

Anaxibia Anaxibia (; Ancient Greek: ) is the name of six characters in Greek mythology. *Anaxibia, one of the Danaïdes, married to Archelaus, son of Aegyptus. *Anaxibia, a naiad of the Ganges river. She fled from the advances of Helios, but she disapp ...

. Leading up to here, we can see that the curse of the House of Atreus was one forged from murder, incest and deceit, and continued in this way for generations through the family line. To put it simply, the curse demands blood for blood, a never ending cycle of murder within the family. Those who join the family seem to play a part in the curse as well, as seen in Clytemnestra when she murders her husband Agamemnon, in revenge for sacrificing their daughter, Iphigenia. Orestes, goaded by his sister Electra, murders Clytemnestra in order to exact revenge for her killing his father. Orestes is said to be the end of the curse of the House of Atreus. The curse holds a major part in the ''Oresteia'' and is mentioned in it multiple times, showing that many of the characters are very aware of the curse's existence. Aeschylus was able to use the curse in his play as an ideal formulation of tragedy in his writing.

Contemporary background

Some scholars believe that the trilogy is influenced by contemporary political developments in Athens. A few years previously, legislation sponsored by the democratic reformer

Ephialtes Ephialtes ( grc-gre, Ἐφιάλτης, ''Ephialtēs'') was an ancient Athenian politician and an early leader of the democratic movement there. In the late 460s BC, he oversaw reforms that diminished the power of the Areopagus, a traditional ba ...

had stripped the court of the

, hitherto one of the most powerful vehicles of upper-class political power, of all of its functions except some minor religious duties and the authority to try homicide cases; by having his story being resolved by a judgement of the Areopagus, Aeschylus may be expressing his approval of this reform. It may also be significant that Aeschylus makes Agamemnon lord of Argos, where Homer puts his house, instead of his nearby capitol Mycenae, since about this time Athens had entered into an alliance with Argos.

Adaptations

Key British productions

In 1981, Sir Peter Hall directed

Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...

's adaptation of the trilogy in masks in London's

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

, with music by

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

and stage design by

Jocelyn Herbert Jocelyn Herbert RDI (22 February 1917 – 6 May 2003) was a British stage designer. Early life Born in London the second of the four children of playwright, novelist, humorist and parliamentarian A. P. Herbert (1890–1971), through her fat ...

. In 1999,

Katie Mitchell Katrina Jane Mitchell (born 23 September 1964) is an English theatre director. Life and career Mitchell was born in Reading, Berkshire, raised in Hermitage, Berkshire, and educated at Oakham School. Upon leaving Oakham, she went up to Mag ...

followed him at the same venue (though in the Cottesloe Theatre, where Hall had directed in the Olivier Theatre) with a production which used

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

' translation. In 2015,

Robert Icke Robert Icke (; born 29 November 1986) is an English writer and theatre director. He has been referred to as the "great hope of British theatre." He is best known for his play ''The Doctor'', and his modern adaptations of classic texts, includ ...

's production of his own adaptation was a sold out hit at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

and was transferred that same year to the West End's

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

. Two other productions happened in the UK that year, in Manchester and at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

. The following year, in 2016, playwright

Zinnie Harris Zinnie Harris FRSE is a British playwright, screenwriter and director currently living in Edinburgh. She has been commissioned and produced by the Royal Court Theatre, Royal National Theatre, the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shake ...

premiered her adaptation, '' This Restless House'', at the

Citizen's Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various s ...

to five-star critical acclaim.

Other adaptations

* 1895: Composer

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russia ...

adapted the trilogy into his own operatic trilogy of the same name, which was premiered in 1895. * 1965-66: Composer

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...

adapted vocal work for chorus and 12 instruments. * 1967: Composer

Felix Werder Felix Werder AM (24 February 19223 May 2012) was a German-born Australian composer of classical and electronic music, and also a noted critic and educator. The son of a distinguished liturgical composer, he composed all his life. His published ...

adapted ''

'' as an opera.* Thérèse Radic. "Agamemnon", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 15, 2015)
(subscription access)
/ref> * 1969: The

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

The Forgotten Pistolero ''The Forgotten Pistolero'' (Italian: ''Il pistolero dell'Ave Maria'', lit. "The Gunman of Hail Mary") is a 1969 Italian Spaghetti Western film co-written and directed by Ferdinando Baldi. The film is a western adaptation of the Greek myth of Or ...

'', is based on the myth and set in Mexico following the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

Ferdinando Baldi Ferdinando Baldi (19 May 1917 – 12 September 2007) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography Baldi was born in Cava de' Tirreni, Salerno, on 19 May 1917. His early film work began in Italy in the early 1950s with films s ...

, who directed the film, was also a professor of classical literature who specialized in Greek tragedy. * 1974:

Rush Rehm Rush Rehm is professor of drama and classics at Stanford University in California, in the United States. He also works professionally as an actor and theatre director, director. He has published many works on Theatre of ancient Greece, classical ...

'
translation of the trilogy
was staged at

The Pram Factory __NOTOC__ The Pram Factory was an Australian alternative theatre venue in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton from around 1970 until the 1981. It was home to the Australian Performing Group and Nindethana, Australia's first Aboriginal theatre group ...

in Melbourne. * 2008: Theatre professor Ethan Sinnott directed an

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

adaptation of ''Agamemnon''. * 2008: Dominic Allen and James Wilkes, ''The Oresteia'', for Belt Up Theatre Company. * 2009:

Anne Carson Anne Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across the Unit ...

's ''An Oresteia'', an adaptation featuring episodes from the Oresteia from three different playwrights: Aeschylus' ''Agamemnon'', Sophocles' ''Electra'', and Euripides' ''Orestes''. * 2009: Yael Farber's '' Molora'', a South African adaptation of the Oresteia. * 2019: Playwright Ellen McLaughlin and director Michael Khan's ''The Oresteia'', premiered on April 30, 2019 at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC. The adaptation was shown as a digital production by Theater for a New Audience in New York City during the COVID-19 Pandemic and was directed by Andrew Watkins.

Translations

Thomas Medwin Thomas Medwin (20 March 1788 –2 August 1869) was an early 19th-century English writer, poet and translator. He is known chiefly for his biography of his cousin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and for published recollections of his friend, Lord Byron. ...

and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

, 1832–1834 – verse (Pagan Press reprint 2011) * Anna Swanwick, 1886 – verse
full text
*

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

, 1889 – verse
Agamemnon
*

Arthur S. Way Arthur Sanders Way (13 February 1847 – 25 September 1930), was a classical scholar, translator and headmaster of Wesley College, Melbourne, Australia. Arthur Way, son of the Rev. William Way and his wife Matilda, ''née'' Francis, was b ...

, 1906 – verse *

John Stuart Blackie John Stuart Blackie FRSE (28 July 1809 – 2 March 1895) was a Scottish scholar and man of letters. Biography He was born in Glasgow, on Charlotte Street, the son of Kelso-born banker Alexander Blackie (d.1846) and Helen Stodart. He was ...

, 1906 – verse * Edmund Doidge Anderson Morshead, 1909 – verse
full text
* Herbert Weir Smyth, ''Aeschylus'', Loeb Classical Library, 2 vols. Greek text with facing translations, 1922 – pros
AgamemnonLibation BearersEumenides
*

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece ...

, 1925 – vers
AgamemnonLibation Bearers
*

Louis MacNeice Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet and playwright, and a member of the Auden Group, which also included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis. MacNeice's body of work was widely a ...

, 1936 – verse

Edith Hamilton Edith Hamilton (August 12, 1867 – May 31, 1963) was an American educator and internationally known author who was one of the most renowned classicists of her era in the United States. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she also studied in Germany ...

, 1937, ''Three Greek Plays: Prometheus Bound, Agamemnon, The Trojan Women'' *

Richmond Lattimore Richmond Alexander Lattimore (May 6, 1906 – February 26, 1984) was an American poet and classicist known for his translations of the Greek classics, especially his versions of the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''. Early life and career Born to David ...

, 1953 – "verse" * F. L. Lucas, 1954 – verse ''Agamemnon'' * Robert A. Johnston, 1955 – verse, an "acting version" *

Philip Vellacott Philip Humphrey Vellacott (16 January 1907 – 24 August 1997) was an English classical scholar, known for his numerous translations of Greek tragedy. He was born at Grays, Essex and educated at St Paul's School, London and Magdalene College, Ca ...

, 1956 – verse *

Paul Roche Donald Robert Paul Roche (26 September 1916 – 30 October 2007) was a British poet, novelist, and professor of English, a critically acclaimed translator of Greek and Latin classics, notably the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristop ...

, 1963 – verse * Peter Arnott, 1964 – verse * George Thomson, 1965 – verse * John Lewin, 1966 (University of Minnesota Press) * Howard Rubenstein, 1965 – verse

Hugh Lloyd-Jones Sir Peter Hugh Jefferd Lloyd-Jones FBA (21 September 1922 – 5 October 2009məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ..., in 1982, and spent his last 27 years at their home in Wellesley. Major publicat ...

, 1970 – verse *

, 1978 – verse, for the stage *

Robert Fagles Robert Fagles (; September 11, 1933 – March 26, 2008) was an American professor, poet, and academic, best known for his many translations of ancient Greek and Roman classics, especially his acclaimed translations of the epic poems of Homer. ...

, 1975 – verse *

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects i ...

, 1977 – verse *

, 1981 – verse *

David Grene David Grene (13 April 1913 – 10 September 2002) was an Irish American professor of classics at the University of Chicago from 1937 until his death. He was a co-founder of the Committee on Social Thought and is best known for his translations of ...

and

Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (born November 20, 1940) is an American Indologist whose professional career has spanned five decades. A scholar of Sanskrit and Indian textual traditions, her major works include, 'The Hindus: an alternative history'; ' ...

, 1989 – verse *

Peter Meineck Peter Meineck (born 1967) is Professor of Classics in the Modern World at New York University. He is also the founder and humanities program director of Aquila Theatre and has held appointments at Princeton University and University of South Carol ...

, 1998 – verse *

, 1999 – verse * Ian C. Johnston, 2002 – verse
full text
* George Theodoridis
''Agamemnon''''Choephori''''Eumenides''
2005–2007 – prose *

Alan Sommerstein Alan may refer to: People * Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

, ''Aeschylus'', Loeb Classical Library, 3 vols. Greek text with facing translations, 2008 *Peter Arcese, 2010 –

, in syllabic verse *

Sarah Ruden Sarah Elizabeth Ruden is an American writer of poetry, essays, translations of Classic literature, and popularizations of Biblical philology, religious criticism and interpretation. Early life Sarah Ruden was born in Ohio in 1962 and raised i ...

, 2016 – verse * David Mulroy, 2018 – verse *

Oliver Taplin Oliver Taplin, FBA (born 2 August 1943) is a retired British academic and classicist. He was a fellow of Magdalen College and Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Oxford. He holds a DPhil from Oxford University. Ac ...

, 2018 – verse * Jeffrey Scott Bernstein and Tom Phillips (illustrator), 2020 – verse

References

Bibliography

* * Goward, Barbara (2005). ''Aeschylus: Agamemnon''. Duckworth Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy. London: Duckworth. . * MacLeod, C. W. (1982). "Politics and the ''Oresteia''. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', vol. 102. . . pp. 124–144. *

External links

* * * * *
See the triumphant ending of ''The Oresteia''
MacMillan Films staging 2014. 5 minutes.
BBC audio file
''The Oresteia'' discussion on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

programme ''

In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...

''. 45 minutes.
''La Tragedie d'Oreste et Electre''
Album by British band Cranes which is a musical adaptation of