Oresteia by Aeschylus
The "Oresteia" by Aeschylus is a seminal trilogy in ancient Greek tragedy that explores themes of justice, vengeance, and the consequences of violence within the context of familial and divine dynamics. It consists of three plays: "Agamemnon," "Libation Bearers," and "Eumenides." The story begins with Agamemnon's return from the Trojan War, only to be murdered by his wife Clytemnestra, who seeks revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia. The second play follows their son Orestes as he avenges his father's death by killing Clytemnestra, spurred by the oracle of Apollo.
The final play, "Eumenides," addresses the aftermath of Orestes's matricide, depicting his torment by the Furies and his subsequent trial in Athens, where the concept of justice evolves from personal vengeance to a societal legal framework. This transformation is symbolized by the intervention of the goddess Athena, who establishes a new order and promotes reconciliation between the old and new systems of divine justice. The trilogy not only reflects the complexities of familial loyalty and moral obligation but also serves as a commentary on the societal shift from retributive justice to a more civilized legal system. The "Oresteia" remains a powerful exploration of human nature, ethics, and the interplay between fate and free will.
Oresteia by Aeschylus
First produced: 458 b.c.e.; includes Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides (English translation, 1777)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Tragedy
Time of plot: After the fall of Troy
Locale: Argos, Delphi, and Athens
Principal Characters
Clytemnestra , queen of ArgosAgamemnon , king of ArgosOrestes , their sonPylades , his friendElectra , his sisterCassandra , the captured princess of TroyAegisthus , Agamemnon’s cousin and Clytemnestra’s loverApollo , the god of prophesy and light, son of Zeus and LetoAthene , the goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts, and the daughter of Zeus
The Story
Agamemnon. Clytemnestra’s watchman spies a beacon signaling victory for the Greek army at Troy. Hoping that Agamemnon will restore order in Argos, the watchman leaves to inform Clytemnestra.
The chorus, the old men of Argos, laments the ten-year war against Troy and questions whether or not it was justified. It was fought for Helen, Clytemnestra’s sister and the wife of Agamemnon’s brother, Menalaus, who was abducted by the Trojan prince Paris. Although Paris violated a guest’s obligations in stealing Helen, she was unworthy of the anguish caused by the war. The brothers’ attack wedded Greeks and Trojans in spilled blood, with the first sacrifice being Clytemnestra’s innocent daughter, Iphigenia. When the Greek fleet was beached at Aulis, a prophet named Calacas said the goddess Artemis had demanded Iphigenia as the price of reaching Troy. Agamemnon had complied. Now, as Clytemnestra lays offerings at her altars, the chorus, anticipating trouble, prays to Zeus for guidance.
Clytemnestra reports Agamemnon’s victory, while expressing a fear that the victors, by glorying excessively, may offend the gods. The chorus, considering the suffering the brothers caused and the curses that may bring divine wrath upon them, hope the message of the beacons is false. However, a herald confirms that Troy has been destroyed, and the Greeks are celebrating their victory.
Agamemnon, accompanied by Cassandra, credits the gods with his victory. Clytemnestra claims that their son, Orestes, was sent away because, after rumors that Agamemnon had been killed, she had tried to commit suicide. She lays out crimson tapestries for him as a welcome home. Agamemnon fears that stepping on the tapestries will show too much pride in the eyes of the gods, but Clytemnestra goads him into doing so.
Left alone with Cassandra, the chorus wants to be joyous but instead sings a dirge. Returning, Clytemnestra invites Cassandra into the palace, but, foreseeing herself entangled in a net, she remains outside. She bewails her fate after Clytemnestra leaves, predicting a dreadful slaughter in Agamemnon’s house.
The chorus is perplexed because, after promising Apollo her love, Cassandra had reneged, for which he had punished her with prophetic visions that cannot be understood by those to whom she attempts to communicate them. They know well that Aegisthus, whose father had been deceived by Agamemnon’s father into eating his own children, has used Agamemnon’s absence to seduce Clytemnestra. The prediction that the two will kill Cassandra and Agamemnon leaves them mystified. Despairing of being able to stop what is fated, Cassandra enters the palace.
Agamemnon cries out from within. Clytemnestra emerges triumphant with her husband’s blood on her hands. She admits her deceptions but says they were born of necessity and expresses her delight in stabbing Agamemnon so viciously that his blood drenches her. His lust for Cassandra had been a contributory motivation, but she attributes his death to the curse on Atreus and to guilt for Iphigenia’s death. Revenged, Clytemnestra says she will relinquish power.
Aegisthus, however, has grand plans. Intending to use Agamemnon’s wealth to consolidate his own power, he takes credit for plotting this “justice bringing day.” Clytemnestra wants to end the bloodshed, but the chorus opposes them both. Disdainful, the two enter the palace, buoyed by the apparent helplessness of their enemies.
Libation Bearers. Orestes, now grown to a young man, returns with Pylades and places a lock of hair at Agamemnon’s tomb. When Electra arrives with a chorus of serving-women, the two hide. The chorus mentions Clytemnestra’s nightmare, which has led her to send offerings to the tomb. Electra wonders how to supplicate the spirits of the dead. Should she ask for good omens for her mother, or spill the libations on the ground? The chorus suggests blessings for those who hated Aegisthus. Urged to ask for vengeance, Electra thinks that may be impious, but the chorus claims that violence has earned violence.
While following their advice, Electra finds Orestes’ hair. They all wonder if Orestes sent it because he could not return, but Electra then finds footprints that look like hers. Thus discovered, Orestes identifies himself. Electra welcomes him with four loves: love of their father; love she wishes to bestow on Clytemnestra; love of Iphigenia; and love for him. Orestes prays for Zeus’s aid. Apollo has ordered him to avenge Agamemnon. Both he and Electra would have wanted it otherwise: Orestes wishes Agamemnon had died nobly at Troy; Electra, that his murderers had been killed by their friends. The chorus invokes the law—blood for blood—but killing will place Orestes in the chain of those already murdered. Spurred on, he claims he is willing to pay with his life for vengeance, in a battle of one just cause against another. Electra sees only their side as right and prays for justice.
Both ultimately hope to kill and survive. When Orestes asks why Clytemnestra had sent offerings, Electra recounts Clytemnestra’s dream—that she had given birth to a snake, gave it her breast, and, as it sucked, was bitten, spilling blood and milk into its mouth. Orestes, claiming to be that snake, lays out his plan for vengeance, and then leaves.
After the chorus has recalled treacheries of past women, Orestes returns in disguise and reports his own death to Clytemnestra. She seems saddened, averring that she relinquished Orestes to save him. They enter the palace, and Cilissa, Orestes’ old nurse, seeks out Aegisthus with what is, for her, heartbreaking news: Orestes is dead. The chorus, having convinced her to have Aegisthus come to the palace alone, anticipates success.
Aegisthus, lamenting Orestes’ death, enters the palace to learn whether the strangers actually have seen the body. His scream informs the chorus that the assassination is underway and, to avoid complicity, they leave.
Aegisthus’s servant stumbles out, horrified by the murder of his master, to warn Clytemnestra. She attempts to arm herself, but Orestes and Pylades stop her. Clytemnestra mourns her dead lover, reinforcing Orestes’ desire to kill her, but she appeals to him as the child that had suckled at her breast. Shaken and momentarily hesitant, Orestes is advised by Pylades to be loyal first to the gods. This advice carries Orestes through his mother’s subsequent pleading and threats. He slays Clytemnestra in the palace, returning to claim that right is on his side.
The chorus expects trouble, however, and almost immediately Orestes feels stained by matricide. Convinced that Clytemnestra’s Furies are attacking him, he rushes off to seek Apollo’s aid.
Eumenides. At Delphi, Apollo’s Pythian priest honors Earth, Themis, and Phoebe, who gave the gift of prophesy to Apollo, enshrined as fourth prophet by Zeus. She also honors Athene, before entering the temple, but soon rushes out again. Within, she sees Orestes, dripping blood, surrounded by Gorgon-like women, and abandons the problem to Apollo.
Inside, Apollo and Hermes protect Orestes, for Apollo had demanded Clytemnestra’s death. The shade of Clytemnestra, seeking vengeance, awakens the sleeping Furies, who accuse Apollo of stealing power from older gods, inspiring matricide, being stained with blood, and relying upon force. Apollo thinks that killing the murderer of a husband is just, but the Furies see no kindred bloodshed in Clytemnestra’s deed.
Handing the case to Athene, Apollo sends Orestes as suppliant to Athens, where he claims to have been cleansed of pollution by Apollo’s sacrifice of a pig. The Furies reject this: Their subterranean powers precede that of the Olympians.
When Athene arrives, she finds the Furies interesting rather than terrifying. Valuing justice, she decides to hear both sides, but, after preliminary inquiry, rules herself unqualified to adjudicate. She then empowers a jury of Athenian citizens to decide the case. The Furies see this as a threat to their order, which employs fear to ward off evil, punish misdeeds, and reward pain with wisdom. If the new order’s first decision is to free a matricide, it will be useless from the start. The trial proceeds, with the Furies arguing for blood guilt and Apollo for the fulfillment of Zeus’s demand that Agamemnon be avenged. Mothers are only vessels, he ultimately concludes; fathers alone are blood relatives of offspring.
Aware that the jury may end up divided, Athene casts an anticipatory tie-breaking vote: not guilty. She did this because, as daughter of Zeus, who gave birth to her, she is partial to men. The jury deadlocks and her vote thus proves decisive. Orestes vows allegiance to Athene and Athens.
Athene wisely placates the outraged Furies, claiming the jury’s decision was aimed at justice, not at their defeat and humiliation. As an inducement to peace, she offers them eternal honor among Athenians as the Eumenides, “kindly ones.” Patiently, she convinces them and, in the end, accepting this offer of veneration, they bless Athens and embrace peace between old and new gods.
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