6. 1 The Orestia by Aeschylus
B. The Orestia is a greek tragedy
that is a
trilogy of three stories: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and
Eumenides. Each
pertains to a certain tragedy and despite being called a
Greek tragedy has a
happy ending. It begins with Agamemnon and exists in
the city of Troy. Agamemnon
is returning from his battle with the Trojans
to his wife Clytemnestra, the
latter of which plotting the former's murder.
The reason is that Clytemnestra
has been unhappy with her marriage ever
since their daughter Iphigenia was
sacrificed as well as the fact that she
has been cheating on Agamemnon with his
cousin Aegisthus who deems himself
the rightful owner to the trone. The
situation gets worse as Agamemnon also
brings an enslaved concubine from the war
named Cassandra to the home.
After falling for a trick to walk into the house
over red carpet Agamemnon
seals his fate to death, and Cassandra is cursed by
Apollo for rejecting
Agamemnon's advances to see the grim futures ahead and yet
have nothing to
stop them and is also doomed with Agamemnon. At the end of the
play they
are both killed similar to the way an animal is killed and sacrificed
to
the gods.
In the following production of
The Libation Bearers, Agamemnon's son and
daughter; Orestes and Electra,
feature. As Electra is sent by her mother to
purge her father's grave of
the devil, she spots her brother's lock of hair on
the grave which was put
there moments prior to her arrival by Orestes, along
with his cousin
Pylades. She is able to figure out that he has been there
recently and they
both end up seeing the ghost of Agamemnon tell them that it
was
Clytemnestra who killed him. Disguising as travelers to get into the palace
Orestes and Pylades infiltrate the area and kill the usurper Aegisthus. As
Clytemnestra stands over Aegisthus, asking for Orestes to not kill him, Orestes
asks Pylades "Shall I be ashamed to kill my mother?" In the end though he
does
kill her and the story ends while stating that the Erinyes shall haunt
and
torture Orestes.
The Eumenides is
the final story of the orestia and entails the repercussions
of Orestes'
actions. As Orestes is tormented by the Erinyes for killing his
mother. He
finds shelter at the new temple of Apollo in Delphi. As the god
cannot
assist him directly, he sends Hermes to protect him on a jorney to
Athens.
Before they leave, Hermes casts a drowsy spell on the Erinyes, only for
that to be soon dispelled by the ghost of Clytaemnestra waking them up soon
afterwards. The Erinyes catch up to him eventually and outside of Athens, as
Orestes prays on a supplicant to Athena, Athena soon intervenes and brings
eleven Athenians to join her as on a jury to judge Orestes' supplication.
In the
trial Apollo is able to convince Athena that man is more important
than a woman
in a marriage ie Athena was born without a mother by the hand
of Zeus. In the
end all of the votes are cast and it ends up as a tie which
results in
acquittal. In the end it is stated that mercy shall take
precedence over
justice.
C. Agamemnon:
In Agamemnon the main character: Agamemon is a veteran from the
war against the Trojans and is the target of murder as he returns to his
home
town of Troy by his wife Clytemnestra. As a boy however he grew up
under a
vicious father who fed him his cousins after finding that his wife
committed
adultery. This and other incidents have marred his family's
history by means
such as rape, murder, incest, and other treachery. As such
throughout
generations he and his family have incurred the gods' wrath and
stil cause him
trouble even when he embarks on the Trojan War. Agamemnon
continues the family
lineage and angers the gods via multiple methods by
attacking sacred animals and
further incurs fellow wrath of man by
appeasing them by sacrificing his daughter
Iphigenia. He continues to act
treacherously in his methods to defeat Achilles
and even returns to Troy
with a concubine to his wife. Angered by his actions he
is eventually
killed by Clytemnestra despite his earlier complaints to try not
to invoke
hubris.
Clytemnestra: The wife of
Agamemnon. While it is not entirely
confirmed of her stance on her husband,
she is seen to be an adulterous aspect
in the death of Agamemnon. Born from
Leda and Tyndareus, she is mortal and other
than that he early life is
considered a mystery. However, when Agamemnon leaves
for the Trojan war,
the story splits. On one hand she becomes seduced by
Agamemnon's
treacherous cousin Aegisthus, and is unaware that he shall kill him
on
return. On the other hand she is frustrated with Agamemnon for his actions
including sacrificing their daughter as well a returning home with a concubine,
and plots alongside Aegisthus. In the second book, The Libation
Bearers,
she appears to nonetheless feel guilt about her actions and
asks for mercy from
her son Orestes, but is still killed
regardless.
Aegisthus: Being the son of
Thyestes and daughter of Pelopea, Aegisthus
desired vengeance upon his
adopted father Atreus, for killing his real father
Thyestes. As Atreus did
not know that Aegisthus was the son of Thyestes he still
cared for him as
his real son. Eventually Aegisthis was successful in killing
Atreus and was
later married to Clytemnestra after involving himself in the
death of
Agamemnon. Later he ruled Troy alongside Clytemnestra for seven years
until
Agamemnon's son, Orestes returned for revenge and killed
him.
Orestes: The son of Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra, Orestes was sent into exile
after his fathers death and, once
reaching adulthood swore revenge against
Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. With
his sister Electra he managed to kill them both
although having moral
reservations about killing his mother. After her death, he
is hunted down
by the Erinyes who are furies that avenge the souls of wronged
women. As he
runs for a great amount of time, he is assisted by Hermes and
eventually
arrives at Athens where Athena, puts him on trial for his deeds. He
is then
acquited of his deeds and the furies end their hunt.
D. The
setting of the Orestia is in ancient Greece and takes
place in a time of
war, or rather, end of a war. The main plot of the book
revolves around the
curse of Atreus, whom has fathered a family that has
incurred the wrath of
the gods with their actions. The land itself is mainly of
kingdoms and
associates itself with vivid religion a great deal. Historically it
associates the stories of Greek Gods with the history of ancient Greece and
gives the story of how a family lives with both types of events of the story.
While the majority of the story takes place in the city of Troy, the main
part
of it; the Eumenides, takes place across the country and while it
still houses
cities for the most part, during the journey Orestes and
Hermes travel through
trecherous regions that show off a more primal side
to the location. However for
the most part it is described simply and is
not given much depth which stands to
reason that the Orestia is more
interested in the actions of man rather than the
area it is
in.
E.
In
Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and Eumenides, the
main type of conflict that arises is man v. man, despite being in different
forms.
In Agamemnon, Clytemnestra
and Aegisthus plot to kill Agamemnon by
tricking him to enter his home in a
certain manner that strokes his ego.
Agamemnon is hesitant to do such as he
does not wish to invoke such hubris. In
the main part of the story they
finally manage to get Agamemnon to succumb to
this deed and it becomes his
downfall.
In The Libation Bearers,
the main conflict is direct man v. man as
Orestes gets into a quest for
vengeance for the death of his father. Both are
aware that one wants to
kill the other once they are aware of each other, and
yet there is also an
essence of man v self as Orestes decides whether or not he
shall kill his
own mother.
The Eumenides once
again has the conflict of man v. man as Orestes has
to come before the gods
to plead for his acquittal. However, there is also an
aspect of man v.
nature as the furies are hunting him down, and as the gods are
the ones
judging him, he has to rely on the powers that be to ensure his
acquittal.
F.
In Agamemnon the main theme would be Oikos, or home. In the home, or
family there is great discontent, and as an appeal to irony creates the main
conflict in the work. As the family is obviously going through turmoil with
Clytemnestra planning the murder of Agamemnon, as well as he sacrificing
his
daughter and returning with a concubine, it stands to reason that one
does not
want to get too involved with that family's problems. It also
shows as Agamemnon
is hesitant to enter the home in the matter that
Clytemnestra attempts to make
him.
In The Libation Bearers the main theme would be genesis. As Orestes
and Electra learn of the death of Agamemnon as well as the cause of his death, a
plan is then made to overthrow the current regime by taking out the members
of
the kingdom that have caused the controversy. As Orestes goes to kill
both
Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, he considers whether or not is is best to
kill his
mother after all. But regrdless he does and this self
consideration gives way to
the genesis and gives the new generation the
trials and tribulation to
handle.
Finally, in Eumenides, Judgement would be the major theme. As Orestes
has to be judged for his crimes against his mother, his acquittal states
that
after he has been acquitted the curse of his family may as well be
over, and for
future scenarios mercy shall take precedence over
justice.
G.
The mask of
Agamemnon
B. The Orestia is a greek tragedy
that is a
trilogy of three stories: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and
Eumenides. Each
pertains to a certain tragedy and despite being called a
Greek tragedy has a
happy ending. It begins with Agamemnon and exists in
the city of Troy. Agamemnon
is returning from his battle with the Trojans
to his wife Clytemnestra, the
latter of which plotting the former's murder.
The reason is that Clytemnestra
has been unhappy with her marriage ever
since their daughter Iphigenia was
sacrificed as well as the fact that she
has been cheating on Agamemnon with his
cousin Aegisthus who deems himself
the rightful owner to the trone. The
situation gets worse as Agamemnon also
brings an enslaved concubine from the war
named Cassandra to the home.
After falling for a trick to walk into the house
over red carpet Agamemnon
seals his fate to death, and Cassandra is cursed by
Apollo for rejecting
Agamemnon's advances to see the grim futures ahead and yet
have nothing to
stop them and is also doomed with Agamemnon. At the end of the
play they
are both killed similar to the way an animal is killed and sacrificed
to
the gods.
In the following production of
The Libation Bearers, Agamemnon's son and
daughter; Orestes and Electra,
feature. As Electra is sent by her mother to
purge her father's grave of
the devil, she spots her brother's lock of hair on
the grave which was put
there moments prior to her arrival by Orestes, along
with his cousin
Pylades. She is able to figure out that he has been there
recently and they
both end up seeing the ghost of Agamemnon tell them that it
was
Clytemnestra who killed him. Disguising as travelers to get into the palace
Orestes and Pylades infiltrate the area and kill the usurper Aegisthus. As
Clytemnestra stands over Aegisthus, asking for Orestes to not kill him, Orestes
asks Pylades "Shall I be ashamed to kill my mother?" In the end though he
does
kill her and the story ends while stating that the Erinyes shall haunt
and
torture Orestes.
The Eumenides is
the final story of the orestia and entails the repercussions
of Orestes'
actions. As Orestes is tormented by the Erinyes for killing his
mother. He
finds shelter at the new temple of Apollo in Delphi. As the god
cannot
assist him directly, he sends Hermes to protect him on a jorney to
Athens.
Before they leave, Hermes casts a drowsy spell on the Erinyes, only for
that to be soon dispelled by the ghost of Clytaemnestra waking them up soon
afterwards. The Erinyes catch up to him eventually and outside of Athens, as
Orestes prays on a supplicant to Athena, Athena soon intervenes and brings
eleven Athenians to join her as on a jury to judge Orestes' supplication.
In the
trial Apollo is able to convince Athena that man is more important
than a woman
in a marriage ie Athena was born without a mother by the hand
of Zeus. In the
end all of the votes are cast and it ends up as a tie which
results in
acquittal. In the end it is stated that mercy shall take
precedence over
justice.
C. Agamemnon:
In Agamemnon the main character: Agamemon is a veteran from the
war against the Trojans and is the target of murder as he returns to his
home
town of Troy by his wife Clytemnestra. As a boy however he grew up
under a
vicious father who fed him his cousins after finding that his wife
committed
adultery. This and other incidents have marred his family's
history by means
such as rape, murder, incest, and other treachery. As such
throughout
generations he and his family have incurred the gods' wrath and
stil cause him
trouble even when he embarks on the Trojan War. Agamemnon
continues the family
lineage and angers the gods via multiple methods by
attacking sacred animals and
further incurs fellow wrath of man by
appeasing them by sacrificing his daughter
Iphigenia. He continues to act
treacherously in his methods to defeat Achilles
and even returns to Troy
with a concubine to his wife. Angered by his actions he
is eventually
killed by Clytemnestra despite his earlier complaints to try not
to invoke
hubris.
Clytemnestra: The wife of
Agamemnon. While it is not entirely
confirmed of her stance on her husband,
she is seen to be an adulterous aspect
in the death of Agamemnon. Born from
Leda and Tyndareus, she is mortal and other
than that he early life is
considered a mystery. However, when Agamemnon leaves
for the Trojan war,
the story splits. On one hand she becomes seduced by
Agamemnon's
treacherous cousin Aegisthus, and is unaware that he shall kill him
on
return. On the other hand she is frustrated with Agamemnon for his actions
including sacrificing their daughter as well a returning home with a concubine,
and plots alongside Aegisthus. In the second book, The Libation
Bearers,
she appears to nonetheless feel guilt about her actions and
asks for mercy from
her son Orestes, but is still killed
regardless.
Aegisthus: Being the son of
Thyestes and daughter of Pelopea, Aegisthus
desired vengeance upon his
adopted father Atreus, for killing his real father
Thyestes. As Atreus did
not know that Aegisthus was the son of Thyestes he still
cared for him as
his real son. Eventually Aegisthis was successful in killing
Atreus and was
later married to Clytemnestra after involving himself in the
death of
Agamemnon. Later he ruled Troy alongside Clytemnestra for seven years
until
Agamemnon's son, Orestes returned for revenge and killed
him.
Orestes: The son of Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra, Orestes was sent into exile
after his fathers death and, once
reaching adulthood swore revenge against
Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. With
his sister Electra he managed to kill them both
although having moral
reservations about killing his mother. After her death, he
is hunted down
by the Erinyes who are furies that avenge the souls of wronged
women. As he
runs for a great amount of time, he is assisted by Hermes and
eventually
arrives at Athens where Athena, puts him on trial for his deeds. He
is then
acquited of his deeds and the furies end their hunt.
D. The
setting of the Orestia is in ancient Greece and takes
place in a time of
war, or rather, end of a war. The main plot of the book
revolves around the
curse of Atreus, whom has fathered a family that has
incurred the wrath of
the gods with their actions. The land itself is mainly of
kingdoms and
associates itself with vivid religion a great deal. Historically it
associates the stories of Greek Gods with the history of ancient Greece and
gives the story of how a family lives with both types of events of the story.
While the majority of the story takes place in the city of Troy, the main
part
of it; the Eumenides, takes place across the country and while it
still houses
cities for the most part, during the journey Orestes and
Hermes travel through
trecherous regions that show off a more primal side
to the location. However for
the most part it is described simply and is
not given much depth which stands to
reason that the Orestia is more
interested in the actions of man rather than the
area it is
in.
E.
In
Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and Eumenides, the
main type of conflict that arises is man v. man, despite being in different
forms.
In Agamemnon, Clytemnestra
and Aegisthus plot to kill Agamemnon by
tricking him to enter his home in a
certain manner that strokes his ego.
Agamemnon is hesitant to do such as he
does not wish to invoke such hubris. In
the main part of the story they
finally manage to get Agamemnon to succumb to
this deed and it becomes his
downfall.
In The Libation Bearers,
the main conflict is direct man v. man as
Orestes gets into a quest for
vengeance for the death of his father. Both are
aware that one wants to
kill the other once they are aware of each other, and
yet there is also an
essence of man v self as Orestes decides whether or not he
shall kill his
own mother.
The Eumenides once
again has the conflict of man v. man as Orestes has
to come before the gods
to plead for his acquittal. However, there is also an
aspect of man v.
nature as the furies are hunting him down, and as the gods are
the ones
judging him, he has to rely on the powers that be to ensure his
acquittal.
F.
In Agamemnon the main theme would be Oikos, or home. In the home, or
family there is great discontent, and as an appeal to irony creates the main
conflict in the work. As the family is obviously going through turmoil with
Clytemnestra planning the murder of Agamemnon, as well as he sacrificing
his
daughter and returning with a concubine, it stands to reason that one
does not
want to get too involved with that family's problems. It also
shows as Agamemnon
is hesitant to enter the home in the matter that
Clytemnestra attempts to make
him.
In The Libation Bearers the main theme would be genesis. As Orestes
and Electra learn of the death of Agamemnon as well as the cause of his death, a
plan is then made to overthrow the current regime by taking out the members
of
the kingdom that have caused the controversy. As Orestes goes to kill
both
Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, he considers whether or not is is best to
kill his
mother after all. But regrdless he does and this self
consideration gives way to
the genesis and gives the new generation the
trials and tribulation to
handle.
Finally, in Eumenides, Judgement would be the major theme. As Orestes
has to be judged for his crimes against his mother, his acquittal states
that
after he has been acquitted the curse of his family may as well be
over, and for
future scenarios mercy shall take precedence over
justice.
G.
The mask of
Agamemnon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljDeqAXU-GQ
A video that has archeological study on Troy to see the remains of the story and
possibly character
Agamemnon.
H.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oresteia#Agamemnon
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/clytemnestra.html
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/aegisthus.html
http://www.rbhs.w-cook.k12.il.us/mancoff/agamemnon.jpg