The Oresteia

The Oresteia is a trilogy of ancient Greek plays written by Aeschylus in 458BC. This trilogy of plays tells the story of the cursed house of Atreus, beginning with Agamemnon’s return home from the Trojan War, and following the cycle of revenge taken out by his children, Orestes and Electra. Their quest to avenge the death of their father ultimately leads to Zeus and the establishment of the Athena law courts.

The first play in the trilogy, Agamemnon, begins with a watchman waiting for a signal from the gods that Agamemnon has returned home from the Trojan War victorious. We find out that Agamemnon did indeed return, but it was not a triumphant return. He had to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to appease the gods and to achieve a safe voyage across the sea.

Meanwhile Clytemnestra had a lover, Aegisthus long before Agamemnon returned. Together, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus murder Agamemnon in his homecoming bath. In the second play, The Libation Bearers, Orestes and Electra return to Argos and avenge their father’s death by killing Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. In the final play, The Eumenides, Orestes is pursued by the Furies (the vengeful spirits of murdered kin). He eventually travels to Athens and appeals his case to Athena (also known as the goddess of justice). Athena judges in Orestes’ favor and the Furies are appeased and rewarded. The Eumenides ends with the establishment of the Areopagus, the court of appeals in Athens, and the founding of new laws of justice.

The Oresteia is a great example of ancient Greek tragedy. Throughout the narrative we encounter a whole range of emotions, from excitement and despair to sorrow and joy. This excellent combination of irony, suspense and darkness is amplified by the poetry and pace of Aeschylus’ delivery. In this play he combines complex imagery, conflicting moral judgments and vivid characterizations. These elements come together to create an atmosphere of intense emotions and drama

Aeschylus' work can also be read on another level, in which the characters can be interpreted as representing moral and philosophical concepts. Clytemnestra is seen as representing personal and societal justice, while Electra appears to represent the ideal of honour and justice. Additionally, the Furies can be seen as representing the forces of fate and the inescapable cycle of revenge. Ultimately, the legacy of the Oresteia is one of the great triumphs of ancient Greek theater and a timeless masterpiece of the Western literary canon.

This message of justice, ancient and modern, is the lasting contribution of Aeschylus’ play. It portrays the fact that justice is in the process of being established, imperfectly, in an ever-evolving world. The Oresteia is a powerful reminder of the necessity for justice in all societies, and for the proper exercise of power, in all its guises.