Aeschylus’ Oresteia is the only trilogy to survive from Ancient Greece. It tells the story of Clytemnestra’s murder of her husband Agamemnon in vengeance for the killing of their daughter, Iphigenia, whom Agamemnon sacrificed to the goddess Artemis in exchange for favourable winds to sail to Troy. It focuses on themes of gender, justice, and duty (to family, country, gods), and serves as a foundation myth for the Areopagus homicide court in Athens. It is an extremely important piece of literature, and influenced many later writers, including Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca.
What do you think of the Oresteia, and in particular, how do you feel about the ‘justness’ of each of the killings? How do the killers (Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Orestes) justify their actions, and how plausible are those justifications? In particular, why is Clytemnestra villainized to a greater extent than either Agamemnon or Orestes? Is this villainization fair? How did you feel about the outcome of the trial, and the votes of the jurors and Athena? Did you feel that justice had been done?
Aeschylus’ Oresteia is the only trilogy to survive from Ancient Greece. It tells the story of Clytemnestra’s murder of her husband Agamemnon in vengeance for the killing of their daughter, Iphigenia, whom Agamemnon sacrificed to the goddess Artemis in exchange for favourable winds to sail to Troy. It focuses on themes of gender, justice, and duty (to family, country, gods), and serves as a foundation myth for the Areopagus homicide court in Athens. It is an extremely important piece of literature, and influenced many later writers, including Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca.
What do you think of the Oresteia, and in particular, how do you feel about the ‘justness’ of each of the killings? How do the killers (Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Orestes) justify their actions, and how plausible are those justifications? In particular, why is Clytemnestra villainized to a greater extent than either Agamemnon or Orestes? Is this villainization fair? How did you feel about the outcome of the trial, and the votes of the jurors and Athena? Did you feel that justice had been done?