OresteiaThe most famous series of ancient Greek plays, and the only surviving trilogy, is the Oresteia of Aeschylus, consisting of Agamemnon, Choephoroe, and Eumenides. These three plays recount the murder of Agamemnon by his queen Clytemnestra on his return from Troy with the captive Trojan princess Cassandra; the murder in turn of Clytemnestra by their son Orestes; and Orestes' subsequent pursuit by the Avenging Furies (Eumenides) and eventual absolution. Hugh Lloyd-Jones's informative notes elucidate the text, and introductions to each play set the trilogy against the background of Greek religion as a whole and Greek tragedy in particular, providing a balanced assessment of Aeschylus's dramatic art. |
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AEGISTHUS Aeschylus Agamemnon altar anapests ancient ANTISTROPHE Apollo Areopagus Argive Argos Artemis ATHENE Athenian Atreidae Atreus audience avenge blood bring called CASSANDRA CHORUS CLYTEMNESTRA compare Agam Coryphaeus crimes curse daughter dead dear death deed Delphi dialogue dishonored divine earth Elders ELECTRA enemies Erinyes Erinys Eumenides evil exile eyes fate father fear fortune give goddess gods Greek grievous hand hear heart Helen HERALD Hermes Homer honor iambic Iliad justice kill king lament land Libation Bearers Loxias lyric marching anapests means Menelaus metaphor meter mind mortals mother murder Nostoi NURSE oracle Oresteia ORESTES palace Parodos passage perish Phocis play poet pollution prayer pronounce prophet punish PYLADES reverence sacrifice scene Second Stasimon sense sings sorrow speak speech stanza Stesichorus story STROPHE strophic suppliant tell things thought Thyestes tion tomb tragedy trilogy trimeters trochaic Trojan Troy utter woman word translated wrath Zeus