Oresteia
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Furies (also called Erinyes or Eumenides).
The Oresteia trilogy consists of three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides. It shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BCE. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. Oresteia originally included a satyr play, Proteus, following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of Proteus has been lost.
See also
- The Oresteia in the arts and popular culture
- Mourning Becomes Electra – a modernized version of the story by Eugene O'Neill, who shifts the action to the American Civil War
- The Flies – an adaptation of The Libation Bearers by Jean-Paul Sartre, which focuses on human freedom
- Live by the sword, die by the sword – a line from the trilogy
