Foreword
Acknowledgements
A Reading of 'The Oresteia': The Serpent and the Eagle

--Agamemnon
--The Libation Bearers
--The Eumenides

The Genealogy of Orestes
Select Bibliography
Notes
Glossary

Overall, The Oresteia was a brutal work, savage and eloquent. I highly recommend you listen to Norwegian black metal while reading this, as it really adds to the experience. Then again, I find that listening to Norwegian black metal adds to the experience of such activities as driving to the grocery store, so I may be a tad bit biased there.

Some of my favorite excerpts:

“…we must suffer, suffer into truth.
We cannot sleep, and drop by drop at the heart
the pain of pain remembered comes again,
and we resist, but ripeness comes as well.
From the gods enthroned on the awesome rowing-bench
there comes a violent love.”

“But Justice turns the balance scales,
sees that we suffer
and we suffer and we learn.”

“Hope’s hand, hovering over the urn of mercy, left it empty.”

“…the house that hates god,
an echoing womb of guilt, kinsmen
torturing kinsmen, severed heads,
slaughterhouse of heroes, soil streaming blood…”

“Raging mother of death, storming deathless war against the ones she loves!”

“Rushed from the house we come
escorting cups for the dead,
in step with the hands’ hard beat, our cheeks glistening,
flushed where the nails have raked new furrows running blood;
and life beats on, and
we nurse our lives with tears,
to the sound of ripping linen beat our robes in sorrow,
close to the breast the beats throb
and laughter’s gone and fortune throbs and throbs.”

The Oresteian Trilogy contains three works by Aeschylus: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and Eumenides. My audio version, which is read by a full cast, also includes an excerpt from Proteus in The Odyssey that refers to Agamemnon’s brother Menelaus. It was performed in 458 BCE and is the only Greek drama that survives in its entirety. It is a story of vengeance and justice. In the first part, when Agamemnon returns from Troy, his wife Clytemnestra takes revenge on him for his role in the sacrifice of their daughter Iphegenia. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes and Electra take revenge on their mother Clytemnestra. In Eumenides, Orestes goes on trial for killing Clytemnestra, with Athena as judge, the Furies as prosecutors, and Apollo speaking for the defense. It reflects the changes in Greek society at the time, told as a clash between the old gods and the new order. This Greek tragedy is written in an eloquent manner. It is surprisingly modern in its translation by Ian Johnston and adaptation by Yuri Rasovsky. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the classics. I think audio is a wonderful way to gain an appreciation for how it may have been performed.

For people who didn't notice Marina Hyde's column in today's Guardian:

Having been instrumental in forcing the last two prime ministers out of office, Boris Johnson is on a hat-trick. Can he do it? Can Big Dog play his cards in such a way that a third prime ministerial scalp will be his – his in more ways than one? The answer feels like a hard yes, but this never-ending Greek tragedy is certainly taking its time. How’s your stamina? Like me, you maybe feel the Boristeia is dragging on a bit. Seemingly three plays in, Shagamemnon is still with us.

Agamemnon is such an impressive piece of theatre. Even to this day, it has a kind of tension so rarely achieved in any piece of theatre since. It set in stone many of the conventions of horror literature. The great unknowable evil lurking underneath the plot is an omnipresence, hanging over all of the dialogue, and flavouring all of the characters' interactions.

The following two plays are more cerebral, and taken together they complete the thematic journey of the trilogy: from chaos to order, and from evil to virtue. They provide a necessary counterbalance to the chaos of the first play, and finally (in Eumenides) serve as a reckoning of the events of the first and second plays.

I first read these plays in the Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro translation. My second reading was in Fagles' translation. Both are very good, and I struggle to choose between them. Fagles appears to be more literal, and Burian/Shapiro appears to be more lyrical.

My slightly weird and rambling years-old review is below.

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I'm quite conflicted about rating this. Beyond any doubt at all, Agamemnon, the first of the trilogy, is a masterpiece of the highest order. It's a superbly tense story with an awesome (and very emotionally affecting) climax. The two plays that follow, although great in their own ways, are not so tense as the first. Libation Bearers continues the story of Agamemnon and is centered around the late general's tomb. And then there's Eumenides which is mostly a courtroom trial (although rather an unusual one, in that Apollo appears as a witness and Athena contributes frequently).

The third play reminded me a lot of Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot. No doubt he was influenced in no small part by Aeschylus. Regardless, I found the courtroom sequences of Murder in the Cathedral to be quite surreal. And I found that same surrealism as present in Eumenides - perhaps even more so than it was in Eliot's play. In Eliot's play there were no gods present at the trial.

None of this is intended as a negative criticism of course. It's just what struck me foremost. Perhaps I should re-read Murder in the Cathedral. So much of modern literature takes on a different appearance when you go back to the sources - and there's no earlier source of drama than Aeschylus.

Net zoals de meeste mensen - vermoed ik - ben ik van de drie Atheense tragici het minst vertrouwd met het werk van Aischylos. Dus las ik nu zijn Oresteia, de trilogie rond de moord op Agalemnon door Klytaimnestra en later die op Klytaimnestra door Orestes en de nasleep hiervan.

Ik heb het huis van de Atriden (waartoe ook Tantalos, Pelops, Thyestes, etc behoren) altijd al de meest interessante stof van de klassieke tragedie gevonden - ja zelfs meer dan de Oedipous-stof - en nu ik Aischylos versie las nog meer!

Het is absurd te denken dat deze drie stukken meer dan 2500 jaar oud zijn, ze blijven ons - mij toch - nog steeds raken. Tegelijk zijn ze dus in zekere zin nog steeds actueel (thematieken van de wraak, oorlog, familiemoord, vrije wil etc), maar ook erg gegrond in de eigen context. Zo wist ik bijvoorbeeld niet dat het laatste stuk van de trilogie - Goede geesten - toch vrij expliciet verwijst naar de politieke situatie van het Athene van Aischylos’ tijd. Dat maakt deze stukken zo aantrekkelijk: de lezing ervan is gelaagd en er vallen vele interpretaties te vormen.

Straf werk.

Highly recommend it if you enjoy Ancient Greek Literature. The trilogy presents the development of early democratic elements in the Greek city-states within the larger narrative of a chain of murders. The character of Clytemnestra, Aeschylus' giving a voice to minor characters in society, and the debate surrounding Zeus' Will, Fate, and Justice are interesting aspects in the plays. Looking forward to studying it for class and writing about it.

This is perhaps ancient Greece's most famous tragic trilogy that has survived antiquity. "Agamemnon" deals with the treacherous murder of King Agamemnon, just returned from the Trojan war, at the hands of his wife, Clytemnestra, and his brother (who had an affair with his wife and coveted the throne). "The Libation Bearers" brings karmic and bloody retribution upon Clytemnestra at the hands of her only son, Orestes, avenging the death of his father. "The Eumenides" deals with Orestes flight from 'the furies,' demon-like creatures who are hellbent on exacting justice for the unforgivable sin of matricide, with a climax of Orestes appealing for mercy and clemency from the gods of Olympus for his "crime." A fascinating read with such descriptions that one cannot help but imagine the scenes that take place. Highly recommended!

AGAMEMNON is a chilling revenge play, the first play of a trilogy of plays written by Aeschylus, one of the few Ancient Greek dramatists whose work has survived from antiquity. The trilogy was first produced in the spring of 458 BCE in the city of Athens.

Agamemnon, in the works of Homer, is the brutal king of the Achaeans during the Trojan War, and this play is about his return home after Troy has been defeated and utterly destroyed. This play, however, is not directly related to the Iliad or his rivalry with Achilles, but about the outcome of his past actions and to the myth of the House of Atreus.

The House of Atreus is cursed. The story is gruesome and this might not be the right place to deal with it in detail: it involves murders, adultery, incest, infanticide and cannibalism. Agamemnon is the fourth generation of this cursed House. The myth tells of wrongs done to avenge old wrongs which lead to newer wrongs, a veritable chain of evil and derangement.

So Agamemnon returns home victorious from the Trojan War and has to face a new war, a domestic war. He has to face his wife Clytemnestra, who is very, very, very angry. You see, Agamemnon found himself in trouble when he wanted to launch his fleet at Aulis. Adverse winds prevented the huge fleet of Achaeans from sailing to Troy. A seer tells Agamemnon that only one thing would stop the bad winds. He had to slaughter his own daughter, young Iphigeneia, to appease Artemis, and all would be well. Agamemnon accepts without resistance.

Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigeneia. The Achaeans took young Iphigenia out to the ocean, and forced her over an altar there. They gagged and murdered her, so that the winds would take them to Troy, so that the war in Troy could start in earnest. After the horrendous sacrifice, the Achaeans were able to sail off to Troy in order to exact their vengeance and bring Helen back.

Clytemnestra has not forgotten or forgiven this evil deed and for ten years she has been waiting to exact her own vengeance. She has taken a lover, Aegisthus, who will help her out. Clytemnestra rejoices when Agamemnon returns home safely, but not because she loves him. She wants to kill him herself, and she does.

AGAMEMNON is about the violent death of a returning conqueror. He has murdered his daughter, sailed off to Troy, proved a nightmare to the city for a decade, pissed off Achilles -the real hero of the Iliad- and then, after defeating Troy, destroyed it, killed its inhabitants, and made Cassandra, its princess, into a personal sex slave. But we all know that the story doesn't end with the toppling of a cruel tyrant. The next two plays will deal with the aftermath.

"I have suffered into truth"

"You know the rules, now turn them into justice."

"The outrage stands as it stands, you burn to know the end..."

"Never try to cut my power with your logic."

"We spoil ourselves with scruples, long as things go well."

"Old men are children once again, a dream that sways and wavers into the hard light of day."

...Which is all to say that this trilogy is bananas and savage and graceful, and that Aeschylus was doing Shakespeare things about two thousand years before Shakespeare. More thoughts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-boc...

মহৎ সাহিত্য করতে হেন করতে হবে তেন করতে হবে এইটা মনে হয় খুব বেশি সত্য না, এখন, বা অ্যাস্কাইলাসের আমলেও। মানে, এই লোক আর কী করছে, নিজেদের চারদিকে ছড়ানো কাহিনীরে ইচ্ছামত পাল্টাইছেন, নিজের সময়ের সমস্যাগুলি ধরে রাখতে, ব্যস, হয়ে গেলো -

আমি খুবই অবাক হইলাম বইয়ের শেষের উচ্চারণের লিষ্টি থেকে জানতে পেরে যে অ্যাস্কাইলাসের নাম নাকী অ্যাস্কাইলাস না, ঈস্কিলাস বা আয়স্কিলাস। এদ্দিন ধরে ভুলভাল ডেকে আসছি এই লোকেরে - অবশ্য নামসংহারে কীই বা উল্টে যায়। গল্পে আসি -
প্রথম নাটক আগে একবার পড়া ছিলো, গেলো বছর সম্ভবত। এই তিনের সেরাটা প্রথমটাই আমার কাছে, যেখানে ক্লাইমেনেস্ত্রার মত অসাধারণ চরিত্র আছে, আছে স্বল্প পরিসরে অ্যাগিস্থাস, কোরাসের সাথে ক্লাইমেনেস্ত্রার ঠাণ্ডা যুদ্ধও দেখার মত, আবার ঐদিকে কোরাসের সাথে কাসান্দ্রার গড়মিল। আগামেম্ননের চরিত্রও বেশ গোছানো, প্রচণ্ড কড়া নাটক, ভেলাকটের অনুবাদও নিশ্চয়ই ভালো, মূল ত পড়ি নাই। গ্রীক নাটকের ঐ বিশ মাইল সংলাপ ত থাকবেই, কিন্তু সেই সংলাপ অয়দিপাঊষের মত অবশ্যম্ভাবীর জন্য বসায়ে বসায়ে ক্লান্ত করে না, বরং অবশ্যম্ভাবীর দিকে এগিয়ে যাওয়ার পথটাই মুগ্ধ করে বারবার। পাঠকরে খুব বেশি না ভোগাইলেও, না ভাবাইলেও, নাড়া দেয় নির্ভেজাল।
ভাবায় বরং দ্বিতীয়টা। এইখানে আয়স্কিলাস তার সময়ের ত বটেই, যেহেতু মানব সভ্যতায় আসলে আহামরি পরিবর্তন ঘটে নাই, একটা বেশ কালাতীত সমস্যা দাঁড় করান, প্রথম নাটকের সূত্র ধরে। সেই সমস্যার সমাধান, আমরা জানি, দৈব হতে হয় না, নিশ্চয়ই আমরা জানি, কিন্তু খুঁজে পাওয়ার জো নাই। তৃতীয়টা কথা বলে সেই সমাধান নিয়ে - এই নাটক দুইটা প্রথমটার চেয়ে অনেক নিষ্প্রভ, শেষ পর্যন্ত যে আপাত সমাধানটা দেয়া হয়, সেটা কোথাও কাজ করে না, না আমার ভেতর আর না বাস্তবে, সে কারণে অবশ্য নিষ্প্রভ না, নিষ্প্রভ কারণ একদিকে ইলেক্ত্রা, অরেস্তেস, ফীবাস বা অ্যাথেন কেউ চরিত্র হিসেবে প্রথম নাটকের কারো সাথে পাল্লা দিতে পারে না - আর আরেকদিকে এই নাটক দুইটা, গল্পটা বলার চেয়ে বেশি মনোযোগী ধারণার কথা বলতে, যুক্তি কুযুক্তি ইত্যাদির কথা বলতে। তবে, সেইদিকে মনোযোগ দিয়েও একেবারে পড়ে যায় না এরা, টিকে, টিকে যায় বরং -

কিন্তু এই তিনটার মাঝে আগামেম্নেনই সবচেয়ে শক্তিশালী হয়ে খাড়ায়ে থাকে দণ্ডায়মান। ট্রাজেডি বটে এই তিনটা, বিশেষ করে প্রথম দুই, বিশেষ করে পয়লা নম্বর, যেখানে অভিশাপ আছে জেনেও সে আর তারা প্রয়োজনের ভার নিজেদের কাঁধে তুলে নিচ্ছে, যেখানে ভাগ্য গুণতি-ওলার উপর মানুষের অবিশ্বাসও দুঃখের জন্ম দেয়, অয়দিপাঊষের মত গতিসীমা না জেনে কেউ খাঁদে পড়ে না, খাঁদে পড়ে সামনের গাড়িতে বসা কেউকেটা কাউরে বাঁচাতে গিয়ে, মাঝ দিয়ে একগাদা মানুষের মৃত্যুর কারণ হয় সে, অবিশ্বাসও তেইরেসিয়াসের গোস্বা জন্ম দেয়াতে আটকে থাকে না। সফোক্লিসের চেয়ে আয়স্কিলাসরে আমি বহুদূর আগায়ে রাখবো, কোরাসে কে কম আর কে বেশি সময় দিলো, সেই জিনিসের নিকুচি করি আমি।

এই সময়ের আয়স্কিলাস কারা? কে জানে, কে জানে, আড়াই হাজার, কিন্তু ইতিহাস ত কখনো ফিরে আসবে না, এই আড়াই হাজার বছর নিশ্চয়ই হবে ভিন্নতর আড়াই হাজার।

We read this book in class and we each had our own characters and it was really fun! Good plot and our teacher was super fun teaching it!