The Oresteia, written in the 5th century BCE, was a Greek tragedy written in three parts by Aeschylus. The trilogy includes the plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides. The Oresteia remains the only complete trilogy of Greek drama that has survived from antiquity.

Agamemnon
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia, for favorable winds and then sailed for Troy. For nine years Queen Clytemnestra waited for her husband’s return, remembering all. One night a beacon appears in the sky, signaling victory over Troy. Soon the daughter of King Priam of Troy and Agamemnon’s war prize, Cassandra, accompanies Agamemnon home. To avenge her daughter’s murder, Clytemnestra stabs Agamemnon and Cassandra.
CLYTEMNESTRA:
So it stands, elders of Argos gathered here.
Rejoice if you can rejoice- I glory.
And if I'd pour upon his body the libation it deserves, what wine could match my words?
It is right and more than right. He flooded the vessel of our proud house with misery, with the vintage of the curse and now he drains the dregs. My lord is home at last.

The Mycenaeans curse Clytemnestra.
CHORUS:
Woman! - what poison cropped from the soil or strained from the heaving sea,
what nursed you, drove you insane….
You have cut away and flung away and now the people cast you off to exile, broken with our hate.

The Leader of the elders of Mycenae reminds all who are present that Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, lives and he will avenge his father’s death.
LEADER:
Orestes-
If he still sees the light of day, bring him home, good Fates….Our champion in slaughter!


The Libation Bearers
With the approval of Apollo, Orestes arrives to avenge his father’s death.
CHORUS:
…And for all you love under earth
and all above its rim, now scarf your eyes against the Gorgon's fury-
In, go in for the slaughter now!
The butcher comes. Wipe out death with death.

Orestes kills his mother’s lover and then confronts her.
CLYTEMNESTRA:
Hand me the man-axe, someone, hurry!
Now we will see. Win all or lose all,
we have come to this- the crisis of our lives.
ORESTES:
It's you I want….

The Furies torment Orestes for the murder of his mother and he flees.
ORESTES:
No, no! Women- look- like Gorgons, shrouded in black,
their heads wreathed, swarming serpent….
No dreams, these torments,
not to me, they're clear, real- the hounds of mother's hate….
You can't see them
I can, they drive me on! I must move on-


The Eumenides
Orestes arrives at the temple of Apollo in Delphi, tormented by the Furies. Apollo appears, fights off the Furies and rebukes their Leader.
LEADER:
You commanded the guest to kill his mother.
APOLLO:
- Commanded him to avenge his father, what of it….
And what of the wife who strikes her husband down?
LEADER:
That murder would not destroy one's flesh and blood.

Matricide, explains the Furies, the reason they punished Orestes. He killed his mother, a blood relative, unlike Clytemnestra who merely killed her husband. Athena arrives and the Furies state their case against Orestes. They will allow Athena to judge the merits of their case against him.
ATHENA:
You would turn over responsibility to me, to reach the final verdict?
LEADER:
Certainly.
We respect you. You show us respect.

Athena choses not to judge the case herself but selects ten citizens, Judges, who will cast a vote each to decide the case. As a witness for Orestes, Apollo makes the argument that men alone have claims on their children because they provide the seed while women simply carry the growing fetus. To bolster his case, Apollo points to Athena, who sprung fully formed from Zeus. The ten Judges cast their votes and Athena casts hers for Orestes. The votes are counted, there was a tie, and Orestes wins the case. Athena quickly tries to appease the Furies’ anger. She promises the Furies a home in Athens and the new responsibility, changing their previous black robes to reddish-purple ones, of guarding its citizens.




From The Magus by John Fowles-
“To begin with there was something pleasantly absurd about teaching in a boarding school (run on supposedly Eton-Harrow lines) only a look north from where Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon.”


From Vanishing Point by David Markson-
“Karl Marx reread the Oresteia once every year.”

This play has memorable scenes of great dramatic intensity, like when Clytemnestra faces his son, among others. The comments in this edition are fascinating and offer real meaning to the idioms and cultural references of a people so close to us and ancient.

Aristophanes তার বই The Frogs এ Aeschylus কে ট্রাজেডিয়ানদের ভেতর সবচেয়ে সেরা হিসেবে দেখিয়েছেন। না সরাসরি বলেননি। তবে Sophocles যখন বলেছিলো সে Aeschylus এর সাথে লড়বেনা Pluto এর সাথে চেয়ারে বসে খাবার খাওয়ার ব্যাটেলে তখনই কিছুটা আন্দাজ করা যায় যে Aristophanes Aeschylus এর পক্ষে বেশি।

অ্যারিস্টোফানিজ এর মতে তিন Tragedians দের ক্রমানুসারে সাজালে
প্রথমঃ Aeschylus
দ্বিতীয়ঃ Sophocles
তৃতীয়ঃ Euripides

এই ক্রম পাওয়া যায়। আর Aristophanes যেহেতু তাদের সমসাময়িক লেখক তাই ধরে নেওয়া যায় Aeschylus হয়তো প্রথম অবস্থানেই ছিলো। আমি Greek tragedy খুব কম পড়েছি। তারপরও বিবেচনা করলে আমার কাছে Sophocles কে ভালো লেগেছে বেশি।

Aeschylus এর Oresteia সিরিজে তিনটা বই। Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers এবং Eumenides/ The Furies.

এই তিনটা বই বা ড্রামা Agamemnon এর যুদ্ধ থেকে ফেরত আসার পরের কাহিনী নিয়ে রচিত। তার দীর্ঘ যুদ্ধ থেকে ফিরে আসার পর খুন হওয়া, বদলা নেওয়া, বদলা নেওয়া এই মুখ্যত কাহিনী। বদলা নেওয়া দুইবার বলার কারন হচ্ছে পরের দুই বই Revenge এর উপর। তিনটাই যদিও Revenge Tragedy তারপরও Agamemnon এ একদম শেষের দিকে ব্যাক্ত করা আর পরের দুইটাতে শুরু থেকেই।

ব্যাক্তিগত ভাবে Agamemnon (5) আমার খুবই ভালো লেগেছে। সাথে পরের দুইটাও { The Libation Bearers (4), Eumenides (4) } তবে মনে হয় Agamemnon এর হাইটে পৌঁছাতে পারেনি।

Agamemnon এর গল্প যেমন মারাত্বক তেমনি ডায়লগও। Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, Chorus সবারই উপস্থিতি মনোমুগ্ধকর। আর এটাতে একটা সাসপেন্স, থ্রিল টাইপ ভাব আছে যেটা অপর দুটাতে নাই। আর Agamemnon এ একটা খুনের ভেতর দিয়ে আরো কাহিনী সমন্ধে জানা যায়। আগের করা ভায়োলেন্স গুলা আরকি। The Things People Do For Love ( Agamemnon, Clytemnestra দুজনের ক্ষেত্রেই প্রযোজ্য)

The Libation Bearers এ সামানে আসেন Oresteia সিরিজের Orestes. মূলত বাবার হত্যার প্রতিশোধ নিতে। এই বইয়ে Clytemnestra যখন তার নিজের ব্যাপারে বলে, Agamemnon দুরে থাকার কারনে কষ্ট, চাহিদা এসবের বিবরণ যখন দেয় তখন কেন জানি Clytemnestra এর সাইড নিতে ইচ্ছে করে। সব মানুষের সব প্রয়োজন। মৌলিক চাহিদার উর্ধ্বে কেউ নেই। আবারো বলা যায় The things people do for love.

Eumenides বা The Furies ও Revenge Tragedy তবে এখানে যেহেতু পরিবারের কেউ আর বাকী থাকেনা তাই দায়িত্ব নিতে হয় অন্যদের। আমি মনে করি এটা সিরিজের মধ্যে দুর্বল বই। তবু শেষ জানার জন্য চমৎকার।

আহ যতই গ্রিকদের পড়ছি ততই ভালোবাসা বেড়ে যাচ্ছে। মানুষ এত বুদ্ধি নিয়ে বেঁচে ছিলো কেমনে! আর সবচেয়ে বড় কথা এত আগের যুগে মানুষ এরকম ছিলো! তারা বিজ্ঞানে আমাদের মতো উন্নতি না করলেও সবদিক দিয়ে আমাদের থেকে এগিয়ে ছিলো। এখন এসব প্লে লাইভ দেখার অপেক্ষাতে ❤️

PR: 4.33 (তিন বই গড় করলে)

Fenomenal, a Oresteia: Agamémnon e Euménides em primeiro, em mérito equiparáveis; Coéforas em segundo, não por isso menos notável.

Surpreendi-me ao pensar que o final da primeira peça pudesse ser o ponto alto da trilogia, pois revejo nas Euménides o expoente máximo da perícia lírica de Ésquilo. Embora a primeira seja, de facto, a peça que mais explora o «carácter trágico da tragédia», é nesta última que o poeta revela toda a sua mestria e irreverência, no bom sentido do termo, a ponto de adulterar a sorte há muito estabelecida dos deuses. Seguramente mais aliciante que Sófocles, pelo menos se compararmos qualquer uma das três peças, mesmo as Coéforas, a Rei Édipo, excluindo já as suas dissemelhanças estruturais.

Pequeno aparte final: pensa-se que Ésquilo (525-456 a.C.) tenha escrito cerca de 90 peças, das quais apenas 7 sobreviveram à impiedosa passagem do tempo. Devemos, pois, indagar até que ponto desconhecemos a amplitude da sua obra e a grandiosidade do seu génio, por certo já bem fixada pelo pouco que nos chegou. A essa interrogação corresponderá sempre um certo fascínio, tanto maior, creio, quanto a nossa curiosidade procurar saber.

Uhvatih se u koštac sa Atrejevcima, ali sam krenuo od kraja – od Euripidove Ifigenije na Tauridi i Ifigenije u Aulidi, tako da je valjalo vratiti se unazad na načalo da zaokružim sagu o deci Agamemnonovoj. Euripid prikazuje završnicu u „Ifigenijama“ kojoj prethodi Elektra, čime objedinjuje sudbine dveju sestara. Kroz njih provlači i sudbinu brata im Oresta. Ali, sam koren ide mnogo pre Euripida – kod Eshila. On u trilogiji „Orestija“ („Agamemnon“ + „Žrtve na grobu“ + „Eumenide“) objedinjuje tragični usud dece Atrejeve i njihovih žena i potomaka.

Za razliku od Euripida koji mi je maestralni pesnik koji naglašava u versama psihološki naboj određenog lika i objašnjava okruženje i razloge te patnje, sve obavijeno lakim mitološkim miljeom kao začinom, Eshilov stil je drugačiji. On je u stanju da plete beskonačne vitice koje neki lik izgovara i čini se nekad da će taj monolog beskonačno da traje dok ne revidira i ne izgovori znanje vaskoliko o datoj temi. To poprilično ume da me umori. Čini se da je akcenat više na samom pričanju nego na onome što se pričanjem donosi, mada ne bih to, ipak, ograničavao na tako uzak pogled.

Agamemnon mi se najviše dopao, jer je tragični naboj možda na vrhuncu i Eshilovi beskonačni monolozi nekako imaju smisao, jer revidira prokletstvo Agamemnonovog oca koje se prenosi i na njega i brata mu Menelaja (kod Tolkina je slična pojava u sagi o deci Hurinovoj) i prikazuje patnju supruge mu Klitemnestre, koja smatra da mora da ga smrću kazni što je na oltar Artemidi priložio kćer im Ifigeniju kao žrtvu, kako bi se njegova jedra iz Argosa napela i otišao u Troju u rat. Ne znajući pravu istinu o Ifigeniji, Klitemnestra ubija muža sekirom u kadi. I to je najupečatljiviji momenat. Orest se smatra pozvanim, i od Apolona dobija odobrenje da zbog toga majci svojoj oduzme život.

Očekivao sam da će u Žrtvi na grobu biti više eshatoloških elemenata, te da će podrobnije da opiše obrede žrtvovanja htonskim božanstvima, ali osim beskonačnih monologa i oklevanja, nije bilo ničeg upečatljivijeg.

Iste su mi nade bile i u Eumenidama. Tu, doduše, svojstvo naratora izmešta na neki način sa hora, dodeljujući mu da bude neovaploćeni glas Furija koje progone Oresta zbog njegovog dela. Ponovo nema toliko upliva htonskih elemenata, i Eshil sada pravi sudnicu, na kojoj je osuđeni Feb-Apolon, a njegov branilac Atina, koje Furije smatraju saučesnicima u tom zlodelu. Završnica je potpuna eukatastrofa i fantastičan je Atinin gest da Furijama dodeli svetilište koje, kao božanstva starijeg reda, nisu nikada imale, te od besnih Srda one postaju Eumenide – milosnice.

Oresteia este o trilogie de tragedii grecești scrise de Eschil în secolul al V-lea î.Hr. și referitoare la uciderea lui Agamemnon de către Clitemnestra, uciderea Clitemnestrei de către Oreste, procesul lui Oreste, sfârșitul blestemului Casei lui Atreus și potolirea Eriniilor.

"ELECTRA: Pe un dușman să nu-l plătești cu fapta sa?", HOEFORELE.
"CORIFEA: Cinstim doar vrednicia celui vrednic dată.", EUMENIDELE.

probably my favourite greek tragedy so far, it’s just so richly filled with texture, character development and lush writing.

gott drama svo spicy

The Oresteia by Aeschylus (translator: David Mulroy) made Aeschylus’s The Oresteia an easy work to read. Though I did stop and pause when the lyricism of the line grated against the earthy descriptions of violence. At one time this would have stunned me, but now I am able to reason that this is a feature of these works.

The Oresteia is a trilogy of a dysfunctional ruling family, where several murders are committed in the name of justice. The verdict of this trial I thought was bittersweet. On the one hand it puts an end to the cycle of murders, but how it reaches its conclusion negates the mother’s role.



I liked reading Mulroy’s translation more than listening to the BBC’s adaptation of Aeschylus’s The Oresteia. Here, the world, with its motive behind the series of murders made more sense.

This edition comes with notes which include a short biography of Aeschylus, and presents an argument of why the last part should be renamed from Eumenides to The Holy Goddesses. Every page is also annotated, and I noted how different it is reading a play in physical format, for an explanation I had to just look at the bottom of a page. On Kindle the annotation is a link, this takes me to another screen.

But what really won me over of this edition is the poetry, for me it’s 5 stars, especially the parts of the chorus. These extracts I would come back to and read again. For the drama, for me it’s 3 stars, beneath the poetry, the pacing in the last two parts are slowed down by repetition. I appreciate this was the style back in Aeschylus’s time but it was hard to not see this as the plot stagnating. The notes in this edition I would give 4 stars because they were sufficient to give me the context to enjoy this read.

At the beginning of the fifth century, it was customary for each of the tragedians competing at the festival of Dionysus to present a trilogy of three plays on a related theme, followed by a satyr-play. The Oresteia is the only surviving example of a Greek tragic trilogy, so it has immense importance in the history of drama.

Each of the plays is self-contained; however, the endings of the first two plays transition naturally into the following plays. Each play has its own chorus and an almost separate cast of characters, but the trilogy is united by the basis of the plots and the cycle of legends. There are also underlying themes which continue throughout the cycle of plays and reach their full resolution at the conclusion of The Eumenides.

The main idea of The Oresteia is that injustice and the blood-feud must be eliminated if society is to attain a high level of social organization, which can only be achieved through the introduction of public morality and civic legal processes. The city of Athens, whose patron goddess is the spirit of wisdom, is exalted as the model which men should emulate.

The Oresteia focuses on the legend of the family of Atreus as raw material for examination of different aspects of the theme such as questions about the nature of justice, methods of establishing and maintaining justice, the relationship of justice to vengeance, mercy, the gods, fate, and the social order. It also deals with the related theories that wisdom can be learned only through experience and suffering, that one crime invariably leads to another if the criminal is not punished, that blood, once shed, can never be truly atoned for, and that authority is the foundation of civilization.

After reading Homer, Aeschylus is a logical next step and truly engrossing. Aeschylus's plays hold age-old truths and pose questions about man and his quest for vengeance or justice that ring true today.

clytaemnestra did nothing wrong.

can't change my mind

The Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy of plays from Ancient Greece, and it is a perfection of the dramatic form. Aeschylus invented tragedy. The Oresteia’s plot is a precursor to Macbeth, but also a parable of civilization; the play's movement mirrors the emergence of rationalism from the chthonic mists of superstition. It is densely symbolic. The meaning of symbols evolve, with psychological significance emerging from mystical primitivism, as the play’s movement simulates the opening of the Apollonian eye of Western civilization.

The Oresteia exemplifies why the early psychoanalysts found Greek myth so fascinating and rich in symbolic meaning; a key with which to unlock the collective unconscious. I was reminded of Freud’s musings in The Interpretation of Dreams. In the Libation Bearers, dreams take on a prophetic function that was once the realm of the oracles. I began having vivid nightmares while reading The Oresteia, and found myself pondering the symbols of my subconscious, under Aeschylus’ spell.

Aeschylus uses Homer as a jumping off point, fleshing out the tale Agamemnon's shade in the underworld told to Odysseus of his murder by his wife, Clyteaemnestra. What results from this premise is a magnificent humanization of Greek myth, and a philosophical exploration of the meaning of justice. Agamemnon's murder was determined by the threads of Fate, as was Orestes' vengeful matricide decreed by Apollo, but this cycle doesn't have to continue. Aeschylus predicts Locke's idea that each man's right to punish a criminal who offends against all mankind must be given up to the higher power of an impartial judiciary, and gives it dramatic form (likewise, he predicts Aristotle's principle of the Golden Mean). When Orestes flees the Furies, who symbolize this ancient form of mob justice, to the shrine of Athena, the goddess establishes Athen's judicial process. This is the culmination of the theme of ancestral guilt, which is not absolved, but judged fairly and democratically. The invention of Athenian democracy is here given artistic embodiment.

There are so many other aspects to this play that I could expand on; its terrifying characters, its sophisticated use of dramatic irony, and its use of the chorus not just for narration but as characters of their own, in a way I've not seen surpassed, but I think I will leave it at that for now.

The Oresteia is a real masterpiece. It's the kind of work you could spend a lifetime rereading, which I look forward to doing. I will likely update this review with more thoughts as future readings reveal more meaning.