Oresteia

Being the twenty first century, many stories from our past still live on such as Romeo and Juliet. This story and many others continue to teach children of all ages history, language, love and theatre; a story that never dies. “Romero and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career in 1595 about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families (Romeo and Juliet." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2016)”. As every…

According to Webster Dictionary, justice is defined as the quality of being just, impartial, or fair. This definition has been formed based off of many different perspectives from literature throughout history, beginning with the poets and tragedians in ancient Greece. Although they lived in similar areas and eras, writers of Greek mythology had different perspectives on the definition and enforcement of justice in their time. Readers see in The Libation Bearers that Aeschylus believes the gods…

The house of Atreus is a Greek myth known during what is known as the Heroic Age. It is known that Tantalus went against the gods, and his descendants were cursed for their whole lives. This story is an example of how Greeks believed that you could inherent guilt, and someone’s misfortunes could have to do with the crimes of an ancestor. In ancient societies, the wellbeing of an individual wasn’t as cherished as the wellbeing of the family unit, what belonged to one person belonged to the…

In The Oresteia, act one “Agamemnon” we learn of Agamemnon’s and Clyteamnestra’s marriage. During the act we read of Clyteamnestra’s knowledge that the Trojan war has ended and that her husband is coming home. A herald appears and tells them that Agamemnon will…

Agamemnon is the first play in the Oresteia trilogy, and Oedipus the King is the second play in the Oedipus trilogy. These ancient Greek plays are full of prophesy, fate, free-will, and tragedy. There are two oracles, Cassandra and Tiresias, who try throughout the plays to warn people of their actions, but the fates of these people are sealed. Agamemnon and Oedipus both have similar tragic flaws, hubris and impulsiveness, that appear to aid in their downfalls. Free will plays a part as the…

In the history of literature, some of the most famous works are those of Greek plays with their astonishing plots and cryptic motifs. From the tragic trilogy The Oresteia by Aeschylus to the comedic The Frogs by Aristophanes, Greek plays demonstrate tragedies and comedies that today’s society would deem beyond belief. Of these prominent theatrical works is the scandalous tragedy of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This drama combines incest and murder to attribute to the calamitous life of Oedipus Rex,…

and Lysistrata. A tragedy, in ancient Greece, usually dealt with a moral or social issue, human suffering, and almost always ended in disaster. Three famous Greek tragedy writers are Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. Aeschylus wrote the play The Oresteia, of these plays was Antigone. It was written about 441 B.C. and was about a girl named Antigone who defies the king’s orders and buries her brother, who was killed while leading a rebellion. In this play, many of the Greek values were…

The house of Atreus was also cursed to such a fate when Tantalus served his son Pelops to the Olympian god. In the Oresteia Aeschylus tells the story of Tantalus descendent Agamemnon. Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia "What can I say? Disaster follows if I disobey; surely yet worse disaster if I yield and slaughter my own child, my home 's delight, in her young…

Bring Me My Battle Axsignment A Character Critique of Clytemnestra in “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus The Greek tragedy “Agamemnon” is the first play in Aeschylus’s trilogy “Oresteia”. It follows King Agamemnon’s return to Argos and his vengeful demise at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra (referred to as Cly). Cly is the Queen of Argos, daughter of KIng Tyndareus, wife of King Agamemnon (referred to as Aga) and sister of Helen. During the Trojan War, while Aga was gone, Cly played the role of a regent…

ideas to the world of Greek tragedy. Aeschylus won the prize during Great Dionysia for tragedy in 484 BC and added a second actor to his works. Of the estimated 80 works he wrote, only 7 survive today. Of these seven, three of them are his trilogy, Oresteia, one of theatre’s greatest masterpieces about the end of the curse The House of Atreus. Years later came the author Sophocles, who defeated Aeschylus in 468 BC. Sophocles differed from other authors of the time due to his complex plot lines…