ORESTEIA
NARRATOR: For those who were wondering what now Oresteia means, it should be
clear that the word itself means "The Adventures of Orestes."
Adventures? Well. . . perhaps it would be better to call them "The Misadventures of
Orestes." . . having regard to all the misfortunes he had, poor guy!
Beginning with its closest relatives: a family that I do recommend!
Do you want to know more about these shady characters? It's easy: you just listen to
us for the next half an hour.
AGAMEMNON
GUARD: Ugh, I'm sick . Night after night waiting for a signal fire that never comes.
NARRATOR: On the roof of the palace of Argos the guard was really tired. The
queen ordered him that task, but he wanted to be removed by it.
GUARD: What fire and fire ... the only thing that shines here are the stars!
NARRATOR: He hadn’t finished speaking , that, on top of the hill, called Areacneo
that was overlooking the city, rose a big flame that lit up the night as if it was already
morning.
GUARD: Go! It is the fire the queen was waiting for. I'll go to tell her that the king is
going to come back. I'm happy... but concerning what has happened in his absence ...
no word ...!
NARRATOR: The guard ran inside the house, in front of which stood a group of
elderly men. They were not looking particularly cheerful and looked at the fire with
despair mixed with hope.
OLD MAN: Ten years have passed since the outbreak of the war against Priam ,
since Elena ran away to Troy with Paris forcing our most valiant men to war. And
we, old folks, here eating away at us ... with our bones creaking . Useless for the god
Mars ...
NARRATOR: Foreseeing the queen Clytemnestra at the door, followed by her
handmaidens, ran up and down, the old man was curious .
OLD MAN: Why does Clytemnestra shake so much ? Why does she lay sacrifices to
the gods ? There are flames on all sides ... maybe some good news came!
OLD MAN: If it were really so! We've seen so much in this war ...
OLD MAN: From the beginning when a thousand ships were on the beach and
Menelaus and Agamemnon offended Artemis, making the fly jumping on the nose!
OLD MAN: And the fortune-teller Calchas said that to calm her down, Iphigenia ,
Agamemnon's daughter, should have been killed. Poor young , so beautiful ...! I
wonder if the father has never forgiven himself ... it is true that after the sacrifice the
ships departed with their load of warriors , but ...
OLD MAN: Here is Clytemnesta ! Now we’ll know more .
NARRATOR: The sun peeped from the hill where it was just before the fire broke
out , and the glow of dawn was hailed as a happy sign . Pure Clytemnestra smiled at
the light , and her eyes lit up.
OLD MAN: Why are you so happy, my queen ? Do you know something we do not
know ?
CLYTEMNESTRA: Okay . I’ll tell you: Troy, Priam's city, is in the hands of the
Greeks.
OLD MAN: I cannot believe it ... and how do you know it? No messenger came. Did
you perhaps dreamed about it?
CLYTEMNESTRA: What dreams and dreams! Do you think I’m stupid? I knew that
Troy felt, by the fire signal from ... the island of Lemnos , Mount Athos , Mount
Macisto ... and so on ... up to the hill Aracneo of our city !
OLD MAN: Mythical! And what else do you know? Tell us something beautiful ...
CLYTEMNESTRA: The Greeks are the masters in Troy; screams rising from the city
burning . Winners and losers fluctuate in the same pot as gold and vinegar, without
mixing . Gloating the first ones, the second ones cry . And we hope that our warriors
return home without dirtying of other crimes ... ( Clytemnestra enters the palace )
OLD MAN: Zeus helped us. Paris had kidnapped his host’s wife! He should have
been punished.
OLD MAN: Pure Elena but ... it was not a shrinking violet .
OLD MAN: We hope it's really over. And they are not just Clytemnestra’s fantasies.
NARRATOR: His words were interrupted by the arrival of a man covered in dust
and his forehead surrounded by olive leaves. It was Talthybius , the herald of
Agamemnon.
TALTH: Zeus, Apollo, Hermes, and any other god ... thank you! Here I am at home
after ten years. And you, open your ears : Agamemnon is returning winner. Troy has
fallen with all the Trojans , starting with the villain of Paris ...
OLD MAN: So it's true ! The Queen was right. But how did it go exactly?
TALTH: It was like going to war ! It was not a walk ... ten years of hardship, tears
and sweat. But why grieve about it? What 's done is done . Troy is no more!
CLYTEMNESTRA: ( Leaving the palace ) So? I was a gullible eh! But I go away ,
it's better : I have to do it. After so many years I have to accept my husband as he
deserves . Yes: just as he deserves ...
TALTH: There was a storm. And there is no news of Menelaus. ( Exits )
OLD MAN: That Elena ! She looked like a fairy , but she was a witch!
OLD MAN: She has brought nothing but trouble and blood. And blood will always
generate more blood ...
NARRATOR: Joyful shouts and the sound of trumpets cropped once again the talk of
the old. A chariot, proud and swollen as always, there was Agamemnon on it. He
wasn’t alone, but followed by another chariot: carrying a girl with an hopeless face
and haunted eyes, her head surrounded by a bandage.
OLD MAN: Here you are, brave winner! There are no words to praise you! Welcome
back to those who, in these years, have been faithful to you...in truth ... not everyone.
AGAMENNONE: The gods have helped me, so I'm here. Troy had what it deserved,
reduced to ashes because of a woman! But now it's all over and I cannot wait to enjoy
the fireplace.
CLYTEMNESTRA: And I'm here on purpose, my husband! Your faithful wife
missed you! It is not easy for a woman to be alone. In fact, I also had to send away
our Oreste ... Do not think about it now. And come in! trampling these carpets: as a
hero does.
AGAMENNONE: Trampling the carpets? Do not you think you're exaggerating with
all these salamalecchi ?
CLYTEMNESTRA: No and no! If Priam had won, he would have done it!
AGAMENNONE: Take care of her, she is from Troy, she is Cassandra, my spoil of
war ...
CLYTEMNESTRA: As you wish, my lord. And let Zeus guide my aim ...
OLD MAN: There is something wrong ... all those faces of the queen ...
OLD MAN: I have a bad feeling about this .
CLYTEMNESTRA: (coming from the palace ) Hey Cassandra , come on in, have
you heard the king? He wants you in the house. Come on, do not do the Taming of ...
What? You do not understand my language? Ugh, I have no time to lose. Do as you
like: stay there! (Out)
CASSANDRA: Oh Apollo, poor me! Where am I? Whose house is this?
OLD MAN: You’re in Argos, in the palace of Agamemnon, son of Atreus .
CASSANDRA: Unhappy home! Where fathers kill their children and uncles their
nephews. Troy is destroyed, my beloved ones slaughtered, and now it will happen
something worse! Even death within these walls.
OLD MAN: What do you mean? Who will die ?
CASSANDRA: she will kill him in the bathtub: the Furies still enjoy under this roof .
Paris, with his deadly wedding , destroyed my land . And now it's up to me ...
OLD MAN: How do you know it?
CASSANDRA: I speak through Apollo’s mouth, he makes me see the future
misfortunes... But nobody believes me. "Here it is. It's coming. The fire of God hits
me. The lioness is killing the lion after sleeping with the wolf. She also blends my
blood into the cup of revenge " ...
OLD MAN: You’re delirious. But if you know your misfortune, why don’t you run
away ?
CASSANDRA ... And where? No need to escape. One day, however, there will be
the revenge in this house. When who is now in exile will come back. I go among the
dead. But, with the last rays of the sun, I pray that my murderers are punished.(Exits )
AGAMENNONE: Help! It kills me !
OLD MAN: It's our king. Let's do something! Let’s ask for help!
CLYTEMNESTRA (in front of the palace ) Revenge is accomplished. Late, but it is
accomplished. I hit him several times. Rejoice with me because justice is done!
OLD MAN: Did you kill your husband! Our king . You will not get smooth ...
CLYTEMNESTRA: And what about him? Did he pay for killing my daughter
Iphigenia? For bringing his lover into my house? He got what he deserved.
And the goody-goody who made prophecies was deadened, too.
OLD MAN: Elena’s fault... poor king...slaughtered by a woman ... it would be better
for us to die ...
CLYTEMNESTRA: stop it! What about Elena , and why should you die as well?
NARRATOR: The old, however, continued to moan and complain, and they did not
stop even when a handsome guy arrived, but with his malicious face. He was
grinning and grinning with his henchmen who followed him.
EGISTO: At last, the gods are alive! Agamemnon has paid for his sins ... and also for
those of his daddy ! Thyestes served for dinner the flesh of his children to my father!
OLD MAN: Aegisthus, the usual girl! You stayed at home with the others in war!
You’ll pay for it!
EGISTO: Silence dumb ! Mind how you speak to your new king!
OLD MAN: You? Our king? That you have not had the courage to get rid of
Agamemnon with your hands and you let it doing to a woman? But Orestes will
return: and you will be in a trouble.
EGISTO: drew your swords and give a lesson to these silly men .They’ll see, now ,
who's in charge here !
OLD MAN: We are ready. Better to die as noblemen than to live as cowards.
CLYTEMNESTRA: Stop! There are already too many dead in here. Go home, old !
And you, my beloved Aegisthus , let them go ... We are the masters now ...
EGISTO: But do you hear them ? They insult me! They say that Orestes will come
back and make me out ...
OLD MAN: Are you scared, eh? You look like a rooster next to the chicken ...
EGISTO: watch your mouth!
CLYTEMNESTRA: Let them bark. Do you hear me ? We’ve got the power. And
they will realize it.
NARRATOR: Without looking back, Clytemnestra entered the palace, and
Aegisthus followed her. Neither of them paid attention to the old people who were
muttering. The city of Argos was finally in their hands: nothing else mattered .
NARRATOR: What a stuff , huh? Agamemnon - who had brought home his old and
thick skin after ten years of war – took his wife by the hand, she was unfaithful to
him with his cousin. And what’s more, in the bath! Now, you should now know that
Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, in the period in which they were a happy couple, they
had children. Among them, one was called Electra and could not stand Aegisthus ,
then there was Orestes who, at the time of the nasty facts that you’ve just heard , was
little and lived in another palace. When Orestes became adult, on the advice of the
god Apollo, he decided to avenge his father, returned secretly to the city of Argos
and, together with his sister Electra, arrived to the castle pretending to be a merchant.
Nobody recognized him and, without thinking , Orestes killed Aegisthus , in truth, no
one mourned or regretted . Then he turned his sword toward Clytemnestra, his
mother. It must be admitted that she did everything to convince his son to save her
life, praying and whimpering like a fountain. But Orestes did not move . He drew his
sword and ...
Coefore
NARRATOR: With Pylades followig him in silence, Orestes came out of the palace
with his drawn and bloody sword. They both looked at Clytemnestra reproachfully.
ORESTES: Here you are. You loved that rascal, isn’t it? Well ! Now lie down with
him in the same grave !
CLYTEMNESTRA: Stop my son! Remember that I am your mother. How can you
pierce the breast that fed you ?
PYLADES: Hey Orestes! Look it was the oracle of Apollo to command you, you
can’t stand back. Everyone can be your enemy, except the gods !
CLYTEMNESTRA : I fed you. I want to get old with you. Your father was not a
saint. Gods will punish you ...
ORESTES : You threw me out. You betrayed him while he was fighting . If I do not
kill you, the gods will punish me anyway! ( Out )
MAIDEN: Justice has been done, in Argos Freedom reigns again. But at what price ?
We hope it is really over.
ORESTES: Here they are, the murderers of my father. You all were the witnesses of
crime whose blood stain this mantle. I do not want to talk. But how to define her, the
viper? Better to die childless rather than meeting a woman like her! I feel like a
thrown rider. It was Apollo to order me to do what I did, but now I do not know ...
ATTENDANT: What do you say? You did the right thing. You freed Argo from two
dragons.
Orestes: Who are those ones? They look like witches. They wear black and have
snakes instead of hair!
MAIDEN: No, Orestes. There is none. Come on, do not be scared by ghosts.
ORESTES: They aren’t ghosts. They are bitches avenging my mother! I see them!
MAIDEN: We do not see them. O Apollo please, protect him.
ORESTES: I have to escape. I cannot stay! They throw me out! (go out)
OLD MAN: Luck is with you, dear boy .
OLD MAN: For the third time the storm rages in this house.
OLD MAN: First Thyestes’ sons devoured by his father, then Agamemnon was
killed. Now Aegisthus and Clytemnestra’s death ... even if this , indeed, is a salvation
instead of a misfortune ...
OLD MAN: But will the bad luck never end under this sky ?
NARRATOR: Why is Orestes so desperate ? What does he see so terrible that the
others cannot see? Simple. Orestes is shadowed by the Furies, the goddesses of
vengeance who persecute him for the murder of his mother. Someone will say that it
was Apollo who ordered him to kill her and that Clytemnestra was really nice! It
doesn’t matter. Killing your mother is never a good thing, therefore Orestes deserves
a lesson: The Furies gave no respite to those they took aim and they were so ugly;
compared to them the witch in Snow White was a supermodel. So, to get rid of them,
the loser Orestes turned to the oracle of Apollo. And it is in Delphi, in the temple of
the great god , that begins the third tragedy : The Eumenides .
Eumenides
PYTHIA: Before anything else, I honor Gaia, the first prophetess. Then Themis ,
after Phoebe and Pallas. So the Nymphs , Bromine , Poseidon, Zeus, the supreme ...
Let's see if there is someone in there ... Uh, I’m scared! My knees are trembling ! I
enter quiet inside the temple and who do I see? A young man, but with white hair,
guilty for a crime, I understand it from filthy hand with blood ... The problem though
is that close to him ... Atrocious women sleep close to him. Women ? Witches !
Black , dirty , with the pestilent breath . Never seen so little monsters . Mah ! Apollo
will face them. I go away!
APOLLO: I advised you to kill your mother, Orestes, and I will not betray you. Can’t
you see the creatures who are now sleeping in my temple? But now you must escape.
They will follow you and you must run . Stop only in Athens, the city of Pallas .
NARRATOR: Though exhausted, Orestes thanked Apollo and, out from nowhere ,
another god appeared. It was Hermes.
APOLLO: There you are, brother ! I commend to you this my ward . Watch over
him, please. ( out )
CLYTEMNESTRA: Look at these slob! They sleep like babies! Hey you , wake up!
Even among the dead about a bit of justice? Poor me , murdered from my son ! Now
he has just slipped away ! But feel them , they moan, ... and there, the fugitive , who
knows where he has gone? Stay close to him!...
FURY: Wake up! What are you doing , are you asleep? He has flown away!
FURY: It was Apollo, I know But you can't do this! It is not fair that a god protects
who killed his own mother !
FURY: The gods were once something else: they punished guilty people as they
deserved ! But now ...
APOLLO: Get out of my house ! Filthy boogers, happy for the others' misfortunes!
Nobody can stand you. Bring it away your stink !
FURY: Wait Apollo. You are the true perpetrator of the crime of Orestes, you're just
not his accomplice .
APOLLO What do you mean ? It 's true I 've pushed the man to avenge his father .
And yet I have protected my temple! So what? What right do you have to mayhem ?
FURY: Also we have our reasons ! Orestes is guilty : he has shed the blood of the
mother ...
APOLLO: beautiful mother! Who had slain her husband ! No, it does not convince
me ...
FURY: A husband does not have the same blood of his wife! A son, of her mother ,
yes!
APOLLO What bullshit stories? However, it is late, it is not to me or to you to
decide: it's up to Athena. Orestes is running towards his city ...
FURY: I know how powerful you are, but I'm not afraid of you. I will continue to
hunt down your favourite one.
APOLLO: And I will continue to defend him. Wherever he goes, Orestes will have
my protection .
ORESTES: I've walked a long way and here I am , Athena. Judge for yourself if my
hands are still dirty !
FURY: Here, I feel the smell of blood! And here it is! The crafty murderess to
embrace the statue. But eventually he will go to hell!
ORESTES: Time has passed and the blood is no more on my hands. I cleaned myself
in Apollo's temple . And now I invoke the goddess Athena because she comes to my
aid If she does, I'll be always faithful.
FURY: It will not help you. Neither Apollo nor Athena will save you. You will die
alone and miserable!
FURY: You are in our hands! You will pay the ransom of the shed blood. Apollo will
not save you . Even knows you're dead free . No one escapes this old law. Neither
gods nor mortals. We live in darkness, but great is our power.
ATENA: I came running from far and what I see here, it surprises me, but I'm not
scared. Who are you? And you? It's not nice to say it, but you suck.
FURY: We are the daughters of the Night, also known as, curses. Our task is to chase
the killers.
ATHENA: And what do I see ... what's the problem with this poor man?
FURY: He killed his mother.
ATENA: Why should have he done it? And what does he want from me?
FURY: She wants you to judge him.
ATENA: Whaooo ! Ok boy, the ugly women have spoken. Now why don't you tell
me your truth?
ORESTES: I am Orestes, son of Agamemnon. The hero who was slain in the
bathroom by my mother, just come back from the war. I have revenged myself ,
killing in my turn her and her lover!
ATHENA: I do not know what to say. You all are right. What an idea! I'll invent a
court, with a lot of judges; it will be useful in the future as well. I'll go and come
back. Meanwhile you collect the proofs.
FURY: But what's she thinking about? Let humans judge such a matter? But it is the
end of all justice!
FURY: What is Apollo doing here?
APOLLO: I am the witness. I was the one who told Orestes to slaughter his mother.
ATHENA: So, who starts to talk?
FURY: Orestes, be honest: did you kill your mother or not ?
ORESTES: Yes, I cut her throat with a sword.
FURY: Was Apollo to give you such advice? right? Do not deny it !
ORESTES: Yes, God led me to compensate my father killing by my mother, his wife.
APOLLO: Judge by yourselves how it went. It 's true , I've recommended it myself,
but on the advice of Zeus.
FURY : Zeus or not, Orestes killed his mother; he is guilty!
APOLLO: Ugh! But did you forget how she killed her husband in the bathroom, as
he came back from the war? And he was Orestes' father. What counts more than the
mother, no doubt !
FURY: What do you say?
APOLLO: Right! The same Athena is the daughter of Zeus alone: she has no mother!
Dear Athena, if you discharge him, you'll make a devoted disciple for life. He and
his whole town, the beautiful Argo .
ATENA: For me that's enough. Judges, it is up to you to decide and not just today .
Here, on the hill of Ares you will be meet also in the future: This advice will remain
for centuries a symbol of honesty and justice.
FURY: You want to overthrow the old laws . But if we win, we will be relentless !
APOLLO: You will not win ... so you stop throwing up hatred on poor people .
ATHENA: At last, to me the last vote! Who would I give it? But to Orestes, of
course! I had no mother, I am Zeus' daughter and that's all ... And I will not defend a
mother like that one. In case of a tie, my vote will be worth twice and the kid will be
safe.
JUDGES: Tie!
ORESTES: I am safe! Thanks Athena, you gave me back my home, life, everything.
I will be faithful forever and the city of Argos will never be enemy to your city.
Thank you, thank you, thank you and ... Goodbye ! (Out)
FURY: You will pay for it. This city will be ruined. We won't be treated like that.
ATENA: Come on. Don't do so. In the end a tie is not losing. Also ... What do you
gain to behave in a such unpleasant way? Only dislike. Why don't you try to change
music?
FURY: But who says this? Do we have to stop to be bad ?
ATENA: Precisely! And if you do, Athens will become your home, where you will
be loved because you bring good luck. You will have a lot of friends and you will
become even pretty girls!
FURY: The proposal is not bad. Okay, we accept. We will become good.
ATENA: Fantastic! We need to celebrate. What a nice gift for my citizens.
FURY: We'll be fine here and we will bring only pleasant things. No more wars or
struggles.
ATENA: Wise words! And since you are no longer ugly and bad, then you'll be
called the Furies no more, but the Eumenides , which means "Kind". And now ... the
party begins!
OLD MAN: Long life to the Eumenides! Peace will always shine in the sky of
Athens. The good eventually triumphed; praise be to Zeus and all other gods.
NARRATOR
And they all lived ... Pfff , what a relief : all's well that ends well. Yes: but there is
still something to say. After so many disasters, we really need some good news.
And what could be better than a wedding? But it is obvious: two weddings ! Yes,
both. First of all, the good Orestes' one. With all the poison that he had gulped down,
the young man deserved to meet a beautiful girl. It's so true that he took the most
beautiful : Hermione, Helen and Menelaus' daughter. It 's true, the two were cousins ,
but in those days the relationships were considered a silly thing. In fact, two other
cousins got married, and Orestes, for this wedding , was happier maybe more than
for his own , because Pylades and Electra were the new couple, his best friend and his
beloved sister. As if that wasn't enough, we also discovered that Iphigenia, the other
sister, was not dead, but he was held captive in a distant land. In the blink of an eye
Orestes went to rescue her and took her home, the family was gathered and cheered
as well as by the presence of babies and little children ! Of course, because their
happiness was complete, they should have had to take a cat. But, unfortunately for
them , at that time the cats did not live in Greece , because they were sprawled in
Egypt, treated as pharaons. Patience ! In life you cannot have everything. However,
even without cats , Orestes , Electra and Pylades ceased to go around looking for
trouble , and finally tasted the joys of the hearth , ending their adventures as befits a
good story. They lived happily ever after ... forever .