Aeschylus & The Oresteia
Aeschylus: c.525-455
B.C.
• Born in Eleusis (near Athens) to a wealthy
family
• Fought against the Persians at the Battle
of Marathon in 490 B.C. –and at Salamis
ten years later
• Reputed to be the first playwright to
introduce a second actor
• Won his first victory at the Dionysia in 484
B.C., when he was about 40 years old
• Often wrote trilogies, plays intended to be
performed as connected chapters at a
single Dionysia
• The Oresteia is generally considered
Aeschylus’ greatest and final entry in the
Dionysia; the plays (the only surviving
ancient Greek trilogy) were originally
paired with a satyr piece, Proteus
The (Cursed) House of Atreus
The Oresteia: Agamemnon
• Agamemnon returns to Argos after winning the Trojan War, carrying the
prophetess Cassandra as a prize.
• Clytemnestra greets him, proclaims her fidelity, and announces that she
has sent Orestes to another city-state to keep him safe.
• Clytemnestra convinces Agamemnon to enter his house by walking upon
crimson tapestries; this is an impious act, since only the gods should be
allowed to do so.
• Cassandra foresees her
own death, but also
eventually enters the
house
• Clytemnestra murders
Agamemnon after his
bath, then murders
Cassandra
• Clytemnestra and her
lover, Aegisthus,
assume rule of Argos
The Oresteia: The Libation Bearers
CONTEXT
• Orestes has returned to Argos from
exile, accompanied by his
companion, Pylades.
• The Oracle of Apollo has
commanded Orestes to avenge his
father’s death.
• Clytemnestra has asked Electra to
pour libations (a mixture of wine,
grain, and olive oil) upon
Agamemnon’s tomb.
• The Greek chorus in this play is
(remarkably) represented as a
number of slave women—high-born
women who were taken after the
siege of Troy.
“We must suffer, suffer into truth.”
--Agamemnon Chorus
The Libation Bearers: Study Questions
1) Does Orestes have agency? In other words, does he determine his own actions,
or are his actions chosen for him by others? How does Aeschylus depict the
relationships between the individual and gods/ society—and how might that relate
to his larger rhetorical goals?
2) In what way(s) does The Libation Bearers—or the Oresteia as a whole— adhere
to the later Aristotelian definition of tragedy? In what way(s) does it depart from
Aristotle’s “rules”? What is the significance of the ways in which The Libation
Bearers seems to follow or break from the tragic genre?
3) What is justice? How is it variously interpreted by different characters, and how
do their visions of justice affect their actions? What does Aeschylus ultimately
suggest about the nature of justice?
4) The Libation Bearers features a
significant number of female
characters, who are portrayed with
varying, complex characteristics: the
Chorus, Electra, Cilissa, and
Clytemnestra. What does Aeschylus
imply about ideal Greek womanhood?
What feminine qualities seem to
receive Aeschylus’ approval—and why?