One of the founding documents of Western culture and the only surviving ancient Greek trilogy, the Oresteia of Aeschylus is one of the great tragedies of all time.In the Oresteia, Aeschylus addressed the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. As they move from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of...

Aeschylus (525-c.456 bc) set his great trilogy in the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Troy, when King Agamemnon returns to Argos, a victor in war. Agamemnon depicts the hero's discovery that his family has been destroyed by his wife's infidelity and ends with his death at her callous hand. Clytemnestra's crime is repaid in The Choephori when her outraged son Orestes kills both her and her lover. The Eumenides then follows Orestes as he is hounded to Athens by the Furies' law of vengeanc...

A Bold, Iconoclastic New Look at One of the Great Works of Greek TragedyIn this innovative rendition of The Oresteia, the poet, translator, and essayist Anne Carson combines three different visions—Aischylos' Agamemnon, Sophokles' Elektra, and Euripides' Orestes—giving birth to a wholly new experience of the classic Greek triumvirate of vengeance. After the murder of her daughter Iphegenia by her husband Agamemnon, Klytaimestra exacts a mother's ...

The third edition of this volume includes newly revised, authoritative and compelling translations of four timeless works by the Ancient Greek tragedian.Aeschylus I contains "The Persians," translated by Seth Benardete; "The Seven Against Thebes," translated by David Grene; "The Suppliant Maidens," translated by Seth Benardete; and "Prometheus Bound," translated by David Grene. For this edition, Mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most have carefully updated these t...

The Ancient Classics series provides eReaders with the wisdom of the Classical world, with both English translations and the original Latin and Greek texts. This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works of Aeschylus, with beautiful illustrations, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Aeschylus' life and works* Features the complete extant works of Aeschylus, in both English translatio...

Prometheus Bound is the starkest and strangest of the classic Greek tragedies, a play in which god and man are presented as radically, irreconcilably at odds. It begins with the shock of hammer blows as the Titan Prometheus is shackled to a rock in the Caucasus. This is his punishment for giving the gift of fire to humankind and for thwarting Zeus’s decision to exterminate the human race. Prometheus’s pain is unceasing, but he refuses to recant his commitment to humanity, to whom ...

Written by who is perhaps the most pious of the Greek Tragedy writers, this story of the sacrifice of this Titan, along with the comfort he derives from seeing the future of man, as well as Zeus, lends itself to careful consideration as to what qualifies as true greatness and power. (Amazon)

Agememnon is the first part of the Aeschylus's Orestian trilogy in which the leader of the Greek army returns from the Trojan war to be murdered by his treacherous wife Clytemnestra. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex the king sets out to uncover the cause of the plague that has struck his city, only to disover the devastating truth about his relationship with his mother and his father.Medea is the terrible story of a woman's bloody revenge on her adulterous husband through the murder of her...

A foundational Greek tragedy exploring defiance, power, and suffering.

The play opens with a watchman on the roof of Agamemnon's palace in Argos, who eagerly anticipates the signal of the fall of Troy, which will herald the king’s return. When Agamemnon finally arrives, he brings with him the captured Trojan princess Cassandra, who is cursed with the gift of prophecy that no one will believe. This sets the stage for the unfolding tragedy as the audience is aware of the impending doom that awaits Agamemnon.Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, greets him with feigne...

Agamemnon: This is the first play in the Oresteia trilogy, focusing on the return of King Agamemnon from the Trojan War. His homecoming is marred by betrayal, as his wife, Clytemnestra, seeks revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia. The play delves into themes of vengeance, guilt, and the consequences of moral choices, setting the stage for the tragic events that follow.The Libation Bearers: The second play in the trilogy continues the story of the House of Atreus, focusing ...

Aeschylus' The Oresteia Trilogy—comprising Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides—traces the bloody inheritance of the House of Atreus from the murder of Agamemnon to the trial of Orestes in Athens. In solemn, image-rich verse, the trilogy transforms private vengeance into public justice, setting archaic blood-feud against civic law. As the only complete surviving trilogy from Greek tragedy, it stands at the center of classical drama and political thought. Aeschylus, often call...