Oresteia (Oxford World's Classics)

by Aeschylus (Author), Christopher Collard (Translator), Aeschylus (Author), Christopher Collard (Translator)

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $4.18

  Agamemnon *Libation Bearers *Eumenides Aeschylus' Oresteia is the only trilogy to survive from Greek tragedy, and the religious and moral ideas it enacts afterwards influenced a great dramatic genre, as well as giving its three plays their lasting significance. In this family history, Fate and the gods decree that each generation will repeat the crimes and endure the suffering of their forebears. When Agamemnon is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, their son Orestes must avenge his father's death. Only Orestes' appeal to the goddess Athena saves him from his mother's Furies, breaking the bloody chain; together gods and humans inaugurate a way of just conduct that will ensure stable families and a strong community. The Oresteia is majestic as theatre and as literature, and this new translation seeks to preserve both these qualities. The introduction and notes emphasize the interconnection of scenes, ideas, and language that distinguishes this unique work. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

• New

  Paperback
  2004

  $15.47

  Aeschylus' famed plays Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides comprise the Oresteia, which uses the dark and convoluted story of a family curse, and a long history of murder and revenge, to raise haunting questions about the nature and the price of justice. In Agamemnon , the Argive king reaches home following his victory in the Trojan War, only to meet his death at the hand of his wife, Clytemnestra. Horrible as this deed is shown to be, we also come to understand in the course of the play how justice has been satisfied by Agamemnon's murder. The second play in the trilogy, The Libation Bearers (Choephoroe), portrays the vengeance of Agamemnon's son Orestes, who returns from exile to exact the price of his father's murder. With the aid of his sister Electra, Orestes kills Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus. By spilling his mother's blood, however, he invites the wrath of the ancient Erinyes, or Furies, and they begin to pursue him. The Eumenides shows the Furies' pursuit of Orestes, who is protected by the younger god Apollo. Orestes is ultimately tried for his crime in Athens, and Athena, goddess of wisdom, casts the deciding vote on his behalf, and releases him from the ancient familial blood-guilt. Athena persuades the Furies to accept the new legal justice and a new role in the polis, as Kindly Ones, who will bless the city of Athens and its land. In this exciting new translation, at once faithful to the original and as fully alive as a poem in English, Alan Shapiro and Peter Burian showcase the complexity and intricate imagery of this great work of Athenian tragic poetry.