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{{Short description|Trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus}}
{{Infobox play
| name              = Oresteia
| image             = Ajshil, Oresteia, Drama SNG v Ljubljani (4).jpg
| image_size        =  
| caption           = SNG Drama Ljubljana  performs an adaptation of ''The Oresteia'', in 1968
| writer            = [[Aeschylus]]
| chorus            =  
| characters        = 
| mute              =  
| setting           = 
| date of premiere  = 
| place             = 
| country of Origin = 
| original language = Greek
| series            =  
| subject           =   
| genre             = [[Tragedy]]
| web               = 
}}

The '''''Oresteia''''' ({{langx|grc|Ὀρέστεια}}) is a [[trilogy]] of [[Greek tragedy|Greek tragedies]] written by [[Aeschylus]] in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of [[Agamemnon]] by [[Clytemnestra]], the murder of Clytemnestra by [[Orestes]], the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the [[House of Atreus]], and the pacification of the [[Furies]] (also called Erinyes or Eumenides).

The ''Oresteia'' trilogy consists of three plays: ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides''. It shows how the [[Greek gods]] interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Porter|first=David|year=2005|title=Aeschylus' "Eumenides": Some Contrapuntal Lines|jstor=3804934|journal=The American Journal of Philology|volume=126|issue=3|pages=301–331|doi=10.1353/ajp.2005.0044|s2cid=170134271}}</ref> The only extant example of an [[ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] theatre trilogy, the ''Oresteia'' won first prize at the [[Dionysia]] festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between [[revenge]] and [[justice]], as well as the transition from personal [[Feud|vendetta]] to organized [[litigation]].<ref name="J1960439">{{Cite journal|last=Euben|first=J. Peter|date=March 1982|title=Justice and the Oresteia|jstor=1960439|journal=[[The American Political Science Review]]|volume=76|issue=1|pages=22–33|doi=10.2307/1960439|s2cid=145245951 }}</ref> ''Oresteia'' originally included a [[satyr play]], ''[[Oresteia#Proteus|Proteus]]'' ({{lang|grc|Πρωτεύς}}), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of ''Proteus'' has been lost.<ref name="hws">{{cite book|title=Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides, Fragments|author=Smyth, H. W.|author-link=Herbert Weir Smyth|page=455|year=1930|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-99161-3}}</ref>

==''Agamemnon''==
{{see also|Páthei máthos}}
{{Infobox play
| name = Agamemnon
| image = The Murder Of Agamemnon - Project Gutenberg eText 14994.png
| caption = The murder of [[Agamemnon]], from an 1879 illustration from ''Stories from the Greek Tragedians'' by Alfred Church
| writer = [[Aeschylus]]
| chorus = Elders of [[Ancient Argos|Argos]]
| characters = Watchman<br />[[Clytemnestra]]<br />Herald<br />[[Agamemnon]]<br />Messenger<br />[[Cassandra]]<br />[[Aegisthus]]
| setting = Argos, before the royal palace
|mute=Soldiers<br />Servants}}

''Agamemnon'' ({{lang|grc|Ἀγαμέμνων}}, ''Agamémnōn'') is the first of the three plays within the ''Oresteia'' trilogy. It details the homecoming of [[Agamemnon]], King of [[Mycenae]], from the [[Trojan War]]. After ten years of warfare, and Troy fallen, all of Greece could lay claim to the victory. Waiting at home for Agamemnon is his wife, Queen [[Clytemnestra]], who has been plotting his murder. She desires his death to avenge the sacrifice of her daughter [[Iphigenia]], to exterminate the only thing hindering her from taking the crown, and to finally be able to publicly embrace her good-time lover [[Aegisthus]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burke|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Burke|title=Form and Persecution in the Oresteia|jstor=27538150|journal=[[The Sewanee Review]]|volume=60|issue=3|date=July–September 1952|pages=377–396}}</ref>

The play opens with a watchman looking down and over the sea, reporting that he has been lying restless "like a dog" for a year, waiting to see some sort of signal confirming a Greek victory in [[Troy]]. He laments the fortunes of the house, but promises to keep silent: "A huge ox has stepped onto my tongue." The watchman sees a light far off in the distance—a bonfire signaling Troy's fall—and is overjoyed at the victory and hopes for the hasty return of his king, as the house has "wallowed" in his absence. Clytemnestra is introduced to the audience, and she declares that there will be celebrations and sacrifices throughout the city as Agamemnon and his army return.

Upon the return of Agamemnon, his wife laments in full view of [[Ancient Argos|Argos]] how horrible the wait for her husband and King has been. After her soliloquy, Clytemnestra pleads with and persuades Agamemnon to walk on the robes laid out for him. This is a very ominous moment in the play, as loyalties and motives are questioned. The King's new concubine, [[Cassandra]], is now introduced, and this immediately spawns hatred from the queen, Clytemnestra. Cassandra is ordered out of her chariot and to the altar, where, once she is alone, she begins predicting the death of Agamemnon and her own shared fate.

Inside the house, a cry is heard: Agamemnon has been stabbed in the bathtub. The chorus separates from one another and rambles to themselves, proving their cowardice, when another final cry is heard. When the doors are finally opened, Clytemnestra is seen standing over the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytemnestra describes the murder in detail to the chorus, showing no sign of remorse or regret. Suddenly, the exiled lover of Clytemnestra, Aegisthus, bursts into the palace to take his place next to her. Aegisthus proudly states that he devised the plan to murder Agamemnon and claim revenge for his father (the father of Aegisthus, [[Thyestes]], was tricked into eating two of his sons by his brother Atreus, the father of Agamemnon). Clytemnestra claims that she and Aegisthus now have all the power, and they re-enter the palace with the doors closing behind them.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oresteia|author=Aeschylus|publisher=Penguin Group|year=1975|isbn=978-0-14-044333-2|location=New York, New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oresteiaaesc00aesc/page/103 103–172]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oresteiaaesc00aesc/page/103}}</ref>

Like most Greek tragedies, ''Agamemnon'' is a morally complex play. Agamemnon may be an admired veteran of the Trojan War but it is made clear that many do not approve of the way he sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia. Many citizens resent Agamemnon because they lost their sons and husbands in the war he initiated. Similarly, Clytemnestra is both her husband's murderer and her daughter's avenger; Aeschylus continues to explore the fundamental moral quandary of vengeance and "justified" bloodshed in ''The Libation Bearers'' and ''The Eumenides''.<ref>For more on the complexity of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, see Bednarowski, P. K. (2015). Surprise and Suspense in Aeschylus' Agamemnon. American Journal of Philology, 136(2), 179–205. https://doi.org/10.1353/ajp.2015.0030</ref>

==''The Libation Bearers'' {{anchor|The Libation Bearers}}==
{{Infobox play
| name = The Libation Bearers
| image = Orestes_Elektra_Hermes_Louvre_K544.jpg
| image_upright = 0.65
| caption = ''Orestes, Electra and Hermes in front of Agamemnon's tomb'' by Choephoroi Painter
| writer = [[Aeschylus]]
| chorus =  Slave women
| characters = {{hlist | [[Orestes]] | [[Electra]] | Servant | [[Clytemnestra]] | [[Pylades]] | [[Cilissa]] | [[Aegisthus]] | Attendants}}
| setting = {{hlist | 1. [[Ancient Argos|Argos]], at the tomb of [[Agamemnon]] | 2. Argos, before the royal palace}}
}}

In ''The Libation Bearers'' ({{lang|grc|Χοηφόροι}}, ''Choēphóroi'')—the second play of Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'' trilogy—many years after the murder of [[Agamemnon]], his son [[Orestes]] returns to [[Ancient Argos|Argos]] with his cousin Pylades to exact vengeance on [[Clytemnestra]], as an order from [[Apollo]], for killing Agamemnon.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vellacot|first1=Philip|title=Aeschylus' Orestes|journal=The Classical World|year=1984|volume=77|issue=3|pages=145–157|jstor=4349540|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States|doi=10.2307/4349540}}</ref> Upon arriving, Orestes reunites with his sister [[Electra]] at Agamemnon's grave, while she was there bringing [[libation]]s to Agamemnon in an attempt to stop Clytemnestra's bad dreams.<ref name="Classical Association of Canada">{{cite journal|last1=O'Neill|first1=K.|title=Aeschylus, Homer, and the Serpent at the Breast|journal=Phoenix|year=1998|volume=52|issue=3/4|pages=216–229|jstor=1088668|publisher=Classical Association of Canada|doi=10.2307/1088668}}</ref> Shortly after the reunion, both Orestes and Electra, influenced by the Chorus, come up with a plan to kill both Clytemnestra and [[Aegisthus]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kells|first1=J. H.|title=More Notes on Euripides' Electra|journal=The Classical Quarterly|year=1966|volume=16|issue=1|pages=51–54|jstor=637530|publisher=Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association|doi=10.1017/S0009838800003359|s2cid=170813768}}</ref>

Orestes then goes to the palace door, where he is greeted by Clytemnestra. He pretends he is a stranger and tells Clytemnestra that he (Orestes) is dead, causing her to send for Aegisthus. Unrecognized, Orestes is then able to enter the palace, where he then kills Aegisthus, who was without a guard due to the intervention of the chorus in relaying Clytemnestra's message.<ref name="Cleveland Museum of Art">{{cite journal|last1=H.|first1=R.|title=Orestes Sarcophagus and Greek Accessions|journal=The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art|year=1928|volume=15|issue=4|pages=90–87|jstor=25137120|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}</ref> Clytemnestra then enters the room. Orestes hesitates to kill her, but Pylades reminds him of Apollo's orders, and he eventually follows through.<ref name="Classical Association of Canada"/> Consequently, after committing the [[matricide]], Orestes is now the target of the [[Furies]]' merciless wrath and has no choice but to flee from the palace.<ref name="Cleveland Museum of Art"/>

=== Chorus ===
The [[Greek chorus|Chorus]] in ''The Libation Bearers'' is distinctly different from the one in ''Agamemnon.'' From ''Agamemnon'' to ''The Libation Bearers'', the Chorus switches from a collection of old, Argive men, to foreign slave women.<ref name=":0">Monohan, Marie Adornetto. ''Women and Justice in Aeschylus' “Oresteia.”'' 1987. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.</ref><sup>p.&nbsp;46-48</sup> Furthermore, the Chorus in ''Agamemnon'' possessed a fearful voice, characterized by their critical commentary on the events and characters of the play. Despite this, they play a passive role and do not influence the plot.<ref name=":0" /><sup>p.&nbsp;47-48</sup> In contrast, ''The Libation Bearers''{{'}} Chorus desire vengeance, and influence both [[Electra]]'s and [[Orestes]]' actions, shepherding Orestes towards revenge.<ref name=":0" /><sup>p.&nbsp;48-52</sup>[[File:The Genealogy of Orestes.jpg|center|thumb|234x234px|Genealogy of Orestes]]

==''The Eumenides''==
{{Infobox play
| name = The Eumenides
| image = Orestes Pursued by the Furies by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1862) - Google Art Project.jpg
| caption = ''[[Orestes Pursued by the Furies]]'' by [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]]
| writer = [[Aeschylus]]
| chorus = The [[Furies]]
| characters = {{hlist | Priestess | [[Apollo]] | [[Orestes]] | Ghost of [[Clytemnestra]] | [[Athena]] | [[Athenian]] citizens}}
| setting = before the temple of Apollo at [[Delphi]] and in Athens
}}
The final play of the ''Oresteia'', called ''The Eumenides'' ({{lang|grc|Εὐμενίδες}}, ''Eumenídes''), illustrates how the sequence of events in the trilogy ends up in the development of social order or a proper judicial system in Athenian society.<ref name=":1"/> In this play, [[Orestes]] is hunted and tormented by the [[Furies]], a trio of goddesses known to be the instruments of justice, who are also referred to as the "Gracious Ones" (''Eumenides''). They relentlessly pursue Orestes for the killing of his mother.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Henrichs|first1=Albert|title=Anonymity and Polarity: Unknown Gods and Nameless Altars at the Areopagos|journal=Illinois Classical Studies|year=1994|volume=19|pages=27–58|jstor=23065418|publisher=University of Illinois Press}}</ref> Through the intervention of [[Apollo]], Orestes is able to escape them for a brief moment while they are asleep and escape to Athens under the protection of [[Hermes]]. Seeing the Furies asleep, [[Clytemnestra]]'s ghost comes to wake them up to obtain justice on her son Orestes for killing her.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Trousdell|first1=Richard|title=Tragedy and Transformation: The Oresteia of Aeschylus|journal=Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche|year=2008|volume=2|issue=3|pages=5–38|jstor=10.1525/jung.2008.2.3.5|publisher=C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco|doi=10.1525/jung.2008.2.3.5|s2cid=170372385}}</ref>

After waking up, the Furies hunt Orestes again and when they find him, Orestes pleads to the goddess [[Athena]] for help. She responds by setting up a trial for him in [[Athens]] on the [[Areopagus]]. This trial is made up of a group of twelve Athenian citizens and is supervised by Athena. Here Orestes is used as a trial dummy by Athena to set-up the first courtroom trial. He is also the object of the Furies, Apollo, and Athena.<ref name=":1"/> After the trial comes to an end, the votes are tied. Athena casts the deciding vote and determines that Orestes will not be killed.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite journal|last1=Hester|first1=D. A.|title=The Casting Vote|journal=The American Journal of Philology|year=1981|volume=102|issue=3|pages=265–274|jstor=294130|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|doi=10.2307/294130}}</ref> This does not sit well with the Furies but Athena eventually persuades them to accept the decision; instead of violently retaliating against wrongdoers, become a constructive force of vigilance in Athens. She then changes their names from the Furies to "the Eumenides" which means "the Gracious Ones".<ref name="auto2">{{Cite journal|last1=Mace|first1=Sarah|title=Why the Oresteia's Sleeping Dead Won't Lie, Part II: "Choephoroi" and "Eumenides"|journal=The Classical Journal|year=2004|volume=100|issue=1|pages=39–60|jstor=4133005|publisher=The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc. (CAMWS)}}</ref> Athena then ultimately rules that all trials must henceforth be settled in court rather than being carried out personally.<ref name="auto2"/>

==''Proteus''==
''Proteus'' ({{lang|grc|Πρωτεύς}}, ''Prōteus''), the satyr play which originally followed the first three plays of ''The Oresteia'', is lost except for a two-line fragment preserved by [[Athenaeus]].  It is widely believed to have been based on the story told in Book IV of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', where Menelaus, Agamemnon's brother, tries to return home from Troy and finds himself on an island off Egypt, "whither he seems to have been carried by the storm described in ''Agam.674''".<ref>Smyth, H.W. (1930). Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides, Fragments. Harvard University Press. p. 455. {{ISBN|0-674-99161-3}}.</ref>

The title character, "the deathless Egyptian [[Proteus]]", the [[Old Man of the Sea]], is described in Homer as having been visited by Menelaus, who sought to learn his future. Proteus tells Menelaus of the death of Agamemnon at the hands of Aegisthus and the fates of [[Ajax the Lesser]] and [[Odysseus]] at sea. Proteus is compelled to tell Menelaus how to reach home from the island of Pharos: {{blockquote|The satyrs who may have found themselves on the island as a result of shipwreck . . . perhaps gave assistance to Menelaus and escaped with him, though he may have had difficulty in ensuring that they keep their hands off Helen.<ref>[[Alan Sommerstein]]: Aeschylus Fragments, Loeb Classical Library, 2008</ref>}}

The only extant fragment that has been definitively attributed to ''Proteus'' was translated by [[Herbert Weir Smyth]]: {{blockquote|A wretched piteous dove, in quest of food, dashed amid the winnowing-fans, its breast broken in twain.<ref name="hws"/>}}

In 2002, [[Theatre Kingston]] mounted a production of ''The Oresteia'' and included a new reconstruction of ''Proteus'' based on the episode in ''The Odyssey'' and loosely arranged according to the structure of extant satyr plays.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatrekingston.com/past-shows.html|title=Theatre Kingston Oresteia Production|website=www.theatrekingston.com|access-date=January 20, 2024}}</ref>

== Themes ==
===Justice through retaliation===
Retaliation is seen in the ''Oresteia'' to cascade. In ''Agamemnon'', it is mentioned that [[Agamemnon]] had to sacrifice his innocent daughter [[Iphigenia]] to shift the wind for his voyage to Troy.<ref name="auto3">{{Cite journal|last1=Scott|first1=William|title=Wind Imagery in the Oresteia|journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association|year=1966|volume=97|pages=459–471|jstor=2936026|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|doi=10.2307/2936026}}</ref> This caused [[Clytemnestra]] to plot revenge on [[Agamemnon]]. She found a new lover [[Aegisthus]] and when [[Agamemnon]] returned to [[Ancient Argos|Argos]] from the [[Trojan War]], Clytemnestra killed him by stabbing him in the bathtub and went on to inherit his throne.<ref name="J1960439"/> The death of Agamemnon thus sparks anger in [[Orestes]] and [[Electra]]; they plot matricide (the death of their mother Clytemnestra) in the next play, ''Libation Bearers''. Through much pressure from Electra and his cousin [[Pylades]], Orestes kills Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus.<ref name="auto3"/> Consequently, [[Orestes]] is hunted down by the Furies in the third play ''The Eumenides''. Even after he escapes, Clytemnestra's spirit comes back to rally them again so that they can kill Orestes and obtain vengeance for her.<ref name="auto3"/> However, this cycle of retaliation comes to a stop near the end of ''The Eumenides'' when [[Athena]] decides to introduce a new legal system for dealing out justice.<ref name="J1960439"/>

===Justice through the law===
Justice through the law is achieved in ''The Eumenides''. After [[Orestes]] begged [[Athena]] for deliverance from the Furies, she granted him his request in the form of a trial.<ref name=":1"/> Rather than forgiving Orestes directly, Athena put him to trial to find a just answer to the question of his innocence. This is the first example of proper litigation in the trilogy and illuminates the change from emotional retaliation to civilized decisions regarding alleged crimes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burke|first=Kenneth|year=1952|title=Form and Persecution in the Oresteia|journal=The Sewanee Review|volume=20|pages=377–396}}</ref> Instead of allowing the Furies to torture [[Orestes]], she decided that she would have both the Furies and Orestes plead their case before she decided on the verdict. In addition, [[Athena]] set up how the verdict would be decided. By creating this blueprint, the future of revenge-killings and the merciless hunting of the Furies would be eliminated from Greece. The trial sets the foundation for future litigation.<ref name="auto1"/> Aeschylus, through his jury trial, was able to create and maintain a social commentary about the limitations of revenge crimes and reiterate the importance of trials.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Raaflaub|first=Kurt|year=1974|title=Conceptualizing and Theorizing Peace in Ancient Greece|jstor=40651971|journal= Transactions of the American Philological Association |volume=129|issue=2|pages=225–250}}</ref> ''The Oresteia'', as a whole, stands as a representation of the evolution of justice in Ancient Greece.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Trousdell|first=Richard|year=2008|title=Tragedy and Transformation: The Oresteia of Aeschylus|journal=Jung Journal: Culture and Psyche|volume=2|pages=5–38|doi=10.1525/jung.2008.2.3.5|s2cid=170372385}}</ref>

=== Revenge ===
Revenge is a principal motivator for most characters in ''Oresteia''. The theme starts in ''Agamemnon'' with Clytemnestra, who murders her husband, Agamemnon, in order to obtain vengeance for his sacrificing of their daughter, Iphigenia. The death of Cassandra, the princess of Troy, taken captive by Agamemnon in order to fill a place as a concubine, can also be seen as an act of revenge for taking another woman as well as the life of Iphigenia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/agamemnon/themes/revenge |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref> Later on, in ''The Libation Bearers'', Orestes and Electra (siblings and remaining children of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra) succeed in killing their mother to avenge their father's death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-libation-bearers/themes/revenge |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref> In ''The Eumenides'', the Furies—goddesses of vengeance—seek to take revenge on Orestes for the murder of his mother. It is also discovered that the god Apollo played a part in the act of vengeance toward Clytemnestra through Orestes. The cycle of revenge is seen to be broken when Orestes is not killed by the Furies, but is instead given his freedom and deemed innocent by the goddess Athena.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-eumenides/themes/revenge-vs-justice |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-eumenides/themes/familial-bonds |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref>

=== Mother-right and father-right ===
To the anthropologist [[Johann Jakob Bachofen]] (''Das Mutterrecht'', 1861), the ''Oresteia'' shows Ancient Greece's transition from "hetaerism" ([[polyamory]]) to [[monogamy]]; and from "mother-right" ([[matriarchal]] lineage) to "father-right" ([[patriarchal]] lineage). According to Bachofen, religious laws changed in this period: the Apollo and Athena of ''The Eumenides'' present the patriarchal view. The Furies contrast what they call "gods of new descent" with the view that matricide is more serious than the killing of men. With Athena acquitting Orestes, and the Furies working for the new gods, ''The Eumenides'' shows the newfound dominance of father-right over mother-right.<ref name="Origin"/>

Bachofen's interpretation was influential among [[Marxists]] and [[feminists]]. Feminist [[Simone de Beauvoir]] wrote in ''[[The Second Sex]]'' (1949) that the tribunal saw Orestes as son of Agamemnon before being son of Clytemnestra.<ref name="Goldhill"/> In ''[[The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State]]'' (1884), Marxist [[Friedrich Engels]] praises Bachofen's "correct interpretation". Nonetheless, he sees it as "pure mysticism" by Bachofen to see the change in divine perspectives as the cause of the change in Greek society.<ref name="Origin">{{cite book|title=[[The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State]]|edition=4th|year=1891|chapter=Preface (4th ed.)|last=Engels|first=Friedrich|author-link=Friedrich Engels}}</ref> Instead, Engels considers economic factors—the creation of [[private property]]—and the "natural sexual behaviour" of men and women. For the feminist [[Kate Millett]], the latter factor is mistaken, and ''The Eumenides'' is important in documenting the state's arguments for repression of women.<ref name="Goldhill">{{cite book|title=Reading Greek Tragedy|last=Goldhill|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Goldhill|year=1986|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|pages=52–54|isbn=9780521315791}}</ref>

=== Matricide and femininity ===
Electra's role in the murder of her mother has been hotly contested by scholars throughout time. Many view Electra's by-proxy killing of her mother as a representation of daughter-inflicted matricide.

Psychoanalyst [[Carl Jung]] attributes her behavior to what he coined as the "[[Electra complex]]" the jealousy of the daughter towards the mother for her sexual engagement with the father. [[Sigmund Freud]] disagreed with this claim, noting that the "[[Oedipus complex]]" cannot be applied directly to the female sex, since sons do not undergo the same [[Penis envy|penis-envy]] as daughters.<ref name=":02">Kilmartin, C. T., & Dervin, D. (1997). Inaccurate representation of the electra complex in psychology textbooks. ''Teaching of Psychology'', ''24''(4), 269–270. <nowiki>https://doi-org.turing.library.northwestern.edu/10.1207/s15328023top2404_11</nowiki></ref> Many contemporary scholars have theorized what this matricide means in the context of womanhood: Dana Tor invokes Lacan to argue that Electra's scheming represents a "ravage" between mother and daughter; Doris Bernstein sees the murder as a step on the path towards Electra's individuation; and [[Melanie Klein]] views it as emblematic of the dual power of the psyche to split of the mother into a good object and a bad one.<ref name=":12">Tor, Dana, 2022, "The '''Oresteia''' and the Act of Revenge: of Desire and Jouissance," PsyArt 27, pp. 58-73.</ref> Serena Heller recalls Ronald Britton's idea of the [[Athene-Antigone Complex]] to explain Electra's hatred of her mother deriving from an intense idolization of her father and, thus, a compulsion to exonerate herself from the restraints of feminity and the female body.<ref name=":2">Heller, Serena. "Matriarchy, Matricide and Mourning." ''British Journal of Psychotherapy'', vol. 39, no. 1, Feb. 2023, pp. 50–68. ''EBSCOhost'', <nowiki>https://doi-org.turing.library.northwestern.edu/10.1111/bjp.12790</nowiki>.</ref> Once the girl recognizes her gendered difference in the world, she must undergo re-cognition, deciding whether to mourn the maleness that she does not possess, or engage in a choice which frees them from their gendered bind. Athene, Antigone, and Electra all have a desire for "female castration" that dictates their choices in their patriarchal societies.<ref name=":3">Britton, R. (1989) The missing link: Parental sexuality in the Oedipus complex. In: Steiner, J. (ed.), The Oedipus Complex Today (Chapter 2, pp. 83–101). London: Karnac.</ref>  Amber Jacobs also claims that the matricide in the Oresteia ultimately embodies a societal repulsion towards the female gender, as Athena's motherless status allows Zeus to argue that the father is more important than the mother and absolve Orestes of his crimes.<ref name=":4">Jacobs, A. (2010) On Matricide: Myth, Psychoanalysis, and the Law of the Mother, 2007. New York: Columbia University Press</ref> Tor ultimately claims that the convergence of both Orestes' and Electra's motivations for revenge are two-fold: both a repayment for the debt of desire and a symbol of feminine [[jouissance]].<ref name=":12" /> They must repay their Freudian or Jungian debts from the guilt of want. Their jouissance in her death arises from a pre-genital dichotomy of love and hatred from the son and the daughter towards the mother.

Professor of philosophical and historical anthropology Elizabeth von Samsonow notes the intense debate over Electra's relevance in the murder of Clymenestra—[[Sophocles]], for example, viewed her as a key component of the killing while [[Aeschylus]] sees her as incidental—but refutes the tendency to shoehorn her motivations into Freud's model. She asks for scholars to reconsider Electra as undergoing vagina-envy, resulting from the woman's powerful and sexually-active position in pre-Hellenic society. By liberating Electra from the male-centric complexes and histories that restrict her motivations, study of mother-daughter relations can evolve into an "outline of a future world."<ref name=":5">Daley L. Anti-Electra: The Radical Totem of the Girl. Elizabeth von Samsonow. Translated by Anita Fricek and Stephen Zepke, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019 (ISBN 978-15179-0713-6). ''Hypatia''. 2023;38(2):e11. doi:10.1017/hyp.2022.20</ref> In another of her works, Jacobs, too, writes on the untheorized state of matricide in literature and asks for an expansion of symbolism beyond the classic Oedipean model.<ref name=":6">Jacobs, A. (2004). Towards a structural theory of matricide: psychoanalysis, the ''Oresteia'' and the maternal prohibition. ''Women: A Cultural Review'', ''15''(1), 19–34.</ref>

== Relation to the curse of the House of Atreus ==
The House of [[Atreus]] began with [[Tantalus]], son of Zeus, who murdered his son, [[Pelops]], and attempted to feed him to the gods. The gods, however, were not tricked and banished Tantalus to the Underworld and brought his son back to life. Later in life Pelops and his family line were cursed by [[Myrtilus]], a son of Hermes, catalyzing the curse of the House of Atreus. Pelops had two children, Atreus and [[Thyestes]], who are said to have killed their half-brother Chrysippus, and were therefore banished.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DEpitome%3Abook%3DE%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D12 E.2.12]; [[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]], ''Chiliades'' [https://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades1.html#18 1.18.30]</ref>

Thyestes and [[Aerope]], Atreus' wife, were found out to be having an affair, and in an act of vengeance, Atreus murdered his brother's sons, cooked them, and then fed them to Thyestes. Thyestes had a son with his daughter and named him Aegisthus, who went on to kill Atreus.

Atreus' children were [[Agamemnon]], [[Menelaus]], and [[Anaxibia]]. Leading up to here, we can see that the curse of the House of Atreus was one forged from murder, incest and deceit, and continued in this way for generations through the family line. To put it simply, the curse demands blood for blood, a never ending cycle of murder within the family.<ref>Aeschylus. ''The Agamemnon of Aeschylus.'' London :J. W. Parker, 1848.</ref><ref>Powell, Barry P.  ''Classical Myth''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1998.

</ref>

Those who join the family seem to play a part in the curse as well, as seen in Clytemnestra when she murders her husband Agamemnon, in revenge for sacrificing their daughter, Iphigenia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zeitlin|first=Froma I.|date=1966-01-01|title=Postscript to Sacrificial Imagery in the Oresteia (Ag. 1235–37)|jstor=2936034|journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association|volume=97|pages=645–653|doi=10.2307/2936034}}</ref> Orestes, goaded by his sister Electra, murders Clytemnestra in order to exact revenge for her killing his father.<ref name="fagles188">Fagles (1977), p. 188</ref>

Orestes is said to be the end of the curse of the House of Atreus. The curse holds a major part in the ''Oresteia'' and is mentioned in it multiple times, showing that many of the characters are very aware of the curse's existence. Aeschylus was able to use the curse in his play as an ideal formulation of tragedy in his writing.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aeschylus |title=Eumenides |last2=Sommerstein |first2=Alan H. |date=1989 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-24084-0 |series=Cambridge Greek and Latin classics |location=Cambridge [England] ; New York}}</ref>

== Contemporary background ==
Some scholars believe that the trilogy is influenced by contemporary political developments in Athens. A few years previously, legislation sponsored by the democratic reformer [[Ephialtes]] had stripped the court of the [[Areopagus]], hitherto one of the most powerful vehicles of upper-class political power, of all of its functions except some minor religious duties and the authority to try homicide cases. By having his story being resolved by a judgment of the Areopagus, Aeschylus may be expressing his approval of this reform.<ref name=":7" /> According to a different interpretation, Aeschylus was expressing his disapproval of these very reforms when he had Athena warn the Athenians against "innovative additions to the laws" in ''Eumenides''. It is also possible that Aeschylus was being deliberately ambiguous to appeal to both supporters and opponents of Ephialtes' reforms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aeschylus |title=The Oresteia: Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides |date=2008 |publisher=Harvard University Press |others=Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein |isbn=978-0-674-99628-1 |series=Loeb Classical Library 146 |location=Cambridge, MA |pages=xix–xxi}}</ref> It may also be significant that Aeschylus makes Agamemnon lord of Argos, where Homer puts his house, instead of his nearby capitol, Mycenae, since about this time Athens had entered into an alliance with Argos.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=A history of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great, 3rd edition|last1=Bury|first1=J. B.|last2=Meiggs|first2=Russell|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1956|location=Oxford|pages=347–348, 352}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
===Key British productions===
In 1981, [[Peter Hall (director)|Sir Peter Hall]] directed [[Tony Harrison]]'s adaptation of the trilogy in masks in London's [[Royal National Theatre]], with music by [[Harrison Birtwistle]] and stage design by [[Jocelyn Herbert]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/content/sir-peter-hall|title=Sir Peter Hall {{!}} National Theatre|website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk|date=12 April 2016|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jocelynherbert.org/about-the-oresteia-production/ |title=About 'The Oresteia' Production |website=jocelynherbert.org |accessdate=2021-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/20/theater/peter-hall-stages-a-london-oresteia.html |title='ORESTEIA' |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |first=Benedict |last=Nightingale |authorlink=Benedict Nightingale |date=1981-12-20}}</ref> In 1999, [[Katie Mitchell]] followed him at the same venue (though in the Cottesloe Theatre, where Hall had directed in the Olivier Theatre) with a production which used [[Ted Hughes]]' translation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4719184/An-inexhaustible-masterpiece-is-transformed-into-a-glib-anti-war-morality-play.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226194201/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4719184/An-inexhaustible-masterpiece-is-transformed-into-a-glib-anti-war-morality-play.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-02-26|title=An inexhaustible masterpiece is transformed into a glib anti-war morality play|journal=Daily Telegraph|date=1999-12-03|access-date=2018-08-13|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> In 2015, [[Robert Icke]]'s production of his own adaptation was a sold out hit at the [[Almeida Theatre]] and was transferred that same year to the [[West End theatre|West End]]'s [[Trafalgar Studios]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jul/30/ancient-greek-tragedy-oresteia-receives-surprise-west-end-transfer |title=Ancient Greek tragedy Oresteia receives surprise West End transfer |first=Charlotte |last=Higgins |author-link=Charlotte Higgins |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=2015-07-30 |access-date=2020-11-04 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Two other productions happened in the UK that year, in Manchester and at [[Shakespeare's Globe]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jul/30/ancient-greek-tragedy-oresteia-receives-surprise-west-end-transfer|title=Ancient Greek tragedy Oresteia receives surprise West End transfer|last=Higgins|first=Charlotte|date=2015-07-30|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-08-13}}</ref>
The following year, in 2016, playwright [[Zinnie Harris]] premiered her adaptation, ''[[This Restless House]]'', at the [[Citizen's Theatre]] to five-star critical acclaim.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/may/03/this-restless-house-review-five-star-zinnie-harris-oresteia|title=This Restless House five star review Zinnie Harris|website=The Guardian|date=3 May 2016|language=en|first=Mark |last=Fisher}}</ref>

===Chronology of adaptations===
* 1894: Spanish composer [[Manuel Manrique de Lara]] adapted the trilogy into his own trilogy of [[symphonic poem]]s, which premiered in 1894.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Orestiada |url=https://datos.bne.es/obra/XX2627611.html |access-date=2024-05-10 |website=datos.bne.es |language=es}}</ref>
* 1895: Composer [[Sergei Taneyev]] adapted the trilogy into his own [[Oresteia (opera)|operatic trilogy]] of the same name, which was premiered in 1895.
* 1965-66: Composer [[Iannis Xenakis]] adapted vocal work for chorus and 12 instruments.
* 1967: Composer [[Felix Werder]] adapted ''[[Agamemnon (opera)|Agamemnon]]'' as an opera.<ref name="Grove">*[[Thérèse Radic]]. "Agamemnon", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 15, 2015), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=2008-05-16 }}</ref>
* 1969: The [[Spaghetti Western]] ''[[The Forgotten Pistolero]]'', is based on the myth and set in Mexico following the [[Second Mexican Empire]]. [[Ferdinando Baldi]], who directed the film, was also a professor of classical literature who specialized in Greek tragedy.<ref>{{cite web|author=Silvia Dionisio|title=Terror Express|url=http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews49/terror_express.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fistful of Pasta: Texas Adios|url=http://www.fistfulofpasta.com/index.php?go=reviews/texasaddioss|access-date=2016-05-27|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190346/http://www.fistfulofpasta.com/index.php?go=reviews/texasaddioss|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Forgotten Pistolero Review|url=http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/The_Forgotten_Pistolero_Review|publisher=The Spaghetti Western Database}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Forgotten Pistolero Review by Korano|url=http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/The_Forgotten_Pistolero_Review_by_Korano|publisher=The Spaghetti Western Database}}</ref>
* 1974: [[Rush Rehm]]'s [http://www.jamesmccaughey.com/archives/#1974 translation of the trilogy] was staged at [[The Pram Factory]] in Melbourne.
* 2007: [[Yaël Farber]]'s ''MoLoRa'', a [[History of South Africa (1994–present)|post-apartheid South African]] adaptation of the ''Oresteia'' set during the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] hearings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Culture Project |date=June 15, 2011 |title=Interview With Yael Farber Creator/Director of MoLoRa
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEMJyWWLCcU&ab_channel=CultureProject |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=YouTube}}</ref> The play was awarded three [[Naledi Theatre Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Farber|first=Yaël|date=2007–2011 |title=MoLoRa |url=http://www.yfarber.com/molora |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=Yaël Farber}}</ref>
* 2008: Theatre professor Ethan Sinnott directed an [[American Sign Language|ASL]] adaptation of ''Agamemnon''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SCENOGRAPHY|url=https://www.ethansinnott.com/scenography|access-date=2020-10-09|website=home|language=en|archive-date=2020-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930211707/https://www.ethansinnott.com/scenography|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2008: [[Dominic Allen (British playwright)|Dominic Allen]] and [[James Wilkes (theatre)|James Wilkes]], ''The Oresteia'', for [[Belt Up Theatre Company]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Theatre review: The Oresteia at York Theatre Royal Studio|url=https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/oresteia-rev|access-date=2020-10-08|website=British Theatre Guide|language=en-GB}}</ref>
* 2009: Canadian author [[Anne Carson]]'s ''An Oresteia'', an adaptation featuring episodes from the Oresteia from three different playwrights: [[Agamemnon (play)|Aeschylus' ''Agamemnon'']], [[Electra (Sophocles)|Sophocles' ''Electra'']], and [[Orestes (play)|Euripides' ''Orestes'']].
* 2014: French rapper D' de Kabal made his own adaptation of the ''Oresteia'' in his [[Rapping|rap]] and [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] play ''Agamemnon'' with the collective R.I.P.O.S.T.E. and the music and theatre artists Arnaud Churin and Emanuela Pace.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chemam|first=Melissa|date=October 9, 2014 |title="Agamemnon" : Faire renaître la tragédie grecque par le chœur, un chœur de notre époque
|url=https://toutelaculture.com/spectacles/theatre/agamemnon-faire-renaitre-la-tragedie-grecque-par-le-choeur-un-choeur-de-notre-epoque/ |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=Toute la culture}}</ref>
* 2016: The trilogy ''This Restless House'' by British playwright and director [[Zinnie Harris]] revisits the ''Oresteia'', putting women in the center. Part one is ''Agamemnon's Return'', a play of its own premiered in Scotland, followed by ''The Bough Breaks'' and ''Electra And Her Shadow''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=This Restless House, Part One: Agamemnon's Return
|url=https://origintheatrical.com.au/work/11757 |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=Origin Theatrical}}</ref>
* 2019: American playwright [[Ellen McLaughlin]] and director Michael Khan's ''The Oresteia'', premiered on April 30, 2019 at the [[Shakespeare Theatre Company]], Washington, DC. The adaptation was shown as a digital production by [[Theatre for a New Audience]] in New York City during the COVID-19 Pandemic and was directed by Andrew Watkins.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Oresteia 18-19|url=https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/events/oresteia-18-19/|access-date=2020-10-09|website=Shakespeare Theatre Company|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tfana.org/current-season/digital-programming/oresteia|title = THE ORESTEIA streaming free June 25–2|date = 9 June 2021}}</ref>

==Translations==
{{Div col|colwidth=40em}}
* [[Robert Potter (translator)|Robert Potter]], 1777 - verse: [[iarchive:bim_eighteenth-century_the-tragedies-of-schylu_aeschylus_1777/page/215/|full text]]
* [[Thomas Medwin]] and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], 1832–1834 – verse (Pagan Press reprint 2011)
* [[Anna Swanwick]], 1886 – verse: [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dramas_of_Aeschylus_(Swanwick) full text]
* [[Robert Browning]], 1889 – verse: [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0224 Agamemnon]
* John Dunning Cooper, ca.1890 - verse: The Agamemnon, Choephori, and Eumenides Rendered into English verse
* [[Arthur S. Way]], 1906 – verse
* [[John Stuart Blackie]], 1906 – verse
* [[Edmund Doidge Anderson Morshead]], 1909 – verse: [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8604 full text]
* [[Herbert Weir Smyth]], ''Aeschylus'', Loeb Classical Library, 2 vols. Greek text with facing translations, 1922 – prose [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Ag.+1 Agamemnon] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Lib.+1 Libation Bearers] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aesch.+Eum.+1 Eumenides]
* [[Gilbert Murray]], 1925 – verse [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14417 Agamemnon], [https://archive.org/details/chophoroelibat03aescuoft Libation Bearers]
* [[Louis MacNeice]], 1936 – verse [[Agamemnon]]
* [[Edith Hamilton]], 1937, ''Three Greek Plays: Prometheus Bound, Agamemnon, The Trojan Women''
* [[Richmond Lattimore]], 1953 – "verse"
* [[F. L. Lucas]], 1954 – verse ''Agamemnon''
* Robert A. Johnston, 1955 – verse, an "acting version" 
* [[Philip Vellacott]], 1956 – verse
* [[Paul Roche]], 1963 – verse
* [[Peter Arnott]], 1964 – verse
* [[George Derwent Thomson|George Thomson]], 1965 – verse
* John Lewin, 1966 (University of Minnesota Press)
* [[Howard Rubenstein (physician)|Howard Rubenstein]], 1965 – verse [[Agamemnon]]
* [[Hugh Lloyd-Jones]], 1970 – verse
* [[Rush Rehm]], 1978 – verse, for the stage
* [[Robert Fagles]], 1975 – verse
* [[Robert Lowell]], 1977 – verse
* [[Tony Harrison]], 1981 – verse
* [[David Grene]] and [[Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty]], 1989 – verse
* [[Peter Meineck]], 1998 – verse
* [[Ted Hughes]], 1999 – verse
* [[Christopher Collard]], 2002 – verse
* [[Ian C. Johnston]], 2002 – verse: [http://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/aeschylus/oresteiatofc.html full text]
* George Theodoridis, [http://bacchicstage.wordpress.com/aeschylus-2/aeschylus/ ''Agamemnon''], [http://bacchicstage.wordpress.com/aeschylus-2/choephoroi/ ''Choephori''], [http://bacchicstage.wordpress.com/aeschylus-2/eumenides/ ''Eumenides''] 2005–2007 – prose
*[[Alan Sommerstein]], ''Aeschylus'', Loeb Classical Library, 3 vols. Greek text with facing translations, 2008
*Peter Arcese, 2010 – [[Agamemnon]], in syllabic verse
* [[Sarah Ruden]], 2016 – verse
* David Mulroy, 2018 – verse
* [[Oliver Taplin]], 2018 – verse
* Jeffrey Scott Bernstein and Tom Phillips (illustrator), 2020 – verse
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
* [[The Oresteia in the arts and popular culture|The ''Oresteia'' in the arts and popular culture]]
* ''[[Mourning Becomes Electra]]''  –  a modernized version of the story by [[Eugene O'Neill]], who shifts the action to the [[American Civil War]]
* ''[[The Flies]]'' –  an adaptation of ''The Libation Bearers'' by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], which focuses on human freedom
* [[Live by the sword, die by the sword]]  –  a line from the trilogy

== References ==
{{Reflist|1}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last1=Collard |first1=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Collard |title=Introduction to and translation of ''Oresteia'' |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-283281-6}}
* Goward, Barbara (2005). ''Aeschylus: Agamemnon''. Duckworth Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy. London: Duckworth. {{ISBN|978-0-7156-3385-4}}.
*{{cite book |last1=Himmelhoch |first1=Leah R. |title=Aeschylus: Agamemnon |date=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |location=London |isbn=9781350154896}}
* MacLeod, C. W. (1982). "Politics and the ''Oresteia''{{-"}}. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', vol. 102. {{doi|10.2307/631132}}. {{JSTOR|631132}}. pp.&nbsp;124–144.
* {{cite book |last1=Widzisz |first1=Marcel |title=''Chronos'' on the Threshold: Time, Ritual, and Agency in the ''Oresteia''|year=2012 |publisher=Lexington Press |isbn=978-0-7391-7045-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikisource}}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Αγαμέμνων|Ἀγαμέμνων}}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Χοηφόροι}}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Ευμενίδες|Εὐμενίδες}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/collections/the-oresteia|Display Name=the Oresteia plays as}}
** {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/aeschylus/agamemnon/gilbert-murray|Display Name=Agamemnon}}
** {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/aeschylus/the-libation-bearers/gilbert-murray|Display Name=The Libation Bearers}}
** {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/aeschylus/the-eumenides/gilbert-murray|Display Name=The Eumenides}}
* {{Theatricalia|4dy}}
* {{librivox book | title=Oresteia | author=Aeschylus}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4L8D10yqvg See the triumphant ending of ''The Oresteia'']. MacMillan Films staging 2014. 5 minutes.
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9fk BBC audio file]. ''The Oresteia'' discussion on the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[In Our Time (radio series)|In Our Time]]''. 45 minutes.
* [http://www.allmusic.com/album/tragedy-of-orestes-and-electra-mw0000896389 ''La Tragedie d'Oreste et Electre'']: Album by British band [[Cranes (band)|Cranes]] which is a musical adaptation of [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]'s ''[[The Flies]]''.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150417054552/http://ashescompany.org/remnants/oresteia/ ''Oresteia''] (2011): an [[avant-garde]] work inspired by Aeschylus' trilogy, written and directed by Jonathan Vandenberg.

{{Aeschylus Plays}}
{{Electra}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Plays set in Athens]]
[[Category:Libation]]
[[Category:Literary trilogies]]
[[Category:Mythology of Argolis]]
[[Category:Plays by Aeschylus]]
[[Category:Plays set in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Trojan War literature]]
[[Category:Agamemnon]]
[[Category:Plays based on classical mythology]]
[[Category:Political philosophy in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Cassandra]]
[[Category:Clytemnestra]]
[[Category:Atreidai]]
[[Category:Orestes]]
[[Category:Revenge]]