Study Guide for The Oresteia
by Robin Mitchell-Boyak, Department of Classics, Temple UniversityThis is, at times, an extremely confusing trilogy, especially the first play. Consult the genealogy, glossary and notes at the back of the book for help. Taplin (Greek Tragedy in Action) is valuable for understanding the play's visual power.
Structure: all Greek tragedies are organized by a pattern that alternates choruses (stasima) and action (episodes -- literally means "after" or "in between the odes"). The chorus is more central here than in any other Greek tragedy.
Line numbers: Fagles' Penguin edition numbers lines as they appear in English, but the line numbers of the original Greek text are provided at the top of each page. The notes below follow the Greek line numbers. This scheme will help you organize the play's action.
You can view a on-line text of the dramas of Aeschylus at the Perseus project; this text contains links to information that
can further explain various aspects of Greek culture.
There is also available a text of Pindar's 11th Pythian Ode,
which contains another version of this myth.
There is further background information on Atreus, Agamemnon, Cassandra, Clytaemnestra, and Artemis.
Why is the watchman so worried in the prologue?
The parodos of the Agamemnon discusses the departure of Agamemnon's fleet for Troy 10 years before. Why is Artemis' anger so important? Why is she angry? Can you interpret the omen of the hare and the simile involving birds?
Why does Agamemnon have to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia?
Watch the development of the character of Clytemnestra over the course of the play. Note how others, especially the Chorus, describe her. Always be on the lookout for double-meanings in everything she says.
How do you feel about Agamemnon by the time he enters?
Why does Clytemnestra make such a big deal about Agamemnon's entrance? Why, after all his protests, does he walk on the robes? Note the attitudes toward gender and the role of persuasion.
How do the characters view the Trojan War?
Pay close attention to the Herald's description of the Greeks' conduct during the final sack of Troy, which incurred the wrath of Athena. There is a vase painting of the rape of Cassandra in the Temple of Athena. A second painting shows how popular this story was.
Greek poets typically view the divine world as somehow connected with or symbolic of events on earth. Can you point out some ways this is true in this play? What conception of justice is there in this play?
What role does the Cassandra scene play? What new information comes out? Why does Clytemnestra kill her as well as Agamemnon?
At the end of the Cassandra scene, what do we know about Apollo?
Key images and themes: lion, eagle, yoke, net, hunting, growth, heredity, revenge
To see the resonance of the image of the lion, look at the picture
of the Lion Gate at
Mycenae, traditionally thought to have been the palace of Agamemnon.
Do you need more information about Orestes?
If you you are unsure why Apollo in particular should order Orestes to this deed, perhaps you need learn more about Apollo.
How is Orestes' behavior similar to or different from Clytemnestra's in the Agamemnon ?
Is your perception of Clytemnestra different in this play than the first?
The theme of the corrupted sacrifice
Revenge as a form of justice
Misogyny and sexual politics
Why is Orestes' murder of Aegisthus not a problem?
Apollo has now entered indirectly into both plays; how does he come across to you?
If this play seems slow or static to you, try to imagine it staged.
This play opens at Delphi, which you can study in detail and even visit, seeing many pictures. see.
In order to understand more about the function of Athena in this play, you might want to learn more about Athena. Since this play is set partly in Athens, you might find it helpful to learn more about festivals devoted to the gods in Athens.
There is a vase painting showing Apollo defending Orestes from the Furies at Delphi, and another of Orestes at Delphi, but with Athena already present.
Questions and topics:
Who, or what, are the Furies? Is Aeschylus' presentation of them consistent with traditional Greek thought or has he developed them
into something new?
Why hasn't Apollo been able to protect Orestes?
Read with special care the scene in which Athena persuades the Furies to end their wrath. How does she do it? Do the Furies lose their power?
By the end of the trilogy, a kind of justice is established. What is its nature?
Can you comment on Athena's function here? How does she transform Persuasion from Clytemnestra's use of it?
What do you think of Apollo' s argument during the trial (and, indeed, during the whole play). Is the father really the true parent? What do you think a Greek would have made of this "logic"? You can see confirmation of Apollo's argument in a vase painting depicting the birth of Athena. There are many vases showing this scene which you can study.
What would be the effect (dramatic, social, and ethical) if Apollo's argument at 625-39 succeeded and the play ended then? Is Apollo an admirable force?
How do the Furies recall the language of stasimon 1 of the Libation Bearers ?
Using the evidence in the text, what do you think is the vote of the jury? Does Athena tie the vote or break a tie? This is a very important point!
The trilogy attempts to solve some of the major problems of Greek society: male authority over women; vendettas, retribution. Do you see any carry-over to present day problems? Does the Oresteia really solve its own problems?
To what extent does this play offer a myth of the polis ?
