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 A fine collection of Aeschylus' magnum opus. May 27, 2008
All drama exists in the shadow of the three great tragedians of Ancient Greece; Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. They wrote scores of plays apiece, but only scattered works of those survive. Of Aeschylus' body of work survives the least: plays numbering a mere seven. However, Aeschylus was cut a bit of a break, because three of those surviving seven form the only complete trilogy of plays from Ancient Greek theatre: the Oresteia (Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex", "Oedipus at Colonus", and "Antigone" are often grouped together as the "Theban Plays", but they are not a proper trilogy, which, in Greek theatre, was three interlinked plays performed together in one festival, alongside a fourth satyr play; the satyr play that accompanied the Oresteia has been lost.
The scene is the aftermath of the Trojan War, where at least 50% of all Greek mythology seems to have its roots; the victorious Agammemnon returns home, taking with him the despoiled Trojan Princess Cassandra, cursed by Apollo to forever speak truth and never be believed. The war is over, but the echoes persist; indeed, the tragedy has its beginnings in the war's beginning, when Agammemnon, in order to facilitate the armada's crossing of the Aegean, sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. His wife Clytemnestra, understandably, resents this; perhaps less understandably, she has been unfaithful to her husband in his long absence, and, together with her new lover Aegisthus, plots to kill her husband, as well as poor Cassandra. The repercussions of this redound through the next two plays, "The Libation Bearers" and "The Eumenides", as Agammemnon and Clytemnestra's son Orestes, together with his sister Electra, must decide how to avenge their father's murder. Orestes is in a Catch-22, having to reconcile contradictory demands of divine justice: avenging his father means murdering his mother, a crime to the Eumenides, while not avenging his father will offend Apollo.
When looking at Greek drama from a modern perspective, the aspect that many people find the most challenging is the use of Choruses. The first play, "Agammemnon", makes the heaviest use of the Chorus, and I consider it the weakest of the three (by virtue of being the first, it also has a lot of setup). The following "The Libation Bearers" and "The Eumenides" are stronger, with more limited Choruses, and, since the crux of the latter, especially, are debates with dialogue, there is no sense that important actions are occurring offscreen (which was a major trope in Greek drama). These types of stories remain an acquired taste, but they are very enjoyable to those who get used to them. Aeschylus here uses the whole trilogy, and particularly the final play, to dramatize the development of current ideas concerning justice; explanations are given here for the existence of the twelve-man jury, for example.
While I consider Sophocles to be the greatest of the three tragedians, Aeschylus' magnum opus is well worth the time of fans of classical drama and mythology.
The first "greatest story ever told." March 20, 2008
Like Bach's music, the Oresteia expresses early on the full panorama of the human spirit and soul. How do you stop the violence (in Iraq, Palestine, anywhere)? Moral lesson: Just Stop! This is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to put the DNA of Western Civilization under the microscope.
Required reading May 24, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
i first came across these stories when I was 14, i read them again in collage and have read them ever since. the Oresteia is essential literature, if nothing else because of the references it has generated over all of western Literature some examples being Dune by frank Herbert and Orestes by Perfect Circle. also because it is a really intresting study of family dynamics. i also recomend reading it BEFORE it is assigned to you. develop your own ideas to present to a class, get your own idea of it in your mind. I bought this paritcular translation because it was the one i was familar with an a decent one.
An excellent trilogy April 23, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Aeschylus (525-456 BC) is the father of Greek tragedies (one legend reports that Dionysus himself commanded Aeschylus to write them). Of the seventy tragedies that he wrote, only seven have survived to the present day. These three plays form the most complete tetralogy that we have (a tetralogy contained three tragedies and one satyr play - a semi-religious, semi-mocking performance that acted as a postlude to the tragic trilogy) - only the satyr play is missing.
In Agamemnon, the Greek king returns from the Trojan War, with his prize of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra. Cassandra knows that Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, will kill them, but she is fated to be not be believed. And so, the deed is done.
In The Libation Bearers, Clytemnestra has a nightmare that she gave birth to a snake, and so she sends her daughter Electra to Agamemnon's grave to pour out a libation. However, Electra meets her brother, Orestes, and the two plot revenge upon their mother, and her loved. And so, murder begets murder.
In The Eumenides, Orestes is fleeing the Furies, who are pursuing him for murdering his mother. Orestes flees to Apollo, who sends him on to Athens, to be judged by Athena herself.
This is an excellent trilogy. Even though it is over 2,000 years old, it still makes an interesting read. In particular, I enjoyed The Eumenides, with its battle of supernatural beings, and its showcasing of the development of Western jurisprudence. Overall, I found this to be an interesting and informative book, one that I do not hesitate to recommend to everyone.
even better the second time around June 23, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
These are great plays, and this is a beautiful translation.
I think, though, that to really appreciate what Aeschylus accomplished (aided and abetted by Fagles), most modern readers should really read the entire trilogy twice.
When these plays were first performed, the entire audience would have known the story of Agamemnon's fate and Orestes' revenge from the Odyssey, and probably from other sources besides. The interest came from seeing how Aeschylus would reweave the tale - with what turns of phrase, what dramatic revelations, what poetic license, what new ways of glorifying Athens or bemoaning some new turn in Athenian politics.
The best way to replicate that experience is to read the entire trilogy once to see how it unfolds and how it ends, then to read it again for the nuances of language. Aeschylus is subtle, and Fagles brings out this subtlety in this translation: for example, almost every line uttered in the first part of Agamemnon has a double meaning (at least!), even rendered in English.
Not only this, but the dimensions of the tragedy become clearer the second time around. On the first reading, having forgotten much of the story, I found it gripping. On the second reading, I found it heartrending.
Like another reviewer on this site, I recommend skipping the introductory essay and diving right into the plays. Make up your own mind about what all of this means and why it might be important. Then read the essay if you want to see if you agree with it.
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