The Oresteia: Agamemnon, Women at the Graveside, Orestes in Athens

One of the foundational texts of Western literature, the Oresteia trilogy is about cycles of deception and brutality within the ruling family of Argos. In Agamemnon, queen Clytemnestra awaits her husbands return from war to commit a terrible act of retribution. The next plays, radically retitled here as The Women at the Graveside and Orestes in Athens, deal with the aftermath of the regicide, Orestes search to avenge his fathers death and his ceaseless torment. A powerful discourse on the formation of democracy, The Oresteia illuminates the tensions between loyalty to ones family and to the community. In this classic for future generations, Oliver Taplin captures the lyricism of the original. See more