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Aeschylus II: The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, Proteus
Aeschylus II contains “The Oresteia,” translated by Richmond Lattimore, and fragments of “Proteus,” translated by Mark Griffith.
Sixty years ago, the University of Chicago Press undertook a momentous project: a new translation of the Greek tragedies that would be the ultimate resource for teachers, students, and readers. They succeeded. Under the expert management of eminent classicists David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, those translations combined accuracy, poetic immediacy, and clarity of presentation to render the surviving masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in an English so lively and compelling that they remain the standard translations. Today, Chicago is taking pains to ensure that our Greek tragedies remain the leading English-language versions throughout the twenty-first century.
In this highly anticipated third edition, Mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most have carefully updated the translations to bring them even closer to the ancient Greek while retaining the vibrancy for which our English versions are famous. This edition also includes brand-new translations of Euripides’ Medea, The Children of Heracles, Andromache, and Iphigenia among the Taurians, fragments of lost plays by Aeschylus, and the surviving portion of Sophocles’s satyr-drama The Trackers. New introductions for each play offer essential information about its first production, plot, and reception in antiquity and beyond. In addition, each volume includes an introduction to the life and work of its tragedian, as well as notes addressing textual uncertainties and a glossary of names and places mentioned in the plays.
In addition to the new content, the volumes have been reorganized both within and between volumes to reflect the most up-to-date scholarship on the order in which the plays were originally written. The result is a set of handsome paperbacks destined to introduce new generations of readers to these foundational works of Western drama, art, and life.
Sixty years ago, the University of Chicago Press undertook a momentous project: a new translation of the Greek tragedies that would be the ultimate resource for teachers, students, and readers. They succeeded. Under the expert management of eminent classicists David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, those translations combined accuracy, poetic immediacy, and clarity of presentation to render the surviving masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in an English so lively and compelling that they remain the standard translations. Today, Chicago is taking pains to ensure that our Greek tragedies remain the leading English-language versions throughout the twenty-first century.
In this highly anticipated third edition, Mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most have carefully updated the translations to bring them even closer to the ancient Greek while retaining the vibrancy for which our English versions are famous. This edition also includes brand-new translations of Euripides’ Medea, The Children of Heracles, Andromache, and Iphigenia among the Taurians, fragments of lost plays by Aeschylus, and the surviving portion of Sophocles’s satyr-drama The Trackers. New introductions for each play offer essential information about its first production, plot, and reception in antiquity and beyond. In addition, each volume includes an introduction to the life and work of its tragedian, as well as notes addressing textual uncertainties and a glossary of names and places mentioned in the plays.
In addition to the new content, the volumes have been reorganized both within and between volumes to reflect the most up-to-date scholarship on the order in which the plays were originally written. The result is a set of handsome paperbacks destined to introduce new generations of readers to these foundational works of Western drama, art, and life.
178 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2013
25 people are currently reading
392 people want to read
About the author
Aeschylus
1,823 books1,088 followersGreek
Αισχύλος
, Esquilo in Spanish, Eschyle in French, Eschilo in Italian, Эсхил in Russian.
Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC – c. 456 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the theatre and allowed conflict among them. Formerly, characters interacted only with the chorus.
Only seven of Aeschylus's estimated 70 to 90 plays have survived. There is a long-standing debate regarding the authorship of one of them, Prometheus Bound, with some scholars arguing that it may be the work of his son Euphorion. Fragments from other plays have survived in quotations, and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyri. These fragments often give further insights into Aeschylus' work. He was likely the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy. His Oresteia is the only extant ancient example. At least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians' second invasion of Greece (480–479 BC). This work, The Persians, is one of very few classical Greek tragedies concerned with contemporary events, and the only one extant. The significance of the war with Persia was so great to Aeschylus and the Greeks that his epitaph commemorates his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon while making no mention of his success as a playwright.
Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC – c. 456 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the theatre and allowed conflict among them. Formerly, characters interacted only with the chorus.
Only seven of Aeschylus's estimated 70 to 90 plays have survived. There is a long-standing debate regarding the authorship of one of them, Prometheus Bound, with some scholars arguing that it may be the work of his son Euphorion. Fragments from other plays have survived in quotations, and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyri. These fragments often give further insights into Aeschylus' work. He was likely the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy. His Oresteia is the only extant ancient example. At least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians' second invasion of Greece (480–479 BC). This work, The Persians, is one of very few classical Greek tragedies concerned with contemporary events, and the only one extant. The significance of the war with Persia was so great to Aeschylus and the Greeks that his epitaph commemorates his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon while making no mention of his success as a playwright.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
April 8, 2024
I’m intrigued by the proliferation of distant, significant lights, as well as the variations on grace in each work of the Orestia: the “somehow violent” grace of “the gods who sit in grandeur” in Agamemnon, the “grace without grace” of The Libation Bearers, and the compulsion to give “grace for grace” found at the end of The Eumenides.
Lattimore’s prose is stunning.
Lattimore’s prose is stunning.
March 3, 2025
I support you Clytemnestra no matter what
Women can never do wrong
Women can never do wrong
August 10, 2024
Brutal, exquisite, and maddening in its moral complexity. I feel as though Aeschylus has cast his own net over me — caught me in the act of unjust sympathy in multiple directions, dissatisfied me with an intentionally simplistic resolution, and thereby created in me desperation for a justice and mercy that can fully bear the weight of human depravity and suffering.
Five stars to the playwright, five stars to Lattimore.
Five stars to the playwright, five stars to Lattimore.
October 25, 2021
i fr fw clytemnestra and cassandra, they're canonical. aegisthus is annoying asf though.
Read
September 8, 2025so cool how 90% of this was just the chorus singing nonsense
March 26, 2025
quite funny for a school book
February 3, 2021
There are two obstacles to reading something like The Oresteia. One is background knowledge of Greek mythology - which all I have was acquired by osmosis from popular culture. The second is some familiarity with reading drama, particularly Greek drama - a skill at which I'm equally inept. But with some effort, this was pretty enjoyable.
The effort required was googling from time to time, and following the commentary on Spark Notes. Spoiling the ending and everything. This is not something I read to know what happens. There's more learning here than pure entertainment.
It took me probably half the first play, Agamemnon, to get used to the style. The dialogues are very understandable, but the chorus was hard to pin down. At different times, they can represent either a person, a group of people, somebody's thoughts, or behave as a sort of narrator. There is some getting used to it.
The gods are funny. Whereas the christian God keeps his master plan secret, the Greek gods blabber about theirs. While Christianity keeps us in the dark, Hellenism shines too much light. The end result for us poor humans is we see nothing either way.
A couple of interesting points:
* These plays were presented at the yearly Festival of Dionysus where each playwright would write 3 plays for a competition. Aeschylus usually presented them as part of a larger story. That's where trilogy comes from. The Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy from the Greeks.
* Coincidence or not, there's a parallel between Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigenia and Stannis' sacrifice of Shareen from Game of Thrones.
The effort required was googling from time to time, and following the commentary on Spark Notes. Spoiling the ending and everything. This is not something I read to know what happens. There's more learning here than pure entertainment.
It took me probably half the first play, Agamemnon, to get used to the style. The dialogues are very understandable, but the chorus was hard to pin down. At different times, they can represent either a person, a group of people, somebody's thoughts, or behave as a sort of narrator. There is some getting used to it.
The gods are funny. Whereas the christian God keeps his master plan secret, the Greek gods blabber about theirs. While Christianity keeps us in the dark, Hellenism shines too much light. The end result for us poor humans is we see nothing either way.
A couple of interesting points:
* These plays were presented at the yearly Festival of Dionysus where each playwright would write 3 plays for a competition. Aeschylus usually presented them as part of a larger story. That's where trilogy comes from. The Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy from the Greeks.
* Coincidence or not, there's a parallel between Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigenia and Stannis' sacrifice of Shareen from Game of Thrones.
October 19, 2022
I'm continuously blown away by how much I'm LOVING the Greek writers. This is a book that requires multiple reads and a text that keeps on giving the more and more you dig into it. It goes from a post-Trojan war world of disorder and chaos and the constant search to put things back. Also, this work convinced me that Shakespeare wasn't just a borrower but a plagiarist (and I LOVE Shakespeare). I mean Titus Andronicus, Hamlet, and Macbeth are alllllll here.
August 29, 2017
What can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the ....democratic process?
The first play is rough and requires a ton of background Greek myth knowledge that I was woefully ignorant of. It picks up in the second and third though.
Nothing but the ....democratic process?
The first play is rough and requires a ton of background Greek myth knowledge that I was woefully ignorant of. It picks up in the second and third though.
Read
February 21, 2023incel bible
March 30, 2025
greek tragedies rock
Agamemnon:
Absolutely LOVED Clytemnestra! Her character is has so much depth. Clytemnestra defies the traditional gender roles of her time with boldness and intelligence, making her a standout figure in ancient literature, not just this play. SHE WAS EVERY BIT OF KING AGAMEMNON WAS!!! Her calculated actions, driven by a sense of retribution, add layers to her motivations. Her character challenges perceptions and evokes both sympathy and awe.
The Libation Bearers:
The play's use of symbols, such as the libations themselves, shows the themes of vengeance and justice. The libations, poured over Agamemnon's grave, symbolize the ongoing cycle of bloodshed and the hope for purification. Another powerful symbol is the lock of Orestes' hair, which signifies his connection to his family and his role in fulfilling the curse upon the house of Atreus. This small but important symbol highlights the nature of familial duty and destiny.T he serpent dream of Clytemnestra is another cool symbol, representing both the danger lurking within her family and the inevitable retribution she faces.
The Eumendies:
I loved how the play shifts from a cycle of revenge to a system of law and order. The Furies, who seek vengeance, transform into protectors of justice, symbolizing the change from old ways to new. The trial of Orestes is a central part of the play, showing the importance of fairness and the role of the gods in human affairs. Athena's intervention and the establishment of a court of law show a move towards reason and balance. ATHENA WAS GREAT 5 STARS JUST FOR ATHENA
Agamemnon:
Absolutely LOVED Clytemnestra! Her character is has so much depth. Clytemnestra defies the traditional gender roles of her time with boldness and intelligence, making her a standout figure in ancient literature, not just this play. SHE WAS EVERY BIT OF KING AGAMEMNON WAS!!! Her calculated actions, driven by a sense of retribution, add layers to her motivations. Her character challenges perceptions and evokes both sympathy and awe.
The Libation Bearers:
The play's use of symbols, such as the libations themselves, shows the themes of vengeance and justice. The libations, poured over Agamemnon's grave, symbolize the ongoing cycle of bloodshed and the hope for purification. Another powerful symbol is the lock of Orestes' hair, which signifies his connection to his family and his role in fulfilling the curse upon the house of Atreus. This small but important symbol highlights the nature of familial duty and destiny.T he serpent dream of Clytemnestra is another cool symbol, representing both the danger lurking within her family and the inevitable retribution she faces.
The Eumendies:
I loved how the play shifts from a cycle of revenge to a system of law and order. The Furies, who seek vengeance, transform into protectors of justice, symbolizing the change from old ways to new. The trial of Orestes is a central part of the play, showing the importance of fairness and the role of the gods in human affairs. Athena's intervention and the establishment of a court of law show a move towards reason and balance. ATHENA WAS GREAT 5 STARS JUST FOR ATHENA
Read
November 3, 2024Take out the family, pin it on divine intervention and move on.
December 14, 2024
never reading a richmond lattimore translation again
March 30, 2020
Most boring book ever, second only to the Odyssey.
February 22, 2024
3.75/5 stars
December 18, 2021
"It will be you who kill yourself. It will not be I." - Orestes, as he's about to kill Clytaemestra
What a guy
What a guy
February 23, 2022
So much drama, so much fodder for thought. I was gripped the entire time.
Read
October 30, 2022Mostly read for Uni, these will always be timeless stories
July 8, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
July 26, 2024
the best part of coming back to this was being reminded of eleanor johnson’s fire takes
November 12, 2024
yay origin of the judicial court and it’s also greek myth this is so me
December 13, 2024
vengeance 👿🩸
December 16, 2024
moral ambiguity and divine intervention were definitely interesting to see.
December 30, 2024
Jesus christ! Why did I put off reading greek tragedy for so long??
January 8, 2025
Gorgeous translation of a transcendent trilogy … well, no, that’s not right … a transcendently immanent trilogy. :}
January 13, 2025
the libation bearers >>>
February 4, 2025
I like the Oresteia slightly more every time I read it.
February 5, 2025
justice for my girl electra
June 28, 2016
The Oresteia is the only surviving Greek trilogy in existence, and in many ways, an unparallel work of art. The three plays of this trilogy: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides gives us a glimpse into the long, bloody, and difficult history of the House of Atreus, a family which has given way to many Greek myth cult heroes - Orestes, Agamemnon, and Atreus himself. Through the trilogy of plays, we learn of the cycles of murders that befall the House of Atreus and how Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, enacts revenge for the death of his father. From Clyemnestra's plotting against Agamemnon in response to the sacrifice of their daughter, to the trail for Orestes held in Athens, each play in the trilogy offers a great combination of drama, action, and extreme circumstances that make the plays some of the best surviving Greek tragedies.
The themes and motifs that resonate with each of the tragedies give us a glimpse into ancient Greek society and expectations of both individuals and families. However, the tragedies also deviate from societal norms in a way that makes each of the plays unique. In the Agamemnon for instance, Clytemnestra stands out as a female who plays a very non-traditional woman role - a clever and smart women with a fixation of blood imagery and thirst for revenge that is highly unusual for females at the time the play was written. Many Greek women then were docile, oversaw matters of the home, and wove fabrics, and while Clytemnestra did engage in all of the above, killing her husband and worship of the older, darker goddesses that are the Erinyes is definitely something beyond the role of regular women back then. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes commits matricide by killing Clytemnestra, and while matricide and spilling of family blood are looked down upon and results in miasma among the perpetrator, Orestes is justified since Agamemnon was killed in cold blood by women, at least, in the view of Apollo.
In very vivid ways, societal norms are turned on their heads and the Oresteia becomes a political and legal commentary of changing Greek values as the story progresses. The trilogy is a major influence in modern theater and drama, and truly an amazing written work that everyone should read at least twice!
The themes and motifs that resonate with each of the tragedies give us a glimpse into ancient Greek society and expectations of both individuals and families. However, the tragedies also deviate from societal norms in a way that makes each of the plays unique. In the Agamemnon for instance, Clytemnestra stands out as a female who plays a very non-traditional woman role - a clever and smart women with a fixation of blood imagery and thirst for revenge that is highly unusual for females at the time the play was written. Many Greek women then were docile, oversaw matters of the home, and wove fabrics, and while Clytemnestra did engage in all of the above, killing her husband and worship of the older, darker goddesses that are the Erinyes is definitely something beyond the role of regular women back then. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes commits matricide by killing Clytemnestra, and while matricide and spilling of family blood are looked down upon and results in miasma among the perpetrator, Orestes is justified since Agamemnon was killed in cold blood by women, at least, in the view of Apollo.
In very vivid ways, societal norms are turned on their heads and the Oresteia becomes a political and legal commentary of changing Greek values as the story progresses. The trilogy is a major influence in modern theater and drama, and truly an amazing written work that everyone should read at least twice!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews