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Unlike Euripides’ & Sophocles’ Electra plays, which dealt with the build up to & execution of the act of vengeance, Euripides’ Orestes deals with the aftermath of the act - focusing particularly on the psychological & social ramifications of matricide. Orestes is driven to madness by a guilt he still struggles to take responsibility for, and the Argive citizens have turned on him in the wake of his crime. I’m interested particularly in how Euripides interacts with & subverts Aeschylus’ Oresteia: Aeschylus ended his trilogy with the inauguration of the Athenian homicide court, an institutional form of justice which brings the cycle of vengeance to an end & restores equilibrium; in Euripides’ Orestes, the characters eschew established legal proceedings & take justice into their own hands, resulting in a disintegration into extremes of violence, and a resolution reached only by the last minute intervention of a god. Aeschylus’ monumental trilogy is weighty with gravitas; Euripides’ play borders on the absurd, becoming almost a mockery of Aeschylus. The play is often considered a tragicomedy because of its slightly ridiculous ending. What did you think?
We read Euripides' Orestes as part of the Greek tragedy read-along in August 2020.
