book data
1202 ratings, 4.05 average rating, 88 reviews
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published
May 15th 1969
(first published 1956)
by University Of Chicago Press
binding
Paperback, 180 pages
isbn
0226307786
(isbn13: 9780226307787)
description
"These authoritative translations consign all other complete collections to the wastebasket."—Robert Brustein, The New Republic<...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1560)
Read in March, 2007
I had in my mind that the these plays were full of mythology of the pantheon of Greek gods.
There are gods, yes, and other mythological creatures like the Furies, but there is so much more there, themes of duty, of humility, hubris, sin and forgiveness, the weight and fullness of history (the Trojan War) and family.
Out of these three plays Aeschylus sharply defined characters that still are echoed today. Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Iphigenia are still used as descriptions and figures tod...more
There are gods, yes, and other mythological creatures like the Furies, but there is so much more there, themes of duty, of humility, hubris, sin and forgiveness, the weight and fullness of history (the Trojan War) and family.
Out of these three plays Aeschylus sharply defined characters that still are echoed today. Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Iphigenia are still used as descriptions and figures tod...more
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Read in October, 2005
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Like so many other things that I've been reading lately, Aeschylus's trilogy is concerned with human beings thrown into the crucible of extremest intensity, pressured from every direction my conflicting obligations, driven to violent action and violent remorse. Few poets are as willing as Aeschylus to stare into the profound darkness of human suffering and name the curse that seems to hold us to the wheel of our own violence. Yet, even fewer are ultimately as hopeful about the possibility of our...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Greek tragedy people
Well, this book started out great. I loved the first play, Agamemnon because the style of the writing and the diction was absolutely amazing. I was enthralled through the whole first play and I was excited to keep reading. Unfortunately, Libation Bearers kind of killed it for me. It was boring and not half as interesting as the first play. The Eumenides saved the book a little but the last two plays were definitely a let-down after the first one. So if you enjoy Greek tragedies, which I usually ...more
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Read in March, 2008
One of the classic tragedies of the human history - this particular trilogy tells the tale of the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, Clytemnestra, and their son's subsequent revenge and torment. Beautifully written and translated, Clytemnestra's speech as she waits to hack her husband to shreds is still one of the most poignant in existence. Just beautiful.
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Read in May, 2008
This Greek tragedy in three parts is a continuation of the life of Agamemnon and his family following the Trojan War. The house of Atreus is in big trouble. Agamemnon's father, Atreus had a brother, Thyestes, who seduced his wife. In return, Atreus killed Thyestes' kids and served them to Thyestes as dinner. Escaping with only one surviving child, Aegisthus, Thyestes cursed the house of Atreus and vowed revenge. Atreus had two sons, Menelaus(Helen's dear husband) and Agamemnon. Both brothers fou...more
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Read in September, 2002
The Oresteia is Aeschylus’ trilogy of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides. The trilogy tells the tragic tale of the House of Atreus, which basically goes, “His father fed my father his children, I want to kill him” (Aegisthus), “He killed my daughter and took a mistress, I want to kill him” (Clytaemnestra), “They killed my dad, I want to kill them” (Electra, Orestes), and “He killed his mom, we want to punish him” (the Furies). Oh, a...more
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Read in October, 2008
I think I'm starting to burn out on ancient Greece. After finishing The Iliad and The Odyssey, I was all excited to read the classic Greek tragedians. Now, here I am in my first book of plays, and I'm already burning out. I don't think it was The Oresteia or Aeschylus that did it either. The Oresteia is pretty darn cool. Clytaemnestra plots behind Agamemnon’s back to murder him when he returns from the Trojan War. Orestes and Electra mourn their father's murder ...more
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آشیل یا آخیلوس اهل آتن بوده و گویا در جنگ "ماراتن"(بین پارس و یونان) شرکت داشته و حدود 450 سال پیش از میلاد فوت کرده. گفته می شود که بر سنگ قبرش نوشته اند؛ "آخیلوس اهل آتن، زیر این سنگ خفته. خاک مقدس ماراتن و سربازان بلند گیسوی ماد(پارس) که طعم دلاوری او را چشیده اند، بر جنگ آ...more
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Read in January, 2006
This was part of my course curriculum for Theatre Studies at University. I can't say I enjoyed it, possibly because I just didn't get it. I've spent a large portion of my life studying Elizabethan literature, coming to terms with the style of writing used in that - I reckon that going farther back into literary history knocked me off a bit and was difficult for me to get my head around, which is only natural I suppose.
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Read in April, 2005
recommends it for:
Yes
This is perhaps ancient Greece's most famous tragic trilogy that has survived antiquity. "Agamemnon" deals with the treacherous murder of King Agamemnon, just returned from the Trojan war, at the hands of his wife, Clytemnestra, and his brother (who had an affair with his wife and coveted the throne). "The Libation Bearers" brings karmic and bloody retribution upon Clytemnestra at the hands of her only son, Orestes, avenging the death of his father. "The Eumenides&quo...more
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Read in October, 2007
Good stuff--
Although somewhat confusing in parts (esp. the Chorus), it was still a pleasure to read one of the oldest surviving Greek tragedies. The only complete trilogy of Aeschylus surviving, Oresteia tells the story of Clytemnestra's murder of her husband, Agamemnon, then Agamemnon's son, Orestes's revenge on his own mother and her whipped wimp of a lover, Aegisthus, and finally Orestes's reconciliation with the crime of matricide in a bit surreal court scene of Apollo defending O...more
Although somewhat confusing in parts (esp. the Chorus), it was still a pleasure to read one of the oldest surviving Greek tragedies. The only complete trilogy of Aeschylus surviving, Oresteia tells the story of Clytemnestra's murder of her husband, Agamemnon, then Agamemnon's son, Orestes's revenge on his own mother and her whipped wimp of a lover, Aegisthus, and finally Orestes's reconciliation with the crime of matricide in a bit surreal court scene of Apollo defending O...more
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The Oresteia is the only full Greek Trilogy that archaeologists have been able to discover. It follows the family of Agamemnon after the Trojan War. The plot focuses on the popular Greek idea of a "cursed blood." Other plot elements focus on conflicting duties concerning the family, the state, and the gods.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
The first play in the trilogy tells the story of the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, Agamemnon's cousin. In the second play, The Libation Bearers, Agamemnon's son, Orestes, revenges his father's murder by killing Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. In the final play of the three, The Eumenides, we see Orestes on trial in Athens for his matricide. Like most plays, it's relatively short compared to a novel. This translation by Vellacott in 1959 is written in verse and reads fa...more
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What happened then, we did not see.
The eyes, the brain,
turn away at such events.
For wisdom that the gods dole out
we pay in pain
that we hope, at last relents.
as the dawn comes with its wan light
to offer relief
from dreams we could scarcely bear,
sordid, horrid, shameful, woeful,
and so full of grief
that even the brave despair.
That light now breaks, and we await the day's
outcome in hope that, somehow, all will be well.
Our fears may be great, but she whom we all praise ...more
The eyes, the brain,
turn away at such events.
For wisdom that the gods dole out
we pay in pain
that we hope, at last relents.
as the dawn comes with its wan light
to offer relief
from dreams we could scarcely bear,
sordid, horrid, shameful, woeful,
and so full of grief
that even the brave despair.
That light now breaks, and we await the day's
outcome in hope that, somehow, all will be well.
Our fears may be great, but she whom we all praise ...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
moustache bearers
three plays that read really quickly. i guess all of the pre-hellenistic greek tragedy playrights wrote a play regarding the myth of electra, which encompasses the second part of the trilogy. all three of these were pretty solid, each with definite highlights in them (cassandra's prophecies in the first, orestes and electra's plotting in the second, and the trial in the third). my copy, laurel classical drama, also contains prometheus bound, which is the first and only play which survives in the...more
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Liked the first play best, Cltemnestra is a fantastic character. Second play so-so. Final play very disturbing in how it takes away the rights of women and subjugates them to the will of men.
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Although I don't love it nearly as much as I love The Illiad, I did enjoy The Oresteia, and suggest it to anyone who liked The Illiad as a nice little addition to the end of the story.
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Read in October, 2008
recommended to Carl by:
Lit Classrecommends it for: Everone
The Greek Tragedies are so insightful, you can read them over and over again, and still get something new out of them.
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