The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides - Aeschylus

In the Oresteia, Aeschylus addressed the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. As they move from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of celebration. 

In Agamemnon, a king's decision to sacrifice his daughter and turn the tide of war inflicts lasting damage on his family, culminating in a terrible act of retribution;

The Libation Bearers deals with the aftermath of Clytemnestra's regicide, as her son Orestes sets out to avenge his father's death;

and in The Eumenides, Orestes is tormented by supernatural powers that can never be appeased. 

Forming an elegant and subtle discourse on the emergence of Athenian democracy out of a period of chaos and destruction, The Oresteia is a compelling tragedy of the tensions between our obligations to our families and the laws that bind us together as a society.

Please note this copy has light scuffs on the covers

ISBN: 9780140443332

Size: Paperback, 336 pages

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Published: 1984