- Unknown Binding: 201 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books (1956)
- Language English
- ASIN: B001P4JV8C
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
The Oresteian Trilogy
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First Sentence
It is night, a little before sunrise. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It is night, a little before sunrise. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a rare thing. It is a syllabus book that is actually entertaining! The three plays featured form a triology, that chart the murder of king Agamemnon by his wife, and the the revnge taken by his son and its consequences. Although it is quite a daunting read for someone who doesn't know much about Classics, it is well worth the effort. There are even notes in the back to help you understand the references. Apart from the references to ancient culture, the plays are easy to follow and entertaining, full of suspense, intrigue and horror. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to start learning about Classical culture or people who want a good read without having to resort to a "airport" novel!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Four stars is because of the translation. While Vellacott, whose translations of Euripides I love, captures the mood, his rhythmical verse somehow obscures the meaning, at least in the less didactic passages.
Having said that what comes across is a story whose drama to me can only be rivalled by the great stories of the Old Testament, or by Hamlet, whose dilemma is in some ways a mirror of that of Orestes.
Orestes' father Agamemnon has been murdered on his return from victory in the Trojan war by Orestes' mother Clytemnestra, who has shacked up with Aegisthus and who grieves the sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia made by Agamemnon to ensure a wind for his fleet on its way to Troy.
This family, the house of Atreus, was under a curse anyway, following the cruel murder by Agamemnon's father of his brother's children.
Orestes murders Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and is then pursued by the Furies. The whole drama of the plays is about his decision to do this and the agonies he is likely to incur whether he does it or not.
Having said that what comes across is a story whose drama to me can only be rivalled by the great stories of the Old Testament, or by Hamlet, whose dilemma is in some ways a mirror of that of Orestes.
Orestes' father Agamemnon has been murdered on his return from victory in the Trojan war by Orestes' mother Clytemnestra, who has shacked up with Aegisthus and who grieves the sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia made by Agamemnon to ensure a wind for his fleet on its way to Troy.
This family, the house of Atreus, was under a curse anyway, following the cruel murder by Agamemnon's father of his brother's children.
Orestes murders Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and is then pursued by the Furies. The whole drama of the plays is about his decision to do this and the agonies he is likely to incur whether he does it or not.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Excellent, with minor reservations
29 May 2009
Format:Paperback
It's easy to see why Aeschylus is still revered as one of the great dramatists of the ages. 2500 years later The Oresteia still presents poetical problems of great urgency, probing the darkest depths of the human psyche. While Agamemnon, the first work in this trilogy, is the most lauded, all three are of nearly equal value.
I'm of two minds regarding Vellacott's translation. For the most part the language is vivid and the verse is spacious and eloquent, though his fixed rhyme (which has no analog in the original Greek) is sometimes distracting -- particularly as he is in the all-too-frequent habit of forcing rhyme with ostentatious enjambment. That really breaks the flow.
With a verse translation this admittedly free in its rendering, I'm always left with the nagging question of which images belong to the author and which to the translator. When I want to experience a great work of the canon that can be a bit troubling.
These quibbles aside, Vellacott's translation does an outstanding job of framing the vital images of Aeschylus' trilogy with vigor, and overall my reading experience was first rate.
I'm of two minds regarding Vellacott's translation. For the most part the language is vivid and the verse is spacious and eloquent, though his fixed rhyme (which has no analog in the original Greek) is sometimes distracting -- particularly as he is in the all-too-frequent habit of forcing rhyme with ostentatious enjambment. That really breaks the flow.
With a verse translation this admittedly free in its rendering, I'm always left with the nagging question of which images belong to the author and which to the translator. When I want to experience a great work of the canon that can be a bit troubling.
These quibbles aside, Vellacott's translation does an outstanding job of framing the vital images of Aeschylus' trilogy with vigor, and overall my reading experience was first rate.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
awesome
13 Dec 2005
Format:Paperback
This is the quintessential tale of ritual sacrifice (homicide), blood debt, self-conflicted justice, patricide, guilt, and (ultimately) the divinely bestowed rule of law (reason). Written 2500 years ago, perhaps it's where respect for law originated. If before clan/society/religion (honor) demanded unthinking sacrifice and revenge, Aeschylus advocates divinely endorsed law as a mediator of the irrational (and emotional): reason alone can tame the madness.
Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Electra, Orestes, and Aegisthus have since appeared in millions of derivative venues as dramatic models under different names. None approach the power of this work. I read this translation 30 years ago: it remains vivid and memorable.
Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Electra, Orestes, and Aegisthus have since appeared in millions of derivative venues as dramatic models under different names. None approach the power of this work. I read this translation 30 years ago: it remains vivid and memorable.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
An excellent trilogy
24 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback
Aeschylus (525-456 BC) is the father of Greek tragedies (one legend reports that Dionysus himself commanded Aeschylus to write them). Of the seventy tragedies that he wrote, only seven have survived to the present day. These three plays form the most complete tetralogy that we have (a tetralogy contained three tragedies and one satyr play - a semi-religious, semi-mocking performance that acted as a postlude to the tragic trilogy) - only the satyr play is missing.
In Agamemnon, the Greek king returns from the Trojan War, with his prize of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra. Cassandra knows that Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, will kill them, but she is fated to be not be believed. And so, the deed is done.
In The Libation Bearers, Clytemnestra has a nightmare that she gave birth to a snake, and so she sends her daughter Electra to Agamemnon's grave to pour out a libation. However, Electra meets her brother, Orestes, and the two plot revenge upon their mother, and her loved. And so, murder begets murder.
In The Eumenides, Orestes is fleeing the Furies, who are pursuing him for murdering his mother. Orestes flees to Apollo, who sends him on to Athens, to be judged by Athena herself.
This is an excellent trilogy. Even though it is over 2,000 years old, it still makes an interesting read. In particular, I enjoyed The Eumenides, with its battle of supernatural beings, and its showcasing of the development of Western jurisprudence. Overall, I found this to be an interesting and informative book, one that I do not hesitate to recommend to everyone.
In Agamemnon, the Greek king returns from the Trojan War, with his prize of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra. Cassandra knows that Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, will kill them, but she is fated to be not be believed. And so, the deed is done.
In The Libation Bearers, Clytemnestra has a nightmare that she gave birth to a snake, and so she sends her daughter Electra to Agamemnon's grave to pour out a libation. However, Electra meets her brother, Orestes, and the two plot revenge upon their mother, and her loved. And so, murder begets murder.
In The Eumenides, Orestes is fleeing the Furies, who are pursuing him for murdering his mother. Orestes flees to Apollo, who sends him on to Athens, to be judged by Athena herself.
This is an excellent trilogy. Even though it is over 2,000 years old, it still makes an interesting read. In particular, I enjoyed The Eumenides, with its battle of supernatural beings, and its showcasing of the development of Western jurisprudence. Overall, I found this to be an interesting and informative book, one that I do not hesitate to recommend to everyone.
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