The Oresteia

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-governancefrom primitive ritual to civilized institutiontheir spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of celebration. In Agamemnona king’s decision to sacrifice his daughter and turn the tide of war inflicts lasting damage on his familyculminating in a terrible act of retribution; The Libation Bearers deals with the aftermath of Clytemnestra’s regicideas her son Orestes sets out to avenge his father’s death; and in The EumenidesOrestes 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 destructionThe Oresteia is a compelling tragedy of the tensions between our obligations to our families and the laws that bind us together as a society. The only trilogy in Greek drama that survives from antiquityAeschylus’ The Oresteia is translated by Robert Fagles with an introductionnotes and glossary written in collaboration with W.B. Stanford in Penguin Classics. For more than seventy yearsPenguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1700 titlesPenguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authorsas well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.