The Oresteia

Aeschylus's only surviving trilogy: Agamemnon's murder, his son's revenge, and Athens's first court of law.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Aeschylus

type

Tragedy trilogy (Greek)

era

Classical Athens (458 BC)

language

Ancient Greek

setting

Argos, Delphi, and Athens

source text

The House of Atreus myth cycle

acts

3 plays

Relative Scale in Plays

Core Principles & Analysis

• Produced in 458 BC with a satyr play, Proteus, now lost.
• It is the only complete Greek tragic trilogy that survives.
• The Eumenides ends the cycle of blood vengeance with Athena's jury court.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Oresteia