Orestes (408 BCE) is an Ancient Greek play by Euripides that follows the events of Orestes after he had murdered his mother. Download high resolution version (947x836, 225 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Orestes (mythology) William-Adolphe Bouguereau gallery Categories: Paintings containing nudity ... A statue of Euripides Euripides (c. ... Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos, IPA argos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, several persons were named Electra (also spelled Elektra): Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, mother of Dardanus, Iasion and Harmonia, by Zeus. ... Helen () was the wife of Menelaus and reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the world; her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ... This article is about Menelaus the king of Sparta. ... Pylades and Orestes by Francois Bouchot In Greek mythology, Pylades is the son of King Strophius of Phocis and is mostly known for his strong friendship with Orestes. ... In Greek mythology, Hermione was a daughter of Menelaus and Helen. ... Location of Phrygia - traditional region (yellow) - expanded kingdom (orange line) In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of the Anatolian highlands, part of modern Turkey, from ca. ... A eunuch is an infertile human male whose testicles have either been removed (deliberately or by accident) or are otherwise non-functional. ... Statue of Apollo at the British Museum. ... In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (or Tyndareos) was a Spartan king, son of Oebalus (or Perieres) and Gorgophone (or Bateia), husband of Leda and father of Helen, Polydeuces (Pollux), Castor, Clytemnestra, and Philonoe. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 413 BC 412 BC 411 BC 410 BC 409 BC - 408 BC - 407 BC 406 BC... Note: This article contains special characters. ... A statue of Euripides Euripides (c. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ...

Background

In accordance with the advice of the god Apollo, Orestes has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon at her hands. Despite Apollo’s earlier prophecy, Orestes finds himself tormented by Erinyes or Furies to the blood guilt stemming from his matricide. The only person capable of calming Orestes down from his madness is his sister Electra. To complicate matters further, a leading political faction of Argos wants to put Orestes to death for the murder. Orestes’ only hope to save his life lies in his uncle Menelaus, who has returned with Helen after spending ten years in Troy and several more years amassing wealth in Egypt. In the chronology of events following Orestes, this play takes place after the events contained in plays such as Electra by Euripides or The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus, and before events contained in plays like The Eumenides by Aeschylus and Andromache by Euripides. In Greek mythology the Erinyes or Eumenides (the Romans called them the Furies) were female personifications of vengeance. ... Matricide is the act of killing ones mother. ... Walls of the excavated city of Troy Troy ( Ancient Greek Τροία Troia or Τροάς Troas also Ίλιον; Latin: Troia, Ilium) is a legendary city, scene of the Trojan War, described in the Trojan War cycle, especially in the Iliad, one of the two Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. ... Euripides Electra was probably written in the mid 410s BC, likely after 413 BC. It is unclear whether it was first produced before or after Sophocles version of the Electra story. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... Aeschylus This article is about the ancient Greek playwright. ... The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... Andromache (c. ...

Plot

The play begins with a soliloquy that outlines the basic plot and events that have led up to this point from Electra, who stands next to a sleeping Orestes. Shortly after, Helen comes out of the palace under the pretext that she wishes to make an offering at her sister Clytemnestra’s grave. As in most of the plays of Classical Greece, Helen is played as a vacuous floozy. Some commentators criticize Euripides as being a misogynist; however his dialogue is often very ironic. Consequently, one reading of the play, especially from a patristic mindset, would have Euripides place blame for the Trojan War and the fall of the House of Atreus at Helen’s feet. In fact, Euripides may arguably use Helen as a device through which to discuss several larger themes such as freewill, fate, and the role of the gods in the cosmos. For example, Helen is unable to take personal responsibility for allowing her to be abducted to Troy, and blames Apollo for the problems in the House of Atreus. After Helen leaves a chorus of Argive women enters to help advance the plot. Then Orestes, still maddened by the Furies, awakes. Misogyny is an exaggerated pathological aversion towards women. ... The Trojan War was a war waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy in Asia Minor by the armies of the Achaeans, following the kidnapping (or elopement) of Helen of Sparta by Paris of Troy. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ...

Menelaus arrives at the palace and he and Orestes discuss the murder and the resulting madness. Tyndareus, Orestes’ grandfather and Menelaus’ father-in-law comes onto the scene and roundly chastises Orestes leading to a conversation with the three men on the role of humans in dispensing divine justice and natural law. As Tyndareus leaves, he warns Menelaus that he will need the old man as an ally. Orestes, in supplication before Menelaus, hopes to gain compassion that Tyndareus would not grant in an attempt to get him to speak before the assembly of Argive men. However, Menelaus ultimately shuns his nephew, choosing not to compromise his tenuous power among the Greeks who blame him and his wife for the Trojan War. Supplication (also known as petitioning) is the most common form of prayer, wherein a person asks a supernatural deity to provide something, either for the person who is praying or for someone else on whose behalf a prayer of supplication is being made. ...

Pylades, Orestes’ best friend and his accomplice in Clytemnestra’s murder, arrives after Menelaus has exited. He and Orestes begin to formulate a plan, in the process indicting partisan politics and leaders who manipulate the masses for results contrary to the best interest of the state, perhaps a veiled criticism of contemporary Athenian factions. Orestes and Pylades then exit so that they may state their case before the town assembly in an effort to save Orestes and Electra from execution, which proves unsuccessful.

Their execution certain, Orestes, Electra, and Pylades formulate a plan of revenge against Menelaus for turning his back on them. To make him suffer most, they plan to kill Helen and his daughter Hermione. However, when they go to kill Helen, she vanishes. In attempting to execute their plan, a Phrygian slave of Helen’s escapes the palace. Orestes asks the slave why he should spare his life and the slave supplicates himself before Orestes. Orestes is won over by the Phrygian’s argument that, like free men, slaves prefer the light of day to death, resulting in the first act of compassion in the play. Menelaus then enters leading to a standoff between him and Orestes, Electra, and Pylades, who have successfully captured Hermione.

Just as more bloodshed is to occur, Apollo arrives on stage Deus ex machina. He sets everything back in order, explaining the Helen has been placed among the stars and that Menelaus must go back to Sparta. For Orestes, he tells him to go to Athens to the Areopagus, the Athenian Supreme Court, in order to stand judgment, for which he will be acquitted. Also, Orestes is to marry Hermione, while Pylades will marry Electra. Finally, Apollo tells the mortals to go and rejoice in Peace, most honored and favored of the gods. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC), the Areopagus was the council of elders of the city, like the Roman Senate. ...

Themes

Like much of his work, Euripides uses the mythology of the Bronze Age to make a political point about the politics of Classical Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Orestes First played at the Dionysia during the waning years of the war, both Athens and Sparta and all of their allies had suffered tremendous losses. A statue of Euripides Euripides (c. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League, lead by Sparta. ... The Dionysia was a large religious festival in ancient Athens in honour of the god Dionysus, the central event of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα Athína IPA ) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world. ... Sparta (Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ...

Euripides challenges the role of the gods and perhaps more appropriately man’s interpretation of divine will. Orestes and others note the subordinate role of man to the gods, but the superiority of the gods does not make them particularly fair or rational. Even Apollo, the god synonymous with law and order, ultimately gives an unsatisfactory argument. For example, he cites the reason for the Trojan War as the method the gods chose to cleanse the earth of surplus population. This leads one to question why gods (or political leaders) would use war as an instrument for a greater good, and, this being the case, why these gods/leaders are worthy of our admiration and praise?

In addition to the will of the gods, the role of natural law and its tension with manmade law is noted. For example, when Tyndareus argues to Menelaus that the law is fundamental to man’s lives, to which Menelaus counters that blind obedience to anything, such as the law, is an attribute of a slave. It has been suggested that Law of nature (precept) be merged into this article or section. ...

Perhaps most important to the play is Apollo’s closing statements that Peace is to be revered more than all other values. Orestes best embodies this value when by sparing the life of the Phrygian, driving home the point the beauty of life transcends cultural boundaries whether one be a slave or free man. This was also the only successful supplication in the play. This point is of particular value, since the Peloponnesian War had already lasted nearly a quarter of a century by the time of this play’s production.

Translations

• Edward P. Coleridge, 1891 - prose: full text
• Gilbert Murray, 1911 - verse
• Arthur S. Way, 1912 - verse
• William Arrowsmith, 1958 - verse
• Andrew Wilson, 1994 - prose: full text

	Plays by Euripides Cyclops | Alcestis | Medea | Heracleidae | Hippolytus | Andromache | Hecuba | The Suppliants | Electra | Heracles | The Trojan Women | Iphigeneia in Tauris | Ion | Helen | Phoenician Women | Orestes | Bacchae | Iphigeneia at Aulis | Rhesus (spurious)