Orlion reviewed The Orestes Plays of Aeschylus by Aeschylus
Review of 'The Orestes Plays of Aeschylus' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
So. First thing is first: I am not going to spoiler anything. The idea of a spoiler in ancient Greek plays is absurd, in fact, the form of ancient Greek drama relied on the audience knowing the stories beforehand. As a result, reading these plays in a modern mindset of story and plot would be a terrible mistake.
So if you are not familiar with Greek mythology, be sure to have a source handy or choose an edition of the plays with helpful footnotes and/or a glossary.
Which brings me to the next point: if you are familiar with Greek mythology, you will know that sometimes stories change/evolve/flat-out contradict each other. Knowing which version of the myths Aeschylus is referencing is difficult and possibly impossible. Case in point: did Agamemnon actually sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia? Or was she spirited away by Artemis and replaced with a deer as in some …
So. First thing is first: I am not going to spoiler anything. The idea of a spoiler in ancient Greek plays is absurd, in fact, the form of ancient Greek drama relied on the audience knowing the stories beforehand. As a result, reading these plays in a modern mindset of story and plot would be a terrible mistake.
So if you are not familiar with Greek mythology, be sure to have a source handy or choose an edition of the plays with helpful footnotes and/or a glossary.
Which brings me to the next point: if you are familiar with Greek mythology, you will know that sometimes stories change/evolve/flat-out contradict each other. Knowing which version of the myths Aeschylus is referencing is difficult and possibly impossible. Case in point: did Agamemnon actually sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia? Or was she spirited away by Artemis and replaced with a deer as in some other versions of the story? Come on, Aeschylus! The guilt of Clytemnestra depends on it!
Of course, such details are small compared to the over-arching theme of the trilogy of plays: the evolution of justice. In the beginning, the idea of justice is one of blood atonement and vengeance. You killed my father, therefore you must die! You slept with my wife, so I'll cook your children. You cooked my brothers, therefore, die! You killed my father, and so on. As the plays goes on, the idea of justice evolves from personal vendetta to judgement in a court of peers, and just before the house of Atreus is annihilated by these continual blood feuds!
It is important to keep in mind that everyone has a fairly logical reason to commit the sins that taint their souls. Agamemnon needed winds to carry the ships of Argos to Troy, Clytemnestra was pissed off that her daughter was the sacrifice to get these winds, Aegisthus was once king of Argos before Agamemnon deposed him (also, Agamemnon's father tricked Aegisthus' father into eating the flesh of his children), and Orestes could not let them get away with their crimes of murder... so he, too, had to commit murder!
It also does not help that the gods, particularly the twins Phoebe and Phobos, order a couple of these murders.
In the end, it is established that a civilized court is essential to preserve society from such blood feuds, which ultimately do not end until all players are dead.
These are, over all, excellent plays. They are not, however, merely accessible. One does need to have a little bit of knowledge of Greek mythology or be willing to do the research. Without this knowledge, the plays will make little to no sense and the reader will probably think the majority of it is babbling gibberish.