Aeschylus' "Oresteia"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Aeschylus' "Oresteia" in which Aeschylus uses the Agamemnon myth to convey his messages. It examines how Aeschylus' main purpose in the "Oresteia" is not to explore the psychology of his characters but to narrate the story of the House of Atreus, its theological aspects and its relevance to the contemporary political situation. It focuses on Aeschylus' use of the story of the House of Atreus in order to make relevant points about the society he lived in and whether he was successful in doing so. Also discussed is the use of charter myth and gender.

From the Paper:

"First of all, the story of the House of Atreus is not only of one generation, but in fact includes the terrible happenings between Atreus and his brother Thyestes, and then the abduction of Helen from Menelaus; these things are implied by Aeschylus in a very circumspect manner but not actually mentioned although they are an integral part of the Atreus curse, they are not necessary to the plot and therefore not included. Aeschylus gets away with this because his play is not original material as such, it is based on a myth widely known throughout his culture, he can safely assume that everyone watching the play will already know the tale and will therefore "fill in the gaps" themselves. This is, of course, a major point; would Aeschylus tell a story for its own merits if he knew that his projected audience was already aware of the outcome of the tale?"

More papers on Aeschylus' "Oresteia":

• Essay # 73246 : "Justice In "The Oresteia"
• Book Review # 101734 : "The Oresteia of Aeschylus"
• Analytical Essay # 27519 : "The Oresteia Trilogy"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: