All Formats & Editions

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-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes... Read Full Overview

Aeschylus II contains "The Oresteia," translated by Richmond Lattimore, and fragments of "Proteus," translated by Mark Griffith. Many years ago, the University of Chicago Press undertook a momentous project: a new translation of the Greek tragedies that would be the ultimate... Read Full Overview

The tragic cycle of justice.

The most famous series of ancient Greek plays, and the only surviving trilogy, is the "Oresteia " of Aeschylus, consisting of "Agamemnon," "Choephoroe," and "Eumenides." These three plays recount the murder of Agamemnon by his queen Clytemnestra on his return from Troy with the... Read Full Overview

In the last year of his life, Ted Hughes completed translations of three major dramatic works: Racine's Phedre, Euripedes' Alcestis, and the trilogy of plays known as at The Oresteia, a family story of astonishing power and the background or inspiration... Read Full Overview

The most renowned of Aeschylus' tragedies and one of the foundational texts of Western literature, the Oresteia trilogy is about cycles of deception and brutality within the ruling family of Argos. In Agamemnon, afflicted queen Clytemnestra awaits her husband's return from war... Read Full Overview

"These authoritative translations consign all other complete collections to the wastebasket."--Robert Brustein, The New Republic

In the last year of his life, Ted Hughes completed translations of three major dramatic works: Racine's Phedre , Euripedes' Alcestis , and the trilogy of plays known as at The Oresteia , a family story of astonishing power and the background or inspiration for much subsequent... Read Full Overview

Ranked #2 Translation of 2018 by Open Letters Review

This Norton Critical Edition includes:

The Oresteia is a Trilogy of Greek Tragedies, written by: Aeschylus in the 5th Century BC.

The Oresteia is the only trilogy of tragedy plays to survive from Ancient Greece. Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides have established the enduring themes of Greek tragedy--the inexorable nature of Fate, the relationship between justice, revenge, and religion. In this... Read Full Overview

Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create the celebrated and timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Greek Tragedy in New Translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning... Read Full Overview

Aeschylus (525-c.456 bc) set his great trilogy in the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Troy, when King Agamemnon returns to Argos, a victor in war. Agamemnon depicts the hero's discovery that his family has been destroyed by his wife's infidelity and ends with his death at... Read Full Overview