Aeschylus (525-455 BC) was one of the most famous Greek dramatists, and was said by Aristotle to be the first to have more than one character on stage as well as the chorus.
The Oresteia was first performed in 458 BC.
This 21st century verse translation of the three plays in
The Oresteia was done by Emeritus Professor Ian Johnston of Vancouver Island University, British Columbia, Canada. He retains the copyright, and has given permission to use his text in this ebook. Prof. Johnston has provided stage directions for the three plays, (in italics) and footnotes for the first two plays.
The first play tells of Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter Iphigeneia to induce Artemis to grant favourable winds for the invasion of Troy, and his murder by his wife Clytaemnestra when he returns to Argos after the fall of Troy. The second play tells of the murder of Clytaemnestra by their son Orestes when he returns from exile. The third play tells of Oreste's flight to Athens pursued and tormented by the Furies, and the intervention of Athena who arranges his trial and provides a new role for the Furies.
The text for this ebook was taken from the online version on Prof. Johnston's website, and checked against the print version. I have omitted line numbers, made slight changes to layout, and provided endnotes for the third play. The cover illustration is taken from Wikisource.
This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws.
If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.
To report a copyright violation you can
contact us here.