The Oresteia: The Agamemnon, the Libation-Bearers and the Furies
- ISBN-10
- 1482315424
- ISBN-13
- 9781482315424
- Series
- The Oresteia
- Category
- Drama
- Pages
- 196
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-01-29
- Publisher
- CreateSpace
- Authors
- Aeschylus, E. D. A. Morshead
Description
The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. When originally performed it was accompanied by Proteus, a satyr play that would have been performed following the trilogy; it has not survived. The term "Oresteia" may have originally referred to all four plays, but today is generally used to designate only the surviving trilogy. The only surviving example of a trilogy of ancient Greek plays, the Oresteia was originally performed at the Dionysia festival in Athens in 458 BC, where it won first prize. A principal theme of the trilogy is the shift from the practice of personal vendetta to a system of litigation. The name derives from the character Orestes, who sets out to avenge his father after his mother's affair with Aegisthus.Aeschylus (circa 525 BC – 455 BC) was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays can still be read or performed, the others being Sophocles and Euripides. He is often described as the father of tragedy: our knowledge of the genre begins with his work and our understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in plays to allow for conflict amongst them, whereas previously characters had interacted only with the chorus. Only seven of his estimated seventy to ninety plays have survived into modern times.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2019-03-07
- 130 pages
- Paperback
- Independently Published
-
- 2018-10-23
- 224 pages
- Ebook
- Liveright Publishing
Similar books
-
Titus Andronicus: Revised Edition
By Jonathan BateA pioneering study by Philip Timberlake, long ignored by mainstream scholarship, revealed the huge difference in the number of lines with feminine endings ...
-
Winter Hill
By Timberlake WertenbakerQuestioning the lengths people should go in the name of a cause, Timberlake Wertenbaker's Winter Hill premiered at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton, in May 2017.
-
The Love of the Nightingale
By Timberlake WertenbakerThe Love of the Nightingale
-
Our Country's Good
By Timberlake WertenbakerBased on a historical incident.
-
Imaginary Betrayals: Subjectivity and the Discourses of Treason in Early Modern England
By Karen CunninghamKaren Cunningham looks at contemporary records of three prominent cases in order to demonstrate the degree to which the imagination was used to prove treason: the 1542 attainder of Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, charged with ...
-
A Private Function
By Alan BennettThis classic collection contains a new essay by Alan Bennett, besides the original introductions to A Private Function, Prick Up Your Ears and The Madness of King George.
-
Invisible Friends
By Alan AyckbournWhen Lucy, an ordinary teenager, feels ignored by her family, she brings her childhood fantasy friend Zara back to life, only to have her materialize and bring with her a dream family for Lucy
-
Performing King Lear: Gielgud to Russell Beale
By Jonathan CroallIts greatest pleasure comes from Mr Plummer's taking you step by step through Lear's enormous changes in temperament and insight, and justifying every turn on both an intellectual and gut level. I have never seen an audience so ...
-
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
By William ShakespeareCast: Matte Osian (Richard), Barry Smith (Bolingbroke), Frank O'Donnell (Gaunt), Kadina de Elejalde (Queen), Robert F. McCafferty (Northumberland), David W. Frank (York). Running time 93 minutes. An independent film shot on a disused ...
-
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production
By J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John TiffanyThis edition also includes useful background information including the Potter family tree and a timeline of events from the Wizarding World prior to the beginning of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.